Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Regulators Issue Emergency Cell Phone Ban for Railroad Workers - Friday, October 3, 2008
Following the September 12 Metrolink train accident in California that killed 25 people after the commuter train slammed into a freight train, federal regulators have issued an emergency ban on cell phone usage by those who work for the railroads. This is due to the finding that Metrolink engineer, Robert Sanchez, was most likely texting on his cell phone as he ran through a red light and then into another train. The collision occurred 22 seconds after Sanchez's last text. Sanchez was among the 25 people killed.
The federal regulations state that any violators will be fined or removed from their jobs under the new rule. In the ruling, the Railroad Administration notes that those working for the railroads are increasingly using cell phones and can be easily distracted as seems the case with Sanchez. The administration notes six train accidents between 2000 and 2006 that were caused by someone using a cell phone. Four of those accidents resulted in deaths.
Metrolink adopted a cell phone ban in the engine cab before the September accident, but will now enforce the ban by having a second engineer in the cab and installing video cameras to monitor engineer behavior. Safety advocates claim this ban isn't enough and are pushing railroads to invest in technology that will apply the brakes when a train runs a red light or somehow gets off track. The White House backs this plan, and a spokesman said President Bush is expected to sign rail safety reform legislation that also requires more rest for workers in addition to the brake technology. If it passes, the bill will take effect in 2015.
Recall of Cold Medicine Sought by Doctors - Thursday, October 2, 2008
Pediatricians are asking the Food and Drug Administration to recall cold medicine for children under six years old. A public hearing is scheduled for later today. Doctors are concerned that the risks of the medicine are too great, and question the benefits they may have. Furthermore, some doctors claim there isn't much evidence that supports the use of over-the-counter cold medicines for children under six. According to Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, health commissioner of Baltimore, "There is nothing that is holding the FDA back from asking for a voluntary recall now of products marketed to kids under six."
The FDA warned against giving over-the-counter medication to children younger than two earlier this year, and was expected to decide at the time on giving medicine to children up to 11. However, the government agency decided to wait to hear more from doctors, consumers, and the industry.
The industry response is based on standards set 30 years ago by the FDA when there were no separate studies done on children. The industry claims that these medicines are safe to use on children older than two. However, drug manufacturers have begun conducting their own studies on the most common ingredients, and voluntarily stopped selling cold and cough medicines to young children and toddlers last fall.
The issue is that because the same ingredients can be found in multiple types of medicine, there is a danger of an accidental overdose. Using a cough syrup and a decongestant together on a child can have dangerous consequences. Some 7,000 children are sent to hospitals every year for this very reason. Emergency rooms see symptoms ranging from drowsiness and hives to problems with balance.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, representing the manufacturers, claims the errors are preventable, and that it is not the ingredients in the medicine. They have begun a campaign aimed at doctors, parents, and day care providers on the importance of correct storage and reading the directions of the medicine.
Doctors are still not convinced that any medicine should be given to children for colds since they usually clear up after a few days on their own. Their recommendation is that children get rest and drink plenty of fluids. However, the Nielsen Co. market research firm has estimated that children's cold and cough medicine is a nearly $300 million business annually. Nearly ten percent of children are given a cold medicine during any given week, most of this to children between two- and five-years-old.
After the withdrawal of cold medicines last fall, there was an almost immediate drop in calls to poison control centers by parents whose children had overdosed. Calls involving children younger than two dropped nearly 40 percent from 99 to 60.
Medicare to Stop Paying Hospitals for Medical Errors - Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Beginning today, October 1, Medicare will stop reimbursing hospitals for ten medical errors they have found are most likely preventable. This is an initial list with room to grow as the insurance group sees fit. These new regulations may apply to hundreds of thousands of hospitals covered by Medicare. Additionally, this will also keep hospitals from directly billing patients for costs accrued by medical errors.
The ten preventable conditions on Medicare's list are:
- Air embolism
- Blood incompatibility
- Catheter-associated urinary tract infection
- Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism following total hip or knee replacement
- Falls and trauma
- Foreign object retained after surgery
- Manifestations of poor blood sugar control
- Stage 3 and 4 pressure ulcers
- Surgical site infection following coronary artery bypass, and certain orthopedic and bariatric procedures
- Vascular catheter-associated infection
Medicare is the country's largest insurer, and it is thought that its refusal to pay for preventable conditions has influenced other public and private groups to adopt similar criteria. Four state Medicaid groups announced over the past year that they will not pay for as many as 28 "never events." Other commercial insurers like Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and WellPoint in seven states have followed suit.
