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Medical Device Safety Act of 2008

James Sabatini — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:45:02 GMT

U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, and Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, recently introduced legislation in the House that will reverse a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year involving medical devices

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court immunized medical device companies from state lawsuits brought by patients who are injured by certain medical devices. In Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. the Court found that the product liability claims are barred by a preemption clause included in the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (MDA). This decision was wrong. It ignored both congressional intent and 30 years of experience in which FDA regulation and tort liability played complementary roles in protecting consumers from device risks.

The Medical Device Safety Act of 2008 protects patients from dangerous and defective devices by correcting the Court’s flawed interpretation of the MDA. The legislation explicitly clarifies that state product liability lawsuits are preserved. People should contact thier elected Congressmen and Senator to voice support of this legislation to ensure that injured people have a right to compensation for injuries caused by dangerous and defective medical devices.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Two Car Accident Injures Five in Portland

Margaret Embry — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:17:16 GMT

A two-car accident near Portland, CT injured five people and closed down parts of Route 66 for nearly two hours on Saturday, August 29th, according to the Hartford Courant. Police are still investigating the accident, but it has been confirmed that

a 2003 Subaru Outback traveling eastbound on Route 66 crossed the center line and crashed head on into a 2008 Nissan Altima going westbound at 2:52 p.m. Saturday.

The crash seriously injured all drivers and passengers involved: two in the Subaru and three in the Altima. One passenger injured was a fourteen-year-old girl. The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but at the time of the accident it was raining lightly and the road was wet.

According to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, accidents involving injuries decreased from 2000 to 2006. In 2000, there were 34,447 accidents involving injuries and 27,366 in 2006. Some interesting facts presented by the Connecticut DOT from data gathered from 1997 to 2006 show that the highest number of traffic accidents occur in the month of May, on Fridays, and from 5pm to 5:59pm.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Margaret Embry

Truck Driver Arrested In School Bus Accident

James Sabatini — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:48:53 GMT

The driver of a Poland Spring delivery truck that collided with a school bus Monday afternoon was criminally charged this morning with speeding and running a red light. Accoprding to police, Christopher Speedling, 24, was going 42 mph in a 30mph zone. Witnesses also told police that he ran a red light before the crash. He is charged with failure to obey a traffic signal and traveling at an unreasonable speed. It is unclear from press reports if the driver was also charged with reckless driviing. Five students at Plainville High School who were on the bus suffered a variety of non life-threatening injuries and were taken to area hospitals.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Bunk Beds Recalled By Land of Nod Due to Fall Hazard

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:55:00 GMT

The Land of Nod, in cooperation with the CPSC, voluntarily recalled 750 Cottage Bunk Beds because screws are missing from the upper bunk’s guardrails, which can cause the vertical slats to detach posing a fall hazard to small children.

To date, the company has not received any reports of injury but there has been two incidents in which the vertical slats detached from the upper bunk.

The recalled beds were sold in both white (model #s 236-519 and 188-174) and pine/honey finishes (model #s 459-410 and 172-596) and included a long and a short upper bunk guardrail, each of which should be secured to the inside of the upper bunk beds side rail with screws. Stickers bearing the model numbers are located on the inside of the lower bunk headboard.

The agency recommends checking that all screws needed to attach the guardrails to the upper bunk have been installed. If you find your bed is missing screws, you should contact The Land of Nod to receive new screws free of charge.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact The Land of Nod at (800) 933-9904, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Numerous Injuries In Train Crash

James Sabatini — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:52:51 GMT

At least five Amtrak crew members were critically or seriously injured Friday when their train collided with a freight train traveling on the same track. About 100 or 150 passengers have been injured in this train collision in Chicago. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Defibrillator Leads Recalled by Medtronic

Shannon Weidemann — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:45:34 GMT

Medtronic has issued a product recall for Sprint Fidelis Defibrillator leads because of possible fractures in the lines. The defibrillator leads have been on the market since 2004 and the FDA did not require human testing before gaining approval. The model was close enough to a previous one to not warrent it. Medtronic did perform short-term testing on humans before seeking FDA approval though.

Before approving the Sprint Fidelis models, the FDA reviewed results from animal tests and extensive engineering "bench" studies, including 400 million repetitions of a bending motion designed to answer questions about the devices' strength, said Megan Moynahan, chief of the FDA branch that oversees defibrillator leads. Because the fracturing issue is "extraordinarily rare," a human clinical trial was unlikely to find it, she said.
There are 235,000 of the recalled items still being used in people. Five people may have died from using the device. The leads are connected to a defibrillator implanted in a person's chest.
If you would lilke to learn more about defective medical devices, please visit InjuryBoard's Medical Devices and Implants information page.
Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Negligence Lawsuits Filed Against St. Francis Hospital - Failure To Supervise Dr. Reardon

James Sabatini — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:38:37 GMT

Two men who say they were sexually molested by Dr. George Reardon filed lawsuits Thursday against St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, claiming the hospital was negligent in its supervision of the doctor during the 30 years he practiced there. In the latest suits, the men say Reardon fondled and photographed them in his private St. Francis office during the 1970s or early 1980s. One suit claims Reardon took as many as 1,000 "sexualized" pictures of the plaintiff, both alone and posed with his three brothers. The lawsuits assert that St. Francis bears responsibility for the abuse because it failed to properly supervise Dr. Reardon, who was an employee of the hospital. At least 80 people so far have come forward with allegations of sexual molestation by Dr. Reardon during the time that he was employed by St. Francis Hospital.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Trasylol Pulled from Market

Shannon Weidemann — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:25:15 GMT

An antibleeding drug used during heart surgery has been pulled from the market amidst concerns it may harm more than it helps. Bayer is the maker of recalled Trasylol. The drug may be responsible for a higher risk of kidney failure, heart attack and stroke.

Trasylol is supposed to reduce blood loss and allow patients undergoing heart-bypass surgery to avoid transfusions. The FDA and regulators in Germany and Canada said they are concerned by a clinical study that was suspended by a safety-monitoring board after early results suggested Trasylol might be linked to a 50% higher risk of death than competing drugs. FDA officials on a conference call yesterday said they couldn't identify a group of patients for whom the drug's benefits would outweigh its apparent risk.

Trasylol has been used since 1993 by 4.8 million patients. Some lawsuits have already been filed against Bayer before the recall was announced.

If you would like to learn more about defective drugs, please visit InjuryBoard's Prescription Drugs information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Two Teens And Police Officer Injured In Car Accident

James Sabatini — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:42:53 GMT

Two teenagers and a police officer were transported to the hospital Saturday morning after a crash in Waterbury. The crash happened near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Vail Street around 3 a.m.
Both vehicles sustained heavy damage. According to news reports, there appears to be a dispute between the police office and the teens as to how and why this car accident happened. In addition, the parents of one of the injured teens claim that they were not allowed to see their injured son for about 3 hours while at the hospital as the police were questioning him. The teen was not arrested.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Triple A Releases 2006 Auto Crash Data

James Sabatini — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:09:13 GMT

According to the Triple A, 42,642 people died in car crashes in 2006. This equates to about 117 deaths per day and almost 5 per hour. This is the equivalent of two jumbo jets crashing every week. The AAA attributes many of the fatalities to excessive speed, drunk driving and the failure to wear a seat belt. Triple A also reports that the costs arising from car accidents have gone up with the largest cost increase being hospital costs.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini