Current Events

To the Editor:

Re “Lawyers’ Business Model,” by Joe Nocera (column, July 30):

When corporations act irresponsibly by producing unsafe products, polluting our environment or swindling their employees and shareholders, often the only place for Americans to hold them accountable is in our courts. The civil justice system provides a key incentive for corporations to prioritize safety from the start.

In yet another column attacking trial lawyers in order to defend BP, Joe Nocera disregards the important role that the civil justice system plays in our society.

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Nearly 1,400 physicians who were sued for medical malpractice share their experience in Medscape’s recent Malpractice Report.

According to the report, the top 10 medical specialties experiencing the most lawsuits were:

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Health care workers suffer more injuries and illnesses on the job than those in any other industry, thanks in large part to limited federal safety standards and inspections of health care facilities, says a new report by a national advocacy non-profit.

The report by Public Citizen shows health care workers had about 654,000 workplace injuries and illnesses in 2010, about 152,000 more than the next most afflicted industry sector, manufacturing. Even though health care workers outnumber construction workers 2-1, the agency responsible for worker safety — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — conducts nearly 20 times more inspections of construction sites than health care sites, according to the Public Citizen report.

"The record is clear that the government has broken its promise to health care workers," said Keith Wrightson, worker safety and health advocate for Public Citizen and co-author of the report. Health care workers face a wide range of hazards on the job, including needle sticks, back injuries from lifting patients and moving equipment, latex allergies and violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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HONG KONG — One of the world’s leading suppliers of dairy products said Saturday that a type of bacteria that could cause botulism had been found in tests of ingredients the company sells for use in infant formula and sports drinks, leading New Zealand officials to urge a recall.

The company, Fonterra, is based in New Zealand and is the world’s fourth-largest dairy company. It sells its milk products to other companies that make infant formula and said those companies would be responsible for any recalls. The New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries said that in addition to New Zealand, six countries were affected: Australia, China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Painkillers with the active ingredient acetaminophen such as Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s Tylenol have been linked to serious skin reactions including rash and blisters, U.S. regulators said.

Reports to the Food and Drug Administration’s adverse event database reveal the most serious reactions, while rare, led to hospitalizations and deaths. The majority of cases involved single-ingredient acetaminophen products, the FDA said yesterday in a statement. The agency advised people who develop a skin rash or reaction to stop taking the drug and seek medical attention. 

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Ford Motor Co. (F) agreed to pay $17.4 million, the largest penalty the U.S. auto-safety regulator can impose, for delaying recalls involving unintended acceleration.

The June 28 agreement, announced today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, involves Ford Escape SUVs the automaker recalled last year after a fatal crash in Arizona. 

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Bagged salad could be the cause of the recent cyclospora stomach bug outbreak that has sickened more than 350 people in at least 15 states.  

Iowa has reported the most cases of the cyclospora bug, with 143 people falling ill. An investigation by the Iowa Department of Public Health has linked a prepackaged salad mix to the outbreak, after the agency determined at least 80% of reported cases were exposed to the same mix, reported CBS News.

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Importers along with food companies will have to share the responsibility of food safety for the first time under far-reaching food import regulations proposed July 26 by the Food & Drug Administration.

The FDA released two long-awaited proposals to implement FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that will change the importation of foods.

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The FDA announced on Monday a class I recall of GE Healthcare's nuclear medicine systems stemming from a patient death reported last month.

On June 5, the company learned that a patient at a VA Medical Center had been crushed and killed when part of an Infinia Hawkeye 4 Nuclear Medicine System fell during a scan. The Wall Street Journal identified the victim as a 66-year-old patient at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in New York City.

"Bolts securing the camera to the gantry were loose, thereby stressing the support mechanism and resulting in the incident," the company determined after inspecting the system.

GE Healthcare sent two letters to hospitals regarding the issue. The first, sent on June 17, "identified the affected product, recommended that qualified service personnel maintain the equipment and that Preventative Maintenance procedures were executed according to labeling," in addition to asking that the Safety Chapter Sections be re-reviewed with hospital personnel, the FDA said in its recall notice.

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While most of the massive litigation against Toyota involved alleged defects with the electronic throttle control system, the first trial claims that Toyota failed to install a brake override system that would have automatically shut off the engine and saved a life.

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Advances in technology have allowed us to do things once thought impossible. However, working smarter may lead to unforeseen errors thanks to malfunctioning technology or other related issues. How many errors occur that lead to adverse events, and how can medial professional hope to avoid these errors if they are coming from useful equipment?

In a new study, researchers performed a comparison of 28 studies regarding medical errors. Researchers found that medical errors affect up to 16 percent of patients admitted to hospitals. Close to 50 percent of these adverse events are attributable to surgical procedures. Similarly, operating room contents were found to be part of the reason: 70 percent of errors are related to equipment available in operating rooms, 44 percent are due to configuration and settings of equipment in the room, as well as how accessible it was, and 34 percent are related to direct malfunctioning of equipment during use.

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