The 64-year-old coach, who was also filling in as a chemistry teacher, was charged with one count of indecent assault and battery and two counts of assault and battery for kissing a 16-year-old student who was a member of his track team. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released on bail.
]]> When the coach and his attorney appeared in court on June 10, the attorney told the judge that he intends to use a medical defense against the charges. He said that the coach, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, is taking a prescription medication called Stalevo, which has increased his libido and decreased his impulse control. According to the lawyer, the Parkinson's caused the behavioral changes, and Stalevo exacerbated them. Some medical papers, including one on the National Institutes of Health's website, do discuss a possible link between a drug found in Stalevo called levodopa and hypersexuality, as well as loss of impulse control.According to the girl, she was in the coach's office on June 2 when he started kissing her. She broke away from him and reported the incident, even though she says he told her not to. This is the first time that the coach, who is set to retire this month after a 27-year career, has faced charges of this sort. However, according to the prosecutor, the June 2 incident was not the first time that he displayed an inappropriate interest in this student. The prosecutor says that the coach gave the girl a leather bracelet, and also followed her home on her bicycle. The girl's mother said that he gave her daughter his business card and asked her to call him so that they could ride their bikes together.
Since the attorney is mounting a medical defense for his client, there will likely be testimony from experts regarding the possible side effects of Stalevo. This is certainly not like the medication errors cases that most attorneys who specialize in medical malpractice cases see. However, it is wise when faced with a situation where medication may be partly to blame to hire a lawyer who will pursue all avenues of defense.
Source: The Boston Globe, "Milton coach cites illness in assault case" Brian Ballou, Jun. 10, 2013
]]>K-V got off to a bad start when it introduced Makena in early 2011 at $1,500 per dose. With a recommended twenty-injection dosage, the $30,000 price tag was unreasonable for most patients. Although K-V quickly lowered the price to $690 a dose, the damage was done. Physicians, put off by K-V's initial price point, continued to prescribe the compounded version, which sold for as little as $10 per dose.]]>
Then, in the fall of 2012, a deadly meningitis outbreak was traced back to a pain medication sold by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies, which are not regulated as strictly as other pharmacies, sell custom-mixed drugs at lower prices than the originals. However, they are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although the compounded version of Makena was not linked to the meningitis outbreak, it was produced by the same pharmacy as the medication recalled after the outbreak.
K-V representatives have been persuading doctors to prescribe Makena, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone (known as 17P), and fear of malpractice suits has been a strong incentive for doctors to prescribe it rather than the compounded version. However, compounding pharmacists contend that their drug is safe. The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists noted an FDA analysis that found no problems in quality or strength with the compounded drug. The FDA, though, does not generally test the safety of compounded medications.
K-V is still a long way from early expectations for the drug, which was projected to earn $400 million in 2013, but earned only $29 million the first quarter. However, physicians' concerns about medical malpractice suits, and patients' fears of medication errors and tainted medications will likely help the company recover from its early problems. The company has sued the FDA to force them to stop compounders from selling their drug, on the grounds that their FDA approval gives them the exclusive rights to 17P. It remains to be seen whether they will win that battle.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "How a Pricey Pregnancy Medicine Made a Comeback" Stephanie Gleason, May. 31, 2013
]]>Hospitals in Massachusetts and throughout the country have had no control over the shortage, but the shortage of the intravenous drug treatments may cause hospitals to make neonatal medication errors. These errors may be made when doctors prescribe less-effective treatments to compensate for the shortage of a particular drug, when hospital workers give patients the wrong dosage of a medication, or when hospital workers and doctors make mistakes when preparing drugs they are not familiar with using.
In an effort to make sure neonatal intensive care unit patients in Boston and throughout the country receive the medications they need, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week that it will allow imports of the intravenous drug treatments from Norway in order to address the shortage that is affecting hospitals and patients.
]]> The drugs that are being imported from Norway this week are used to nourish premature infants who are not able to breastfeed or bottle feed. The drugs are administered intravenously to keep premature infants from starving to death. The drugs are also used for older patients who are not able to eat anything by mouth.The FDA said that it has inspected the plant that the drugs will be coming from and that the drug manufacturing plant does meet industry requirements.
