Other Medical Issues

2023

• St. Louis man gets $1.25M in landmark ruling over Bayer-Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’ - Joey Schneider and Kevin S. Held, Ozarks First (10/20/2023)
  A jury awarded $1.25 million to St. Louis man who suffered non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. Twelve jurors in the Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court unanimously found Bayer-Monsanto liable for John Durnell’s cancer, granting him damages.
• Sterigenics will pay $35 million to settle Georgia lawsuits, company announces - The Associated Press (10/19/2023)
  A medical sterilization company has agreed to settle nearly 80 lawsuits alleging people were exposed to a cancer-causing chemical emitted from its plant outside of Atlanta.
• Army Reservist Awarded $2.5 Million for Dismissal from Texas Trooper Job over Service-Connected Disability - Patricia Kime, Military.com (10/02/2023)
  A Texas jury has awarded $2.49 million to an Army reservist who lost his job as a Texas state trooper when he developed a debilitating illness caused by exposure to burn pits while serving overseas.
• Maine surgeon removed part of woman' s femur and didn't put it back, lawsuit says - Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News (09/21/2023)
  A doctor had to saw into a woman’s femur to fix his own surgical mistake after failing to catch the error at an earlier appointment, a lawsuit said. Mary Shea, then 64, of Milbridge had a hip replacement surgery performed by Dr. Peter Copithorne at Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital in February 2019, a lawsuit filed in Hancock County Superior Court said.
• After decades of delays and broken promises, coal miners hail rule to slow rise of black lung - Leah Willingham and Matthew Daly, The Associated Press (07/24/2023)
  A half-century ago, the nation’s top health experts urged the federal agency in charge of mine safety to adopt strict rules protecting miners from poisonous rock dust. The inaction since — fueled by denials and lobbying from coal and other industries — has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of miners from pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as “black lung.”
• Former Northwestern football player files 4th lawsuit amid hazing allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in school athletics - Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune (07/24/2023)
  A fourth lawsuit was filed Monday against Northwestern University as the school grapples with allegations of a pervasive hazing culture and a toxic environment that extended beyond the football team and into other sports including baseball, softball and volleyball.
• Teleflex recall of separating vascular catheters labeled Class I event - Nick Paul Taylor, MedTech Dive (06/28/2023)
  Teleflex’s recall of its Arrow Endurance Extended Dwell Peripheral Catheter System was categorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a Class I event, the most severe type of recall.
• 400 Grail blood test users were incorrectly told they may have cancer: report - Andrea Park, Fierce Biotech (06/06/2023)
  Hundreds of people who used Grail’s Galleri multicancer blood test reportedly received letters last month incorrectly indicating that they might have cancer. The Galleri liquid biopsy is designed to detect a signal in the blood linked to more than 50 types of cancer—all from a single standard blood draw. According to Grail, the test boasts a specificity of 99.5%.
• Ex-top judge seeks best deal for pelvic mesh victims - Miklos Bolza, Australian Associated Press (05/31/2023)
  Women injured through defective Johnson & Johnson pelvic mesh implants may receive higher returns on a $300 million class action settlement after a former-chief judge has been called on to find the best deal.
• 4th death, more vision loss cases linked to tainted eyedrops - Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press (05/19/2023)
  U.S. health officials reported another death and several more cases of vision loss from illnesses linked to eyedrops tainted with a drug-resistant bacteria. The bacteria has infected 81 people, including four who died and 14 who lost vision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. That’s up from three deaths and eight cases of vision loss reported in March.
• Boston Children's Hospital pays $15 million settlement for baby's sleep-study death - Claire Thornton, USA Today (05/02/2023)
  A Massachusetts couple received a $15 million settlement last month for their 6-month-old son's death after he participated in a study last year at Boston Children's Hospital – one of the most highly regarded children's hospitals in the country.
• 1 Dead and Nearly 100 Sickened in Fungal Outbreak at Paper Mill - Remy Tumin, The New York Times (04/15/2023)
