Current Events

(Reuters Health) - Parents may notice medical errors and bad reactions to treatment that aren’t documented in their children’s hospital records, a U.S. study suggests.

Researchers surveyed parents of hospitalized children, asking them about mistakes and adverse events. They also conducted daily surveys of the doctors and nurses who cared for the children.
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The E. coli outbreak linked to I.M. Healthy brand SoyNut Butter has spread to 12 states, including Washington, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging parents to throw away SoyNut Butter products to avoid additional infections.

A total of 29 people have been sickened, including two in Washington; 24 have been younger than 18 years old.
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DETROIT — Volkswagen took another step Thursday to move past its emissions-cheating scandal by agreeing to pay $157 million to 10 states to settle environmental lawsuits.

The agreement is the latest move by the German automaker to resolve the legal fallout of its decade-long scheme to cheat on diesel emissions tests in the United States and elsewhere.

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New details about the collision last weekend involving one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles raise questions about how self-driving technology, which is still under development, will respond to roadway scenarios where human behavior and common driving practices may not always align with the letter of the law.

According to a report from the Tempe, Ariz., Police Department, Alexandra Cole was making a left turn across three lanes of traffic in her Honda CR-V just as the light at her intersection was preparing to change from green to yellow. The first two lanes were backed up with cars, and Cole crossed them at a speed of about 20 mph. Then, she approached the third lane.
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Ford Motor Co (F.N), the second largest U.S. automaker, on Wednesday announced two new recalls affecting 440,000 vehicles and expects to spend about $295 million to fix the issues.

The recalls include 211,000 vehicles in North America to replace potentially faulty side door latches and 230,000 vehicles for under-hood fire risks.
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Questions  What are the trends in paid medical malpractice claims for physicians in the United States, and do they vary by specialty?

Findings  This database study linked National Practitioner Data Bank claims data with physician specialty and found that the overall rate of claims paid on behalf of physicians deceased by 55.7% from 1992 to 2014. Mean compensation amounts and the percentage of payments exceeding $1 million increased during that time, with wide differences in rates and characteristics across specialties.

Meaning  A better understanding of the causes of variation among specialties in paid malpractice claims may help reduce patient injury and physicians’ risk of liability.

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Ok Food Inc. issued a recall for nearly 1 million pounds of breaded chicken last week after a handful of consumers found metal objects in their food, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The Oklahoma-based manufacturer sells chicken under several brand names, including Walmart’s Great Value.
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Johnson & Johnson had a year for the record books -- it lost six of 2016’s seven largest jury verdicts in the U.S. over product defect claims. This year may be no better. The company is facing at least 17 trials in state and federal courts in the U.
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GREENWICH — A lawsuit has been filed by the parents of a Greenwich college student who died of a heroin overdose against the manufacturer of a prescription drug they claim led to his death.

Laurence and Michelle Allen are suing the makers of Suboxone, which was used to treat a previous addiction to painkillers that their son fell into following a car accident. When the Suboxone prescription ran out, according to court papers, Bradley Allen, 19, turned to street heroin and died of an overdose in 2014.

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Three recent lawsuits from six Metro-North power department employees allege they were severely punished for raising safety concerns tied to their work on the dangerous, highly electrified third rail.

The lawsuits, field in federal court in Manhattan, cover a period starting in 2013.

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The family of a New Jersey woman who died after using a prescription version of the potent opioid fentanyl filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the drug’s maker, her doctor, and a specialty pharmacy that provided the drug.

The lawsuit, filed in a New Jersey state court, alleges 32-year-old Sarah Fuller was the victim of a nationwide push by Insys Therapeutics to entice doctors to prescribe its Subsys fentanyl spray for patients for which the drug was not suitable.

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