Abramson, Brown & Dugan Attorneys

A report made public this week by the Shumlin Administration recommends against the state adopting a "no fault" medical malpractice liability system.  The "no fault" system, similar to one adopted in New Zealand, would not effectively limit healthcare costs, according to the study.

According to www.vtdigger.org, "Robin Lunge, director of health care reform for the Shumlin administration, said the report found that the connection between tort reform and increased health care costs is not as strong as some may think.

“The research we found hasn’t found a strong correlation between tort reform and reductions in defensive medicine,” she said.

 

As the US healthcare system moves toward a paperless, electronic medical records system, some have advocated for a universal patient identifier (UPI) system in which every medical patient is identified by the assigned number. 

Proponents for such a system include Dr. Michael F. Collins, a board certified phsyician in internal medicine and chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who writes in favor of such a plan in the Wall St. Journal. 

Dr. Collins argues, "An ID system 'could be the safest and most efficient way to manage health-care data."

Yet, others worry about the privacy rights of patients.  Dr. Deborah C. Peel writes in the same article, "Yes, assigning everyone a universal patient identifier, or UPI, would improve doctors' ability to share information and make it easier for hospitals to differentiate one John Smith from another. But a universal health ID system would empower government and corporations to exploit the single biggest flaw in health-care technology today: Patients can't control who sees, uses and sells their sensitive health data." Dr. Peel is a psychiatrist and a health privacy expert in Texas.

While patient privacy is an important concern, patient safety is the highest concern and if, as Dr. Collins argues, a UPI would make healthcare safer for all involved, that is an avenue that should be explored.

Recently, my colleague Holly Haines blogged about a medical error report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services which suggested that only 14% of medical errors are actually reported.  In this post, I hope to continue that discussion by reviewing the HHS report in light of a 2010 report concerning incidents of medical errors in Medicaid patients. 

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "The earlier report looked at a random sample of Medicare patient hospital stays in just one month, October 2008. It found that 13.5 percent of the patients were harmed seriously, sometimes fatally. Examples of adverse events include internal abdominal bleeding caused by anticoagulant medications, hospital-acquired infections and failure to prevent bed sores from progressing to severe. An equal number of the Medicare patients suffered temporary harm — including delirium and hallucinations from narcotic pain medications, diarrhea from antibiotics and bleeding and bruising at the site of an IV insertion. Reviewing physicians judged 44 percent of the incidents as "clearly preventable" or "likely preventable." The cost of treating the adverse and temporary harm events, the report projected, was about $4.4 billion annually — and this involved only Medicare patients. Other studies have projected unacceptably high rates of medical errors among other populations of hospital patients."

When taken together, the two reports reveal a disturbing persistence and prevalence in medical errors.  Some of this may be attributable to a stubborn unwillingness on the part of hospital personnel to take steps to change the culture.  It's certainly true that the technology is available to help avoid preventable medical errors.  Yet, the technology can't overcome a human unwillingness to change attitudes about medical errors and their prevention.

A Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that a doctor may be liable for failing to diagnose a potentially fatal form of cancer while it was still treatable.  The appellate court finding marks a reversal of a lower court ruling. 

The medical malpractice lawsuit concerns Dr. Rachel Tollefsrud and her alleged failure to timely diagnose a bump on Jocelyn Dickhoff, an infant, as stage IV alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma -- a rare muscular cancer that had already spread to other parts of her body. 

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Tollefsrud and Family Practice moved to throw out the Dickhoffs' suit, arguing that the malpractice claim was for "reduced chance of life" because the allegations refer to a "shortened life expectancy" and "deprivation of normal life expectancy." Reduced-chance claims are not recognized in Minnesota.

The Dickhoffs countered that the claim is not barred as a reduced-chance claim because medical malpractice claims are permissible when a physician's negligence causes a patient's chances of survival to fall below 50 percent.

In the 13-page appeals court order, Judge Thomas Kalitowski reasoned that because Jocelyn's chances of survival are so low, the case involves "improbable-survival" rather than a "reduced-chance" of survival," which is permissible.

"We believe that the supreme court did not intend to completely foreclose the possibility of malpractice actions for negligent cancer-misdiagnosis cases involving a lengthy illness with a potentially fatal outcome," he wrote.

A dental malpractice lawsuit has been filed by the parents of a teenage girl who died after a botched wisdom tooth removal surgery.  The lawsuit has been filed against the oral surgeon and the anesthesiologist. 

According to media reports, "The suit claims that Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs, the anesthesiologist, and Dr. Domenick Coletti, the oral surgeon, were negligent in their care of Olenick and failed to resuscitate her after her heart rate slowed to a "panic level" of 40 beats per minute and her body began losing oxygen."

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland investigated the death and found that "central cause of death was hypoxia — a deprivation of oxygen — that occurred while Olenick was anesthetized during the procedure. 

According to Dr. David Fowler, the state's chief medical examiner, Olenick was first given a standard dose of anesthesia during the procedure that did not "get her deep enough so she was fully anesthetized."

More anesthesia was then administered by Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs, the anesthesiologist, which was also standard procedure, Fowler said in an interview.

At approximately 8:05 a.m., Olenick began to experience bradycardia, or a slowing of her heart rate, according to the lawsuit.

"A little while later, the oxygen saturation in her blood started dropping," Fowler said.

Shortly thereafter, according to the autopsy report, Olenick went into hypoxic arrest. Emergency responders were called and advanced cardiovascular life support protocol was initiated by Isaacs, according to an expert witness assessment attached to the lawsuit.

Kaiser Health News recently published an enlightening article written by a medical safety expert concerning his own experience with three different hospitals after his wife was seriously injured in a bicycle accident.  His insights are particularly valuable for those of us who want to take an active role in avoiding medical errors, particularly in our own care or the care of a loved one.

Michael L. Millenson is a Highland Park, Illinois-based consultant, a visiting scholar at the Kellogg School of Management and the author of Demanding Medical Excellence: Doctors and Accountability in the Information Age.

Millenson is an expert in medical safety and perhaps better equipped than most of us to deal with the anxiety and stress involved in assisting with the care of a loved one in a hospital setting.  However, he makes some basic points all of us can take into account if and when we are confronted with a similar situation.

The book Death by Medicine makes some startling claims about the severity of medical errors in our country.  According to the authors, the problem is analogous to six jumbo jet crashing to the ground and killing every one on a daily basis. That's over a million deaths each year that are attributable to medical intervention that went awry.

According to the Star Phoenix, "Citing reports in prominent medical journals, the authors summarize premature deaths annually from a variety of causes: 420,000 from adverse drug reactions within hospitals alone - 115,000 from hospital bedsores, 99,000 from hospital infections - 108,800 within nursing homes, 199,000 from outpatient clinics, 37,136 due to unnecessary procedures and 32,000 from surgery."

The numbers are epidemic in proportion and require immediate attention if the problem is to be rectified.  Such a situation is thoroughly unacceptable in a civil society that considers itself technologically advanced.

 

KTLA of Los Angeles reported today that medication errors are on the rise in hospitals and pharmacies in the United States.  According to the news report 1.5 million Americans are injured or killed each year due to a medication error. 

Later this week the Institute of Medicine is preparing to publish a report on information technology, electronic health records, and patient safety.

The Candadian Broadcasting Corporation has just reported this afternoon that two drugs with similar names have been involved in medication errors.

"Since January, a total of five Canadian cases involving drug name mix-ups between Pradax and Plavix have been reported, including one patient who had non-serious bleeding after a medical procedure.

There have also been two reports of concerns raised by health care professionals about potential for confusion because the names of the two drugs are similar.

Receiving Pradax instead of Plavix or vice versa may result in harm, including increased risk of bleeding, stroke, heart attack or blood clots, Health Canada said."

While none of this is good news, at least it's being reported so that health officials can take steps to correct the errors.

An Indiana widower will have an opportunity to challenge the state's cap on medical malpractice damage awards that's been law since 1975.  The appeals court ruling will allow Timothy Plank to challenge the constitutionality of the state law.  Plank filed a lawsuit after his wife died at Community North Hospital.  According to the lawsuit, his wife Debbie died after doctors waited too long to perform intestinal surgery.

In 2009, a jury awarded Plank $8.5 million, $7.25 million more than the state's cap on malpractice damages allows.

Consumer advocates are hailing it a major victory for Illinois residents.  The Physician Profile is back up and running.  The profile gives information, including medical malpractice lawsuits, about thousands of physicians and chiropractors practicing in the state of Illinois. 

Such public databases allow ordinary citizens critical information that allows them to make informed decisions about their healthcare choices. 

According to the Chicago Tribune, "Before it went dark in 2010, the website drew more than 150,000 hits weekly. The Illinois Medical Society took a neutral stand on the law that brought back the site, arguing that it should have been wrapped into larger legislation governing the practice of medicine."

A West Virginia jury has awarded $4,000,000 to the family of a woman who died as a result of a heart attack that was not diagnosed in an emergency room.

On February 11, 2009, 43-year-old Terry Hiam was taken to the emergency room at Wheeling  Hospital complaining of chest pain.  The emergency room doctor, Dr. Stephen Heirendt, discharged her with the diagnosis of chest pain of unclear origin and bronchitis.  Eleven days later, she was found at home in an unresponsive state and pronounced dead at a hospital. 

The jury found that the emergency room doctor failed to correctly diagnose the signs of an imminent heart attack which resulted in Hiam's untimely death.

Bryan Santana was born with no legs and one arm.  Bryan's parents sued Dr. Marie Morel, OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches and Perinatal Specialists of the Palm Beaches for failure to inform them that their son would be born with such defects.  According to the lawsuit, "Morel and an ultrasound technician failed to properly examine Mejia during the pregnancy or they would have detected the missing limbs. The doctor and technician signed off on an examination report that they had seen all four limbs during the ultrasound."

As a result of the birth defects, Bryan will need prosthetic limbs and significant medical care throughout his life. 

Florida is one of 25 states in the country that allows wrongful birth malpractice lawsuits which allow parents to sue healthcare providers for failure to properly warn them about serious genetic or congenital abnormalities prior to birth.  Such suits allege that the failure to warn prevents parents from making fully informed decisions about a pregnancy.

The office manager at Advanced Women's Care of the Lowcountry in Hilton Head South Carolina has pleaded guilty to the purchase of intrauterine medical devices that were not approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration.  Jason Pampucha plead guilty and was sentenced to two years probation for the criminal offense.