  At least one person has died and nearly 100 people have gotten sick in a rare fungal outbreak at a paper mill in Michigan, the health authorities said, prompting the plant to temporarily close as local and federal investigators try to identify the source.
• Family of Ex-NFL player who killed 6 in Rock Hill sues SC HBCU over brain injury - Andrew Dys, The Herald (04/12/2023)
  Former NFL and S.C. State University football player Phillip Adams killed six people before killing himself outside Rock Hill in April 2021. A doctor later said Adams had brain injuries from repeated head trauma. Now the family of Phillip Adams has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the South Carolina college where he played football. The lawsuit claims the school failed to provide safety against head trauma and concussions before Adams played in the NFL.
• EPA proposes new regulations on toxic gas used to sterilize spices and medical equipment - Brenda Goodman, CNN (04/11/2023)
  The US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed a set of new restrictions on facilities that use the cancer-causing chemical ethylene oxide, a colorless, odorless gas that is used to sterilize medical devices and spices. The agency said the new rules, which have not been finalized, would help to reduce ethylene oxide gas that these facilities release by 80%, bringing emissions below a Clean Air Act standard for elevated cancer risk.
• Refinery worker sues over decades of alleged exposure to toxic fumes - Andy Nghiem, Madison - St. Clair Record (04/07/2023)
  A former refinery worker and smoker claims he was not warned about exposure to toxic chemicals on the job or toxic substances in light cigarettes, causing him to develop cancer.
• Woman suing doctor at Houston Methodist for trying to cover up operating on the wrong foot - Jessica Willey, abc 13 (04/06/2023)
  A Cypress woman says her doctor at Houston Methodist operated on the wrong foot and then tried to cover it up. According to a lawsuit filed in January, the alleged erroneous procedure happened at Houston Methodist West Hospital on the Katy Freeway.
• Iowa nursing home chain faces another wrongful-death lawsuit - Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch (04/03/2023)
  One of Iowa’s largest nursing home chains is facing another wrongful death lawsuit. It is at least the fifth wrongful-death case that Care Initiatives of West Des Moines has faced in the past two years.
• Lawsuit seeks records of toxic exposures at Uzbek air base - Dave Collins, The Associated Press (04/03/2023)
  Veterans’ advocacy groups sued the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday seeking records of toxic conditions at an air base in Uzbekistan blamed for causing cancer and other illnesses among American troops who served there in support of the war in Afghanistan. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Connecticut accuses military officials of withholding information about hazardous materials — including uranium, chemical weapons and asbestos — that were on the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, during U.S. operations there from 2001 to 2005.
• 'I want justice': Woman who lost her eye to infection sues recalled eyedrop maker EzriCare - Orlando Mayorquin, USA Today (03/23/2023)
  Oliva, who lives in Miami, is suing India-based Global Pharma Healthcare, the maker of EzriCare Artificial Tears, which she was prescribed for her dry eyes last year. The suit also names Ezricare, EzriRx and Aru Pharma, the U.S.-based distributors of the drops.
• Two additional deaths linked to bacteria in recalled eye drops, CDC says - Janelle Chavez, CNN (03/22/2023)
  A rare strain of bacteria found in recalled eye drops has been linked to dozens of infections, as well as cases of vision loss and surgical removal of eyes. This week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported two additional deaths – a total of three – have been linked to the bacterial infection.
• Texas women sued for wrongful death after aiding in abortion - The Associated Press (03/10/2023)
  Three women in Texas are being sued for wrongful death by a man who claims they helped his now-ex-wife obtain medication for an abortion. It’s another test of state-enforced bans since the U.S. Supreme court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.
• Supreme Court denies J&J appeal of $302M vaginal mesh ruling - Jim Hammerand, Mass Device (02/21/2023)
  The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear Johnson & Johnson‘s appeal of a $302 million judgment for false and deceptive marketing of its vaginal mesh implants. The nation’s highest court denied the medtech maker’s bid for review without comment, allowing the California ruling to stand.