Whether hospitals are running into drug shortage problems or not, hospitals still have a duty to make sure patients are being treated properly for their conditions and that workers are correctly prescribing and administering medications. Medication errors may result in catastrophic injuries, especially when NICU patients are involved.
Source: Boston.com, "FDA takes action to ease neonatal drug shortage," Matthew Perrone and Linda A. Johnson, May 29, 2013
]]>To the surprise of hospital workers and family members, though, the patient's condition began to improve several days after being put on life support. The senior recovered from her asthma attack and was eventually discharged. However, the family later discovered that the elderly woman's asthma attack may not have been the reason why she ended up on life support. The family learned that a dangerous and nearly fatal mistake had been made when the woman was being treated for her asthma attack.
]]> The family learned that their loved one had received another patient's medication when hospital workers were treating the woman. After the patient was given the wrong medication, her condition did not improve and she was eventually put on life support because she could no longer breathe on her own.According to reports, the elderly woman had been given a medication that contained a beta blocker, which can be dangerous for people who have respiratory problems, including asthma. Beta blockers may slow the heart down and constrict the lungs. For those who suffer from asthma, these side effects may make it very difficult to breathe. Clearly, someone suffering from an asthma attack could be severely injured or killed if given beta blockers.
Although the woman was given the wrong medication and the hospital admitted that it had made the mistake, the hospital claimed that the medication error was not the cause of the woman's decline in health when she was admitted to the hospital after suffering an asthma attack.
The family has reported that they are still upset with the hospital's response to the error. Reports have not stated whether the family simply wants the hospital to admit that its mistake resulted in their loved one's injuries or whether the family is now pursuing a lawsuit in order to make sure justice is served.
Source: CBC News, "Senior gets wrong meds, ends up on life support," May 23, 2013
]]>During his career with the NHL, Boogaard became addicted to painkillers. Boogaard's body absorbed a number of blows throughout his career, and to help cope with his physical pain from sustaining numerous injuries and brain damage, the professional hockey player began taking painkillers.
Painkillers can certainly be helpful and get patients through physically painful times, but Boogaard was prescribed so many painkillers by NHL doctors that he eventually developed an addiction to prescription drugs. Boogaard's family now believes that the player's medication overdose death could have been prevented. Last week, Boogaard's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL for providing the hockey player with "excessive amounts" of pain medications.
]]> After announcing the lawsuit last week, Boogaard's family stated that they hope their lawsuit against the NHL will raise awareness of the importance of safely prescribing pain medications to players who are injured, especially players who have suffered brain injuries and may be more susceptible to developing addictions to pain medications. Hopefully by taking legal action the family will send a strong message to the NHL and other professional leagues that the health and safety of professional players must be a priority.According to the lawsuit, Boogaard played about 275 regular-season NHL games. As Boogaard's pain increased from his injuries, he began taking painkillers. The family's wrongful death lawsuit claims that during the 2008-09 season, NHL doctors prescribed the player more than 1,000 pain pills. When the season ended, Boogaard was prescribed another 150 pills during a two-week period. Boogaard then started taking about 10 painkillers a day, the lawsuit claims.
Boogaard was only 28 years old when he died.
Source: Chicago Tribune, "Lawsuit alleges hockey enforcer died after NHL doctors gave him painkillers," May 14, 2013
]]>Although cancer patients rely heavily on their doctors and nurses to administer the correct treatments they need while fighting cancer, studies have revealed that chemotherapy medication errors are frequently made. Any type of medication error is dangerous and may cause patients to suffer severe or fatal injuries, but chemotherapy medication errors are especially dangerous because these types of drugs are very potent.
When a patient is given the wrong dose of his or her chemotherapy drugs, the patient could suffer a wrongful death due to a medication overdose. On the other hand, cancer patients who are not given enough medication could suffer further medical complications from cancer.
]]> According to recent studies, hospitals and medical facilities that have documented chemotherapy medication errors over the years have reported error rates ranging from 4 to 18 percent. Sometimes medication errors are caught before patients are administered drugs, but more than 80 percent of these errors that had been made by medical professionals and facilities had affected patients, studies revealed.In an effort to reduce serious and fatal chemotherapy medication errors, the Children's of Alabama hospital has been implementing a quality plan since 2008 at its facility. The hospital recently released a report regarding the results of its quality improvement plan. According to the hospital, it has been able to reduce its chemotherapy medication errors rate by 50 percent.