According to court records, some of the intrauterine devices were inserted into female patients.  Local media reports that, "From June 2008 to November 2009, Pampucha, who purchased supplies for the practice, ordered Mirena brand IUDs from a Canadian supplier, according to the indictment by the Attorney General's Office.

The IUDs were then placed in patients at Advanced Women's Care, some of whom were Medicaid recipients, the indictment said. It was unclear how many patients received the IUDs.

Advanced Women's Care billed the S.C. Medicaid Program for the IUDs, and the Medicaid program reimbursed the practice $37,287, the indictment states."

A British teenager was permanently paralyzed after an epidural anesthetic was left in her spine for too long.  The hospital, Birmingham Children's Hospital, admitted the medical error after the painkiller was left in her back for two days. 

Sophie Tyler was 14 when she entered the hospital to undergo routine surgery to remove gallstones. "My daughter's life has completely changed as a result of what happened," said Sophie's mother Sue. "From being an outgoing teenager, her life has altered overnight and we have all had to come to terms with what has happened."

The hurricane forecast models point to a rough weekend for the Granite State.  Now is the time to make all your preparations for Hurricane Irene which is expected to hit New England over the weekend.  In preparing for the hurricane, make sure to have plenty of bottled water, flashlights, batteries, and non-perishable food items in case electricity is unavailable for any extended period of time.  It's also a good idea to have cash available in case ATM machines aren't working.  Today is also an appropriate time to fill your vehicle's gas tank. 

Make sure to check around the outside of your home and secure patio furniture and other items that can become projectiles in a bad windstorm.  If you're in an evacuation zone, make plans for your pets as well. 

Finally, follow all instructions from law enforcement authorities, fire, and safety officials.  Let's make sure we're all careful this weekend!

Pitocin, a synthetic form of oxytocin, is administered in some birth scenarios in order to induce or quicken labor.  While the drug may be beneficial in certain delivery situations, it can be a dangerous drug for both the mother and the child if administered incorrectly.  Too much Pitocin may lead to the following birth-related injuries: uterine rupture, post-birth hemorrhage, neonatal hypoxia, fetal asphyxia, cerebral palsy, brain injury, paralysis, and still birth.

In cases where Pitocin is administered, healthcare professionals must use electronic fetal monitoring since the drug may cause fetal distress.  Because the drug quickens vaginal contractions, it also lessens the blood flow and oxygen to the fetus.

The use of Pitocin requires expert monitoring of the mother and fetus as well as careful administration of the drug.  Pitocin errors may lead to irreversible injuries to both mother and child.

According to the Orange County Register, five months ago, Public Citizen's Dr. Sidney Wolfe wrote a letter to the executive director of the Medical Board of California, Linda Whitney.  In the letter, Wolfe wrote that a review of the National Practitioner Data Bank between 1990 and 2009 revealed that 710 physicians who'd had their medical priviledges restricted due to incompence and/or medical malpractice, were never disciplined.  Of the 710 physicians, 102 of them posed an "immediate threat to the health and safety of patients". 

In April, an attorney for the Board responded to Wolfe's letter by stating, "Resources permitting, the board will endeavor to respond to your requests, as it is always interested in improving public protection."  Yet, the Board has not even requested the names of the physicians which are readily available from the database.  So, Wolfe decided to take the matter directly to Governor Brown.  According to the Register, Wolfe wrote,

• –the medical board is not protecting California patients from hundreds of doctors with proven poor records
• –California's performance in reviewing and disciplining bad doctors has slipped substantially in the last 13 years.  In 1997 it was 18th in the country in disciplining bad doctors but today it ranks among the lower half of U.S. states.

"I hope, because of the threat posed to California patients by such dangerously inadequate medical board activity, you will order an independent investigation of these serious problems," Wolfe wrote.

Here's what Public Citizen found as published by the Orange County Register:

• –A physician identified only as number 2111 had three clinical privilege actions taken against him by hospitals in 2007 and 2008, including a permanent loss of privileges.  He also had eight medical malpractice payouts between 1991 and 2008 totaling some $2 million,
• –Physician number 3869 also lost his privileges permanently at his hospital because he was considered an "Immediate Threat to Health or Safety."  This docter had six medical malpractices payouts totalling $454,000 between 1992 and 2008.  One of his patients suffered major permanent injury.
• –Physician 5039 lost hospital privileges in 1991 and had 15 medical malpractice payouts between 1993 and 2009 totalling $1.9 million. Those include two cases of foreign objects left inside a patioent, two cases of improper performance, and one patient who suffered significant permanent injury.  Like the others, there was no Medical Board of California action taken against this physician as of December 2009.

These are egregious breaches of safety protocols and California patients are the ones who suffer because governmental agencies have failed to respond.  Let's hope Governor Brown decides to act before more innocent lives are affected.

A medical malpractice trial ended abruptly after three days of testimony with a confidential settlement.  The medical malpractice trial set to enter its fourth day of testimony concerned brain injuries suffered by a young boy under the care of a home health nurse. 

According to the lawsuit 2 year old Jonas Lopez suffered irreversible brain damage when his breathing tube became clogged with mucus.  Jonas had been born premature and needed respiratory assistance to breath normally.  The blocked breathing tube prevented oxygen from reaching his brain.  Rather than replace the breathing tube, the nurse called 911 and Jonas was left unable to breathe for approximately ten minutes until paramedics arrived and restored his breathing.  By that time, the toddler had suffered permanent brain damage that will leave him disabled and unable to care for himself for the rest of his life.

According to a local media report, the family sued the nurse, her employer and the healthcare company.  The settlement was announced last Thursday morning after the jury had heard testimony from seven witnesses including medical experts and Jonas' mother.

In the wake of a recent Delaware case concerning a physician who sexually abused his minor patients, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy document designed to protect children and increase community awareness.

”Any sexual abuse of children by medical providers is a profound betrayal of their responsibility for patient well-being, trust, and medical ethics,” the policy states.

The Academy's document provides guidelines for physicians regarding proper patient boundaries as well as reporting requirements when they suspect a colleague has been abusing patients.  The policy directive also provides helpful information for parents so that they can better protect their children.

The Delaware case involved Dr. Earl Bradley who was convicted on 14 counts of first-degree rape and five counts each of second-degree assault and sexual exploitation of a child. Prosecutors said Bradley recorded homemade videos of sex crimes against more than 80 victims, most of them female toddlers.

 

It used to be that good grades and high scores on the MCAT assured a prospective medical school student entrance into a decent medical school.  Now, some medical schools are requiring more.  According to a front page article today in the NY Times, some schools such as Stanford and UCLA are requiring future doctors to undergo an MMI or multiple mini interview which is designed to examine how such applicants deal with human interaction as well as basic social skills. Already, there are 8 such medical schools requiring these exams in the US.

For too long, patients as well as co-workers have endured the irascible doctor who doesn't work well with others or communicate well with patients.  That appears to be changing and it has more to do with the quality of patient care than just improving civility in the medical facility.  Studies have shown that strong, effective communication and teamwork significantly improve the quality of care. 

In their interview with the NY Times, administrators at the new medical school Virginia Tech Carillon noted the importance of such testing.  "Virginia Tech Carilion administrators said they created questions that assessed how well candidates think on their feet and how willing they are to work in teams. The most important part of the interviews are often not candidates’ initial responses — there are no right or wrong answers — but how well they respond when someone disagrees with them, something that happens when working in teams.

Candidates who jump to improper conclusions, fail to listen or are overly opinionated fare poorly because such behavior undermines teams. Those who respond appropriately to the emotional tenor of the interviewer or ask for more information do well in the new admissions process because such tendencies are helpful not only with colleagues but also with patients.

“We are trying to weed out the students who look great on paper but haven’t developed the people or communication skills we think are important,” said Dr. Stephen Workman, associate dean for admissions and administration at Virginia Tech Carilion.

This is a positive step in the right direction for improving healthcare in this country.

A Maine jury has awarded the family of Hannah Tilton $3 million for a botched birth that led to severe and permanent birth injuries.  The jury found that midwife Irene Meyers breached the standard of care that directly resulted in the birth injuries suffered by Hannah Tilton who is now 10 years old but confined to a wheelchair.  Hannah is blind and uses a feeding tube for sustenance. 

According to the Sun Journal, "The jury awarded Tilton about nearly $2.3 million for future medical and health care expenses, plus $345,000 for past medical expenses and $500,000 for the girl's permanent impairment and loss of enjoyment of life."

The Board of Registration in Medicine, the Massachusetts' agency that regulates the practice of physicians in the state, has disciplined two doctors. 

The Board decided to permanently restrict Dr. Kathaleen Porter, a Natick surgeon, from performing surgery unless assisting another surgeon.  The Board took the action against Porter after finding “a pattern of practice that calls into question her competence to perform surgery as a primary surgeon."  Porter's surgeries have resulted in the deaths of two patients. 

In other Board action, the agency found that Dr. Nicolas Pacella had been writing prescriptions for fictitious patients in order to obtain drugs for his own consumption.  According to the Boston Globe, "The board indefinitely suspended his license, but the suspension was postponed because Pacella agreed to enter a probation agreement requiring that he be monitored until at least 2014, maintain sobriety, and complete additional continuing medical education credits in the area of proper prescribing practices."  Pacella is a pediatrician who practices in Worcester.

A Boston area medical device company, Philips Healthcare, has recalled a ventilation device used to measure exhaled C02 in infants.  The recall was prompted after Philips was informed by the manufacturer, Oridion Systems Ltd., about defects in the medical device. 

The device recall was necessary because plastic strands from the venitilation device may become dislodged, enter the airway adapter, and be inhaled by the patient. 

According to the Boston Business Journal, "Affected products include Philips FilterLine H Set and VitaLine H Set Microstream carbon dioxide (CO2) sampling lines shipped from November 2010 through March 2011."

While there have been no reports of injury, inhalation of the plastic may cause the respiratory system to be compromised which could lead to serious injury or death.

Laser Spine Institute has been the subject of 15 malpractice suits since 2009, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.  The Institute promises quick and effective recovery from back problems with no overnight hospital stay required.  However, medical colleagues question the efficacy of such procedures as well as the price-such procedures can cost up to $30,000, more than double the price of a traditional spinal procedure.