   

• St. Elizabeths Hospital settles lawsuit over water crisis, covid - Ellie Silverman, The Washington Post (02/15/2023)
  St. Elizabeths Hospital patients settled a lawsuit with the District-owned psychiatric hospital and the city over allegations that the facility failed to provide needed care during an extended water outage in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic.

   

• Woman with ‘locked-in syndrome’ awarded $47M in malpractice suit - Katelyn Newberg, Las Vegas Review-Journal (02/09/2023)
  A woman suffering from “locked-in syndrome” was awarded a $47 million verdict this week in a medical malpractice case, although her lawyer said she will likely only see a fraction of the money.

   

• Iowa Legislature passes $2M cap on medical malpractice damages. Here's the likely impact: - Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register (02/08/2023)
  Iowans who sue over severe cases of medical malpractice will face new limits on how much money they can receive for pain, suffering and emotional distress under a bill approved Wednesday by the Iowa Legislature.

   

• Family sues fraternity for $28M over pledge’s hazing death - The Associated Press, The Associated Press (02/07/2023)
  The family of a Virginia Commonwealth University fraternity pledge who died from alcohol poisoning in a 2021 hazing is suing the fraternity for $28 million.

   

• Whistleblower suit against birth control provider leads to $18 million settlement in California - Sam Stanton, The Sacramento Bee (02/07/2023)
  California officials have agreed to an $18 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by two whistleblowers who accused a medical company of overbilling medical insurers for birth control prescriptions doled out without the required oversight by physicians.

   

• Doctor loses $12M malpractice suit against insurer - Ames Tribune, Ames Tribune (02/07/2023)
  A physician who sued her former malpractice insurer has lost her case after the court ruled her claims were blocked by a previous ruling in Minnesota state courts.

   

• California’s ‘most disadvantaged’ workers have widespread chronic health issues, study finds - Melissa Montalvo and Laura S. Diaz, The Sacramento Bee (02/04/2023)
  A new study from UC Merced Community and Labor Center sheds light on the chronic health issues, healthcare access, and workplace conditions that impact the wellbeing of California farmworkers.

   

• Manufacturer recalls eye drops linked to one death and vision loss in an outbreak across 11 states - Catherine Schuster-Bruce and Erin Snodgrass, Insider (02/01/2023)
  An India-based manufacturer recalled its brand name EzriCare artificial tears on Thursday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the eye drops could be contaminated with a drug-resistant bacterium.

   

• $1 million cap on medical malpractice awards being considered in Iowa - Erin Murphy, The Gazette (01/25/2023)
  Cash awards for pain, suffering and other non-economic complications from medical malpractice lawsuits would be capped at $1 million under legislation being considered by state lawmakers. The proposal has been floating around the Iowa Capitol for multiple years. But this year, Gov. Kim Reynolds highlighted the proposal in her annual Condition of the State address earlier this month.

   

• Military probing whether cancers linked to nuclear silo work - Tara Copp, The Associated Press (01/23/2023)
  Nine military officers who had worked decades ago at a nuclear missile base in Montana have been diagnosed with blood cancer and there are “indications” the disease may be linked to their service, according to military briefing slides obtained by The Associated Press. One of the officers has died.

   

2022

• Merck escapes nearly 1,200 Zostavax shingles vaccine lawsuits as plaintiffs' testimony falls short - Fraiser Kansteiner, Fierce Pharma (12/08/2022)
  Following a court judgment in its favor last year, Merck & Co. is formally bidding adieu to more than 1,000 lawsuits alleging its shingles vaccine Zostavax caused patients to develop the disease.

   

• Family of Georgia teen who died of heatstroke after school basketball drill accepts $10 million settlement - Eliott C. McLaughlin and Andi Babineau, CNN (11/30/2022)
  A school board will pay a $10 million settlement in the death of 16-year-old Imani Bell, an Atlanta-area basketball player whose 2019 death from heat-related injuries led to murder charges against two coaches, the family’s legal team said.

   

• Urgent care told him he had the flu. It was really meningitis – and a jury awarded him $27M. - Michaela Ramm, USA Today (11/22/2022)
  A Des Moines man has been awarded $27 million in damages after a local urgent care clinic failed to diagnose him with a serious meningitis infection that ultimately resulted in permanent brain damage.

   

• New York Jury Awards Ex-NFL Player Cox $28.5M in Medical Malpractice Case - Insurance Journal, Insurance Journal (09/27/2022)
  A former NFL player has been was awarded $28.5 million by a Manhattan jury ruling in his favor in a medical malpractice lawsuit over surgery that failed to fix his injured ankle, according to the player’s attorney.
  
  

   

2020

• Hospitals’ Covid-19 Policies Face Religious-Rights Checks by Trump Administration - Stephanie Armour , The Wall Street Journal (08/10/2020)
  The Trump administration has stepped up interventions in complaints by patients and health workers who say they’ve been victims of discrimination under policies that hospitals and other health organizations have adopted to combat the new coronavirus.