Pay-For-Performance
Experts don't believe this to be a measure that will lead to large savings. However, there has been political pressure building for years on ways to revamp the medical payment system. Critics have said costs have been driven up through "perverse incentives that reward the quantity of care more than the promotion of health." It is hoped that this can be reoriented into something called "pay-for-performance."
Because the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has recommended reducing payments to hospitals with high readmission rates, the focus is now on rewarding hospitals that do things correctly. Medicare grants bonuses to doctors and hospitals when they report quality control measures, and is experimenting with rewarding doctors who follow protocols for illnesses such as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and diabetes.
Other recommendations, such as hand-washing, installing electronic prescribing systems to cut down on medication errors, nurses providing more information on patients during shift changes, and marking drugs like Heparin with labels to avoid drug mix-ups are already in place.
At Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, hospital president Brock D. Nelson, states that there used to be an acceptance of many of these errors. "We've come to now accept that they're avoidable. And that's a sea change."
If you or a loved one has been injured or sickened due to a medical error, please contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney in your area.
GAO Calls Out FDA on Poor Oversight of Fresh Produce - Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The U.S. Government Accountability Office believes the Food and Drug Administration needs to do much more to avoid repeats of mass foodborne illness like we saw earlier this year. A salmonella outbreak linked to tainted peppers and tomatoes that sickened over 1,400 people was this country's largest outbreak in over ten years.
The GAO report focuses on fresh produce for several reasons. First and foremost, Americans are consuming fresh fruits and vegetables in increasing numbers as part of a healthy diet. The USDA claims the average American consumed 13 pounds more of fresh fruit and 50 pounds more of fresh vegetables between 2003 and 2005 than from 1983 to 1985. Add to this the number of consumers interested in obtaining food with the "Organic" label, as well as the rise in stores like Whole Foods that push healthy living. However, the FDA has been slow to update research and regulatory practices. The last agricultural update was in 1998, and the last update to fresh-cut produce was in 1986.
One problem the FDA has encountered, which the GAO notes, is the lack of funding and staffing shortfalls. Although the FDA has taken steps to hire more scientists and inspectors, they have lost groups critical to food safety every year for the last four years – some 800 annually. Furthermore, the FDA only spends three percent of its food safety budget each year on the realm of fresh produce. Less than one percent of all produce imported into the U.S. is inspected even though imports increase each year.
In addition to the salmonella outbreak, the bagged spinach E. coli outbreak in 2006, and the recent tainted milk products in China have come to light. This has caused concern not only among those at the GAO, but average consumers as well. Besides sickening thousands of people, the produce industry is bleeding millions of dollars.
Foodborne illnesses like salmonella and E. coli not only sicken, but have been known to kill. The groups most likely to become ill are the young, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems. If you feel you may have been sickened by tainted produce, contact an experienced defective product attorney in your area.
Chinese Tainted Milk Scandal Reaches U.S. Shores - Monday, September 29, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration issued an alert on Friday, September 19th warning the public to avoid consumption of Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. The FDA believes there is a possibility that these products may have been contaminated with melamine because the Taiwanese producer uses creamer made in China at Shandong Duqing, Inc.
This recall includes: Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee, Blue Mountain Blend Coffee, Caramel Macciato Instant Coffee, French Vanilla Instant Coffee, Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee, and Mr. Brown Milk Tea.
Although the FDA has recommended that consumers avoid these products and retailers removed them from their shelves, no melamine contamination has been found as of Friday, September 25th.
In addition to Mr. Brown products, both KFC and Starbucks have confirmed they use products produced by Megniu, one of the largest dairy suppliers in China, and a company where melanine was found. KFC dropped Nestle in 2007 for Megniu as its supplier.
Over 53,000 children have been sickened by melanine since this latest Chinese product crisis began. The CEO of New Zealand's Fonterra, Andrew Ferrier, believes this is sabotage. Fonterra owns a 43 percent stake in China's dairy producer Sanlu. Chinese authorities state they have detained 19 people and questioned another 78. Chinese state media reports that authorities have arrested two farmers for adding melamine to their milk in an effort to increase protein levels.
Melamine is an organic product that when mixed with resins can be developed into fire retardant. When it is combined with cyanuric acid, it forms melamine cyanurate. This can cause kidney stones, which can be fatal. In addition to kidney stones, chronic ingestion may lead to reproductive damage, and bladder problems. These can lead to bladder cancer.
Melamine is also at the heart of the tainted pet food found in 2007, which sickened and killed many animals in the U.S.
If you or a loved one has been sickened by any consumer product, find an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.
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