Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Untested Medical Devices Compromise Patient Safety

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:59:46 -0500

For millions of Americans, medical devices have meant an improved quality of life. However, many of these people also suffer injuries from medical devices that were not tested adequately before they were implanted in their bodies.

According to a new report by Consumer Reports, there are an increasing number of American patients who live with some kind of medical devices. These devices range all the way from defibrillators to vaginal mesh. Many of these devices are untested. According to Consumer Reports, in many cases, manufacturers are getting their medical devices approved by the Food And Drug Administration by merely filing paperwork.

Getting a simple new medical device approved by the Food and Drug Administration costs just over $4,000. A company only has to pay this user fee to begin selling a medical product that can be inserted in the bodies of millions of Americans.

Indiana Trucking Company Ordered to Shut Down for Safety Violations

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:46:25 -0500

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is continuing its stepped-up enforcement of trucking safety rules. The agency recently ordered a trucking company in Indiana to shut down all transportation services immediately. The order came after a review of the trucking company’s compliance with federal trucking safety rules.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, it conducted a review of the company, U & D Service Inc., and found multiple federal trucking safety violations. These violations included a continuous pattern of employing drivers who do not possess valid commercial driver's licenses. The agency also found in its review that the company frequently employed divers who did not meet federal requirements for English proficiency. A truck driver who is unskilled, untrained and does not possess a valid commercial driver's license, could be at a much higher risk of committing a serious and possibly even fatal driving error.

Alcohol Use Increases Risk of Surgical Errors

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:32:58 -0500

Alcohol abuse and addiction issues are much more prevalent among American surgeons than believed. According to a new survey, approximately 15% of surgeons struggle with alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency issues, a rate that is much higher than the average alcohol dependency rate among the general population.

The survey was conducted in 2010, and included doctors who were members of the American College of Surgeons. According to the survey which has been published in the Archives of Surgery February issue, approximately 14 % of male surgeons in the US report alcohol dependence, compared to 26% of female surgeons. Taken together, these rates of alcohol dependence and alcohol addiction among surgeons is much higher than the 8% to 12% rate that is believed to exist in the general population.

The researchers, however, mention that it's highly unlikely that a surgeon would be so impaired by the use of alcohol that he would make serious medical errors. According to the researchers, the risk of a patient being harmed by a surgeon operating under the influence of alcohol is something like 1 in 10,000.

Survey Questions Doctors’ Professionalism

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:10:24 -0500

Honesty doesn’t always seem to be the best policy for doctors. A new study finds that many of them avoid telling patients the truth about their condition, or putting a positive spin on a prognosis, while others prefer to conceal medical errors.

More than 1,890 doctors were included in the survey, which was conducted in 2009. The surveyors mainly wanted to see whether the doctors followed the standards of the Charter on Medical Professionalism, which urges doctors to follow high standards of honesty with patients and to disclose medical errors immediately.

According to the survey, approximately 55% admitted that they occasionally put a positive spin on a patient's prognosis. The survey asked a number of other questions related to honesty in healthcare, and found other equally disturbing results. Approximately one-third of the doctors surveyed believed that they should not disclose medical errors to patients.

Research Indicates Electronic Prescriptions Reduce Risk of Errors

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:22:22 -0500

Thousands of people are killed every year due to medical errors, and a large number of these errors have to do with prescription mistakes. According to new research, doctors who use electronic prescription tools to prescribe medications for patients not only make fewer errors, but also increase their patients’ adherence to medications.

Electronic prescriptions refer to the use of computer devices by doctors to prescribe medications for patients. These prescription tools do not involve the use of pen and paper, and this translates into great benefits. For one thing, a doctor who uses an electronic prescription system is less likely to make errors compared to a doctor who uses a pen and paper to write out a prescription. Additionally, with an e- prescription a pharmacist does not have to decipher a doctor’s illegible handwriting. Many prescription errors occur every year because pharmacists make critical errors while reading a doctor’s handwritten prescription.

FDA to Require Drug Companies to Disclose Payments to Doctors

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:04:20 -0500

Pharmaceutical companies will soon be required to disclose payments that they make to doctors. The aim is to increase transparency, and ensure that doctors influenced by these payments do not make medical decisions that impact patient safety and increase healthcare costs.

