News

No Evidence of Medical Malpractice Crisis

According to an article in the May 8, 2007 edition of The Washington Post, there is no evidence at filing a medical malpractice is like playing the lottery. The article was published in the Health section of the paper. The author, Sandra Boodman cites a law review article written by Phillip Peters, Jr. in the Michigan Law Review for the proposition that “there is no empirical evidence to support the much publicized notion that the tort system amount to a lottery for injured plaintiffs, as President Bush and others have long maintained. . . .If anything, the system appears to be biased against them”. The article goes on to state that “overall, injured patients win only about 27 percent of all malpractice cases that go to trial--the lowest rate of any category of tort litigation”. President Bush has been claiming for years that there are too many nuisance medical malpractice lawsuits but neither he nor any of its allies who are calling for changes that would make it harder for injured people to recover for their injuries have cited any reliable statistics to support their argument.

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President Bush Tries to Destroy the Effectiveness of CPSC

President Bush has nominated Michael Baroody, one of Corporate America's leading the anti-consumer spokesmen to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) our governments top agency charged with protecting millions of consumers from injury and death due to unsafe products. A hearing on his nomination will likely take place in the U.S. Senate next week. For the past 13 years, Baroody has served as Executive Vice President of the national Association of Manufacturers, a huge K Street lobbying firm whose goal is to help big manufacturers evade responsibility for their negligence. If confirmed to head the CPSC Baroody could dismantle decades of laws designed to protect consumers from such dangerous products as flammable children's pajamas to deadly collapsing cribs. During his career trying to help big businesses avoid accountability, Baroody has: opposed attempts to ban tobacco billboards near schools supported allowing higher levels of arsenic in drinking water supported allowing companies to keep secret their documents regarding unsafe products lobbied to allow corporations to evade responsibility for all kinds of deadly negligence For more information visit www.stopbaroody.com Those who oppose allowing Mr. Baroody to destroy the effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission are encouraged to contact their United States Senators.

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Jeff Krasnow listed in Best Lawyers in America

Jeff Krasnow, the founder of The Krasnow Law Firm has been listed in the 2007 edition of Best Lawyers in America as one of the country's top lawyers representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. Best Lawyers in America uses a very restricted peer-reviewed system to identify the very best lawyers in a broad range of practice areas.

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Florida Jury Awards Stroke Victim $3.82 Million Dollars

A Florida jury has awarded more than 3.8 Million Dollars to a woman who suffered a brain injury after having a large intravenous tube removed before she was about to be released and sent home. Kathleen Leer, 54 years of age, was a chronic pain patient who had been admitted because of a dislodged catheter in her lower back. After an operation to replace the catheter, she developed complications and was kept at the hospital for several more days. When she was recovered enough to go home, before discharge, a nurse removed the intravenous central line which is an IV put into the large veins of the upper chest or neck. This caused an air embolism which in turn caused a stroke and brain damage. Leer has been left with left-sided paralysis and a significant decrease in mental functioning, such that she requires 24-hour care.

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ABA Takes Issue With the President

The American Bar Association has said that President Bush is flouting the Constitution and undermining the Rule of Law by claiming that he has the power to disregard certain portions of bills passed by congress that he has signed. In a detailed report, a bi-partisan eleven-member panel of the ABA documented that President Bush has used such "signing statements" far more than any of his predecessors, raising objections to more than 800 provisions and more than 100 laws on the grounds that they infringe on his prerogatives as President. According to the panel these wide-ranging assertions of presidential power amount to a "line-item veto" and improperly deprive Congress of the opportunity to override that veto. One of the most notorious examples of this is when President Bush signed a statutory ban on torture and other national security laws, he reserved the right to disregard them. The ABA Panel said the use of signing statements in this manner was both contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers." Since the founding of our republic presidents have understood as George Washington said, a president "must approve all the parts of a bill or reject it in toto". If the president considers a bill to be unconstitutional, he can veto it, the panel said, but "signing statements should not be a substitute for a presidential veto.