The hospital's quality improvement plan has involved adding more checks during the process of ordering chemotherapy medications. Each order for chemotherapy is now reviewed by two doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist. By having several medical professionals reviewing one order, the risk of having an error go unnoticed is much lower.
Although the hospital has made significant improvements to reduce chemotherapy medication errors, the hospital acknowledges that the error rate should be zero at its facility and every other medical facility in the country.
Source: AL.com, "Chemotherapy medication errors at Children's of Alabama drop 50 percent through quality program, study finds," Mike Oliver, April 19, 2013
]]>This incident prompted a recall of the pharmacy's injections. And since the incident, lawmakers and patient safety groups have been arguing that compounding pharmacies need to be monitored more closely in order to make sure pharmacies are putting patient safety first instead of profit. Pharmacies and pharmacists certainly play a role in making sure they prevent injuries from medications by avoiding pharmacy errors.
Although many pharmacy errors can be avoided, it was recently reported that another compounding pharmacy is recalling some of its medications because its drugs may be contaminated with bacteria. The recall was initiated after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered that the lab's practices and conditions were inadequate.
]]> The recall was announced on April 22. The compounding pharmacy, which is located in Florida, is recalling 91 batches of its medications because the drugs may not be sterile. A spokesperson for the lab said that the lab has not received any reports of serious or fatal injuries from patients who may have received the medications that are being recalled.Medical facilities that have received the recalled drugs must make sure no patients are given the medications.
Medication errors can be deadly because patients may suffer from overdoses, infections, or other health problems when their medications are not manufactured or administered safely. If you believe that you have been injured by a medication error or tainted medication, do not hesitate to reach out to an attorney who may be able to help you recover the compensation you need and deserve for your injuries and suffering.
Source: Insurance Journal, "Florida compounding pharmacy's drug recall involves 91 batches," April 24, 2013
]]>Of course, people in each of these professions do not always meet the standards we expect of them. Unfortunately, according to a study conducted by Brown University, senior citizens are often harmed by medication errors in the U.S. The study revealed that one out of every five elderly people on Medicare Advantage plans are being placed at risk. These seniors are being prescribed medications that are considered "high risk," as opposed to others that would likely be safer for them to take.
]]> Luckily, for seniors in Massachusetts, the research revealed that residents of New England are the least likely to be prescribed high-risk medications. Nevertheless, it is possible in any location that a physician will fail to prescribe the appropriate medication.The Boston University study looked at data for around six million senior citizens. Of those, the researchers found that almost 21.5 percent received prescriptions for high-risk medications. In addition, the study found that women across the country were 10 percent more likely to receive prescriptions for high-risk medications than men.
Although the responsibility lies with physicians and pharmacists to ensure patients receive the proper medications, it is not a bad idea for people to learn about the medications they have been prescribed. Whenever a patient has a question about a medication, he or she should speak to his or her doctor.
When a patient is harmed by a medication error, he or she should seek the counsel of a skilled legal professional to ensure his or her rights are protected.
Source: Consumer Affairs, "How do you know you're being prescribed the right medicine?" Daryl Nelson, April 15, 2013.
]]>Some suggest that the problem stems from the frequency with which alarms are triggered in hospital settings. For example, an alarm may sound because a patient's vitals have dropped or because the machine is not functioning properly. A number of medical errors can lead to an alarm sounding, such as a failure to provide treatment in a timely manner and making a medication error. In addition, in certain cases an alarm will sound when a patient falls.
The accrediting group is concerned about so-called alarm fatigue - hospital workers disregarding alarms because they hear them so frequently. In addition, the group found that problems can also stem from employees misunderstanding the action needed when an alarm sounds.
When a patient is injured due to improper medical treatment, he or she may be entitled to damages due to the harm caused.
Source: Boston.com, "Hospital group says 'alarm fatigue' can be deadly," Lindsey Tanner, April 8, 2013.
]]>In many hospitals in the U.S., medical errors such as surgery mistakes, medication errors and misdiagnosis errors are not openly discussed among nurses, doctors and other staff. In some cases, medical errors are not even reported. Patient safety advocates have argued time and again that keeping medical mistakes quiet -- even minor errors -- is harmful to patients because the medical community is not addressing mistakes. By openly reporting errors, staff, doctors and nurses may be able to figure out why some mistakes are being made and what they can do to fix the problem.