Every year, thousands of doctors across the country receive payments from pharmaceutical drug companies. Doctors are paid for research they conduct, as well as for consulting and speaking engagements. Besides making cash gifts, many companies also pay doctors in the form of dinners and vacations. There are a large number of doctors across the country who receive such payments from pharmaceutical companies. In fact, the pharmaceutical drug industry spends millions of dollars every year on such payments.

Several studies have indicated that doctors can be influenced by the payments that they receive from pharmaceutical companies. These doctors, it has been found, are much more likely to contribute to high costs of medical care by prescribing more expensive drugs, or recommending medical devices even when they are not necessary.

Most Medical Errors in Hospitals Go Unreported

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:45:56 -0500

A new study by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services finds that more often than not, staff at hospitals fail to report medical errors. In fact, according to the study, staff recognize and report just one out of every 7 medical errors that harm Medicare patients in the hospital.

The study was conducted by Daniel Levinson, Inspector General of the Department Health and Human Services. In his report based on a survey of hospital administrators, he says that in spite of hospitals trying to foster an environment that encourages staff to report medical errors, far too many medical errors are going unreported. Many of these errors resulted in adverse patient events, like bedsores, delirium from over use of painkillers, as well as bleeding from the use of blood thinning medications. In all these cases, the errors contributed to adverse patient events that actually cause fatalities.

ECRI Releases List of Top 10 Health Technology Hazards

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:32:16 -0500

While there are a number of benefits from the use of medical and health technology, there are also a number of risks associated with the use of such technology. The ECRI Institute has released a list of the top 10 technology hazards for the year 2012.

The list was compiled after asking the following questions-

• How harmful is the hazard associated with the technology?
• How likely is the hazard?
• How widespread is it?
• Is it a high-profile problem?

1. Indiana medical malpractice lawyers will not be too surprised to find that alarm fatigue is ranked as the number one technology hazard in 2012. Alarm-related adverse events occur because of alarm fatigue when nurses and other staff become overexposed, and fatigued by the sheer numbers of alerts that they have to deal with everyday.

Stronger GDL Laws Could Save 49 Teen Motorist Lives in Indiana Annually

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:16:31 -0500

At least 49 teenage drivers could be saved every year if the state of Indiana improved its graduated driver’s licensing programs. In fact, according to a study by the National Safety Council, at least 2,000 lives of teenage drivers could be saved every year if such programs were strengthened and included more restrictions.

According to transportation safety experts, the ideal graduated driver’s licensing program will include 7 components.
1. It will include a minimum age of 16 for a person to get a learner's permit,
2. It will require that a person have at least 6 months of supervised driving
3. It will require a minimum of 30 hours of supervised driving when the person is in the learner stage
4. It will set 16 ½ as the minimum age for an intermediate license
5. It will have nighttime driving restrictions that would begin at 10 PM
6. It will restrict the number of non-family passengers to just one for intermediate license holders
7. It will set a minimum age of 17 for a full license.

Distractions from Electronic Devices Increase Risk of Medical Errors

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:50:28 -0500

Shopping on eBay, checking out airline fares, browsing the Internet and checking e-mails - these are just some of the activities that medical professionals in American hospitals are being caught in, even as medical procedures are underway. The New York Times has a report on how distractions are increasing the risk of medical errors in American hospitals.

The use of technology has become widespread in hospitals around the country, as hospitals have begun investing in access to technology to enhance patient safety. There is no question that technology has many benefits. Doctors who use a smart phone can have important information like patient medical records and prescription details at their very finger tips. However, the risks of distractions from these devices are also very real.

The New York Times found a number of incidences from around the country, in which doctors, nurses and medical technicians were caught using cell phones while performing procedures and in other inappropriate situations. Doctor distractions have been linked to more than one medical malpractice lawsuit, including one out of Denver, in which the doctor was having a conversation on his hands-free set while performing a surgery on a patient. Those distractions were ultimately blamed for errors during the surgery that left the patient paralyzed. The doctor was making personal calls at the time of the procedure.

Increase in Texting While Driving Challenges Accident Prevention Efforts

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:03:50 -0500

Even as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that traffic accident fatalities across the country were at their lowest levels since 1949, there was sobering news from the agency. The number of people texting while driving has actually increased nationwide.

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a substantial drop in the number of people killed in traffic accidents in 2010. The number of people killed in all types of accidents including drunk driving accidents were down. However, another survey by the agency found a 50% increase in the practice of texting, e-mailing and using other handheld devices while driving nationwide. The results of the study came from the monitoring of stoplights, intersections and other places where researchers observed and surveyed drivers’ texting practices. According to the results, two out of 10 American motorists admit that they have sent text messages while driving. Those numbers get progressively worse as the age of the driver drops.

