Grand Junction Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Surgeons Fail to Report When Stuck With Needles

Jenny Albano — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:47:51 GMT

A study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that most surgeons who have accidentally stuck themselves with needles while performing surgery, failed to report their injuries. This is a major problem because this lack of reporting is putting many patients and doctors at risk for blood-borne illnesses, such as AIDS and hepatitis.

Most surgeons say the main reason for needle stick injuries was because they were being rushed. Also, many surgeons did not believe that immediate medical attention could prevent infections. But these thoughts are untrue, timely treatment with antiviral drugs can prevent chronic infections.

Julie L. Gerbeding, director of the CDC, thinks this study shows further evidence that protection measures need to be strengthened. Trainees need to be given more instruction on safety techniques and what to do if they become injured.

An estimated 800,000 needle stick injuries occur each year among health care workers in this country. Of the participants in Dr. Makary's confidential survey, 99 percent had experienced at least one needle stick injury by the end of the fifth and last year of surgical training (the average was eight such injuries). Of these, 51 percent failed to report their injuries to an employee health service as some hospitals require.

Of the health care workers that did report, more than half of them did so because they were working with a patient that was at high risk for infections. Many surgeons reported when they were stuck by needles if someone else was aware of the injury.

If you feel you have been injured due to a surgeon's negligence, please contact an attorney.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Defibrillator Manufacturer Warned by the FDA

Staff Writer — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 22:19:54 GMT

Medical device manufacturer Cardiac Science Corp. received a formal warning from the FDA demanding that they correct safety procedures used to manufacture defibrillators. The automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are used in public locations such as government offices, sports stadiums, shopping centers and schools. They are designed to treat heart attacks by restoring healthy heart rhythms. If one of these products malfunctioned medical, personnel could be unable to respond effectively to a life-threatening crisis.

The FDA warning letter stated that during an investigation of Cardiac Science Corp's Wisconsin plant they found many safety procedure violations including not adequately correcting previous violations. The FDA will not approve any additional applications for medical devices by Cardiac Science Corp. until they address these issues.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Medical Malpractice and Good Samaritans

Staff Writer — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 07:31:07 GMT

Rep. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction has plans to introduce a bill to the Colorado Legislature (Good Samaritans in Health Care Act of 2006) which would protect doctors who volunteer their services from medical malpractice lawsuits.

The bill is viewed among its supporters as a way to protect health care providers such as nurses, doctors, physical therapists, etc. from lawsuits when they are volnteering their services to help low-income families as well as those without health insurance.

Several states have passed legislation similar to what Penry proposes. Florida, for example, frees medical volunteers from costly insurance concerns by granting immunity from medical malpractice liability.
One version of the Good Samaritan concept calls for medical volunteers becoming temporary state employees. If patients decided to later bring malpractice claims, they would end up suing the state. A liability trust fund created to offset litigation expenses would then cover any payout.

Read the entire volunteer medical malpractice article from GJSentinal.com

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer