November 14, 2012
New York City has paid out more than a half billion dollars over the last four fiscal years to pay for medical mistakes at its 11 public hospitals, according to a report in the New York Daily News citing city records. The tab – paid ultimately by taxpayers -- came to $134 million in the last…
November 07, 2012
A jury handed down a $100 million verdict against a hospital for a Staten Island teenager who suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of a premature birth. The case took years to litigate. The baby is now 17-year-old Stephanie Debes, who, along with a twin sister, was born three months early after…
October 31, 2012
Cases of colon cancer among younger people is on the rise even as the rate for those older than 50 decreases, a phenomenon that is leading to more missed diagnoses. Such was the case for a 44-year-old Maryland woman who seven years ago went to doctors with all the symptoms of colorectal cancer,…
October 24, 2012
Bradley Birkenfeld has gone from prison inmate to multi-millionaire in fairly short order. The former banker served 31 months behind bars for helping a former client at UBS AG hide his wealth from the Internal Revenue Service. But he also blew the whistle on a wide tax-evasion scheme by the giant…
October 17, 2012
A new report out of Johns Hopkins estimates that diagnostic errors may cause as many as 40,500 patient deaths in hospital intensive care units. The university’s patient safety experts say the number of deaths of critically ill hospital patients die with unknown medical conditions may exceed the…
October 11, 2012
A dozen people have died and more than 100 have been sickened by an outbreak of meningitis caused by a steroid spinal injection contaminated with a fungus. The unsafe drug, used to treat back pain, was made by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy and was sold to 75 clinics throughout 23 states.…
October 03, 2012
A doctor at a Cincinnati-area hospital had ordered and charged Medicare for as many as 8,000 vascular tests of patients. Just one problem – he wasn’t bothering to properly read them, if they were read at all. A former employee at the hospital blew the whistle and filed a lawsuit in the case, which…
September 29, 2012
Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:
Death of Child Prompts Recall of Window Blinds by Blind Xpress 139,000 custom-made vertical and 315,000 horizontal blinds
Legrand Wiremold Recalls Power Strips Due to…
September 26, 2012
Seven years after a deadly explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, BP Plc has agreed to pay another $13 million to settle fines over safety violations revealed in the aftermath of the tragedy. The explosion left 15 workers dead and 170 others injured. It occurred when a cloud of volatile…
September 22, 2012
Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:
Energizer Recalls Night Lights Due to Burn Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Target - 260,000
CareBears Pacifier Recalled by IDM Group Due to Choking Hazard - 119,000
Zest…
September 19, 2012
The plaintiff’s lawyer wanted to “send a message” that would be a deterrent to drunk drivers, and a jury in Tennessee obliged – handing down a $9.25 million verdict against a man who drove while intoxicated and slammed into another car driven by a high school honor student. The Chatanooga jury…
September 15, 2012
Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:
Summer Infant Recalls to Repair Baby Bathers Due to Fall and Head Injury Hazard - 2 million
Mr. Coffee Single Cup Brewers Recalled by JCS Due to Burn Hazard - 520,000…
September 12, 2012
Rebecca Fielding remembered screaming aloud because it was taking so long for her to get a C-section to deliver her baby at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. She went to the hospital after her baby got stuck following an attempt to give birth at home using a midwife. She was told while…
September 08, 2012
Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:
DeVilbiss Air Power Co Recalls Air Compressors Due to Fire Hazard - 460,000
Meijer Stores Recalls Bicycles Due to Fall Hazard - About 68,000
BatteriesPlus Expands Recall…
September 05, 2012
A former Iowa State University employee who informed his bosses about suspected theft by a school director and then was harassed by his superiors, was awarded $1.25 million in what news reports called the first case tried under Iowa’s whistleblower statute. Dennis Smith, who worked in the ISU…