The results of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey don't only involve people who were sending or reading text messages while driving, but also include those motorists who were checking directions on their GPS devices, checking e-mails, surfing the Internet on their smart phones, playing games and performing other activities that require the use of a handheld device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has concluded from the survey that in 2010, just under 1% of drivers were using a handheld device at any given moment in time. That is an increase from 0.6% of drivers in 2009.

Women Are the New Drunk Driving Challenge for Law Enforcement

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:49:44 -0500

According to a study, the number of DUI arrests involving women has increased by 36% over the last decade. Men comprise the majority of all DUI arrests in the country, but women have been catching up.

According to the study, the factors influencing male and female drinking are extremely different. Many DUI arrests involving women, seem to be linked to drinking in the daytime while caring for children. This has led sociologists to speculate that this increase in DUI arrests involving women has to do with parenting-related stresses. The study noted that the majority of women who were arrested for DUI are the primary caregivers for their children. The Department of Transportation will focus on tackling this safety problem during its annual holiday enforcement campaign.

Another drunk driving-related study however has fewer surprises for Indiana personal injury lawyers. The study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration finds that parents, who drive under the influence, are more likely to pass on such destructive driving practices to their children. When a teenage motorist has a mother who drives under the influence, his or her risks of driving under the influence are higher than for teenage drivers whose mothers do not drive under the influence. Approximately 18% of teenagers whose mothers drove intoxicated also drove intoxicated, compared to 11% of teens whose mothers did not drive under the influence. In the case of the fathers, the impact seems to even greater. Teenage motorists with fathers who drove under the influence were much more likely to drive under the influence, than teens whose fathers did not drive under the influence of alcohol. The percentage of teen DUIs whose fathers also drove under the influence was 21.4%

Indiana University Health Reports Highest Number of Medical Errors in 2010

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:44:48 -0500

The Indiana State Department of Health has released its 2010 Medical Error Report. According to the report, Indiana University Health recorded some of the highest medical errors in 2010.

Indiana University Health recorded a total of 19 serious errors in 2010. Overall, 107 series medical errors were reported in Indiana hospitals and healthcare centers in 2010. That was an increase of at least 13 errors from 2009. In fact, the number of medical errors that were reported in 2010 is the highest since the state began collecting medical information 5 years ago.

Overall, according to the report, the Indiana State Department of Health issued 34 citations for serious bedsores and 33 for foreign objects left inside patients after surgeries. Stage III and stage IV bedsores have been the most frequent medical errors reported in for the last 5 years.

Trucking Accident Deaths up in 2010

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:56:12 -0500

For a while now, the trucking industry has been pushing for a continuation of the current Hours of Service for truck drivers, which currently allows drivers to operate a rig for 11 consecutive hours. The reasoning is that these work hours have contributed to a decline in the number of people being killed in truck accident deaths every year. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has shot down that argument. According to the federal agency chief, estimates of trucking accident fatalities across the country show a possible increase in deaths in these accidents in 2010.

According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Chief Anne Ferro, the number of people killed in truck accidents in 2010 was close to 4,000. That was an increase from 3,360 fatalities in 2009. This information emerged at a hearing on the Hours of Service rule that is currently pending with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The federal agency should have finalized a new Hours of Service rule last month, but missed a deadline to do so.

However, the number of truck accidents declined in 2010. The trucking industry is likely to pounce on this fact as proof that safety has increased since the Hours of Service were increased to 11 hours, from the earlier 10.

Occupants of Hybrid Cars Safer in an Accident

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:27:07 -0500

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Highway Loss Data Institute reveals that occupants of hybrid vehicles may be much less likely to be injured in an accident than occupants of non-hybrid vehicles. However, hybrid cars are more likely to be involved in collisions with pedestrians.

According to the study, hybrid vehicles have up to 25% greater crash protection than non-conventional vehicles. That's mainly because these vehicles have approximately 10% more weight than conventional vehicles. Bigger, heavier cars have a greater likelihood of protecting occupants during an accident, than smaller vehicles.

It appears that automakers have finally found the magic combination of eco-friendliness and safety that they have been looking for. For several years, hybrid vehicles were considered less safe cars, because while they promised fuel efficiency and cleaner driving, they did not rank highly on crash protection.