Nine surgeons told Bloomberg Businessweek the company is doing surgery that is often unnecessary or inappropriate. The evidence that ablation helps patients is "pretty weak," says Dr. Roger Chou, a physician at the Oregon Health & Science University and director of the American Pain Society's clinical guidelines program. "Even in studies showing some benefit, the benefit is small and doesn't last," Chou says.

Laser Spine Institute is part of a booming business trend in ambulatory care centers where such back surgeries are the centerpiece of their services.  The Institute promises back relief through the use of lasers to burn off, or ablate, sensitive nerve endings followed by a disc "decompression" that removes material or bone that presses on nerves.

One health insurance company, Aetna, refuses to cover such procedures and Cigna doesn't cover the laser technique used by Laser Spine Institute.

Critics believe such ambulatory care centers are nothing more than profit centers that promise medical results that aren't supported by medical science or research.

In March, The New England Journal of Medicine published data on the relation between decreased nursing staff and mortality rates in hospitals.  They noted, "In this retrospective observational study, staffing of RNs below target levels was associated with increased mortality, which reinforces the need to match staffing with patients' needs for nursing care."  They concluded that a reduction in hospital staff was related to an increase in patient mortality.

In a Health Affairs blog post published yesterday, authors Michael Long and Sandeep Green Vaswani argued that the current hospital model of a 5-day work week is simply not sustainable.  It's also dangerous for patients who receive demonstrably inferior care on the weekends.  The authors also note that the 5-day model puts undue pressure on hospital staff during the week because they have to get everything done during that shortened period. 

Long and Vaswani advocate a change in how hospitals provide their healthcare services.  Such a change would undoubtedly improve the quality of care hospital patients receive.  It would also decrease medical errors which were estimated to be $17.1 billion in 2008.

A recent story in the NY Times highlighted the present state of healthcare in this country.  It noted that health insurance carriers plan to raise premiums in spite of the fact that they are making record proftis.  At the same time, consumers are choosing not to receive healthcare because of the perceived economic burden. 

According to the NY Times, "Yet the companies continue to press for higher premiums, even though their reserve coffers are flush with profits and shareholders have been rewarded with new dividends. Many defend proposed double-digit increases in the rates they charge, citing a need for protection against any sudden uptick in demand once people have more money to spend on their health, as well as the rising price of care."

The healthcare industry should be focused on the quality of care offered to patients.  However, it seems the trend is just the opposite.  Insurance companies make their healthcare decisions based on their own financial bottom line rather than the interests of their patients.  Tort reform can't fix this problem.  This can only be fixed if insurance companies are forced to change their business priorities.

Worcester Superior Court Judge John S. McCann approved a $7 million settlement arising from a birth injury medical malpractice case.  According to the Worcester Telegram, "In their 2008 lawsuit against two doctors, a nurse practitioner and a genetic counselor, Ran Zhuang and her husband, Zhiru Guo, both from the Peoples Republic of China, alleged that Ms. Zhuang was not provided proper prenatal genetic counseling before giving birth on Nov. 11, 2007, at UMass Memorial Medical Center — Memorial Campus to a baby girl with cri-du-chat, also known as cat cry syndrome."  The lack of information and subsequent inability to make an informed decision about the pregnancy was the crux of the medical malpractice case.

A Northampton County Pennsylvania jury awarded Carol Renna $400,000 for damages she suffered as a result of the negligence of her doctor.  The jury found that Dr. Mark Schadt was negligent in the medical care he provided for Ms. Renna who eventually underwent a radical mastectomy on her right breast and a simple mastectomy on her left breast. 

According to court documents cited in Lehigh Valley Live's report of the medical malpractice jury verdict, Carol Renna discovered two masses in her breasts and was referred to Dr. Schadt.  She saw Dr. Schadt in May 2004 who performed a fine-needle aspiration biopsy in order to determine if the masses were cancerous.  The results came back negative.  Renna returned to Dr. Schadt again in March 2005 for another exam.  This time the results were positive for cancer.  On April 25, 2005, Carol Renna learned that she had invasive carcinoma stage III.

During the course of the trial, Renna's attorneys argued that Dr. Schadt should have been more diligent in his care by performing a more complete biopsy that would have provided a larger tissue sample.  The jury agreed with them and awarded Carol Renna $400,000.

With a 7-0 vote, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the appeal of a 73-year old woman whose breast cancer was not diagnosed in spite of annual breast exams.  The trial court dismissed the lawsuit in 2009 but the 9th District Court of Appeals reversed that decision.  Ohio's highest court agreed with the appellate court meaning Lonna Loudin's medical malpractice will come back to Judge Lynne Callahan's courtroom. 

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown authored Wednesday's ruling. 

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, ''There is no requirement in Ohio that a physical injury in a traditional negligence case cause pain or otherwise manifest itself so that the plaintiff is aware of its presence and deleterious effect at all times,'' McGee Brown wrote.

''Whether the cancer is left undiagnosed to advance to the point of necessitating the removal of an organ, a limb, a breast, or a larger lump, the destruction of additional healthy cells and increased number of cancer cells are physical injuries, not mere physical change.''

Medication errors that cause injuries have jumped from 1.2 million in 2002 to 1.9 million in 2009 according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.  These types of errors may either be errors in dosage or drug errors where the wrong drug is administered. 

The data reported by AHRQ only consists in those errors that are reported due to an emergency room or hospital visit. 

A 2006 Institute of Medicine report noted that the most common medical error is medication errors which costs $3.5 billion in lost wages, lost productivity, and added medcial expenses.

According to the NY Times, "The committee said the problem could be solved with improvements in communication between health care professionals and patients, as well as the creation of consumer-friendly information resources for patients to obtain drug information. The report called for more electronic prescriptions and said better naming, labeling and packaging of many drugs was needed to reduce confusion and prevent errors.

The A.H.R.Q. data showed that among patients who were admitted to the hospital after taking the wrong type or dose of a drug, the most common medications to cause side effects or injuries were corticosteroids. The drugs typically are used to treat asthma, ulcerative colitis or arthritis."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released its latest data concerning medical errors and injuries that occur in hospitals.  CMS began reporting hospital-specific rates of eight hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), so patients can compare how often the nation's 4,700 hospitals make preventable medical errors. 

The eight conditions are foreign object retained after surgery, air embolism, blood incompatibility, stage III and IV pressure ulcers, falls and trauma, vascular catheter-associated infection, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and manifestations of poor glycemic control.

CMS has been reporting such data on its website since 2007.  The publication of the data has met with resistance from hospitals as well as the American Hospital Association.  However, CMS contends that such data is vital for consumers who must make informed decisions about their own healthcare choices.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 13.5% of Medicaid recipients who are hospitalized experience an adverse event such as a medical error.

Three days into the birth injury medical malpractice case involving their brain damaged son Jose, the Ordonez family decided to resolve it for $8.5 million.  Jose, now 5 years old, still suffers from seizures, is unable to see, walk, or even hold his head up, will need medical care the rest of his life as a result of the severe brain damage he suffered during his birth process.

On August 14, 2005, Jose's mother Emily entered the Bayonne Medical Center to deliver a newborn.  Initially, all signs pointed to a healthy and normal birth.  According to NJ.com,

"But at 9:32 a.m., the heart monitor attached to her abdomen showed the baby's heart suddenly plunged from 140 beats per minute to the dangerously low level of 60 beats per minute, according to court records and trial testimony.  Telephone records show the labor and delivery room nurse waited almost half an hour before calling the attending obstetrician and when he arrived from Staten Island 22 minutes later, he waited until 10:55 a.m. to start an emergency Cesarean section, a procedure that took four minutes."

The low heart rate was caused by the baby's compressed umbilical chord.  As a result, the baby was oxygen deprived which led to the brain damage.

A new study conducted by The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses partnered with VitalSmarts, a corporate training and organizational performance consulting firm to determine how a lack of communication among healthcare professionals leads to medical errors.  The study, which was to be released March 22, 2011, is entitled "The Silent Treatment". 

The study found that nurses often do not communicate their concerns when they witness a medical error or a safety mistake. 

According to an article published in US News & World Report about the new study, "About 85 percent of nurses said a safety measure had warned them about a problem that might have been missed and could have resulted in patient harm. However, 58 percent of these workers admitted that even though they received the warning, they failed to speak up and solve the problem.

More than 80 percent of nurses said they had concerns about three "undiscussable" issues demonstrated by colleagues: dangerous shortcuts, incompetence and disrespect, the investigators found."

While patient safety can be improved through the better use of technology, nothing replaces good communication between healthcare professionals. 

"The report confirms that tools don't create safety; people do. Safety tools will never compensate for communication failures in the hospital," David Maxfield, vice president of research at VitalSmarts and lead researcher of the study, said in a news release from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Health insurance companies have been very adept at convincing consumers and doctors that insurance premiums continue to rise because of the number of medical malpractice lawsuits.  Their argument leads to the conclusion that insurance premiums will stabilize or fall if medical malpractice lawsuits are restricted or prohibited.  That's a neat argument that's worked as a public relations ploy.  However, the facts don't support the conclusion.

Let's take a look at personal health insurance premiums.  In the first nine months of 2010, insurance companies made a substantial profit of $9.3 billion collectively.  That's a 41% increase in profits from the previous year.  So, why do premiums continue to rise?

Let's now look at malpractice premiums.  According to the American Association for Justice, medical malpractice insurance companies' profits are higher than 99% of Fortune 500 companies. 

The AAJ findings conclude that, "Malpractice insurers have seen their profit margins range from 5.9 percent to 74.8 percent, with an average of 31.2 percent. The report also finds that malpractice insurers have publicly overestimated their losses and underestimated their profits in an attempt to suggest the insurance business and medical practice in general faces a crisis that must be resolved by so-called “tort reform” — i.e., making it harder for patients to sue and to collect damages for their injuries."

In spite of Congressional hearings about CT scan overradiations and a Food and Drug Administration final report discussing the dangers of CT scan overradiation, a federal report shows that a West Virginia hospital continued to administer excess radiation to CT scan patients suspect of suffering strokes.  Officials at Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington West Virginia knew about of the excess radiation cases but didn't publicly disclose the problem until the NY Times called the hospital late last week.  The hospital issued a news release about the problem within hours of being contacted by the Times. 

CT scan excess radiation has been well documented the past year.  The NY Times ran a front-page story last year concerning patients who've been injured by overradiation.  According to the NY Times, "Problems with the procedure, called a CT brain perfusion scan, first began to surface in the summer of 2009 at Cedars-Sinai, and then later at several other hospitals. These errors set off an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration into why patients tested with this complex yet lightly regulated technology were being overradiated.

The Food and Drug Administration’s final report, issued Nov. 9, 2010, said that most of the overdoses were a result of user error. However, it also said that manufacturers should do a better job of training and educating those who use their equipment and that their machines should have a more effective way of warning operators when radiation levels are too high."

A Florida jury has awarded Paul McGowan $9.3 million in damages after McGowan was injured by a defective surgical stapler, the CDH 29 manufactured by Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc.  The stapler is used in many gastro-intestinal surgeries.  The jury found for Mr. McGowan and his contention that the surgical stapler was defective and caused his severe injuries. 

During the trial, evidence was presented from third-party sources that Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, knew the product was defective but continued to use it anyway and not inform consumers or surgeons of the product's dangers.

You're going in for elective surgery and following all the pre-operative procedures.  You make sure everything is in place.  You have your diet, your travel plans, even your post-operative needs covered.  One last thing you've probably neglected-is your surgeon sleep deprived?  It's a question that most overlook and don't consider prior to undergoing elective surgery.  Yet, it's an important question given that there's an 83% risk in an increased risk of complications in patients who undergo elective daytime surgical procedures performed by attending surgeons who had less than a 6-hour opportunity for sleep between procedures during a previous on-call night.  That figure has been published in December 2010's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The three authors, all of whom hold MD degrees, raise the question whether patients have the right to know if their surgeons have had a sufficient amount of rest prior to their surgery.  It's a legitimate question that is not asked because of the economic consequences.  Yet, medical errors occur at an alarmingly high rate when surgeons are sleep deprived.  It's worth looking into, don't you think?

The parents of a child who suffered a debilitating brain injury during the birth process has filed a lawsuit against Protestant Memorial Medical Center doing business as Memorial Hospital and Dr. Michael E. Herrmann.  The birth injury lawsuit contends that Sophia Schneider suffered hypoxic brain injury during the delivery process.  The lawsuit also claims that Sophia Schneider has developed cerebral palsy as a result of the birth injury. 

According to a news report in the Madison-St. Clair Record, "The Schneiders blame Herrmann of Memorial Hospital for causing their daughter's injuries, saying he negligently ruptured membranes when her head was engaged before her birth and failed to utilize inutero resuscitation maneuvers and prepare for an immediate C-section in a scenario of prolonged deceleration."

Triad Alcohol Prep Pads, Alcohol Swabs, and Alcohol Swabsticks are being recalled because they may be contaminated with Bacillus cereus, which could lead to life threatening infections for those whose immune systems are suppressed and post-operative patients. 

The recalled medical products are primarily used to disinfect an area of the body prior to an injection.  The recalled products can be identified either by Triad listed on the package as the manufacturer or such third-party companies listed in the recall notice as: Cardinal Health, PSS Select, VersaPro, Boca/ Ultilet, Moore Medical, Walgreens, CVS, Conzellin.  Both sterile and non-sterile products are affected by the recall.

Since September 2010, three surgical errors occurred at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.  The spine surgery errors happened when the surgeons miscounted the patient's vertebrae and operated directly above or below the correct area of the spine.  Two of the operations were performed by the same surgeon.  The names of the two surgeons who committed the surgical errors were not released by the hospital.  The hospital has been cited by both federal and state health inspectors as a result of the medical errors.  Safety protocols did not prevent the medical errors and hospital officials have vowed to improved the safety measures in order to avoid future surgical errors.

Medical malpractice studies reveal that we have an urgent patient safety problem in this country.  Recent data compiled by the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services published these figures just last month:

“Of the nearly 1 million Medicare beneficiaries discharged from hospitals in October 2008, about 1 in 7 experienced an adverse event that met at least 1 of our criteria (13.5 percent). This rate projects to an estimated 134,000 Medicare beneficiaries experiencing at least 1 adverse event in hospitals during the 1-month study period.  An estimated 1.5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced an event that contributed to their deaths, which projects to 15,000 patients in a single month."

These are alarming numbers and should give pause to all of us.  There is a real and mounting healthcare safety crisis in this country. 

The National Quality Forum has issued its most recent electronic newsletter calling on the healthcare industry to coordinate and collaborate in its healthcare measures in the interest of patient safety.  The Forum estimates that in a 5 day hospital stay the average patient is passed between doctors 15 times.  This may lead to miscommunication, misinterpretation of test results, and diagnostic errors.  In this dizzying maze of healthcare providers, the patient is confronted with an arrange of opinions and diagnoses that may conflict with other opinions and diagnoses.  The patient is not provided with a coordinated, thoughtful plan of diagnosis and treatment.  In this atmosphere, there is often very little dialogue with the patient or family members about the diagnosis and treatment options.  This can lead to medical errors and misdiagnoses. 

In 2006, The National Quality Forum offered the following as goals for the improvement of coordinated healthcare:

• Improve care and achieve quality by facilitating and carefully considering feedback from all patients regarding coordination of their care;
• Improve communication around medication information;
• Work to reduce 30-day readmission rates; and
• Work to reduce preventable emergency department (ED) visits by 50 percent.

These goals would improve the quality of healthcare for patients in circumstances where they are being treated by a number of physicians and healthcare providers.  These are implementable goals toward which the entire healthcare community should be striving.

An estimated 15,000 Medicare patients die each month from a lack of proper healthcare in hospitals.  That's not a typographical error, it's actually 15, 000 per month. A release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality called the news "alarming".  I would call it shocking and absolutely unacceptable.  The study, the first of its kind aimed at calculating adverse events in hospitals, found that these deaths occur from a lack of basic patient care.  The injuries resulting in the deaths include bed sores, infections and excessive bleeding from blood-thinning drugs.  These medical errors are completely preventable. 

According to the article published in USA Today, the results "tell us exactly what some of us have been afraid of, that we have not made much progress," said Arthur Levin, director of the independent Center for Medical Consumers and a member of an Institute of Medicine committee that wrote a landmark 1999 report on medical errors. "What more do we have to do to make sure that sick people can rest assured that they're not going to be harmed by the care they're getting?"

WebMD is reporting a new study that links high bisphenol A (BPA) levels in urine to lower sperm count.  The study is the first of its kind to link BPA with lower sperm count in humans.

Bisphenol A is a ubiquitous chemical used as a hardening agent in plastic containers such as baby bottles, plastic food containers, and toys.  The chemical has been banned in some countries, and Canada placed the chemical on its list of toxic chemicals.

According to the WebMD article, the new study is important because of the chemical's effect on humans, especially the male reproductive system.  The evidence against the use of BPA continues to mount.

"This study clearly shows that BPA exposures adversely affect men in a serious way: by influencing their semen quality, which could have obvious impacts on their ability to have children," Laura N. Vandenberg, PhD, of the department of biology at Tufts University in Boston, says in an email.

"This study also shows that adult men are sensitive to BPA, and even small amounts of the chemical can have pretty drastic effects," she says. "What remains to be seen is whether the effects of BPA on semen quality are permanent after the kinds of low, chronic exposures that most adults experience."

While I've known many children get injured in ATV accidents, I wasn't aware of the grim statistics until today.  According to a study conducted by The Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health there's been a 150% increase in serious ATV accidents involving children from 1999 until 2006.  That's a staggering statistic that should give us all pause.

The study found that 4,039 children were hospitalized due to an ATV accident in 2006.  That number has increased from 1,618 in 1999.  Of these injuries, 31.7% of them involved traumatic brain injuries.  The statistics were consistent among boys and girls and in every geographical region of the country. 

Helmet use can reduce the severity of ATV injuries but many ATV riders neglect to use the safety equipment.  A little over a month ago, I posted a blog about an ATV death.  In that instance, the ATV rider was considered a top ATV racer but died due to a traumatic brain injury.

"ATVs are inherently dangerous to children because of the factors, such as large engines, heavy vehicle weight, and poor stability, due to high centers of gravity and the use of low pressure, flotation tires," the report's authors, Stephen M. Bowman and Mary E. Aitken, wrote in the Journal of Trauma.

The San Jose Business Journal has published a story about a local business that provides software to hospitals and healthcare institutions to help track medical errors and prevent them.  Quantros Inc. provides risk management software that allows hospitals to track, gather, and analyze data concerning medical errors.  According to the story, the business is growing due to the growing awareness that tracking medical errors and preventing them is an urgent need that not only affects patient safety but a hospital's financial bottom line.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has created and distributed a Surgical Safety Checklist to be used by healthcare facilities around the globe.  The checklist is written in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, and French.  It is actually three separate checklists corresponding to the three different surgical phases.  It's design is practical and to should be a key tool in every surgical procedure.  The three phases are 1)Before Induction of Anaesthesia, 2)Before Skin Incision, and 3)Before Patient Leaves the Operating Room.

Phase 1 includes the following questions to be checked off before moving to the second phase: a)Has the patient confirmed his/her identity, site, procedure, and consent? b)Is the site marked? c)Is the anaesthesia machine and medication check complete? d)Is the pulse oximeter on the patient and functioning? e)Does the patient have a known allergy, difficult airway or aspiration risk?

Phase 2 includes the following:  a)Confirm all team members have introduced themselves to the patient and their role in the procedure, b)Confirm the patient's name, procedure, and where the incision will be made, c)Anticipated Critical Events for the surgeon, anaesthetist, and the nursing team, d)Is essential imaging displayed?

The final phase concerns the immediate post-surgery checklist which includes the following: a)the nurse confirms the name of the procedure performed, b)completion of instrument, sponge and needle counts, c)specimen labeling, d)any equipment problems to be addressed, e)key concerns for the recovery of the patient.

These checklists are designed to avoid the preventable medical errors that so often lead to medical malpractice lawsuits.  When they are implemented and used properly, the patient receives better care and there's a marked reduction in medical mistakes.

An 18-year old ATV racer has died after suffering head injuries sustained in an ATV accident at the Jolly Roger Motocross Track in Lempster, NH.  According to the Union Leader, Angela Maher was ranked among the top female ATV racers in her class.  She died at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center this morning after suffering a brain stem stroke.  The accident occurred during a practice session at the Lempster track this past Saturday when she was thrown over the handlebars of her ATV.

According to a January 2010 Consumer Products Safety Commission press release, "ATVs are still causing hundreds of deaths and well over a hundred thousand injuries a year, which make them one of the most dangerous products that CPSC oversees."

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has concluded that doctors and healthcare providers who admit mistakes are not more likely to be the subject of medical malpractice lawsuits. 

"The openness and accompanying patient safety efforts may satisfy patients for whom litigation was formerly their only alternative," noted Allen Kachalia, MD, JD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who collaborated with colleagues in the study.

The insurance industry often portrays medical malpractice lawsuits as the culprit for a broken healthcare system when in fact the system is broken in part due to the number of medical errors and an intransigent system that refuses to take responsibility for those errors. 

Perhaps this new study will usher in a new spirit of transparency and dedication to patient safety.

The so-called for profit colleges are spending thousands of marketing dollars on daytime television hoping to lure the unemployed into enrolling at one of their schools.  The promises are enticing-good pay, a career, in a short period of time.  Who could resist?  It seems many have been attracted to such marketing efforts.  Yet, the federal government is now investigating the policies and practices of such schools such as Kaplan, Argosy, DeVry University and others.  A Congressional inquiry has found that at least some of these schools have encouraged prospective students to falsify admission applications as well as student aid applications.  The NY Times has reported on the plight of some students of these schools who've amassed huge student loan debt ($200,000 or more) in obtaining a degree from schools that may not be properly accredited.

It may surprise some that these for profit schools are backed by some of the largest and most influential corporations in the country namely Goldman Sachs and the Post Co. which owns the Washington Post.  It's still too early to tell where the Congressional inquiry into the for profit college industry will lead.  One can only hope that transparency and justice remain the goals of such an investigation.

The Town of Wilton Maine will hold a public hearing to consider zoning restrictions on future methadone clinics as well as medical marijuana clinics.  The restrictions would seek to limit methadone clinics to commercial and industrial zones with 500 foot setbacks from residential homes, churches, and schools.

While there are no pending methadone applications, town officials want to be proactive in dealing with the controversial drug rehab clinics.

Methadone clinics have become popular in treating various drug addictions across the country.  However, those same clinics have spurred much controversy from experts who claim that methadone is a dangerous drug that is highly addictive and potentially lethal.  Methadone has also been used to treat chronic pain in some patients.  Family physicians and nurse practitioners unfamiliar with methadone's risks are now prescribing the drug as a painkiller that's cheaper and faster in relieving pain.  A sharp rise in methadone deaths has been reported in those who've been prescribed the drug for pain relief.

 

GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil, has reportedly agreed to settle some 800 Paxil birth defect lawsuits for the sum of $1 billion.  The Paxil settlements will pay individual families approximately $1.2 million. 

The remaining 100 Paxil lawsuits include three that are set for trial later this year in Philadelphia. 

Paxil is a controversial anti-depressant drug that has been linked to birth defects in pregnant mothers who were taking the drug.  Such birth defects include cardiac problems and pulmonary hypertension.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is recalling 8 lots of its highly popular anti-clotting drug Coumadin because the quantity of the active ingredient may vary.  The recall affects more than 140,000 lots of 1 mg tablets of the anti-clotting drug.  While there have been no reports of problems associated with the recall, variations in Coumadin may have serious consequences for patients taking Coumadin after surgical procedures.  Those whose tablets contain too little of the active ingredient may be subject to an increased risk of blood clots while those whose tablets contain too much may bleed excessively. 

The tablets subject to the recall have expiration dates between June 2011 and November 2012.

The FDA has issued a public health advisory concerning the diet drug Que She.  The drug is marketed as an herbal supplement but contains active ingredients not listed on the bottle's label.  The active ingredients include:

Fenfluramine-best known as part of the fen-phen mixture that was removed from the marketin 1997 after causing serious cardiac valve damage

Propanolol-a prescription ingredient that may pose serious health risks to those with asthma or heart conditions

Ephedrine-an over-the-counter ingredient used to treat asthma but can cause an increased risk of cardiac problems.

While it's clear all three of these unlisted ingredients in Que She may be harmful of themselves, their risk may be greater in combination with each other and in combination with other prescription medication.

The FDA is urging consumers presently taking the diet supplement Que She to stop using it and report any adverse effects to a healthcare professional.

Methadone, a synthetic form of opium, entered the US market in 1947.  It was first used as a pain reliever.  During the Nixon administration, methadone clinics opened in Washington DC to treat those addicted to heroin.  Soon thereafter, methadone clinics sprang up around the clinic and were widely seen as a positive treatment for opium addiction.

However, methadone has become the fastest growing cause of narcotic deaths.  It's cheap and longer lasting than other pain relieving drugs such as Oxycontin.  It has been widely hailed by users as an alternative in fighting chronic pain.

Yet, methadone has been implicated in twice as many deaths as heroin.  The FDA has acknowledged that it's been slow to respond to the dangerous hazards of methadone as well as  physician ignorance concerning prescribing practices.

According to the NY Times, "The rise of methadone is in part because of a major change in medical attitudes in the 1990s, as doctors accepted that debilitating pain was often under treated. Insurance plans embraced methadone as a generic, cheaper alternative to other long-lasting painkillers like OxyContin, and many doctors switched to prescribing it because it seemed less controversial and perhaps less prone to abuse than OxyContin."

Methadone prescriptions have risen 700% from 1998 to 2006.  In spite of this dramatic prescription rise, experts believe doctors remain unaware of the dangers of methadone and the manner in which it is slowly metabolized in the body.  This ignorance can lead to prescribing too much methadone too quickly.  This can lead to a build-up of the drug and an intolerance to it, eventually contributing to methadone addiction, which is very difficult to break.

Dr. Bob Rappaport, a division director for the FDA noted, "Methadone is an extremely difficult drug to use, even for specialists. People were using it rather blithely for several years.”

In fact, for decades the FDA was part of the problem.  The FDA's package insert recommended initial doses of methadone up to 80 mg daily for pain.  Dr. Robert G. Newman, former president of Beth Israel Hospital in New York stated,

“This could unequivocally cause death in patients who have not recently been using narcotics.”

Finally, in 2006, the FDA changed course on methadone.  The federal agency issued a public health advisory entitled, "Methadone Use for Pain Control May Result in Death and Life-Threatening Changes in Breathing and Heartbeat".  In the advisory, the FDA noted that it had received reports of methadone-related deaths and acknowledged that methadone use can cause slow or shallow breathing and cardiac changes of which the methadone user is unaware.

Methadone treatment for chronic pain or drug addiction may be cheaper but it's a potentially dangerous alternative.  It remains difficult to prescribe and monitor properly and withdrawal from methadone has been shown to be more difficult that withdrawal from heroin. 

Portland Shellfish of Maine has issued a voluntary recall of its lobster meat because the lobster may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can be fatal in small children or those with weakened immune systems.  The bacteria can cause listeriosis which may manifest itself in the form of nausea, high fever, severe headaches, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. 

The following products are subject to the recall:

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, CS 6 x 2 LB, packed under the Claw Island, Craig’s All Natural or Inland Ocean brand, production lot numbers 13210, 13310, and 13410, shipped between 05/14/2010 and 05/26/2010.

LOBSTER KNUCKLE MEAT, CS 6 x 2 LB, packed under the Inland Ocean brand, production lot numbers 13210, shipped on 05/13/2010.

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, CS 18 x 15 oz, packed under the Claw Island brand, production lot numbers 13210 and 13410, shipped between 05/25/2010 and 06/08/2010.

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, CS 20 x 8 oz, packed under the Craig’s All Natural brand, production lot numbers 13210, shipped on 05/14/2010.

LOBSTER KNUCKLE MEAT, 1 LB bag, fresh, packed under Portland shellfish brand, production lot number 13310, shipped on 05/12/2010.

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, 4 oz bag, fresh, packed under Portland shellfish brand, production lot number 13310, shipped on 05/13/2010.

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, 1 LB bag, fresh, packed under Portland shellfish brand, production lot number 13210 and 13310, shipped on 05/12/2010 and 05/13/2010.

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, 2 LB bag, fresh, packed under Portland shellfish brand, production lot number 13210 and 13310, shipped on 05/12/2010 05/13/2010, 05/14/2010.

LOBSTER CLAW & KNUCKLE MEAT, 5 LB bag, fresh, packed under Portland shellfish brand, production lot number 13210, shipped on 05/12/2010.

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has sued its former pathology group as well as the two doctors in charge of that group Drs. Cheryl Moore and Glenn Littell.  The doctors own Young & Novis Professional Association, which does business as Piscataqua Pathology Associates and is a named defendant in the suit.

The lawsuit arose out of allegations that the doctors had scrubbed computer files owned by the hospital as they were departing the hospital.  The suit claims the doctors' actions are in clear violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act which makes it illegal to access computer information without authorization or to access a computer with authorization but to alter the information within the computer system. 

According to the lawsuit, "Analysis by WDH revealed substantial amounts of information was deleted from the computer network including, but not limited to, specimen/slide photos; autopsy images; charts with patient specific information; College of American Pathologist Reviews; Quality Assurance information; documents, templates, forms and folders utilized by employees of the pathology department to process specimens; individual employee subfolders; and records related to complaints against Dr. Moore and Dr. Littell."

This is not the first imbroglio involving WDH and Doctors Moore and Littell.  In 2006, the doctors were involved in a dispute concerning patient privacy issues.

Inez Tenenbaum, chair of the Consumer Products Safety Commission has pledged to ban the manufacture and sale of drop-side cribs by the end of the year.  Now, she has an ally in the US Senate.  Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the freshman senator from New York, has announced her intention to introduce legislation banning the dangerous cribs. 

"There still are thousands and thousands of children who are sleeping every night in drop-side cribs and we need to protect them," said Gillibrand.

While the CPSC has issued warnings about the dangers of the cribs, the cribs are still available for purchase and remain in use in homes across the country.  7 million such cribs have been recalled in the past five years.  The cribs have been implicated in the deaths of 32 infants since 2000. 

Large retailers such as Babies R Us and Wal-Mart have removed the drop-side cribs from their stores but the cribs are still available on the Internet.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued another warning concerning the dangers of drop side baby cribs.  Citing the deaths of 32 infants and toddlers due to suffocation and/or strangulation since 2000, the federal agency noted the drop side crib dangers are not limited to any particular manufacturer.  In the last five years alone, the CPSC has issued 11 recalls involving 7 million drop side cribs due to hazards created by the drop side. 

