New York Malpractice Attorneys Prosecute Claim of Undiagnosed Kidney Failue After Surgical Procedure

New York, NY – February 18, 2008 – Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, premier New York malpractice attorneys, represented Annie Rose Noel, a part-time nanny, who suffered kidney injuries while recovering from a myomectomy at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan. The original surgery was a myomectomy, a surgical removal of fibroids from her uterus. Due to the late diagnosis, she suffered complications that lead to hemorrhaging and had to undergo dialysis treatment.

Annie Rose Noel had laid in the hospital for over 12 hours untreated and misdiagnosed after recovering from a myomectomy. Approximately eight hours after being moved to the recovery room, it was determined that she was suffering from internal bleeding. The patient waited another three hours before the hospital decided to take Noel to interventional radiology to have her uterine arteries embolized, in order to stop the bleeding. It was determined that due to this extended period of time Ms. Noel sustained injuries to her kidneys and as a result of hypovolemia caused by the hemorrhage.

“It was the defendant’s lack of a timely diagnosis and failure of treatment of the internal bleeding that constituted malpractice,” said Phil Monier, the trial attorney of Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP. “The patient had signs while recovering from a myomectomy that the doctors and hospital missed, such as having very low or no urine production, low hematocrit levels, and fluid in her abdomen.”

Noel claimed that she developed hypovolemia, which is a decrease in circulatory volume, due to the extended period of time she was suffering from internal bleeding. Her kidneys did not receive an adequate amount of blood and fluid, causing kidney failure and required her to receive dialysis treatment three times a week, for approximately two years.

About Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg:
The malpractice attorneys in New York represent families and victims like Ms. Noel who have been affected while recovering from a myomectomy and other surgeries. This case settled prior to trial for $2 million. For more information about this case or to ask about your case, please call the New York malpractice attorneys at 800-MESO-LAW or 212-605-6200.

NEW YORK TOXIC TORTS LAWYERS HELP BROOKLYN MAN WITH KIDNEY FAILURE SUE MAKERS OF CHEMICALS WHICH POISONED HIM AT WORK

The plaintiff says the company failed to warn him about the chemical exposure of ink thinners he was exposed to at work, one of the causes for kidney failure.

A New York Appeals Court recently ruled that Antonio Lopez has the right to sue the makers of products containing chemicals which he was exposed to and poisoned his kidneys.  According to New York toxic torts lawyers, Levy, Philips and Konigsberg, Mr. Lopez worked for two years in Brooklyn manufacturing hoses at a factory where he was exposed to inks and ink thinners containing kidney poisons that are causes for kidney failure.  Mr. Lopez was diagnosed with kidney failure and has to have life saving dialysis treatment three times a week. Dialysis is the medical treatment which uses a machine to clean the blood of a person whose kidneys are no longer able to do that job.  The manufacturers of these products argued to the Court that they had no responsibility under New York state law to warn Mr. Lopez that chemical exposure to its products causes kidney failure.  The Court ruled that the makers of these products do have an obligation under state law to give adequate warnings and that Mr. Lopez is entitled to present his case to a jury to recover compensation for his injuries.

The defendants Matthews International, Corp., Willett Limited, and Gem Gravure, Co., Inc. manufactured and sold inks and thinners, also known as solvents, containing chemicals such as Cyclohexanone, Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) and Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK).  These chemicals are known renal toxins and chemical exposure is known as the cause for kidney damage and kidney failure.  The makers of the inks and thinners which Mr. Lopez was exposed to did not give adequate and proper warnings of the health risks associated with using these products.  Mr. Lopez will have to undergo dialysis treatment for the rest of his life.

The New York toxic tort lawyers of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg called upon the expertise of leading scientists to assist the Court in reaching its decision.  The chemical exposure was analyzed by an industrial hygienist as well as a medical doctor and reports were submitted to the court.  After carefully reviewing the records the Court concluded that the evidence should be heard by a Jury in a Brooklyn trial in order to determine whether Mr. Lopez is entitled to compensation for his life threatening illness.

Mesothelioma Verdict Upheld by New York Supreme Court Justice in Landmark Upstate New York Case Involving Navy Boilerman

In a Decision and Order dated December 4, 2008, New York Supreme Court Justice James W. McCarthy upheld a five million mesothelioma verdict awarded to an Ithaca, New York resident who served as a Navy boilerman in the early 1960s aboard the U.S.S. Roan (DD-853). The jury award is believed to be the largest ever mesothelioma verdict in Upstate New York and the first ever mesothelioma verdict in Syracuse, New York (Onondaga, County).

