Here it is: the news the Capital Region’s
daily newspapers have kept from you.
Details of dozens of lawsuits against hospitals and doctors.
Many patients injured, some have died.
But not a word in the papers
Just endless ads for the hospitals
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His name is Hearst. He's raised millions for a hospital operator while his newspaper ignores dozens of lawsuits against it.
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Settlements of medical claims that include punitive damages are rare. Here's one that did. But not a word appeared in the newspapers.
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A lawsuit with the unusual claim against a hospital of "negligent credentialing"settled on the first day of trial after six years of litigation. The newspapers ignored it.
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And now it's not just medical negligence that is kept hidden. Sexual harrassment and discrimination lawsuits also are ignored. Like these two
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Times Union columnist Fred LeBrun writes about many things. But he can never offer an opinion on preventable deaths and injuries in the Capital District's hospitals.
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Welcome to Capital District Health Claims, the front page for ‘Answers for Lisa’, an 18-year-old blog that for the past eight years has published details of medical-malpractice lawsuits filed against Capital District providers, none of which have appeared in the area’s newspapers.
On the blog there is a 3,000-word summary of the events of the past decade that started with the death of Lisa Zenzen Baker in Samaritan Hospital in Troy, N.Y. in 2003. Scrolling down, you will find descriptions of many lawsuits, both settled and pending, that allege everything from preventable bedsores to wrongful death.
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Here are links to a few of the many
stories posted here and on the blog
A NEWSPAPER INDICTED:
Why the Times Union is no better than the corrupt public officials it lectures to in its pages
Read the opinion column HERE
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MAKING THE CASE: The many reasons why publishing news about medical errors is in the public interest
Read the argument HERE
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Here are more stories the newspapers ignored:
* $275,000 for woman who died in agony
*Northeast Health settles two more wrongful-death lawsuits
*Health Department says Samaritan Hospital nurse and an anesthesiologist caused blood-thinner overdose in patient who died
*Woman says nurses who ignored orders caused permanant leg injury
*Doctor with controversial crack-cocaine-possession-charge dismissal was later impaired at work, according to allegations in an unreported lawsuit.
Read these stories HERE
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But the Albany media didn't always ignore lawsuits alleging medical negligence. Back in 1985, two doctors at Albany Medical Center Hospital made a terrible mistake that took the life of a woman and her child.
Read the two-part account of how it was reported HERE
The Times Union does print stories about alleged medical malpractice - but only if the claim is against a non-advertiser. In one such case, the allegations were remarkably similar to those in a lawsuit against an advertiser - which was never metioned.
Read the story, "A tale of two deaths" HERE
An open letter to the editor of the Times Union
Read it HERE
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@answersforlisa
E-mail: davidbaker@fastmail.com
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