   

• State’s high court: mental health doctors have duty to warn - Claudia Lauer, The Wichita Eagle (07/21/2020)
  Mental health professionals have a duty to warn of threats made by patients even if they are made against an unspecified person, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said in a split opinion Tuesday.
• Fears a crackdown on class actions in Australia could let big businesses 'do what they like' - Ben Butler, The Guardian (07/12/2020)
  Rebecca Oates, who took part in a vaginal mesh implant class action, says the case was not about money, but bringing about change.
• FDA documents reveal doubts about GSK blood cancer drug - Jonathan Gardner, Biopharma Dive (07/10/2020)
  Food and Drug Administration staff have raised questions about eye-related side effects of GlaxoSmithKline's experimental drug to treat multiple myeloma, suggesting the agency may not approve it as expected this quarter.
• Multiple brands of hand sanitizer recalled or should be avoided due to methanol risk, FDA says. See the list. - Kelly Tyko, USA Today (07/06/2020)
  More than a dozen kinds of hand sanitizer should be avoided because they may contain methanol, a toxic substance when absorbed through skin or ingested.
• Air medical company agrees to $78 million settlement for overtime - Angela Ruggiero, The Mercury News (07/02/2020)
  A medical helicopter operator has been ordered to pay $78 million to its flight crew employees for unpaid overtime and missed breaks in a class-action lawsuit settlement.
• Government Closes Bribery Probes Into Usana Health - Dylan Tokar, The Wall Street Journal (06/30/2020)
  The Justice Department and the SEC had investigated the Salt Lake City-based multilevel marketer’s BabyCare operations In China.
• Serious Eye Injuries at Protests Spur Calls to Ban Rubber Bullets - Valerie Bauerlein and Scott Calvert, The Wall Street Journal (06/13/2020)
  At least 20 people have suffered traumatic eye injuries after being hit by rubber bullets and other projectiles during recent demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd, according to a leading medical group, prompting calls for a ban on their use by police for crowd control.
• A California church is suing Zoom after a recent bible study class was "zoombombed" with pornographic images. - Associated Press, Daily Courier (05/14/2020)
  The parents of an infant who died from meningitis after he was released from Silverton Medical Center are suing the hospital for $6.3 million.

2017

• For the first time, a study finds double-booked surgeries put patients at risk - Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe (12/04/2017)
  Patients whose hip surgeries were performed by surgeons overseeing two operations at once were nearly twice as likely to suffer serious complications as those whose doctors focused on one patient at a time, according to a large Canadian study, the first research to show that overlapping surgery can pose health risks. . . . The study of more than 90,000 hip operations at some 75 hospitals in Ontario also found that the longer the duration of overlap between surgeries, the more likely patients were to suffer a serious complication within a year, including infections and a need for follow-up surgery.
• Misdiagnosis leads to paralysis, $1.9 million settlement for Maine girl - Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News (06/19/2017)
  It was every parent’s nightmare.
• $870K awarded to man whose doctor removed the wrong testicle - The Associated Press, The Washington Post (06/16/2017)
  A Pennsylvania jury has awarded $870,000 to a man whose urologist removed the wrong testicle.
• Court: Parents of disabled child can sue for wrongful birth - Ryan J. Foley, AP, ABC News (06/02/2017)
  The parents of a severely disabled child can sue doctors who failed to inform them about fetal abnormalities that, if revealed, would have prompted the mother to have an abortion, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.
• Telemedicine: Proceed With Caution - Lorie Maring & Melissa Shimizu, Fisher Phillips, JD Supra (06/02/2017)
  One of the hottest benefit trends in 2017 is the adoption of free or low-cost “telemedicine” programs to provide employees easy and affordable access to medical care.
• Employees, Migraines And Work Attendance - Charla Bizios Stevens, The McLane Law Firm, Mondaq (05/26/2017)
  One of the most challenging areas for employers is the balancing act which occurs between managing employee productivity and attendance while taking care not to violate employee's rights to time off under and job protection under the Family and Medical Leave ("FMLA") and Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). Intermittent and unforeseeable absences are at the top of the list, and one particularly challenging issue is migraine headaches. Migraines are usually 1) unpredictable and 2) debilitating, and they often result in employees calling out? at the last minute, leaving work midday or being out for days at a time without notice.
• A Shocking Diagnosis: Breast Implants ‘Gave Me Cancer’ - Denise Grady, The New York Times (05/14/2017)
  
