Dallas Regional Medical Center of Mesquite ranks best while Fort Worth’s John Peter Smith ranks last according to the Dallas Morning News. Dallas Regional is best in the metroplex and second best in the state regarding preventable complications while John Peter Smith ranks last in the state with a 370 percent increase in likelihood of the occurrence of a preventable complication. Such complications could range in anything from bed sores to infections to hemorrhages. The Dallas Morning News analyzed nearly six million records from the past two years of data available from 320 short-term, … [Read more...]
Physicians Observations Preceed Generic Drug Recall
Cleveland Clinic’s cardiologist, Dr. Harry Lever, noticed repeat occurrences patients reporting chest pain when switched off of brand name Toprol and onto generic equivalents of this beta blocker used to treat high blood pressure. Once returned to Toprol brand version of the drug, the chest pains disappear. Dr. Lever reported this to the FDA but had no proving evidence aside from his observations. Sadly, his observations had a base as we now see two large Indian manufacturers, Wockhardt and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, announcing recalls of more than 100,000 bottles because their products were … [Read more...]
Family Law
At Springer and Lyle we know that divorce and custody cases are major life events that require individualized representation. That’s why we approach each case based on our client’s unique situation. … [Read more...]
City of Denton Bans Texting and Other Cell Phone Activities
The Denton City Council voted unanimously to outlaw texting and most usage of mobile phones with the exception of vocal conversation in the entire city excluding interstates and their service roads. The following information is gathered from reports by the Denton Record-Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, and NBC-5 News. Heated testimony filled the council chamber as citizens reported of incidents where pedestrians and bicyclists are injured as a result of neglectful and distracted driving while using cellular devices. One pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on the historic Denton Square and … [Read more...]
Internal Stir Between Marketing and Safety for Blood Thinning Drug
The generic blood thinning agent used for decades stands to be replaced as new drugs emerge that claim to need less focus on monitoring blood levels in users. As these competing new drugs hit the market, one known as Pradaxa, has experienced a stir amongst its internal factions, those whose interests are in marketing and those whose concerns are safety in usage. While grossing over $2 billion in sales since its approval in 2010 and having been prescribed to some 850,000 patients who have received prescriptions, Pradaxa has been linked to over 1,000 deaths. The concerns of an internal study and … [Read more...]
Congressional Investigation of GM over 57 Cent Part
Thirteen people had died in highway accidents as a result of a faulty ignition switch that would have cost 57 cents to replace. Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin of the Associated Press report that GM has failed to act even though the issue has been known for years. Read about GM CEO Mary Barra’s testimony before Congress as published in the Houston Chronicle. … [Read more...]
Air Bag Failure Spurs Nissan Recall
Fred Meier and James R. Healey of USA Today report of nearly one million Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles being eligible for recall due to passenger air bag failure. Here’s the article posted March 26 at USAToday.Com : Nissan is recalling 1 million vehicles because the air bag system software might not be able to tell whether there is a person sitting in the front passenger seat, so the air bag might not inflate in a crash. It’s the second passenger air bag recall for some of the vehicles. Last April, 82,038 2013-model vehicles from the same group were recalled because a sensor was … [Read more...]
GM Ignition Switch Linked to Serious Injury and Death
by Jeff Springer and Frank Lyle --- On Feb. 13, 2014, General Motors (GM) recalled over 750,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac vehicles to repair an ignition switch that can allow the key to slip from its “run” position when the car hits a bump or, if the keychain is too heavy. The defect can cause an engine shutdown and loss of power steering, brakes, and safety systems, including airbags and anti-lock brakes. On Feb. 25, GM expanded the recall to include hundreds of thousands of additional Chevy, Pontiac, and Saturn cars, bringing the total number of affected vehicles to 1.4 million. … [Read more...]
Patient Injury Reaches 33% in Skilled Nursing Facilities
One out of three patients suffer some form of injury according to a report released March 3, 2014 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These injuries could result from medical error, infection, or other harm related to their treatment. An article published in Pro Publica reports that doctors interviews state that nearly 60% of these injuries were preventable and more than half of the patients injured required re-admittance to the hospital. This is a testimony of the troubles caused to the patients as well as the overall cost increase due to preventable errors and oversight. … [Read more...]
Medical Board’s Cases Against Doctors on the Rise
Texas Medical Board Cases Against Doctors Rise 76% in 10 Years This report by Bill Hethcock of the Dallas Business Journal, Feb 12, 2014, reports that this is a result of the tort reform legislation of 2001. This benefits healthcare professionals due to a lack of aggressive pursuit on the part of the state agency, much to the detriment of patients who have suffered damages. The reform puts the ball in the court of state government who in turn manages poorly in place of the former method where private attorneys would defend the patient’s interests backed by an economic incentive to fuel a … [Read more...]