Man Says Malpractice At Elmhurst Hospital Led To Amputation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens man is filing a lawsuit after his hand had to be amputated at a city hospital after a blood pressure monitoring line was inserted.
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, Jose Polanco held up his gauze-covered right arm at a Thursday news conference. His hand was amputated after he went to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst with pneumonia.
Polanco pointed to two puncture wounds near his biceps.
"It went black from here all the way down to my hand," he said.
Polanco's attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said it was gangrene. He is planning on suing the city for $1 million.
"Something went wrong in that it was negligence, medical malpractice as we allege in our claim against the city," Rubenstein said, "and the manner in which a line was placed to monitor his blood pressure."
A hospital spokesman said he has not seen the claim and cannot comment.