Great Valley, NY asked in Personal Injury for New York

Q: Can I sue the Red Cross for atrial puncture injury caused during blood donation?

After the injury the Red Cross provided misleading information on severity and needed treatment. This resulted in a Pseudo aneurysm that required surgery.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Jonathan Bradford Ripps
Jonathan Bradford Ripps
Answered
  • New City, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: Hello - so sorry about your situation. What you describe sounds terrible. In order for you to have a malpractice claim, you would need to prove that the nurse or whoever did the blood draw deviated from a normal standard of care. You should consult with an attorney to discuss your matter further and see if you have a viable cause of action! Best of luck and feel better!

Jon

Jonathan R. Ratchik agrees with this answer

Jonathan R. Ratchik
Jonathan R. Ratchik
Answered
  • New York, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: Sorry to hear what you've been through. As my colleague correctly advised, to have a viable case against the American Red Cross, you'd have to demonstrate that the manner in which it drew blood fell below the accepted standard of care and that such deviation caused you injury. An atrial puncture may very well be a rare (but accepted) complication of donating blood and not necessary indicative of malpractice. Alternatively, if there was a delay in recognizing your injury (and such a delay resulted in your need for surgery), that could be a viable case. Best to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. You can find many excellent attorneys using the Find a Lawyer tab on the JUSTIA homepage.

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