Current Events

Drivers of the 2012 Ford Focus sustained more injuries than those in any other vehicle in the U.S., according to The Safety Institute’s quarterly “Watch List.” The complaints, which are made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), center on two issues: allegations that the electric power steering shuts down randomly and intermittently, and complaints about delaminating steering wheels that lacerate drivers’ hands. Currently there are no investigations by NHTSA into either issue. The list is compiled using death and injury claims filed to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reports System. The system is one of the tools the agency is supposed to use to discover potential problems with vehicles.

Click here to read more.

General Motors is recalling 117,000 vehicles for an issue that could cause the vehicle to stall or not start. GM said that it is aware of no crashes, injuries or fatalities connected to the problem.

The issue affects a small number -- about 1% -- of the 117,000 cars and trucks, GM said.

The chassis control module -- a part of the vehicle's electronics system linked to the braking, steering, and suspension -- could be short-circuited by small metal fragments. If this happens, drivers may see a warning, such as the check engine light, turn on. Also the vehicle may stall.

Click here to read more.

Endo International Plc (ENDP:US) agreed to pay more than $400 million to resolve lawsuits alleging its vaginal-mesh implants eroded in some women and left them in pain, people familiar with the settlement said.

Endo, which rose almost two percent today, said it settled “substantially all” the remaining U.S. suits against its American Medical Systems Holdings unit over the Perigee, Apogee and Elevate mesh implants, Chief Executive Officer Rajiv De Silva said yesterday in a statement. De Silva said the company was adding $400 million to its $1.2 billion liability reserve for the devices, designed to support pelvic muscles and treat incontinence.

Click here to read more.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) may face dual setbacks as a U.S. regulator renews its scrutiny of claims involving unintended acceleration and the company begins to recall 690,000 pickup trucks.

As many as 1.69 million Toyota Corollas with model years from 2006 to 2010 could be subject to investigation after owners said they experienced unintended “low-speed surging,” according to a notice yesterday from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Separately, Toyota recalled Tacoma trucks to fix suspension parts that may break down.

Click here to read more.

The number of deaths linked to General Motors' defective ignition switch has risen again - to 23, according to new figures posted Monday by the program set up to compensate victims.

Click here to read more.

Chrysler has issued a recall for 2008 models of the Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Chrysler 300, Jeep Commander, and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Some of those vehicles may suffer from an ignition switch problem that could disable features like windshield wipers, defrosters, and even airbags.

Read more.

According to a USA TODAY report, federal regulators will resume publicly releasing data on hospital medical errors, including when foreign objects are left in patients' bodies or people get the wrong blood type.

This resurrection of transparency comes after a lengthy hiatus by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in which they stopped publicly reporting a number of life-threatening medical errors that were made by hospitals.

Apparently the informative data was removed last summer from CMS' hospital comparison website. The data was substituted for a spreadsheet document which contained little context, thus making it very difficult for an ordinary individual seeking general information on hospital errors to understand. Now, however, data on eight hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) will be made available on its website, according to CMS. HAC refers to an undesirable situation or condition that affects a patient that arose during a stay in a hospital or medical facility.

General Motors Co.’s victim compensation fund has made its first cash compensation offers, with formal proposals going to 15 people who have filed claims, the fund’s director said.

In a Detroit News interview Wednesday, lawyer Ken Feinberg said the offers had been made during the previous 24 hours by the independent fund established to compensate victims and families of those injured or killed as a result of defective ignition switches in GM. If offers are accepted, those people will get formal letters and must sign releases absolving GM of future claims. They would then get a check in two or three weeks. There is no timetable for accepting or rejecting the offers, Feinberg said.

Read more.

If we can better understand why and when medical malpractice occurs, we can focus efforts on reducing the occurrences and the effects of avoidable medical negligence that injure or kill many thousands of people in the United States every year.

The Doctors Company, the largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer in the United States whose unabashed mission is to be "fiercely committed to relentlessly defending, protecting, and rewarding our members with the industry's most aggressive claims defense, unrivaled protection, and innovative rewards," recently published the findings of its review of 1,877 medical specialty-specific, diagnosis-related closed claims from 2007 to 2013, focusing on alleged diagnosis-related errors and the specific diagnoses that were involved in the claims involving ten medical specialties.

Click here to read more.

University School of Law's Center for Justice & Democracy issued the following news release:

The Center for Justice & Democracy at New York Law School released today its newly updated briefing book, MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: BY THE NUMBERS. The third update since CJ&D first began compiling the latest statistics and research on issues related to medical malpractice (last updated in December 2013), this fully-sourced new volume has expanded to 110 pages with nearly 500 footnotes linking to original sources.

Click here to read more.

The White House announced a plan Thursday to improve antibiotics as President Obama's chief science adviser called the problem of antibiotic resistance a potential threat to the nation and the world.

"The rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria represents a serious domestic and international challenge to human and animal health, national security and the economy," John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said at a news conference.

Click here to read more.