]]> In an effort to reduce medical mistakes, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston decided over two years ago to give its employees a monthly report of the hospital's medical mistakes. The hospital is trying this approach to see whether openly reporting mistakes will help staff to focus on fixing problems that may lead to errors, thereby reducing the occurrence of similar medical errors in the future.Brigham has been publishing its monthly report on the hospital's intranet site since January 2011. Currently, only employees have access to the monthly report. However, the hospital has recently announced that it will start leaving print copies of its safety and medical error reports in lounges, conference rooms and other locations at the hospital.
Some of the hospital's workers are worried that making these reports more accessible will discourage patients from wanting to seek treatment at Brigham, but others argue that making errors more transparent may actually give patients more reason to trust in their doctors and nurses.
When medical errors are transparent, doctors and nurses may be more aware of their mistakes, which may cause them to be more attentive and mindful to avoid making similar mistakes. When medical errors are transparent, hospitals also have more reason to resolve problems that may lead to a common medication error, surgical error or other medical mistake. Knowing that hospitals are actively working to address medical errors may give patients more reason to trust hospitals when seeking treatment.
Source: The Boston Globe, "Brigham and Women's airing medical mistakes," Liz Kowalczyk, April 9, 2013
]]>Recently, more than 230 patients who had been hospitalized at a facility in New York learned that they may have been exposed to serious infections, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C due to nursing negligence. The patients had all been administered medications intravenously. Although the patients received their correct medications and the correct doses of their treatments, the nurse who had administered their drugs via IV had failed to do so in a sanitary manner.
The nurse had reused saline syringes that were only meant to be used one time when cleaning IV tubing before and after administering medications. As a result, hundreds of patients may be at risk of contracting an infection due to the nurse's medical tubing error.
]]> All patients who have been affected by the mistake have been notified, and now they need to undergo medical testing in order to determine whether they have contracted infections from the error. The patients who have been notified about the error are worried about their health, and they have every right to be. They may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. These infections have the potential to cause serious and life-long health complications, requiring costly medical treatments.After investigating the nurse when the hospital became aware that she had reused one-time use saline syringes, it was discovered that 236 patients were potentially affected by the error between Oct. 15, 2012 and Jan. 31, 2013. The saline syringes are used to flush IV tubing before and after giving patients their medications via IV. Because the tubes were not properly flushed, patients may have been exposed to dangerous infections.
Some patients have chosen to file a medical negligence lawsuit against the hospital for allowing such a dangerous mistake to be made. According to reports, at least 14 patients are suing the hospital for the IV error. They are requesting compensation for their emotional anguish and costs resulting from additional treatment and testing for possible infections.
Source: Star-Gazette, "14 sue Corning Hospital, Guthrie over tainted syringes," G. Jeffrey Aaron, March 25, 2013
]]>In order to avoid making serious or fatal pediatric medication errors, doctors need to be certain that they have properly diagnosed a young patient's illness or medical condition so that doctors know whether it is appropriate to prescribe a medication. In addition to making sure doctors are prescribing the correct medications for patients, doctors also need to make sure they prescribe the correct doses for infants, children and teens.
Although many might assume that doctors only prescribe medications for children and teens when it is absolutely necessary to do so, some are very concerned that this is not always the case. A group of bioethicists and neurologists recently reported that they are concerned about the number of prescriptions that are written for drugs that are commonly used to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. The group claims that doctors are prescribing ADHD medications for children and teens who are healthy but want to be able to concentrate better in school.
]]> Should doctors be prescribing ADHD medications to kids who do not have ADHD? The group of bioethicists and neurologists says that this practice is irresponsible of physicians. The group says that prescribing drugs to help kids with their academic performance jeopardizes their ability to develop normally on their own. The group also claims that physicians are responsible for making sure their patients are not misusing medications, and prescribing drugs that are not necessary may go against this responsibility. The group's concerns about the misuse of ADHD medications were published in a report appearing in this month's issue of the journal Neurology.Prescribing medications that are not necessary may also affect patients' overall health. There is no clear evidence as to whether ADHD medications may harm healthy teens, but stimulants have been associated with raising patients' blood pressures and heart rates. In order to determine whether the practice of prescribing ADHD drugs for the purposes of helping teens to study is truly harmful, more research will need to be done to examine the effects of using ADHD drugs when kids and teens do not have ADHD, the medical professionals' report suggests. For now, the group is asking doctors to stop this practice.
