Archive for June, 2010
Scheduling Surgery? July is Worst Month for Fatal Hospital Errors
Posted by Jeff Downing in Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Medication Errors, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney Friday, 4 June 2010 10:10 No Comments
From ABCNews.com:
The ‘July Effect’: Worst Month For Fatal Hospital Errors, Study Finds
Study Finds More Fatal Medication Errors in July, Just When New Residents Arrive
By LAUREN COX
June 3, 2010There is an old saying among some doctors — do not let your friends and family schedule a surgery in July.
July is the month when graduates, fresh out of medical school, report to residencies in teaching hospitals. Anecdotally, at least, it’s been a time when medical errors peak.
A new study decided to see if the so-called “July Effect” was real.
Researchers from the University of California at San Diego investigated more than 62 million U.S. death certificates between 1979 and 2006. Of those, 244,388 deaths were caused by a medication errors in a hospital.
Month to month, the statistics showed a relatively equal chance for a fatal medication error — except at teaching hospitals in the month of July.
The study found that fatal medication errors spiked by 10 percent in July in counties with a high number of teaching hospitals, but stayed the same in areas without teaching hospitals.
The findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine . . . .
If you or a loved one have been injured due to a medical error, call the Keating, O’Gara Law Firm at 888/234-0621 for a free initial consultation.
You can watch the ABC report here:
Survey: Americans strongly support public policies to reduce highway deaths
Posted by Jeff Downing in Auto Accident Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Auto Accidents, Car Crash Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Nebraska Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer, Nebraska Wrongful Death Attorney, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Wrongful Death Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska Thursday, 3 June 2010 16:35 No Comments
From USA Today:
Survey: More support road rules
USA Today
By Larry Copeland
June 3, 2010Americans strongly support public policies to reduce highway deaths, including some measures that many elected officials consider too restrictive, such as alcohol ignition interlocks and traffic enforcement cameras, a new national survey finds.
The Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota found that most Americans support ignition interlocks for those convicted of drunken driving and automated speed enforcement using cameras and radar. Respondents also support sobriety checkpoints, mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, phased-in privileges for new drivers and laws enabling police to ticket drivers solely for not wearing seat belts. . . .
If you or a loved one have been injured due to a negligent motorist, call the Keating, O’Gara Law Firm at 888/234-0621 for a free initial consultation.
Mother of Toddler Who Died from Medication Error: "That was my purpose in life, to be her mom . . . . "
Posted by Jeff Downing in Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Medication Errors, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney, Nebraska Wrongful Death Attorney, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska Tuesday, 1 June 2010 14:05 No Comments
A tragic story from today’s Omaha World Herald:
Girl dies after medication error
By Juan Perez Jr.
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERAlicia Coleman was born relatively healthy, her mother said, even though she was three months’ premature and weighed little more than 2 pounds at birth. Things grew worse when Alicia came down with a bowel infection at 12 days old. The infection quickly spread through her intestinal tract and wreaked havoc on her tiny body.
Alicia’s doctors initially gave her a 5 percent chance of survival, said her mother, Dominique Coleman.
Yet Alicia fought through 15 surgical procedures and the battery of medications that marked the first year of her life. She improved to the point where doctors wanted to wean her off her medications. She was learning how to walk.
“We were very optimistic,” said Coleman, 26, of Omaha.
The 19-month-old child suddenly died Saturday while in the care of Children’s Home Healthcare’s World, a pediatric care center at 7815 Farnam Drive. Coleman and hospital authorities said medical staff erroneously injected some of Alicia’s medication into a catheter connected to her jugular vein.
The infant was struck by a seizure and stopped breathing, forcing rescuers to perform CPR as they rushed her to the emergency department at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center. She died after doctors spent an hour trying to revive her, her mother said.
Alicia’s death was at least the second associated with a medication-related error in the city in recent months. In early April, Nebraska Medical Center officials attributed the death of a 23-month-old girl to an overdose of blood thinner.
“One minute I’m fine, the next minute I’m crying,” Coleman said Sunday. “I really don’t know how to start thinking about what life is like without her.
“That was my purpose in life, to be her mom.”
Children’s Home Healthcare’s World is operated by Children’s Hospital & Medical Center. The facility, according to its website, is the area’s only full-service home health care agency focused exclusively on pediatric patients.
In a statement, Children’s officials confirmed that Alicia’s seizure occurred after medication was “improperly routed into the child’s system.”
“Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and Children’s Home Healthcare’s World share deepest condolences with the child’s family,” hospital officials said. “Words fail us at a time like this. Nothing can adequately express the sadness surrounding the loss of a child.”
Coleman knows the feeling. Alicia was her third child, she said. The first two were stillborn.
“She was my last hope,” Coleman said. “She’s made it through so many things and she bounced back, and for something stupid to take her so fast … .”
Coleman’s voice trailed away for a moment, then she said: “I guess I feel cheated.”
Our heart-felt condolences go out to the family of Alicia Coleman.
