Current Events

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Years before GM cars with faulty ignition switches were linked to a series of fatal accidents, the nation's car safety watchdog had chance after chance to spot the defect and push General Motors to recall its deadly cars.

Instead, the watchdog wagged its tail and meekly rolled over — and not for the first time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — long ago a standard-setter for safety regulators — has repeatedly failed to spot defects, pursue investigations forcefully or use its powers to get defective cars off the road.

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Federal regulators are reversing course and will resume publicly releasing data on hospital mistakes, including when foreign objects are left in patients' bodies or people get the wrong blood type.

USA TODAY reported last month that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services quietly stopped publicly reporting a host of life-threatening mistakes, after denying in 2013 that it would do so.

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Hospitals continue to overuse antibiotics despite warnings that pervasive use can lead to drug resistance and cause billions of dollars in excess healthcare costs, according to a retrospective analysis of 505 hospital members of the Premier health alliance.

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Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) was ordered to pay $73 million to a woman who said a defectively designed vaginal-mesh implant left her in constant pain, in the first award against the device maker over its incontinence slings.

Boston Scientific is liable for Martha Salazar’s injuries, which she blamed on the company’s Obtryx sling, jurors in Texas state court in Dallas said yesterday. They awarded her about $23 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages, according to a court filing.

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