Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

Austin Texas: The recent Legislative Session, has significantly expanded reporting requirements relating to peer assistance. As of September 1, 2007, a person or entity required to report a nurse, when the nurse is impaired or suspected of being impaired by chemical dependency, mental illness or diminished mental capacity, has a mandatory duty to report the nurse to the BON if it is believed that the impaired nurse committed a practice violation.

Continue reading " New Texas Nurse Reporting Rules " »

The trial court jury award of $14.9 million to the family of a man killed in a fiery gas explosion was upheld this week by the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The arguments by Energen Resources Corp. that the jury's award was excessive and therefore unconstitutional was rejected by the Court.

Earlier the Santa Fe jury had found that after a trial in 2006, the oil and gas company was negligent and its conduct reckless in the death of John Stapleton, aged 19.

Continue reading " Gas Well Explosion Award Upheld " »

A new study out this week in JAMA suggests that common drugs which are recommended as first-line therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD raises the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death.

COPD refers to two incurable lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema most commonly caused by cigarette smoking.

Continue reading " Bronchodilators May Cause Increase In Heart Problems " »

The FDA this week attacked several companies involved in an eye wash and a skin cream without FDA authorization. The FDA stated that these prescription medications could cause risks to patients.

Balanced salt solution is an eye wash which is used to keep the eyes moist. Two companies, Alcon Laboratories and Akorn, Inc. have versions that are officially approved by the FDA, and are not affected by this crackdown.

But B. Braun, Baxter and Hospira firms are selling similar types of eye wash without federal validation of their safety and effectiveness.

Continue reading " FDA Cracks Down on Braun, Baxter and Hospira " »

Dallas-A man died earlier this week in Dallas when an 18-wheeler crashed into the back of his car on Interstate 45.

Police investigators say the black Suzuki car was stopped in a northbound traffic lane on the interstate just north of Loop 12.

The car exploded when the tractor-trailer hit it. The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene.

Continue reading " Dallas I-45 Truck Crash " »

A Kansas District Court judge says the city of Neodesha is entitled by law to recover the costs of cleanup and damage caused by an oil refinery. The ruling from the judge overturns a jury verdict that sided with oil giant British Petroleum (BP) Corp. North America.

Continue reading " BP Corp Liable for Clean Up " »

According to sources the EPA is planning to rule that it will not set a drinking-water safety standard for perchlorate. Perchlorate is a highly toxic substance; a component of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children across the United States.

The EPA's "preliminary regulatory determination" marks the final step in a six-year-old battle between EPA scientists who want to regulate the chemical and other governmental officials who oppose it. The EPA estimates that up to 16.6 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate at a level many scientists consider unsafe.

Continue reading " EPA Blinks on Perchlorate " »

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Ed McMahon's medical malpractice lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and doctors can proceed. McMahon had alleged claims that include negligence, elder abuse, battery, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Attorneys for Cedars-Sinai Hospital had challenged the negligence lawsuit for six of the claims. But Judge John P. Sook disagreed, and his ruling now allows McMahon to seek punitive damages.

Continue reading " Ed McMahon's Lawsuit of Botched Neck Surgeries can Proceed " »

Austin,Texas: The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) will begin administering the Nursing Jurisprudence Examination (NJE) to all initial nursing licensure applicants by examination and endorsement who apply on or after September 1, 2008.

The NJE will be a new licensure requirement for LVN and RN students seeking licensure through the applicable NCLEX examination, as well as licensed nurses (including advanced practice nurses) seeking licensure by endorsement from out-of-state and from foreign countries.

Continue reading " Texas Nursing Jurisprudence Examination (NJE) " »

In October Medicare will stop paying hospitals for the added cost of treating patients who are injured in their care.

Medicare, has put 10 “reasonably preventable” conditions on its initial list; patients who receive incompatible blood transfusions, those who develop infections after certain surgeries or those who must undergo a second operation to retrieve a sponge left behind. Serious bed sores, injuries from falls and urinary tract infections caused by catheters are also on the list.

This policy will prevent hospitals from billing patients directly for costs generated by medical errors.

Continue reading " Medicare will not pay for Medical Errors " »

The FDA earlier this week imposed a ban on 30 drugs made by the Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories. Ranbaxy is one of the largest suppliers of generic medicines to the United States.

This ban follows FDA inspections of two of the company's plants in India that were found to have unacceptable manufacturing controls, no programs to prevent cross contamination, a lack of sterile processing operations and incomplete records. This ban covers generic versions of popular cholesterol drugs, antibiotics and allergy medicines.

Continue reading " FDA Bans Ranbaxy generics " »

Medical mistakes, though common in adults, can have disasterous results in children. The actor Dennis Quaid’s twins nearly died last year after receiving 1,000 times the prescribed dose of a blood thinner Heparin. Other infants have died from the same medication error. A study in the journal Pediatrics earlier this year found that problems due to medications occurred in 11% of children who were in the hospital, and that 22% of them were preventable.

Continue reading " Medical Errors in Kids " »

Several thousand MacGregor and Mitre folding soccer goals were recalled today, after the death of a toddler.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said a 20-month-old Texas toddler was strangled when his head and arm became caught up in the net of one of the recalled goals. The agency received one other report of a child's head becoming trapped.

The gaps in the recalled nets are about 20 square inches, which is a dangerous size according to the CPSC. The agency says netting should have gaps less than 17 square inches or greater than 28 square inches, to prevent dangerous entanglement and strangulation.

Continue reading " Texas Toddler Dies " »

A congressional report out Monday September 15, 2008 says 1,600 U.S. nursing homes — nearly one-third — have been cited for abuse.

Some 5,283 nursing homes were cited for abuse violations, according to a review of state inspection records requested by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. These homes were cited for nearly 9,000 abuse violations from January 1999 to January 2001.

Continue reading " Nursing Home Abuse Increasing " »

DALLAS-A federal court jury ordered Dallas County on Tuesday August 27, 2008 to pay $900,000 to a former Dallas County jail inmate for denying him proper medical care while he was in custody.

The jury found that Stanley Shepherd's constitutional rights were violated when he was denied basic medical care while in the Lew Sterrett Justice Center on burglary and drug charges in late 2003.

Continue reading " Dallas County to Pay $900,000 Over Lack of Medical Care " »

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns consumers on the Texas Gulf Coast to protect themselves against dangers in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

Portable gasoline generators can quickly produce high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) and should never be used indoors, including inside a home, basement, shed or garage, even if doors or windows are open. It is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas; in other words a silent killer. CO from a generator used indoors can kill you and your loved ones in minutes.

Continue reading " Carbon Monoxide From Generators Can Kill in Minutes " »

GALVESTON, Texas — Massive Hurricane Ike ravaged southeast Texas early Saturday September 13, 2008, battering the coast with driving rain and ferocious wind gusts.

When daylight had arrived, damage was already considered extensive. Thousands of homes and government buildings had flooded, roads were washed out, 2.9 million people lost power and several fires burned unabated as crews could not reach them.

Continue reading " Texas Hurricane Ike Hits " »

Texas Medical Board After facing a statewide doctor shortage for years, the Texas Medical Board said it issued a record number of medical licenses this past fiscal year.

The 3,621 doctors licensed in fiscal 2008 beat last year's record-setting 3,324. The number of licenses issued in the state has jumped almost 44 percent in two years, according to the medical board.

The board had grappled with a surge in applications that created a backlog of more than 2,000 applicants seeking a medical license to practice here.

Continue reading " Texas Licenses A Record Number of Doctors " »

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, as many as 450,000 people in the United States are living with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Every year, an estimated 11,000 SCIs occur in the United States. Most of these are caused by trauma to the vertebral column, thereby affecting the spinal cord's ability to send and receive messages from the brain to the body's systems that control sensory, motor and autonomic function below the level of injury.

According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), SCI costs the nation an estimated $9.7 billion each year. Pressure sores alone, a common secondary condition among people with SCI, cost an estimated $1.2 billion.

Continue reading " Spinal Cord Injury Information " »

At its August 27-29 meeting, the Texas Medical Board took disciplinary action against 48 licensed physicians.

The actions included 12 violations based on quality of care; six actions based on unprofessional conduct; three actions based on violation of probation or prior board order; nine actions based on inadequate medical records violations; five actions based on impairment due to alcohol or drugs or mental/physical condition; one action based on non-therapeutic prescribing; one action based on failure to properly supervise or delegate; five voluntary surrenders; one order modification; two temporary suspensions and three administrative orders based on minimal statutory violations. In addition, the board issued two cease and desist orders against unlicensed physicians. At its meeting July 25, the Texas Physician Assistant Board took action against two physician assistants.

