Medical Malpractice

• FDA licenses new vaccine to reduce risk of shingles for older Americans

  Staff Writer | June 23, 2006 11:51 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed a new medication called Zostavax which is designed to reduce the risk of shingles in people 60 years of age or older. Shingles is a disease caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. After an attack of chicken pox, the virus can lie dormant in certain nerve tissues. As people age, sometimes the virus will reappear in the form of shingles...

• Some blood pressure medications carry significant risks of birth defects if taken during pregnancy

  Staff Writer | June 23, 2006 11:46 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A recent study published in New England Journal of Medicine documents for the first time that the use of certain medications used to treat high blood pressure causes a significant risk of children being born with birth defects. The medications in question, Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, have long been contraindicated during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy because of...

• Virginia Hospitals Rank 39th in the Country in Patient Safety

  Staff Writer | May 04, 2006 7:02 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  One very troubling aspect of the new Health Grade studies which reports 250,000 Medicare patients killed by preventable medical mistakes during the three years, is the performance of Virginia hospitals. Among the 50 states, Virginia's hospitals were ranked 39th. West Virginia, by comparison, was ranked 17th. Only four Virginia hospitals were included on the list of best-performing hospitals...

• New Study Shows Incidence of Medical Malpractice Still Widespread

  Staff Writer | May 03, 2006 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A new study by Health Grades released in April 2006, reports that 250,246 Medicare patients were killed by potentially preventable medical errors in hospitals over a three year period. In a previous report, Health Grades estimated that within the entire patient population, not just Medicare patients, there were 575,000 preventable deaths caused by medical errors over a three year period. This...

• FDA to investigate medical patches including Orthro-Evra birth control patch

  Staff Writer | April 27, 2006 10:35 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  The Food & Drug Administration announced last month that it will launch a "exhaustive review" regarding the safety of medical patches, including the Orthro-Evra birth control patch and a Fentanyl pain patch, both of which are manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. Drug companies of late have been producing more and more medical patches and researchers are concerned that medical patches may become...

• Medication Celebrex

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 4:53 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  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 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  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 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  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 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  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...

• Anesthesia Malpractice Award

  Staff Writer | February 27, 2006 10:04 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A Pittsburgh jury recently awarded more than $1 million to a man who suffered a permanent injury to his sciatic nerve with accompanying complications following knee surgery seven years ago. The jury concluded that none of the defendants were negligent in causing the injury but that the surgeon failed to fully inform the patient of the risks, complications and alternatives to the spinal...