Medical Malpractice

• Doctor Faces Manslaughter Charges in Death of Abortion Patient

  Kyle Bachus | July 22, 2008 5:59 PM | 1 CommentDenver, CO

  In a rare move, a Cape Cod grand jury indicted Dr. Rapin Osathanondh on a charge of manslaughter, following the October 13, 2007 death of 22-year-old patient, Laura Hope Smith. While, as Dan Slater...

• Half of Doctors in U.S. Report Medical Errors

  Linda Snyder | December 07, 2007 3:28 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  Recently, researchers found that only half of all U.S. doctors report medical mistakes or unethical colleagues. Only 46 percent of physicians surveyed stated that they knew of a serious medical error and didn't report it. The U.S. Institute of Medicine surveyed more than 1,600 physicians in 2003 and 2004; only 31 percents had undergone a competency review in the past three years. About 98,000...

• Longer Stays in Hospice Cause Financial Problems

  Linda Snyder | November 27, 2007 11:47 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  Numerous hospice providers nationwide are facing financial problems due to their patients living longer than expected. You would assume this would obviously be a positive development, yet the effects on hospices' aren't.Over the last eight years, the federal government has had to demand that hospices exceeding reimbursement limits repay hundreds of millions of dollars to Medicare.A 2006 report...

• New bill to help health care workers

  Staff Writer | February 06, 2007 11:03 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  An interesting article in The Denver Post yesterday addresses administrative problems in hospitals that could be to the detriment of health care workers and patients, possilby leading to medical malpractice.The article tells the story of a hospital cleaning crew supervisor who was fired after repeatedly asking for more staff members to help them do a better job. Nurses and others complained that...

• Court Denies Medtronic's Motion for Summary Judgement

  Staff Writer | December 15, 2006 10:37 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  Defibrillator manufacturer Medtronic asked the US District Court of Minnesota to consider a motion for summary judgement. Their request was based on the claim that federal preemption barred the plaintiffs' claims. The plaintiffs' main complaint sites state law product liability claims sounding in negligence and strict liability. Other claims include violations of state Consumer Protection...

• FDA Announces Recall of Certain Welch Allyn Automated External Defibrillators

  Staff Writer | July 31, 2006 6:39 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and MRL, Inc (a Welch Allyn company), recently notified healthcare professionals about the class 1 recall of 1184 automated external defibrillators ([AEDs] Welch Allyn PIC 50, catalog #97108X) manufactured during February 2002 to October 2004; 673 units were sold within the United States.The recall occured because of an electrical contact problem that...

• Medtronic Fails to Warn Public of Malfunctioning Battery

  Staff Writer | December 15, 2006 10:30 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  According to Medtronic's website, "Medtronic is the global leader in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world." Medtronic manufactures cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D's) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD's). These devices are used on patients with heart conditions and are surgically...

• FDA Warning to Medtronic on Defibrillators

  Staff Writer | September 29, 2006 7:17 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  The FDA issued a warning to Medtronic, Inc. on Friday, September 29, 2006 regarding the delayed filing of a post market surveillance interim report on the AneuRx Stent Graft System. According to Medtronic, Inc. the letter is not related to the quality, design or manufacture of the product. However, the purpose of the Postmarket study is to make sure the device is appropriately labeled for use...

• Defibrillators and Pacemakers

  Staff Writer | October 02, 2006 8:51 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  On September 29, 2006, The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) finalized recommendations for revising the system used by industry, regulators and clinicians to monitor and publicize implantable-device performance problems. Key goals of the recommendations include:• improved recognition of potential device malfunctions• postmarket surveillance and reporting of any problems• communication among...

• Boston Scientific's Taxus Stent

  Staff Writer | September 07, 2006 11:10 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO

  About 85,000 Taxus stents are being recalled voluntarily by Boston Scientific because of possible defects. Of the 42 complaints received, 30 systems showed actual performance flaws generally thought to be the result of excess heat being applied during the laser welding stage during the manufacture of the product; 200 Taxus stents were recalled earlier this month. In a meeting with the FDA in...