In their investigation of drop side cribs, the CPSC has found drop side cribs to be more dangerous than fixed side cribs.  Factors that exacerbate hazards in older drop side cribs include:

• The longer a crib is used, the more wear and tear on hardware and joints, allowing screws to loosen and fall out and plastic parts to flex and break.

• Repeated assembly and disassembly increases likelihood that crib parts can be damaged or lost

• Wood warps and shrinks over time and glue can become brittle. This can lead to joint and slat failure

Teva Pharmaceutical, the maker of propofol, has received an FDA warning for manufacturing violations at its Irvine California facility.  The violations included a failure to test each lot of raw materials used to make propofol, an injectable drug that is one of the most widely used medicines for general anesthesia.  Propofol drew attention last June when it was implicated in the Michael Jackson death. 

The FDA inspection that resulted in the FDA warning letter also led to the recall of 57,000 vials of propofol for elevated toxins.  The FDA found 40 patients who had been affected by the toxic propofol.

Dr Sulieman Al Hourani, a locum surgeon at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, was supposed to remove a cyst but instead removed an entire testicle.    A month after the botched surgery, the doctor was accused of stealing two boxes of dihydrocodeine from the hospital.  The General Medical Council has also learned that in 2006, the same surgeon was supposed to inject a patient with 10 mg of midazolam, a powerful sedative.  Rather than giving it to the patient, he injected the patient with 2 mg of the drug and injected himself with the remainder of the sedative.  While Dr. Hourani is no longer practicing in England, he has relocated and practicing medicine in Jordan. 

This seems to be a classic case where an international database of bad doctors should be maintained and shared by hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the world.  Because such information is not maintained and shared by the medical community this doctor may be harming patients in Jordan.

When we've blogged previously about prescription drug errors or medication errors, we've usually concentrated on dosage mistakes or hospital mistakes in which patients received the wrong medication altogether.

Now, a new study shows that another prescription error is becoming more prevalent.  Health Day is reporting that computer translations of prescription instructions in Spanish are often inaccurate and dangerously so.  "The technologies that are currently available to produce instructions in the patient's language are inadequate." said Dr. Iman Sharif, chief of the division of general pediatrics at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delware.

According to Health Day, half of the Spanish language prescription translations reviewed for the study contained serious errors, some of which could lead to life threatening events.  One particular translation pitfall involved "Spanglish" (the mixing of English and Spanish).  For instance, the English word "once" means one time while the same word (spelled exactly the same) in Spanish means eleven.  Misspellings can also wreak havoc.

Dr. Sharif recommends patients whose primary language is other than English bring a competent translator so that proper instructions can be translated properly.  At some point, translation software needs to more accurately reflect the proper translation.

After years of reports concerning the hazards of Bisphenol A, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to add the chemical to its list of "chemicals of concern".  Bisphenol is widely used to harden plastics such as baby bottles, soda cans, and food containers.  The chemical is so widespread that a recent study determined that 90% of Americans have traces of it in their systems.  Bisphenol has been linked to heart disease, cancer, and abnormal development in animals.  This past January, the FDA expressed concerns over bisphenol's effect on the health of ordinary Americans.

In spite of the new EPA classification, bisphenol will not be regulated or removed from the market. 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has upgraded last month's warning to a recall concerning baby slings after several infants' deaths were linked to the baby slings.  One million Infantino "Sling Rider" and "Wendy Bellissimo" baby slings are being recalled after 3 infant deaths were reported.  The CPSC is urging consumers to immediately stop using the baby slings for infants younger than four months due to the risk of suffocation and death. 

According to the release issued by the CPSC, "Infantino LLC sold the slings in the United States and Canada from January 2003 through March 2010 at Walmart, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, Babies "R" Us, BJ's Wholesale, and various baby and children's stores and other retailers nationwide, and on the Web at Amazon.com for between $25 and $30."

I

The pesticide chlorpyrifos has been banned in US households but is still widely used as an agricultural pesticide on fruits and vegetables.  A new study has shown a link between the pesticide and early childhood development delays.  According to www.healthday.com, "the researchers found that a high level of exposure to the pesticide (greater than 6.17 pg/g in umbilical cord blood at the time of birth) was associated with a 6.5-point decrease in the Psychomotor Development Index score and a 3.3-point decrease in the Mental Development Index score in 3-year-old children."

"This study helps to fill in the gaps about what is known about the effect of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on the development of young children by showing that there is a clear-cut association between this chemical and delayed mental and motor skill development in children even when there are other potentially harmful environmental factors present," lead author Gina Lovasi, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said in a news release.

The agricultural use of chlorpyrifos is under review by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Inez Tenenbaum, head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is preparing to issue a safety warning concerning the popular baby slings.  The warning is due sometime this week and will warn consumers about the dangers of suffocation.  In announcing the pending warning, Tenenbaum stated, "We know of too many deaths in these slings and we now know the hazard scenarios for very small babies. So, the time has come to alert parents and caregivers."  Tenebaum's remarks were made at a meeting of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, an industry group that certifies infant products, including the baby slings.

In 2008, Consumer Reports wrote about safety concerns with the baby slings.  The majority of the complaints involved babies falling out of the slings.  However, a subsequent blog post raised suffocation issues with the slings and the product has been implicated in at least 7 infant deaths.

Those who favor the baby slings have cited the bonding effect between parent and child. Safety advocates have noted the potential for suffocation for small infants whose head and neck muscles are not developed, which can lead to a baby smothering itself against the parent unable to breathe.

In her remarks, Tenenbaum did not single a particular brand of baby slings.

The California Department of Health began issuing fines to hospitals for preventable medical errors in 2007.  The fines are based on self-reporting by hospitals of medical errors so the numbers reported may be lower than the medical errors that are actually occurring.  In the last six months, 13 California hospitals were fined for such preventable medical errors as leaving surgical instruments in patients, wrong site surgeries, and medication errors.  The report was published by www.clinicaladvisor.com.  Among the notable preventable medical errors were the following:

• The Los Angeles Community Hospital in Norwalk, where a patient who was supposed to have been restrained pulled out a tracheotomy tube and subsequently died.
• California Hospital Medical Center, where an emergency room resident misdiagnosed a woman with an ectopic pregnancy (she was not pregnant) and administered methotrexate, which caused immunosuppression and major adverse effects.
• Marina Del Rey Hospital, where intensive care nurses failed to monitor a patient's oxygen levels, resulting in the patient passing out and having to be put on a ventilator.
• St. Jude Medical Center, where a patient died in the emergency room after nurses failed to notice that the heart monitor was disconnected.
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital, where a 90-year-old patient was given medication intended for another patient, resulting in his being intubated and on a ventilator.
• Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where a surgical team left a sponge in the pleural cavity of a patient during surgery, necessitating a second surgery.
• San Francisco General Hospital, where surgeons left a gauze sponge in a patient which went unnoticed for three months until the patient returned to the hospital.
• John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, which received four fines for incidents involving the use of untrained and non-certified nurses in the emergency room, resulting in the death of a two-year-old child.
• Hoag Memorial Hospital, where a patient was injured when a metal gurney that she was lying on was placed in a room with an MRI machine. When the MRI was turned on, the gurney was pulled by magnetic force into the machine, crushing the patient's leg.

These are just some of the medical errors reported in a six month period by a state that requires such reporting.  It would be beneficial if our own state of New Hampshire had such reporting requirements.

Toyota's problems turned worse today as federal officials announced that Toyota executives may face criminal charges regarding their lack of disclosure to the US public concerning the Toyota recalls.  While it's still not clear what criminal charges Toyota may face, it seems certain that the charges may be related to product safety issues and Toyota's disclosures concerning product defects. 

According to an MSNBC report, "Eric Dezenhall, a crisis management consultant in Washington, said the subpoena might cause Toyota to limit its testimony because apologies are admissible in court. He predicted the company would walk a line between carefully phrased testimony and enough disclosure to describe the cars' mechanical problems and steps Toyota had taken to make the vehicles safer.

House investigators said they believe Toyota intentionally resisted the possibility that electronic defects caused unintended acceleration in their vehicles and then misled the public into thinking its recalls would fix all the problems.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who will run Tuesday's hearing, said documents and interviews demonstrate that the company relied on a flawed engineering report to reassure the public that it found the answer to the problem.

In a letter to Toyota, Stupak said a review of consumer complaints shows company personnel identified sticking pedals or floor mats as the cause of only 16 percent of the unintended acceleration reports.

Some 70 percent of the acceleration incidents in Toyota's customer call database involved vehicles that are not subject to the 2009 and 2010 floor mat and "sticky pedal" recalls.

In a letter to NHTSA, Stupak's committee raised questions about whether the agency lacked the expertise to review defects in vehicle electronics and said NHTSA was slow to respond to 2,600 complaints of sudden unintended acceleration from 2000 to 2010."

A popular diet supplement has been linked to a 2008 Selenium poisoning that was found to contain 200 times the amount of selenium stated on the product label.  "Total Body Formula" and "Total Body Mega Formula" supplements were mentioned in a report published by the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The selenium poisoning highlights a problem that is becoming increasingly evident with dietary supplements.  Dietary supplements and so-called "natural" products are not regulated by the FDA.  The federal agency becomes involved only if there is a public health concern regarding the supplement.  In many instances, the product label doesn't accurately reflect the contents or the ingredients of the product.  Perhaps more importantly, the ingredients' proportions are not properly documented either.

Facing a recall of approximately 8,000,000 vehicles, Toyota is facing Congressional scrutiny over safety issues involving sticking accelerator pedals in a number of Toyota models and brake defects in its popular Prius hybrid.  The recall is sending shock waves in political circles as well.  This morning, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Toyota owners to stop driving their vehicles and return them to dealerships for repair.  This afternoon, Lahood has backed off that statement, saying he didn't mean what he said.

In spite of the political turmoil and potential economic fallout for the best selling automaker in the US, consumers are left to question the safety of their vehicles.  At least one Congressman echoed consumer concerns.  Henry Waxman (D-CA) commented, "Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota's recent recall announcements."
Toyota said it would take months to complete repairs on the recalled vehicles since it would send notices to affected customers in batches of ten thousand to avoid overrunning repair shops.  So, it looks like Toyota owners will be dealing with this for quite some time.

