Professor Richard Epstein Argues Against Cap on Liability Damages

Arguments against liability caps don’t just come from plaintiff’s attorneys. Highly respected University of Chicago professor Richard Epstein argues against a statutory cap on damages for BP.

From the Wall Street Journal:

BP Doesn’t Deserve a Liability Cap
By RICHARD A. EPSTEIN

Our national frustration continues to rise with each new drop of BP oil that leaks into the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone knows we can’t legislate away environmental risks without consigning ourselves to the Stone Age. What’s needed going forward is a comprehensive legal strategy that addresses the risks though a combination of regulation before the fact and tort liability (and criminal sanctions where appropriate) afterwards.

Tort remedies are essential to protect people (and their property) who do not have contractual relations with defendants from harms such as air and water pollution. The legal system should never allow self-interested parties to keep for themselves all the gains from dangerous activities that unilaterally impose losses on others—which is why the most devout defender of laissez-faire must insist, not just concede, that tough medicine is needed in these cases. The fundamental question here is one of technique: What mix of before and after sanctions will do the job at the lowest cost?

The first element in the mix is a no-nonsense liability system that fastens full responsibility on the parties who run dangerous operations, no excuses allowed. Accordingly, we have to be especially wary of statutory caps on tort damages, including the current law, under which, in the case of the oil industry, the “total of liability . . . with respect to each incident shall not exceed for an offshore facility except a deepwater port, the total of all removal costs plus $75,000,000.” That $75 million is chicken feed. Fortunately, the law removes that cap if the incident was caused by “the gross negligence or willful misconduct” of any party, or its failure to comply with any “applicable Federal safety, construction, or operating regulation.”

To truly have a “system of justice”, you can not have liability caps–for BP or any other negligent actor.

Posted on June 16, 2010 in Auto Accident Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Car Crash Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Constitutional Rights, Keating O'Gara Law Firm, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney, Nebraska Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer, Nebraska Wrongful Death Attorney, Product Defect Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Wrongful Death Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska
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JAMA: Outpatient Surgery Centers Suffer from Infection Control Problems

From the Wall Street Journal health blog:

Infection Control Gaps Seen at Outpatient Surgical Centers

The role of hospitals in spreading infections has been the subject of a lot of research. But increasingly, attention is being paid to infection-control practices at outpatient surgical centers — especially given the high-profile 2008 endoscopy-center catastrophe in Las Vegas, which may have exposed 40,000-odd people to the risk of hepatitis and HIV.

Researchers at the CDC surveyed 68 of these ambulatory surgical centers in three states, looking to see how well they complied with infection-control guidelines in five areas, including hand hygiene, injection safety and environmental cleaning practices. In a study published in JAMA, they report that state inspectors noted at least one lapse at 68% of the centers and saw lapses in at least three areas at 18% of the facilities. At 28% of facilities, medications in single-dose vials were used for more than one patient.

Of the 68 facilities, 39 eventually received state citations for infection control deficiencies and 20 for medication administration lapses.

This is all pretty important because, as an accompanying editorial notes, more than 75% of all operations performed are now done on an outpatient basis . . . .

If you or a loved one have been injured due to medical malpractice at an outpatient surgical center, call 888/234-0621 for a free consultation.

Posted on June 11, 2010 in Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Medication Errors, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney
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Scheduling Surgery? July is Worst Month for Fatal Hospital Errors

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, 2010

There 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:

Posted on June 4, 2010 in Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Medication Errors, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney
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Mother of Toddler Who Died from Medication Error: “That was my purpose in life, to be her mom . . . . “

A tragic story from today’s Omaha World Herald:

Girl dies after medication error
By Juan Perez Jr.
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Alicia 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.

Posted on June 1, 2010 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
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Near Fatal Medication Error Results in Lawsuit by Actor Dennis Quaid

Actor Dennis Quaid has sued Baxter Healthcare Corp., the manuracturer of Heparin, for negligence in not properly labeling its product. From the Contra Costa Times:

Actor Dennis Quaid sues drug maker

Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly have filed a lawsuit against a drug maker alleging similar labels for the blood thinner Heparin and a less potent drug caused a mix-up at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center threatening the lives of his newborn twins in 2007.

Quaid filed the lawsuit Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of his children against Baxter Healthcare Corp. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Both Heparin and the lower dose version, Hep-lock, are packaged in similar vials with blue backgrounds and very small print on both labels, according to the complaint.

Quaid’s twins, who were born in November 2007, were both administered multiple near-fatal doses of Heparin to treat staph infections, according to the lawsuit.

The children, Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone, were given 10,000 units of Heparin, rather than the 10 units of Hep-Lock they were prescribed, according to the complaint.

Baxter Healthcare should have recalled the vials of Heparin containing 10,000 units because the company knew infants had died because of similar medication errors, according to the lawsuit.

The company also was obligated to warn healthcare providers of the previous medication mistakes, the suit states.

The children suffered internal injuries and shock, but the extent of what happened to them will probably not be known for years, according to the suit.

Newborns and infants are often given Hep-Lock to flush their prevent clotting because their intravenous lines are so small . . . .

The twins’ overdose is just one of the estimated 100,000 fatalities stemming from medical errors that occur every year in American hospitals and from pharmaceuticals. If you or a loved one have been injured by medical malpractice or through a medication errorand would like to talk with an experienced Nebraska defective drug lawyer, call the Keating, O’Gara Law Firm at 888/234-0621 for a free consultation.

Posted on May 26, 2010 in Defective Products, Keating O'Gara Law Firm, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Medication Errors, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney, Product Defect Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska
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From offices in Lincoln, Nebraska, attorneys at Keating, O'Gara, Nedved & Peter, P.C., L.L.O. serve clients in Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, Omaha, Hastings, Norfolk, Fremont, Beatrice, Broken Bow, Valentine, Lexington, North Platte, McCook, Ainsworth, O' Neill, Wayne, Norfolk, Fairbury, Kimball, Sidney, Seward, York, Aurora, Columbus, and communities throughout Lancaster County, Adams, Buffalo, Custer, Gage, Hall, Lincoln and Red Willow Counties, and those injured in traffic accidents on Interstate Highway 80, and Nebraska state highways 81, 83, 183, and 281.