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FDA licenses new vaccine to reduce risk of shingles for older Americans

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed a new medication called Zostavax which is designed to reduce the risk of shingles in people 60 years of age or older. Shingles is a disease caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. After an attack of chicken pox, the virus can lie dormant in certain nerve tissues. As people age, sometimes the virus will reappear in the form of shingles which is estimated to effect 2 in every 10 people during their lifetime. Shingles is characterized by clusters of blisters which develop on one side of the body and can cause severe pain that can last for weeks, months or even years after the virus disappears. This new vaccine, Zostavax, gives healthcare providers an important tool that can prevent illness that effects many older Americans and frequently results in significant chronic pain according to Jessie L. Goodman, M.D., M.P.H., Director of FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

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House Bill to Protect Manufacturers of Defective Products

The Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives is considering a bill which would protect manufacturers of defective products from lawsuits by persons injured by those products. HR3509 would completely eliminate the rights of workers covered by workers' compensation to hold the sellers and manufacturers of this equipment accountable when they are injured by a defective product that is more than 12 years old. This would apply regardless of how long the product was designed and built to last. Many products, such as industrial machinery, tractors and construction tools are designed and built to last longer than 12 years. This Bill would leave the innocent injured workers and their families without a remedy when they are killed or injured by a defective product. In a joint consumer letter from the Alliance for Justice, Center for Justice & Democracy, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Public Citizen and US Public Interest Research Group, these united consumer organizations state: "HR3509 is a strongly anti-safety, anti-worker bill...[it applied to manufacturing equipment executives] knew it was defective at the time of production, note equipment that has become dangerous because it is antiquated or worn out...even where products were designed to function much longer than 12 years, like farm equipment, elevators and industrial machinery". HR3509 would completely shield negligent manufacturers from responsibility simply because more than a dozen years had gone by since the product was made. Workers in dangerous professions such as construction, mining, drilling, manufacturing, farming, forestry and fire fighting, would be particularly harmed by the legislation. People who are concerned about this issue, especially those who are involved or have relatives involved in one of these professions, are urged to contact their congressman and senators to let them know that they oppose this anti-worker / anti-safety bill.

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Public Citizen sues FDA over plans for secret meeting

Public Citizen has filed an emergency law suit to force the FDA to open what was scheduled to be a secret meeting scheduled for Friday, July 14, 2006 on an experimental blood substitute product. The U.S. Navy has submitted a proposal to test Hemopure, a blood substitute product derived from cows’ blood on civilian trauma patients. The FDA has reportedly turned down three separate requests from the Navy of this nature and Public Citizen which follows such matters closely wants its medical director to be present and to comment to protect the public interest. One of the concerns with this type of study is that patients will be given this experimental drug without obtaining their informed consent. This raises very serious issues which should be publicly discussed.

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Medication Errors

A new report from the Institute of Medicine says that more than 1.5 million Americans are injured every year by drug errors in hospitals, nursing homes and doctors offices. At least ¼ of these medication related injuries are preventable. The Institute has recommended that all prescriptions should be written electronically by 2010. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of the report was the conclusion that, on average, a hospitalized patient is subject to at least one medication error per day despite six years of intense efforts to improve hospital care. The new report could not estimate the number of patients who died because of these medication errors, but a 1999 estimate put the number conservatively at 7,000 per year. The report was also unable to say how many of the injuries were serious. There are several things that patients can do to protect themselves from drug errors. • Make sure that all of your doctors know about all of the medications, including prescription, over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, vitamins and herbs that you are taking. • Report all allergies or reactions to all of your doctors. • When your doctor writes you a prescription, make sure you can read it. • Ask questions and make sure the answers are in terms that you understand. • Double check to make sure that you have been given the right medication. If you have questions about the instructions for taking the medications, ask. • Ask for written information about what side effects your medication might cause.

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Consumer Products Safety Commission proposes a rule change that will put consumers in danger

The Consumer Products Safety Commission has recently proposed revisions to its rules regarding when manufacturers, distributors and retailers of consumer products must report product hazards. The proposed revisions would increase the likelihood that defects in consumer products would not be disclosed to the CPSC or the public. This would make it more difficult for consumers to bring lawsuits regarding defective products because evidence of those defects can be hidden by the manufacturers. While the rule making process normally allows for public comment, but in this case the CPSC has categorized this as a "interpretive rule" so that a period of comment is not required. Thomas Moore, one of the CPSC Commissioners, described this proposal as "a sop to the industry and a weakening of the current hazard-reporting system." Members of the public who are concerned for their safety and those of their families are encouraged to write their congressmen and senators to protest this weakening of consumer protection.