The fourth medical malpractice myth concerns the relationship between malpractice cases and the cost of insurance premiums for doctors.  This is a common belief among medical professionals that medical malpractice claims directly correlate to higher insurance premiums.  However, the National Bureau of Economic Research has researched the issue and found there is no direct correlation between the two.  They have concluded that "increases in malpractice payments made on behalf of physicians do not seem to be the driving force behind increases in premiums."

Perhaps more importantly the group Americans for Insurance Reform has found that "not only was there no ‘explosion’ in lawsuits, jury awards or any tort system costs to justify the astronomical premium increases that doctors have been charged in recent years. These rate increases were rather driven by the economic cycle of the insurance industry, driven by declining interest rates and investments."

While medical malpractice claims insurers have complained about "financial crises" caused by medical malpractice lawsuits, their profits remain higher than most Fortune 500 companies. Former Missouri Insurance Commissioner Jay Angoff studied the issue and released a report entitled "No Basis for High Insurance Rates".  In it, Angoff concluded that malpractice insurance companies artificially raised doctors' premiums and misled the public about the nature of medical negligence claims.

A surgical tech nurse has been convicted and sentenced for infection 3 dozen patients and placing countless more in danger for hepatitis C because of her shoddy medical practices.  Kristen Diane Parker, infected with hepatitis C, exposed numerous unsuspecting patients to the blood borne disease.  Hepatitis C is a potentially deadly disease that attacks the liver which can lead to cirrhosis or cancer of the liver.  Hepatitis C is spread by contact with infected body fluids, especially blood.

Parker was originally charged with 21 counts of product tampering and 21 counts of obtaining a controlled substance through deceit.  The charges stem from Parker stealing the drug Fentanyl.  Parker stole the drug for her own use and would replace the used syringes with saline solution after injecting herself, potentially exposing other patients.

The surgical tech admitted to prosecutors that she had indeed stolen the Fentanyl in order to feed her drug addiction.  Fentanyl is a strong narcotic pain medication used to treat surgical patients.  During her interview with prosecutors, Parker said that she intended to replace the used syringes with clean syringes but became confused and placed the used syringes back in circulation for patient use.  The used syringes were filled with saline rather than the prescribed medication.

Johnson & Johnson had a particularly rough day yesterday.  First, they were hit with a federal complaint concerning kickbacks to Omnicare, a large pharmaceutical company that serves nursing homes.  The complaint alleges Johnson & Johnson paid Omnciare tens of millions of dollars in order for them to recommend and use J&J products. 

If that wasn't bad enough, J&J expanded their recall of the popular Tylenol product because of a foul odor.  The foul smell has been a headache for the maker of Tylenol and Motrin since 2008.  It's estimated that some 60 million bottles of the over-the-counter medicine are involved in the recall. 

Deborah Autor, head of the FDA's compliance office, was critical of how J&J has handled the problem.  "The company should have acted faster," Autor said. "All companies have a responsibility to ensure high quality, safety and effective of their products and protect consumers."

The FDA has issued a warning to consumers that a popular Morning Sickness remedy called Nzu has been found to contain high levels of lead and arsenic in a laboratory test.  High levels of lead have been shown to have harmful side effects on a developing fetus' brain and nervous system.  Arsenic is a known carcinogen and long-term exposure has been linked to bladder, skin, and lung cancers. 

Nzu is also called Calabash clay, Calabar stone, Mabele, Argile and La Craie. It generally resembles balls of clay or mud and is usually sold in small plastic bags with a handwritten label identifying it as “Nzu” or “Salted Nzu.”

Proctor & Gamble, in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of Vicks Dayquil Cold and Flu Liquicaps because they do not meet the child-resistant.  The cold and flu medicine contains acetaminophen and is required to have a child-resistant cap.

The recall involves approximately 700,000 packages of the cold and flu product. The recall involves Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps.  The medicine comes in orange packaging with the green Vicks symbol and has the following UPC# 3 23900 01087 1.

The product is sold in grocery stores, pharmacies and has been sold from September 2008 until the December 2009 recall.

No injuries have been reported.  However, the medicine can be harmful or fatal to children if several capsules are swallowed.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against GE Healthcare, the maker of CT scans which allegedly produce radiation overdoses.  The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Alabama by a woman who received a botched CT brain scan.  The class action lawsuit alleges that the GE Healthcare CT scan fails to warn patients and healthcare workers when excessive radiation is produced by the scan. 

The FDA has been investigating CT scan radiation overdoses since October when Cedars-Sinai Hospital in California reported patients had been exposed to excessive radiation from CT scans. Thus far, the FDA investigation has not determined whether the excessive radiation stems from human error or CT scan equipment failure or defect.

Last week, former NH registered nurse Trinidad Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to an indictment charging her with consumer product tampering and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deceit.  During her plea hearing, Smith admitted to tampering with Demerol and Dilaudid syringes and vials that were maintained in a Pyxis machine for patients at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. 

According to the NH Attorney General's press release, Smith gained access to the drugs by using her access code assigned to her by the hospital. 

"Smith admitted that after removing the drugs for her personal use, she replaced the medication in the syringes with saline and returned the tampered syringes to the machine for future use by patients.  As described at yesterday’s plea hearing, the investigation uncovered a total of 24 syringes and three vials that appeared to have been tampered with. Examination of the syringes revealed that their tamper resistant seals were cut or visibly broken with tape placed over the seals. The Forensic Chemistry Center of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that the Dilaudid syringes were diluted by approximately 48% and 92%. Two of the syringes were also found to contain the active ingredient in Benadryl which certain patients are allergic. Further testing of the Demerol syringes determined that Demerol’s active ingredient was diluted by approximately 46% to 85%."

Besides the criminal issues, this raises huge safety concerns for patients at this hospital.  These are powerful drugs which must be carefully stored and monitored.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of 2.1 million baby cribs for safety deficiencies that could lead to infant suffocation.  CPSC has recalled Stork Craft drop-side baby cribs for hardware safety problems.  The cribs are manufactured by Stork Craft Manufacturing, Inc. of British Columbia.  It's estimated that 1.2 million of the cribs have been sold in the United States.  According to the federal agency, at least 147,000 of the cribs may have a Fisher-Price label on them.  The cribs have been sold since 1993 at major retailers including Sears and Wal-Mart.

The problem with the cribs involves the drop-side which is attached with plastic hardware that may detach creating a space between the crib wall and the mattress.  Infants and toddlers can become trapped in the space or fall to the floor.  Thus far, there have been 110 documented cases of drop-side crib detachment, 67 of which were reported in the US. 

In the wake of yesterday's latest crib recall, some consumer advocates and child safety experts have called for an outright ban of drop-side cribs. 

"This has certainly been a hazard that we've been aware of for some time," said Nancy Cowles, director of Kids In Danger, a Chicago-based advocacy group. Drop-side cribs have been associated with "dozens of deaths" over the years, she added.

While it's understandable that the pending healthcare bills focus on addressing the lack of health insurance for many Americans, an important issue in healthcare has been largely ignored, namely, medical errors.  None of the proposals currently before Congress adequately address the problem of medical errors.  It's estimated that medical errors account for 200,000 deaths in the United States each year.  Yet, there's little interest in addressing mandatory reporting of medical errors that's been shown to improve the quality of medical care and reduce unnecessary deaths. 

Senators Chris Dodd and Joseph Lieberman have both strongly endorsed the mandatory reporting of medical errors but their voices have been largely ignored. 

"A national reporting system is an excellent idea,” Lieberman said. “It could easily and constructively be included in a health-care reform package. Disclosure ... is a deterrent to further medical errors, and we learn from disclosure.”

Medical malpractice relating to heart attacks may occur when doctors fail to correctly diagnose the symptoms of a heart attack or delay treatment of the heart attack.  Failure to properly and effectively diagnose a heart attack can lead to severe consequences for the patient including death.  Many of these failures to diagnose and/or treat heart attack victims occur in emergency rooms.  Such situations often occur when a doctor fails to recognize symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, or radiating arm pain.  Patients may often claim indigestion or other abdominal issues as the cause of their discomfort.  Emergency room doctors and nurses must consider the patient's risk factors as well as their symptoms and order the proper diagnostic tests which include an EKG, blood tests, cardiac catheterization, an angiogram, CT scan, and later,  a Thallium stress test.

Symptoms of a heart attack may be subtle so it's crucial for doctors to act effectively and promptly to avoid further heart damage.  Failure to do so may have serious health consequences for the patient and constitute medical malpractice on the part of the doctor.

Approximately 364,000 Dublin Energy Solution Roman Shades have been recalled due to strangulation hazards.  Reports of two near strangulations of infants prompted the product recall.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Strangulations can occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the backside of the blind or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around his/her neck."

The Roman shades sold by Bed Bath & Beyond include all sizes and colors of the Roman Shades with exposed inner cords on the back.  The shades have been on the market and available for purchase since August 2007.  The shades were manufactured in China. 

A baby food recall has been announced that involves baby food Babies R Us and Toys R Us locations.  The foods in question include apple and carrot pouch foods made by Plum Organics.  The recall was issued because of a concern that the baby food may be tainted with botulism.  Botulism normally originates from improperly canned foods.  Botulism is a potentially fatal illness whose symptoms include nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, weakness, and general fatigue. These symptoms may be manifest within 6 hours to 10 days of ingestion.  Botulism poisoning can also cause paralysis of the breathing muscles.

The recalled product has been sold in 4.22 oz. packages and UPC 890180001221.

Complaints about iPods overheating have now caught the attention of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.  After a few years of complaints about iPods that grow so hot they can burn individuals as well as catch on fire, the federal agency will begin investigating the problem.  Some believe that the iPod problem concerns the device's lithium batteries which have had a history of overheating and catching on fire in other electronic equipment such as computers.

The CPSC will be reviewing 18 incidents, including the following:

• In 2002, an iPod in a 14-year-old Michigan boy's bedroom set off a smoke alarm in the middle of the night.
• In 2006, an iPod started smoking and sparking in the middle of the night at one Illinois residence. It was so hot that it burned the stereo it was sitting on.
• In 2007, a 4-inch flame shot out of an iPod while it was charging in Washington, D.C.
• Also in 2007, a man's shirt caught fire in Atlanta when the iPod in his pocket overheated.

Other cases were reported in New York, Washington state and Portland, Ore.

