InjuryBoard Roanoke Archives

• Hospital restraint hangs patient

  Staff Writer | March 31, 2006 12:54 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Miscellaneous

  The recent report of a hospital patient who died after being found suspended with a restraining vest slung around his neck should remind hospitals and their employees of the care that must be used in the decision to put a patient in a restraining device and the supervision that must be provided to that patient while restrained. That the hospital in question has reassessed its policy and...

• Medication Celebrex

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 4:53 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  A study conducted by the Medical Research Institute in New Zealand has shown that people taking the pain reliever Celebrex have nearly twice the risk of heart attacks as those using other drugs. Celebrex, which is manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., is widely used to treat the pain of arthritis. Celebrex is part of a class of drugs knows as Cox-II Inhibitors. Two other drugs in this same class,...

• Jury awards verdict against doctor in hospital for placing a screwdriver in the patient's back

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 2:19 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  A Hawaii jury has awarded damages of nearly $5.6 million in a lawsuit against a surgeon who placed a piece of a screwdriver in the patient's back.Two hours into the surgery the doctor discovered that the titanium rods to be placed in the patient's back were missing and he improvised a new rod by cutting the shaft of a stainless steel medical screwdriver. He did this despite the fact that a...

• Doctor Arrested

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 11:15 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  According to the Associated Press, the Chief of Neurosurgery at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California, was recently wrestled to the operating room floor by Sheriff's Deputies and arrested after allegedly going into a drunken rage when a nurse refused to let him operate. Dr. Federico Castro-Mouri was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and interfering with the duties of a law...

• Drug therapy may partially reverse plaque buildup in arteries

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 10:39 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  A study presented in a recent meeting of the American College of Cardiology demonstrates, for the first time, that significantly lowering cholesterol with a statin medication can partially reverse the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries. Prior research had indicated that aggressive statin therapy could prevent the progression of coronary arterial plaque buildup, but this is the first...

• Are Insurance Companies Being Fair in Settling Property Damage Claims for Total Loss Vehicles

  Staff Writer | March 08, 2006 10:52 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  An article published at Insure.com by Joe Fray has raised serious questions regarding the insurance industries' practices in valuing cars that are total losses under automobile collision coverage. Instead of using widely and publicly available data such as the Kelly Blue Book and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Guide, insurance companies have largely gone to private...

• The Stella Awards

  Staff Writer | March 06, 2006 10:50 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Miscellaneous

  It appears that The Stella Awards are being re-circulated on the internet again. The fictitious Stella Awards named after the lady who sued McDonald's because they brewed their coffee so hot that it had caused hundreds of injuries, but didn't bother to warn anyone about it, purport to be some of the most outrageous lawsuits that were successfully prosecuted. These stories, which are complete...

• Smoking in Public Places

  Staff Writer | March 03, 2006 8:47 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Miscellaneous

  A Bill to ban smoking in public places to protect non-smokers from the dangers of second-hand smoke has been defeated in the Virginia Senate. The dangers of second-hand smoke are well known and well documented.This Bill, introduced by Senator Brandon Bell, was opposed by the tobacco industry and by some business interests who were concerned that prohibiting smoking at their establishments would...