  Raylene Hollrah was 33, with a young daughter, when she learned she had breast cancer. She made a difficult decision, one she hoped would save her life: She had her breasts removed, underwent grueling chemotherapy and then had reconstructive surgery. In 2013, six years after her first diagnosis, cancer struck again - not breast cancer, but a rare malignancy of the immune system - caused by the implants used to rebuild her chest.
• Psychiatrist, social worker not liable for failing to stop woman's suicide, jury finds - Aimee Green, The Oregonian/OregonLive (05/11/2017)
  A jury awarded no money Wednesday to the mother of a 23-year-old woman who killed herself, finding that the woman was more responsible for her death than the Portland psychiatrist and social worker who knew she had a gun. The 12-person jury deliberated for several hours before returning the verdict in a rare lawsuit accusing mental health providers of failing to stop a patient from dying by suicide. The suits are unusual, in part, because it's exceptionally difficult to prove that anyone other than the person who died is at fault, legal experts say.
• Federal judge hands down $33 million malpractice judgment - The Associated Press, The Washington Times (04/30/2017)
  Marla Dixon was in the final stage of labor and ready to deliver a baby boy when the obstetrician arrived at her bedside at North Shore Medical Center in Miami.
• United passenger's experience was 'more horrifying and terrible' than fleeing Vietnam, his attorney says - Lauren Zumbach & Ally Marotti, The Chicago Tribune (04/13/2017)
  The United Airlines passenger dragged from a plane Sunday will require reconstructive surgery and both United and the city of Chicago are responsible for Dr. David Dao's injuries, his attorney said Thursday. Blaming an overly aggressive response by the city's Aviation Department officers and accusing United of failing to protect its customer, attorney Thomas Demetrio said the incident will likely result in a lawsuit.
• The Patients Were Saved. That’s Why the Families Are Suing. - Paula Span, The New York Times (04/10/2017)
  
  What happened to Beatrice Weisman before dawn on Aug. 29, 2013, was not supposed to happen: The medical staff at Maryland General Hospital found her in cardiac arrest, resuscitated her and kept her alive. The matriarch of a close-knit family on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Ms. Weisman, then 83, had suffered a serious stroke in June and had spent weeks in two hospitals. Fortunately, she and her husband had drafted advance directives; she named her husband, William, to make medical decisions if she became unable to. In August, as her condition deteriorated, Mr. Weisman convened a wrenching family meeting at their Easton home. With the support of their four children, he authorized Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, known as a Molst form, stating that if his wife's heart or lungs failed, she should be allowed to die.
• Study finds hospital floors pose significant health risk - Amy Wallace, UPI (02/28/2017)
  A study by the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, or APIC, suggests hospital room floors pose a significant infection risk. . . . Items in hospital rooms often come in contact with the floor, and pathogens can then spread quickly from the items to hands and other surfaces, researchers found in the study.

2016

• Hospital, hepatitis C outbreak victims reach settlement - Blake Nicholson , The Washington Post (08/30/2016)
  Trinity Health and its hospital in Minot have agreed in principal on a legal settlement with 21 victims of the largest hepatitis C outbreak in recent U.S. history, though Trinity’s legal fight with a nursing home where most people were sickened will continue… Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause serious liver damage or death. Fifty-two people were sickened in the outbreak that began in August 2013, including 48 residents or former residents of ManorCare. It was the nation’s largest outbreak in 13 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Victims began suing in federal court in April 2014, seeking unspecified money damages.
• Medical errors persist, despite increased scrutiny - Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe (08/24/2016)
  Preventable medical errors reported by full-service hospitals in Massachusetts grew 60 percent last year, a rise partly attributed to problems detected in a single hospital’s dialysis unit. Hospitals disclosed 1,313 errors that harmed or threatened patients in 2015, including 26 cases when the wrong surgery or procedure was done on a patient; 51 instances when a medication error seriously injured or killed a patient; and 446 cases of contaminated drugs, devices, or biologics… Research studies show that as many as one-third of patients nationally are harmed during their hospitalization, health officials said. Hospitals and outpatient surgery centers also are required to report these errors to patients who are impacted and their insurers.
• British insurance company accused of preventing payments to Baltimore lead poisoning victims - Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun (08/08/2016)
  