Source: Los Angeles Times, "Prescribing ADHD drugs for healthy kids? Just say no, group urges," Melissa Healy, March 13, 2013
]]>When doctors prescribe medications, patients may have no concerns about whether their doctors are prescribing the correct drugs or the correct doses of medications. And when nurses give patients their medications, patients may have no worries about whether their nurses are administering medications correctly. After all, these medical professionals are well-trained individuals who are responsible for keeping patients as safe and healthy as possible.
Unfortunately, medication errors are a common form of medical malpractice in our country. And these errors may result in life-threatening or fatal injuries, especially when patients are given too much of a medication. A dosage error or overdose may occur when hospitals or nursing homes fail to make sure enough workers are scheduled to care for patients or when workers are not properly trained to do their jobs. These errors may also occur too easily when nurses and doctors fail to pay close attention to what they are doing when administering medications.
]]> For example, a nursing home patient died in 2006 after she was given too much of a medication. The medication error occurred because nursing home workers had failed to check the patient's recent medication history before giving the patient a fentanyl patch, which is a pain medication that slowly releases medication while patients wear the patch. Before the nursing home patient was admitted to the facility, the patient had been treated at a hospital. The hospital had already given the patient the same type of medication, but nursing home staff failed to notice that the patient was still wearing the fentanyl patch from the hospital when workers applied another patch on the patient's body. This resulted in an overdose, which caused the patient to suffer serious health complications. The patient died several days later.After the patient's tragic death, the victim's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The family accused nursing home workers of negligence and failing to correctly administer the patient's medication. The family's case went to trial earlier this year. According to reports, the jury ruled in favor of the victim's family. Last week, the jury awarded the family more than $270,000 in damages. The nursing home had admitted that it made a mistake, but it tried to argue that the woman's death was the result of pre-existing medical problems instead of medical problems caused by the overdose.
Source: The Telegraph, "Jury awards $273,000 in woman's death," Sanford J. Schmidt, March 16, 2013
]]>Last fall, several patients who had received epidural steroid injections began reporting odd symptoms after receiving the injections. After investigating the patients' cases, it was discovered that the patients had been harmed by a serious medication error and that thousands of other patients were also at risk of being harmed or killed by the mistake.
The error was traced back to New England Compounding Center, a compounding lab in Framingham. The lab had distributed tainted steroid injections to more than 70 medical facilities throughout the U.S. To make matters worse, it was discovered that the compounding pharmacy's error could have been avoided.
]]> The pharmacy has been accused of manufacturing the tainted steroid injections in an unsanitary environment. The pharmacy has also been accused of violating industry regulations. Due to this negligence, nearly 50 patients have suffered fatal injuries. More than 700 patients have been seriously harmed and continue to suffer from the lab's wrongdoings, and others may still be at risk of becoming infected since symptoms may not show up until six months after receiving a contaminated injection.Many Americans have questioned how the compounding pharmacy was able to get away with shipping tainted medications. Compounding pharmacies are regulated by state and federal agencies, but because the pharmacies are not registered drug manufacturers, the pharmacies are not required to adhere to the same federal regulations as drug manufacturers are to follow. This means the pharmacies are able to produce specific medications for individual patients' needs without getting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Although compounding labs are not supposed to mass produce medications, though, it was discovered after the fungal meningitis outbreak that NECC had illegally produced medications in mass amounts and shipped the medications to thousands of clinics and hospitals. The lab has since been shut down.
More than 400 lawsuits have already been filed against the negligent compounding pharmacy. Families have lost loved ones and others have suffered serious injuries after contracting fungal meningitis from the tainted injections. Some patients have been hospitalized multiple times due to complications from the injections, and others have endured painful treatments for their symptoms. If you have been harmed by this devastating medication error, you may want to consider consulting an attorney to learn more about protecting your rights and obtaining compensation for your injuries.
Source: Boston Herald, "Report: NECC made tainted drugs for fake scripts," Erin Smith, March 10, 2013
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