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Products are safer because of civil law suits

Many of the products that we use today are safer because of law suits that have been brought against the manufacturers in the past. Every garage door opener now includes a 15¢ part that causes it to reverse if it hits an object or a child while descending. That 15¢ part was not added until after a garage door manufacturer was successfully sued for the death of a child. Ford used to manufacture a car called the Pinto, which was poorly designed and had a tendency to burst into flames when struck from the rear. Only after Ford was hit with a large punitive damage award was the design changed. Children's pajamas are now treated with flame retardant chemicals because of a one million dollar punitive damage award against a manufacturer for a child who was burned. Women were dying from toxic shock syndrome after using super-absorbent tampons. This deadly product was removed from the market after a ten million dollar award. Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Tylenol, knew this product could destroy people's livers when mixed with alcohol. Only after an 8.8 million dollar verdict against Johnson & Johnson did the company put warnings on the product. Try and imagine how dangerous buying products would be without the threat of lawsuits against manufacturers who knowingly manufacture and sell dangerous products.

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Lawyer Wins $11,000,000.00 verdict against Allstate

A New Mexico jury has awarded nearly $11,000,000.00 in damages against Allstate Insurance Company to an Albuquerque lawyer because they ruined her legal practice. Allstate Insurance Company had routinely hired Suzanne Guest, an Albuquerque lawyer, to represent the company in defense of personal injury claims; however, when Guest and Allstate were sued by two people she had injured, the company reneged on their promise to defend her. Because Guest had to sue Allstate for their failure to defend her as promised, she then had a conflict of interest and could no longer represent Allstate which was almost the totality of her legal practice. A jury awarded $1.8 million in compensatory damages and $9 million dollars in punitive damage to punish Allstate for its outrageous behavior.

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New Study Casts Doubt on Claims that the Medical Malpractice System is Plagued by Frivolous Lawsuits

A new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital has produced evidence that frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits are not widespread. Researchers analyzed more than 14,000 closed malpractice claims from five different insurance companies. Although researchers found that nearly 1/3 of claims lacked clear cut evidence of medical error, most of those cases did not receive compensation. More than 90% of the claims reviewed involved a physical injury which was generally severe, resulting in significant or major disability or death and the reviewers judge that 63% of those injuries were due to medical error. The remaining 37% lacked clear evidence of error, though some were considered to be very close calls. Of the claims that lacked clear cut evidence of medical error, 72% did not receive any compensation. According to lead author, David Studdert, Associate Professor of Law and Public Health at the Harvard School for Public Health, "Some critics have suggested that the malpractice system is inundated with groundless lawsuits, and that whether a Plaintiff recovers money is like a random 'lottery', virtually unrelated to whether the claim has merit. These findings cast doubt on that view by showing that most malpractice claims involve medical error and serious injury, and the claims with merit are far more likely to be paid than claims without merit." Studdert concluded "The malpractice system appears to be getting it right about ¾ of the time. That is far from a perfect record, but it is not bad especially considering the questions of error and negligence can be complex."

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Meritorious Medical Malpractice Claims

A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine by the Department of Health Policy and Management, establishes that the vast majority of expenditures associated with medical malpractice litigation are expended on cases where preventable medical mistakes occurred and payments are made to the injured claimant. The study examined 14,052 closed malpractice claims from five liability insurers. They found only 3% of the claims had no verifiable medical injury and that 63% of the claims involved preventable medical errors. No compensation was paid in 84% of the cases without injury and 72% of the cases the investigators concluded there were no errors. 73% of the claims involving injuries due to error did result in compensation being paid. More than 25% of what were concluded to be meritorious cases received no compensation.

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Some blood pressure medications carry significant risks of birth defects if taken during pregnancy

A recent study published in New England Journal of Medicine documents for the first time that the use of certain medications used to treat high blood pressure causes a significant risk of children being born with birth defects. The medications in question, Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, have long been contraindicated during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy because of their association with an increased risk of birth defects. This study documents that the use of ACE inhibitors during the first trimester of pregnancy also carries a significant risk of birth defects. The conclusion of the authors of the study is that "Exposure to ACE inhibitors during the first trimester cannot be considered safe and should be avoided." ACE inhibitors which are available in the United States include Captopril (Capoten), Benazepral (Lotensin), Enalapril (Vasotec), Lisinopril (Prinivil), Zestril, Fosinopril (Monopril), Ramipril (Altace), Perindopril (Aceon), Quinapril (Accupril), Moexipril (Univasc) and Trandolapril (Mavik). Patients with high blood pressure who are pregnant should definitely discuss their choice of high blood pressure medications with their doctor in light of this study.

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Virginia Hospitals Rank 39th in the Country in Patient Safety

One very troubling aspect of the new Health Grade studies which reports 250,000 Medicare patients killed by preventable medical mistakes during the three years, is the performance of Virginia hospitals. Among the 50 states, Virginia's hospitals were ranked 39th. West Virginia, by comparison, was ranked 17th. Only four Virginia hospitals were included on the list of best-performing hospitals for overall patient safety.

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New Study Shows Incidence of Medical Malpractice Still Widespread

A new study by Health Grades released in April 2006, reports that 250,246 Medicare patients were killed by potentially preventable medical errors in hospitals over a three year period. In a previous report, Health Grades estimated that within the entire patient population, not just Medicare patients, there were 575,000 preventable deaths caused by medical errors over a three year period. This report on negligent medical care is particularly troubling in light of the plan of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to bring to the Senate floor a draconian medical malpractice bill that would do nothing to reduce the incidents of medical negligence and patient injuries and death. Rather, this bill would drastically limit compensations for victims, particularly those most seriously injured and strip them of their rights to hold negligent doctors and corporations accountable. Senator Frist, whose family owns a chain of hospitals and an insurance company, has proposed a plan that would put all American's at greater risk of injury and death by reducing incentives to improve patient safety and making it harder to bring even the most meritorious of medical malpractice cases.

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FDA to investigate medical patches including Orthro-Evra birth control patch

The Food & Drug Administration announced last month that it will launch a "exhaustive review" regarding the safety of medical patches, including the Orthro-Evra birth control patch and a Fentanyl pain patch, both of which are manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. Drug companies of late have been producing more and more medical patches and researchers are concerned that medical patches may become unstable and unsafe when exposed to heat from exercise, hot tubs or fever and that this could lead to serious medical complications. Evidence of the proliferation of medical patches is seen in the fact that the FDA just recently approved the first anti-depressant patch. According to Michael Cohen, Director of the Institute for Safe Medical Practices, "most people don't realize that heat is going to increase absorption rates, even to toxic levels...it's something patients should be warned about." Since its approval in 2001, there has been concern over serious side effects associated with the Ortho-Evra birth control patch which was prescribed for over 2 million women in 2004. The most serious side effects which have raised concern in the medical community is news that the patch increases a woman's risk of developing a blood clot. Recent reports indicate that the birth control patch has been blamed for the deaths of 23 women including 17 women who died from complications from blood clots. Many of these alleged victims were reportedly young and healthy with no history of blood clots or other cardiovascular conditions.

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National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration Releases Annual Crash Predictions

The NHTSA has released its annual projections for crashes and fatalities on our nation's highways. Traffic fatalitites are expected to increase by 1%, while injuries caused by crashes are expected to decline by 4%. To view the entire report, please follow the link below.

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Hospital restraint hangs patient

The recent report of a hospital patient who died after being found suspended with a restraining vest slung around his neck should remind hospitals and their employees of the care that must be used in the decision to put a patient in a restraining device and the supervision that must be provided to that patient while restrained. That the hospital in question has reassessed its policy and curtailed the use of physical restraints is admirable. Some patients need to be restrained to keep them from injuring themselves but those patients need to be watched much more closely while in those restraints to prevent this very thing from happening. According to the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations, fourteen people died last year because of problems associated with the use of a restraining device.

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Medication Celebrex

A study conducted by the Medical Research Institute in New Zealand has shown that people taking the pain reliever Celebrex have nearly twice the risk of heart attacks as those using other drugs. Celebrex, which is manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., is widely used to treat the pain of arthritis. Celebrex is part of a class of drugs knows as Cox-II Inhibitors. Two other drugs in this same class, Pfizer's Bextra and Merck's Vioxx, were withdrawn from the market because of safety concerns. Vioxx was withdrawn in September 2004, after a study showed it doubled the patient's risk of heart attack and strokes after 18 months of use.

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AV rating by Martindale Hubbell

Jeff Krasnow, the founder and senior litigator at The Krasnow Law Firm has been honored by his colleagues in the Roanoke legal community with an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell. This rating, the highest one awarded is given only to lawyers who have the highest legal ability and a high adherence to ethical standards. Jeff Krasnow was the first attorney in the Roanoke Valley to be certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in 1989 has been recertified every five years since. Jeff Krasnow and the Krasnow Law Firm limit their practice to serious personal injury and wrongful death litigation including medical malpractice cases. All of the firms lawyers are experienced trial lawyers who have significant verdicts to their credit. The firm represents clients throughout Virginia and West Virginia and also represent clients from Virginia and West Virginia in litigation in other states.

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