  State officials are investigating an allegation that a British insurance company is conspiring to prevent lead-poisening victims in Baltimore from recovering damages. . . . The Maryland Insurance Administration said it has launched an "active investigation" into the London-based CX Reinsurance Co. after officials received a complaint from the Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl. . . .Lawyer Scott E. Nevin accused CXRe of pressuring landlords to rescind insurance policies so it doesn't have to pay potential judgments from cases filed by the families of lead-poisoned children in Baltimore. . . . Nevin and other area lawyers say the company's actions could put the cases of at least 100 families in jeopardy because smaller landlords typically don't have enough cash or assets to cover damages awarded to families in lead-poisoning lawsuits

• Goshen couple wins $4.25 million in medical malpractice case - Sharon Hernandez, Elkhart Truth (07/24/2016)
  

  More than 10 years after a Goshen man became paralyzed from the waist down from an undiagnosed infection, a local court has ordered him and his wife to receive more than $4 million in compensation.

• Scientists detect a drug-resistant bacteria in Rio's waters - Gavin Fernando, New Zealand Herald (07/11/2016)
  

   A group of Brazilian scientists has just discovered a drug-resistant super-bacteria growing off some of Rio de Janeiro's beaches, with less than a month to go until the Games officially commence, which will be hosted by the city from August 5.

• Jury hits U. of C. hospital with $53 million malpractice verdict - Becky Yerak, Chicago Tribune (06/30/2016)
  A Cook County jury has awarded $53 million to a 12-year-old Hickory Hills boy and his mother in a 2013 lawsuit filed against the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was born with a serious brain injury.
• Virginia Mason warns dialysis patients of hepatitis B risk after screening error - Vernal Coleman, The Seattle Times (06/17/2016)
  Seattle’s Virginia Mason Hospital said Friday that a lapse in hepatitis B screening procedures may have put dialysis patients over the past five years at risk for the blood infection.
• Legionella found in Pittsburgh hospital’s water tanks - The Washington Times (06/15/2016)
  Bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease have been found in two water tanks at a Pittsburgh hospital.
• R.I. jury finds Roger Williams Medical Center negligent, awards Johnston woman $8.6 million - Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal (06/14/2016)
  

  A Superior Court jury this week awarded a Johnston woman $8.6 million and found that Roger Williams Medical Center was negligent in failing to alert her doctors that she had a potentially life-threatening infection in her spine.

• Doctors tune out electronic health alerts - Shefali Luthra, Chicago Tribune (06/13/2016)
  Electronic health records increasingly include automated alert systems pegged to patients’ health information. What’s the problem? It’s called alert fatigue.
• The Superbug that doctors have been dreading just reached the US - Lena H. Sun and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post (05/27/2016)
  For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotics of last resort, an alarming development that the top U.S. public health official says could mean “the end of the road” for antibiotics.
• Researchers: Medical errors now third leading cause of death in United States - Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post (05/03/2016)
  Nightmare stories of nurses giving potent drugs meant for one patient to another and surgeons removing the wrong body parts have dominated recent headlines about medical care. Lest you assume those cases are the exceptions, a new study by patient-safety researchers provides some context.
• Banned chemical still used in hospital IVs is linked to attention deficit disorder - Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post (04/06/2016)
  A chemical used to make plastic IV tubes and catheters has been linked to attention deficit disorder in children who received treatment for a serious illness, according to a new study.
• State acts on simultaneous surgeries - Jonathan Saltzman and Jenn Abelson, Boston Globe (01/07/2016)
  

  Surgeons would have to document each time they enter and leave the operating room under a new regulation that the state medical board overwhelmingly approved Thursday amid heightened scrutiny of doctors who do more than one operation at a time.