Target has agreed to pay a $600,000 for allegedly violating the lead paint in toys ban that has been in effect since 1978.  The Consumer Products Safety Commission has targeted the retailer since 2006 for the violation of the lead paint in toys ban.  The toys in question include Kool Toyz Products, Anima-Bamboo Collection Games, Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Sunny Patch Chairs.  The toys have since been recalled by Target in conjunction with the CPSC.

Lead paint has been associated with various disorders in children including neurological damage, stunted growth, deterioration of cognitive ability, and respiratory problems.

A flash fire during surgery has resulted in the death of an Illinois woman.  The fire occurred at the Heartland Regional Medical Center in Illinois.  The woman was severely burned and was transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died six days later.  The state medical examiner determined the cause of death as thermal burn complications.

ECRI Institute, a research institute that tracks surgical fires, estimates that there are 550-650 fires reported annually.  Approximately 20-30 of those fires are deemed serious.

Mark Bruley, an ECRI accident and forensic investigator, estimates that 75% of surgical fires are caused by high oxygen levels under the surgical sheets.  The high oxygen levels can ignite the sheets, which are not necessarily flame-retardant.  Surgical fires may also occur when surgical equipment such as scalpels is sterilized with alcohol-based cleaning agents.  If the surgical equipment is not fully dry, the alcohol can lead to vapor ignition.  According to Burley, the surgical fires are 100% preventable.

Concerns about surgical fires have increased in the past few years as surgeons are using electrosurgical tools coupled with less flame retardant disposable synthetic fabrics instead of the traditional cloth drapes.

“What we’ve been advocating for years is that the open delivery of oxygen under the drapes essentially has to stop,” said Bruley.

Many of these surgical fires result in preventable injuries to the patient and legal action.

Some prominent department stores and children's clothing manufacturers have been cited and fined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for manufacturing or selling children's sweatshirts with drawstrings around the neck.  The drawstrings pose a strangulation hazard to young children.

Among those cited and fined by the CPSC:  1) Kohl's Department Store has been fined by the CPSC $425,000 for its failure to report the drawstrings in children's sweatshirts; 2) Hill Sportswear was fined $100,000 for a similar failure to report; 3) Maran Inc. and K.S. Trading Corporation were fined $85,000 for for another failure to report concerning the sweatshirt drawstrings.

O'Neill's children's hooded sweatshirts have been recalled by their distributor La Jolla Sport USA  Inc. because of a strangulation threat concerning the sweatshirts' drawstrings.  According to the CPSC, approximately 2,300 sweatshirts are being recalled because of the health hazard.

The sweatshirts were manufactured in China and sold at Ron Jons' Surf Shop, Dillards and McCaulous stores nationwide from June 2009 through August 2009 for about $65.

IKEA, in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling approximately 500 mattresses because they do not meet federal standards for open flames and pose a consumer hazard. 

The IKEA product is the IKEA KARLSTAD sofa-bed which has article number 801-215-12, supplier number 20789 with date stamps (YYWW) 0845 through 0927 located on a label attached to the underside of the sofa-bed frame. The mattress topper is not affected by this recall.

The sofa bed, which retails for approximately $850 has been available in IKEA stores nationwide since November 2008.

Several drug companies marketing over the counter topical Ibuprofen pain gels have been sent warning letters from the FDA.  According to the federal regulatory agency, such OTC pain gels require pre-marketing approval from the FDA.  The letter informed the drug companies that they must stop marketing their products until they receive approval from the FDA.

Companies that received the FDA warning letter include:

Emuprofen (Progressive Emu, Inc.)
BioEntopic 15% Ibuprofen Crème (BioCentric Laboratories, Inc.)
Ibunex Topical Ibuprofen (Core Products International, Inc.)
LoPain AF 15% Ibuprofen Crème (Geromatrix Health Products)
IB-RELIEF (MEKT LLC)
Profen HP (Ridge Medical Products)
IbuPRO-10 Plus (Meditrend, Inc. dba Progena Professional Formulations)
IBU-RELIEF 12 (Wonder Laboratories)

These products contain ibuprofen in combination with other active ingredients and are marketed for pain relief.  Thus far, the FDA has not approved any topical ibuprofen drugs.

The US Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of 51,750 generators due to a fire hazard associated with faulty fuel gauge.  This recall involves Homelite and Husky brand generators sold exclusively at Home Depot stores and Black Max brand generators sold exclusively at Sam's Club stores. Affected generators include Homelite models HG3500, HG3510, HG5700 and HG5700R, Husky models HU3650, HUCA5700 and HUCA7000 and Black Max models BM10700A, BM10700B, BM10711A, BM10700DG, BM10700R, BM10700BR & BM10722G. Generators included in this recall have manufacturing date codes between BML306-BMM151, CHL122-CHM151 and CRL153-CRM059. The model number and manufacturing date code are included on the data label located on the top or side of the generator engine. Products with a green "dot" on the outside of the package or a "silver dot" on the fuel gauge face are not included in the recall.  These generators have been sold exclusively at Sam's Club and Home Depot from July 2008 through May 2009. 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with Graco Children’s Products, Inc. has issued a recall of 2,400 Jump ‘n Jive™ Doorway Jumpers due to a choking hazard. According to the federal agency, the doorway jumpers include detachable toys that are attached to the jumper straps with strips of hook and loop fabric. The strips of fabric are not permanently attached to the toys and can become detached during use, posing a choking hazard. The doorway jumpers are sold in retail stores such as Babies R Us and other children’s stores as well as online from Amazon.com for approximately $55. CPSC is instructing consumers to stop using the toys and discard the detachable toys and fabric strips.

Target has issued a recall of 43, 000 Circo Booster Seats because the booster seat restraint buckle can open unexpectedly causing the child to fall and suffer injury. The recall was issued after Target received reports of children falling from the booster seats after the buckle opened. Three of the reports involved injury to the children. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, “this recall involves Circo booster seats with manufacture date codes XJ0811, XJ0812, XJ0901, and XJ0902. The plastic booster seat is blue with green trim and has white straps. The manufacture date code is printed on the backside of the seat next to the consumer warning information. “Circo” can be found on a label located in the front of the seat.” The seats are manufactured in China and have been sold at Target stores nationwide for $13. The Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to stop using the booster seats.

Frigidaire has recalled 35,000 washing machines because of a potential fire hazard. The washing machines have a defective drain pump that can cause heat to build within the machine and start a fire. The affected products include Crosley®, Frigidaire®, Kelvinator®, Kenmore®, Wascomat®, and White-Westinghouse®. Model and Serial numbers are provided for the recalled products at the Consumer Product Safety Commission website: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09292.html The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning all owners of these products to stop using them immediately and call Frigidaire to schedule a free repair of the washing machine.

Abbott Vascular has issued a voluntary recall of four lots of its Powersail coronary dilation catheter after the company received reports of problems related to its distal shaft. The total number of catheters recalled is estimated to be 550. One complaint showed evidence that a patient suffered a post-procedure heart attack. The FDA classified the voluntary recall as Class I, indicating that the defective product could seriously injure or kill patients. While the product defect can be detected prior to use, there are serious consequences if the defect is not found prior to use, including myocardial infarction and embolism. The defective distal shaft may leak contrast fluid which in turn may cause catheter functional failures and serious injury, including death. An Abbott spokesperson has stated that all defective catheters have been accounted for and the ones that were used performed successfully.

A Brazilian priest working at a local Boston parish has been suspended for allegations of sexual abuse. The Reverend Pedro Jose Damazio had been living at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Cambridge and working with the Brazilian Catholic community throughout the Archdiocese at the time of his suspension. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Boston said the Archdiocese is cooperating fully with law enforcement officials and has notified Rev. Damazio's home diocese in Brazil. Further details were not forthcoming. The Archdiocese of Boston was rocked by the priest abuse scandal in 2002. The scandal in Boston and the Boston Globe's Spotlight Team investigation led to investigations, criminal charges, and hundreds of lawsuits across the country.

A Seattle based reporter has uncovered some disturbing news about Apple's iPod MP3 players. The iPods may smolder, smoke, and burst into flames. The exclusive KIRO7 news investigation by reporter Amy Clancy reveals that the cause of the overheating and fires may be linked to the lithium batteries in iPod models. These iPod defects have caused injury to their owners and are documented in 800 pages of investigative materials obtained from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Initially, Apple lawyers attempted to block the release of the documents. However, Clancy prevailed in her Freedom of Information Act request. The CPSC documents reveal 15 burn and fire related incidents associated with the Ipod. Initial consumer complaints to Apple's customer service department were dismissed as isolated incidents. While a product recall has not been issued, the CPSC has warned Apple of its legal obligation to inform the federal agency of any product defects. According to Clancy's article on the subject, "Apple has been notified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that it is the California company’s obligation to 'inform the Commission of defects associated with this product which could create a substantial product hazard under 15 U.S.C 2064(a).' The documents further reveal, if Apple 'receives any information regarding other potential defects or hazards, it must report this information to the Office of Compliance and Field Operations immediately.' And that the CPSC staff 'will assess any new information concerning this product to determine if action should be taken to protect the public.' One of the reasons the CPSC gives for not taking action now is because 'the current generation of iPods uses a battery which has not been shown to have similar problems.' When asked by Clancy, when this “current generation” of batteries started being used, and what type of battery it is, Apple would not comment. But earlier this year a lawsuit against Apple was filed in Cincinnati because, the lawyer claims, an iPod Touch, one of Apple’s newest edition of iPods, also powered by a lithium ion battery, exploded and caught fire while in a teenager’s pocket. The suit claims the boy suffered second-degree burns to his leg, and that the iPod was off at the time. This incident is not included in the CPSC’s file."

Haier America Trading LLC has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $587,500 for failure to disclose a product defect in their Oscillating Tower Fan, model FTM140GG. The fine stems from the company's failure to immediately inform the US Consumer Product Safety Commission of the known fire hazard. According to the defect allegations, repeated bending of the fan's wires during oscillation caused the wired to break, posing a significant risk of hazard to the consumer. From May to October 2004, the company received 14 reports of incidents, some of which included fires. There was one report that included injury. In spite of the reports, no report was filed with the Consumer Products Safety Commission, even though Haier America was required to do so under federal law. No report was forthcoming until December 2004 when the federal agency asked for a report. A full year later, the product was recalled from the market. “Prompt reporting in this case could have prevented fires and injuries,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “Companies have a responsibility to immediately let us know of potential hazards, and we will hold them to their duty.” The Consumer Product Safety Commission is still interested in any unreported incidents regarding the oscillating fan defect.