As all of the world knows by now, Esmin Green was in the waiting room of Kings County Hospital and collapsed on the floor.  She was left for more than an hour to die a miserable death by the hospital staffers who callously saw her and did nothing.  To make matters worse, the hospital employees allegedly falsified the medical records indicating she was walking around and conscious while she was in fact on the floor as the video shows. 

Please be warned that what you about to see is disturbing but if you wish to see this video connect to the following link

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/03/hospital.woman.death/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

Fellow members of Esmin Green’s church called her “sister” Green.  She was a beloved woman who loved children.  She had been struggling emotionally since losing her job and went to Kings County Hospital for help.

Esmin is survived by six children who live in Jamaica.  She was sending money back to them before she lost her job.  Her eldest daughter, 31 year old Tecia Harrison, told authorities that she “cannot bear to think of her mother’s last moments.”  She continued to say about the video that “I haven’t seen it and I don’t think I have the heart or mind to watch it because that’s my mother there.”  Tecia is truly a brave person to proceed forward and speak about this and I hope she chooses the right attorney to prosecute the civil claim for her mom.  Tecia’s further comments on the video were “that’s the woman who gave birth to me 31 years ago, I cannot watch that.”  It is reported that Tecia will sue Kings County Hospital for 25 million dollars.

One of the issues  Tecia and her family will want to consider is the emotional impact this type of case will have on her and the family.  She needs a lawyer that will be sensitive to that but at the same time be aggressive and make certain that the city pays by way of compensation to the family and by way of prevention so that this does not happen to anyone ever again.

Wrongful death actions against the city are full of procedures that are not normally part of a “non-city” case.  Additionally, you are dealing with issues of the estate and medical malpractice claims.  One of the preliminary elements that have to be satisfied is your Notice of Claim to the city.

The Notice of Claim is a document that gets served on the city via the applicable agency, in this case the New York Health and Hospital Corp.  An injured party or estate has 90 days to file the Notice of Claim.  This simply puts the city on notice that there is a claim.  From the date of the incident you have one year and ninety days to file the summons and complaint.  The summons and complaint is the official document filed with the Court setting forth the injured party or, in this instance, the estate’s allegations of fault against the defendants.

Shortly after you file the Notice of Claim the city will contact the plaintiff’s attorney and a 50h hearing will be scheduled.  This hearing is the city’s opportunity to obtain information via the injured party’s testimony.  In this instance the city may forego a 50h, although unlikely, and not waste time speaking to the executrix of the estate who is likely to be the eldest daughter, Tecia Harrison.

Other considerations in the wrongful death action from a medical malpractice standpoint is having an expert review the medical records to sign off that a case is allowed to proceed from a malpractice standpoint.  If the video scene all over the news is what it seems to be that will be an easy part of the litigation process.  This case seems to be one of the most egregious cases ever to hit the public forum and one that finally gives a perfect example and brings to light the ease in which hospital personnel can, and in this case allegedly do, falsify medical records to prevent cases from compensating victims. 

I firmly believe that the employees of Kings County Hospital who were complicit in turning a blind eye and allegedly falsifying Esmin Green’s medical records will be judged very harshly in God’s eyes.  Thankfully the video came to light and was released because the city and those employees can also be judged harshly in this life as well.  My prayers and love goes out to Esmin Green and her family, Tecia Harrison and her five other children.  Esmin Green’s death will not go in vein.  Instead it will be a wake up call to all those in power to change the healthcare crisis present at Kings County Hospital and perhaps make the whole healthcare system retool its procedures to allow beautiful people like Esmin receive the care that they deserve, that every human being deserves.  I believe that the right lawyer has the power to make that change.

If you or anyone you know was injured or has a family member who was the victim of a wrongful death claim or medical malpractice claim similar to the Esmin Green claim please feel free to call the aggressive, caring lawyers at 1(800)WE-FIGHT and ask for the author of this article Pasquale Calcagno, Esq. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We will send a lawyer to you, in the comfort of your own home, to speak about your case for free, no obligation.  Choosing the right attorney makes all the difference in the world, make sure you meet with more than one before making your decision.  Good luck to you and God bless you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 8:49 am and is filed under Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Failure to Treat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.