2015

• E-Cigarette Flavorings Linked With Lung Disease - Mary Brophy Marcus, CBS News (12/08/2015)
  Cotton candy, cupcakes, and tutti frutti conjure carefree days as a kid, but a new study shows chemical flavorings by such yummy names are used to lace e-cigarettes and can cause severe lung disease.
• Medical staff open to contamination because of gowns, gloves - Stephen Feller, UPI (10/12/2015)
  Medical staff is at greater risk for infection by pathogens than they should because of improper removal of gloves and gowns, according to simulations in a study conducted with hospital employees.
• Murder trial sends message to doctors: 'Don't get reckless,' medical expert says - MARISA GERBER, LA TIMES (08/31/2015)
  The general practitioner [Dr. Hsiu-Ying "Lisa" Tseng]... is the first California doctor ever charged with murdering patients who overdosed merely for prescribing them medication.
• $17 million jury award could test Nebraska tort cap - AP (08/08/2015)
  In a case that could test Nebraska’s strict cap on medical malpractice awards, a federal jury has awarded the family of a 2-year-old girl a whopping $17 million, finding that subpar care at Bellevue Medical Center caused her severe disability.
• Patients Less Likely to Die if Readmitted to Same Hospital, Study Finds - Jessica Glenza, The Guardian (06/17/2015)
  Patients are 26% less likely to die within 90 days of a major surgery if, when they suffer complications, they are readmitted to the same hospital, researchers found in a major analysis of 10 years worth of Medicare data.
• Mass. Hospitals Continue to Make Preventable Mistakes - Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe (06/11/2015)
  

  Full-service hospitals in Massachusetts reported making 821 preventable errors that harmed or endangered patients last year, according to a report released Wednesday.

• Hospitals Step Up Search for Best Way to Clean Troubled Scopes - Chad Terhune and Melody Petersen, LA Times (05/14/2015)
  Three months after deadly superbug outbreaks sparked alarm nationwide, U.S. hospitals are still searching for how best to clean a controversial medical scope and keep patients safe.
• The Healing Power of Your Own Medical Records - Steve Lohr, NY Times (03/31/2015)
  At every stage, Mr. Keating, a 26-year-old doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, has pushed and prodded to get his medical information, collecting an estimated 70 gigabytes of his own patient data by now. His case points to what medical experts say could be gained if patients had full and easier access to their medical information.

2014

• Lawyers reach settlement in medical records case - AP, News Tribune (12/06/2014)
  Lawyers have asked a Jackson County judge to approve about a $400,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed after personal medical records that were put in the trash were blown across a neighborhood in May.
• Ohio Bill Would Shield Doctors Who Say 'My Fault' - ABC News (12/02/2014)
  

  Doctors talking privately to patients or families after a medical mishap could acknowledge responsibility or even admit a mistake without that conversation being used against them later in court, according to a proposal in the Ohio General Assembly pushed by physicians.

• Voters have say in doctor-lawyer battle over malpractice cap - Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee (10/27/2014)
  The matter is now before voters as a complex and multifaceted initiative that would raise the [pain-and-suffering award] limit [in medical malpractice suits] to $1.1 million and adjust it annually to reflect increases in inflation.
• Lead exposure at nation's gun ranges poses 'a serious problem' - Christine Willmsen, Lewis Kamb, Justin Mayor, Charlotte Observer (10/19/2014)
  For the public, shooting firearms is the most common way of getting lead poisoning outside of work, according to national statistics.
• Researchers create 'black box' for use in operating rooms - Medical Express (07/08/2014)
  Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have developed a "black box" for using in operating rooms, similar to that used in the airline industry.
• Prices Paid to Ambulatory Surgery Centers in Some States Were Triple Those in Other States - PRWeb, SFGate (06/24/2014)
  A new 23-state study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) shows that prices paid to ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) in some states were triple that in other states.
• How to Protect Yourself against Bad Self-Help - Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American (06/17/2014)
  Kirby and one other participant did not survive the [5-day “catalyst for change”] ritual; a third became comatose and died a week later.
• Recession linked to more than 10,000 suicides across Europe and North America - James Fluere , Science Recorder (06/12/2014)
  Research out of the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine reveals that the recent recession (2008-2010) can be linked to more than 10,000 suicides across Europe and North America.
• Killing a Patient to Save His Life - Kate Murphy, New York Times (06/09/2014)
  Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have begun a clinical trial that pushes the boundaries of conventional surgery — and, some say, medical ethics.
• State to pay $350,000 in inmate wrongful death case - Laura A Bischoff, MCT Regional News (06/03/2014)
  The state prisons department will have to pay $350,000 in damages to the family of a Warren Correctional Institution inmate who died in the prison infirmary, according to the Ohio Court of Claims.
• Black lung rule to address medical disclosure - Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette (05/27/2014)
  The Obama administration plans to write a new rule aimed at addressing concerns that coal industry lawyers routinely withhold evidence from miners seeking federal black lung benefits.
• Voters may decide medical malpractice cap - Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times (02/18/2014)
  A protracted political battle over California's medical malpractice law may be coming to a new front: the voting booth.