Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

September 22, 2008

Texas Nursing Jurisprudence Examination (NJE)

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.

September 21, 2008

Medicare will not pay for Medical Errors

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 20, 2008

FDA Bans Ranbaxy generics

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 19, 2008

Medical Errors in Kids

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 17, 2008

Texas Toddler Dies

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 16, 2008

Nursing Home Abuse Increasing

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 15, 2008

Dallas County to Pay $900,000 Over Lack of Medical Care

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 14, 2008

Carbon Monoxide From Generators Can Kill in Minutes

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 13, 2008

Texas Hurricane Ike Hits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.

September 12, 2008

Texas Licenses A Record Number of Doctors

by Dr. Shezad Malik

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.