At its August 27-29 meeting, the Texas Medical Board issued 700 physician licenses, for a total of 3,621 physician licenses issued in Fiscal Year 2008. (See previous release at http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/news/press/2008/090808a.php )

If you have been subjected to a TMB Inquiry Letter or TMB Disciplinary Process, then please contact the Doctor Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik of Southlake, Texas. For a no obligation, free case analysis, please call 817-255-4001 or Contact Me Online.

DART trains were back on schedule after a Trinity Railway Express train crashed with a car and killed a Fort Worth woman.

DART officials noted that the westbound commuter train crashed into the passenger side of a car at a rail crossing just before 5 p.m. Tuesday near the Richland Hills station. The car apparently drove in front of the train.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. None of the passengers on the train were reported injured.

NHTSA are warning owners of 5 million recalled Ford Motor Co. vehicles to go to dealerships to repair a cruise-control switch system that has been linked to engine fires.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently issued a second consumer advisory to owners of certain unrepaired Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles that have not responded to previous recalls.

Continue reading " NHTSA Warns Ford Owners " »

Texas Legislature passed major medical liability tort reform in 2003, and a new study released by the Texas Hospital Association shows the state’s hospitals continue to see their liability costs drop.

According to the study, 85 percent of hospitals are finding it easier to recruit specialists and subspecialists because of the reduced threat of a major medical malpractice lawsuit. Further, 69 percent of institutions say they have been able to expand services because of declining liability costs.

Continue reading " Texas Hospitals Reap Benefits of Tort Reform " »

Austin, Texas:The Board of Nursing (BON) will discontinue issuing wallet-sized paper licenses for nurses renewing their licenses beginning September 1, 2008. The BON will continue to issue paper license certificates for:
* Graduate nurses who pass the NCLEX® exam and obtain their initial nurse license in Texas;
* Nurses who hold licenses in other states and are obtaining a Texas nurse
license for the first time; and
* Nurses who receive full authorization to practice as advanced practice nurses.

Continue reading " Texas Nurse Licenses-No More Paper " »

The FDA in an effort to improve communication with doctors and patients on prescription drug safety, began posting a list of medications under investigation for potential problems.

The list is a compilation naming 20 medications and the potential safety issue for each drug. The listings will be updated for each calendar quarter.

Drugs will be placed on the list based on reports the FDA receives and if FDA safety reviewers determine that a reported problem with a particular drug deserves a closer look, that medication will be on the list.

Read the report.

MARSHALL TEXAS- California resident Canstanza Raspa claims that her development of breast cancer, resulting surgery and mastectomy are the result of 10 years of hormone replacement therapy.

Raspa filed a product liability suit against hormone replacement manufacturers Wyeth, Pfizer, Pharmacia and Upjohn Inc. on Sept 3, in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants are liable for claims of fraudulent concealment, negligence, strict products liability, defective marketing, in adequate warnings, negligent misrepresentations, fraud, and breach of express warranty.

Continue reading " Woman files HRT suit in Marshall Texas " »

A 77 year old Boston woman crashed her car leading to the death of a bystander. Now the dead man's widow is suing the doctors, alleging that they should have warned the negligent driver not to drive while taking the prescribed pain medicines.

Jane Berghold, the driver, crashed it through a hospital entrance last year killing two people. She plead guilty to criminal charges, and settled a civil lawsuit.

Continue reading " Doctors Sued for causing Painkiller Crash " »

Plaintiff attorneys are seeking a new trial in a medical malpractice case in which a jury found a hospital negligent in a patient's death but awarded $0 survival damages because the jury said "no amount of damages will adequately punish" the hospital.

A 24 year old man died after his brain abscess was not timely treated by the Pittsburgh hospital staff. The jury found that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Shadyside's care of the patient fell below the standard of medical care and was a factual cause of harm to the plaintiff. The jury awarded $2.5 million in Wrongful Death Act damages, but awarded zero dollars in Survival Act damages.

Continue reading " Medical Malpractice Jury Blames Hospital for Wrongful Death " »