New York City Personal Injury Law Blog

Federal funding of a healthcare clinic affects the amount of time to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. In New York, there are more than 100 health centers that receive federal funds. Claims against the appropriate federal agency, not the clinic or the doctor, must be brought within two years.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services maintains a directory that lists community-based federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). In New York City, a few include Betances Health Center, the New York and Presbyterian Hospital and the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. These clinics receive federal funding to provide services from primary care to maternal and child health care.

To the many people who have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after exposure to glyphosate, the answer is yes. This type of cancer that starts in the lymphatic system has been on the increase. The International Agency for Research on Cancer listed the main ingredient in Roundup a “probable carcinogen” two years ago after research supported a link with the cancer.

On the other side is Monsanto, who defends its flagship product as completely safe, stating “Glyphosate is not a carcinogen.” The scale of use in the U.S. makes this an important debate – more than 220 million pounds of glyphosate were applied to genetically modified Roundup-ready soybean, corn and cotton crops in 2015.

Battling breast cancer takes an excruciating toll from loss of hair to coping with a lumpectomy or complete mastectomy. Last year, approximately 109,000 women across the country had reconstructive surgery at the end of their cancer treatment. Another 290,000 American women received implants for breast enlargements, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Now the troubling news: a rare type of cancer - anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) - has been linked to breast implants. The Food and Drug Administration has received 359 reports that include nine deaths.

What rights do you have to decide the course of your medical treatment in New York? Informed consent is required before a undergoing heart surgery or cancer treatment, but what does this really mean.

Unfortunately, many people put more effort into choosing their new television rather than picking a surgeon. Before any surgery or procedure, do your homework. Find out if the surgeon is board certified in the specialty, the number of this type of surgeries he or she completes each year and what are the outcomes. Does the surgeon have a malpractice history. A simple Google search may turn up that other states have revoked a license. Question where the physician is advertising - going with an Penny saver surgeon may lead to a bad outcome and no insurance.