In its Decision and Order, the Court rejected the legal challenges to the mesothelioma verdict made by defendant Foster-Wheeler in its post trial motions. Specifically, the Court upheld its pre-trial ruling denying Foster-Wheeler's request to have the Navy listed on the verdict sheet as a party to which the Jury could attribute fault. This decision was based on, among other things, the Navy's absolute immunity for injuries sustained in the course of military service. The Court also denied Foster-Wheeler's request to have the government contractor defense charged to the jury, finding the record utterly bereft of any evidence that the Navy prohibited Foster-Wheeler from warning. The Court also found that the issue of proximate cause was properly left for the jury who decided that Foster-Wheeler's failure to warn about the hazards of asbestos was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injuries. Finally, the Court found that there was sufficient evidence to find that a duty to warn existed based on factual proofs that Foster-Wheeler knew that asbestos materials would be used by boilerman repairing and servicing its boilers on the USS Roan.

For decades asbestos litigation in the State of New York has centered around the New York City Asbestos Litigation, www.nycal.net, in New York, New York. Increasingly, cases of mesothelioma are being discovered throughout the State of New York and there has been more activity in mesothelioma lawsuits in Upstate New York venues, such as in Erie County (Buffalo, NY), Onondaga County (Syracuse, NY), Schenectady County (Albany, NY) and Broome County (Binghamton, NY).

New York Lead Poisoning Lawyer Obtains $3 Million Settlement for Child Poisoned by Lead Paint

Lead poisoning lawyer from the New York-based personal injury law firm of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, obtains a settlement of $3 Million on behalf of a mother and her thirteen-year-old son poisoned by lead paint when he was three. The settlement is believed to be the largest settlement for a single lead poisoned child in New York State.

BRONX, New York, January 20, 2011 - New York lead poisoning lawyer Philip Monier, III, of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, announced today that a settlement has been reached in the case of Alexandra Colon and her now thirteen-year-old son Stephon Barnhardt¹, who sustained a number of severe injuries as a result of having been poisoned by lead paint while residing at their apartment in Uptown Manhattan when the child was three years old. The settlement in the amount of $3 Million is believed to be the largest settlement for a single lead poisoned child in New York State.

For a period of nearly eighteen months after his family moved to the apartment building at 315 West 115th Street in Harlem, New York, Stephon Barnhardt was exposed to lead based paint, whose toxicity is known for its damaging effects to the health and development of children under the age of seven. Stephon was three when tests performed by his pediatrician revealed elevated lead-to-blood levels, with the highest reading at 16 micrograms per deciliter, which is 6 micrograms greater than the standard elevated blood lead level for children.

Stephon's mother, Alexandra Colon, subsequently filed a lawsuit against a group of individuals and business entities believed to be involved in the ownership and management of the building. She alleged that negligent maintenance of their apartment had caused her son to be exposed to hazardous lead-based paint conditions.

Colon's lawsuit claimed that her son's lead poisoning resulted in decreased brain functioning, learning disabilities, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Stephon, in fact, has struggled academically since kindergarten, and receives weekly counseling to address his behavioral problems and attention-control issues. The family's lead poisoning lawyer Philip Monier, III, called to the stand experts in the fields of pediatrics² and psychology³ to testify as to the extent of Stephon's injuries.

The lawsuit also claimed that Stephon's learning difficulties will prevent him from graduating high school and lead to reduced earning capacity as an adult. An expert economist⁴ estimated for the jury that Stephon will have lost future earnings totaling around $6.3 million. In addition to her lawsuit on Stephon's behalf, Alexandra Colon also had a derivative claim for loss of services.

During the trial, the defense team argued that the brain-function injuries attributed to the lead that Stephon was exposed to at 315 West 115th Street could have been caused by lead poisoning he suffered before moving into the building. The defense also contended that Stephon's cognitive deficits could have stemmed from his difficult birth, as he was born prematurely at 3.5 pounds, and suffered respiratory distress as a newborn. Abe Chutorian⁵, a pediatric neurologist called to the stand by the defense attorney, testified in support of this argument.

However, after Dr. Chutorian was cross-examined by the plaintiff's attorney, the parties announced that they reached a settlement agreement, according to which Stephon Barnhardt will receive $3 Million paid out by the defendants' insurance carriers, Legion Insurance Company and Zurich.

The defendants were represented by Sim R. Shapiro of Baxter Smith & Shapiro, P.C., with offices in White Plains, NY.

For more than two decades, lead poisoning lawyers of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, have consistently won landmark decisions and obtained for their lead poisoned clients some of the largest jury awards and settlements in the nation.