Robotic Drug Dispenser Found to Harbor Harmful Bacteria

Our Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers issued a warning about widespread hospital infections from dirty surgical devices earlier this month.  Now, a new report brings to light yet another medical safety issue – robotic drug dispensers that contain harmful bacteria.

A study that appeared in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology reports medical staff at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC discovered Bacillus cereus bacteria during a quality assurance test of drug samples dispensed by a robot.  Specifically, the robot was being used to prepare intravenous medications in a sterile environment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports Bacillus cereus is most often associated with food poisoning.  Symptoms caused by the bacteria include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and pain which occurs 6-15 hours after contamination.  Nausea may accompany diarrhea, but vomiting rarely occurs.  Symptoms persist for 24 hours in most instances. […]

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Keep Dogs Restrained to Prevent Dog Bites and Attacks

Dogs are touted as being “man’s best friend,” and anyone who has been the recipient of licks or snuggles from their furry friend knows the happiness the unconditional love from a pet can bring.  However, dogs can be unpredictable and dangerous leading to tragic consequences when they attack a person or another pet.

Over the weekend one Scranton, PA, man found out just how dangerous dogs can be when a pit bull began attacking his German shepherd.  Sadly, in order to stop the attack, the pit bull was shot and killed.

Although no persons were injured in the attack over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year.  Of those, 800,000 people will seek medical attention for the bites.  The risk of dog bites is highest for children between the ages of five and nine years old.   […]

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Widespread Hospital Infection from Dirty Surgical Tools

Scranton, PA, March 30, 2012 — Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer Marion Munley called attention today to an investigative report indicating that hospital administrators and others in the medical field know that dirty surgical instruments are causing many dangerous infections in hospital patients.

A 4,200-word investigative report by the Centers for Public Integrity says hospital managers, surgical equipment manufacturers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been grappling with growing recognition that reusable medical devices are not being cleaned properly between procedures.

“The Centers for Public Integrity report about contaminated surgical instruments implicates hospitals, device manufacturers and oversight agencies in this alarming scandal,” said Munley of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., a Scranton-based Pennsylvania personal injury firm.

“Not only could hospitals be guilty of negligence in how they clean surgical instruments, […]

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FL Nursing Home Hit with $200M Neglect Verdict

According to an article in the Tampa Bay Pines, Trans Health Management has been ordered to pay the largest nursing home neglect verdict in Florida history.  The $200 million verdict was awarded to the family of a 92-year-old woman who was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell at Pinellas Park Care and Rehabilitation Center in Pinellas County, Florida in 2004.

The staff at the Center did not notice the woman was missing for over an hour.  They then found her still strapped in her wheelchair at the bottom of 10 steps at the open emergency exit stairwell. She died shortly before the paramedics arrived.

Trans Health Management Inc., which oversaw the nursing home at the time of the accident, did not present a defense in the case.  During the trial, former employees at the home testified that the door to the stairwell was supposed to be locked, […]

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Lawsuit Settled in HS Football Player’s Death

A 2006 lawsuit filed by the parents of a Henderson County, KY high school football player who died during practice has finally been settled.  Although the terms of the settlement are sealed, both parties said they were glad to put the dispute behind them.

The lawsuit claimed negligence against several school personnel and a doctor, but the suit dragged on while the insurance companies continued to argue over which one bore the most responsibility, according to Kentucky.com.

The 16-year-old football player died during practice on a hot, humid day in July.  The defendants claimed the teen died due to an underlying cardiac condition.

The father said his son’s death had played a part in changes to state law and athletic regulations that deal with heat.  While he said the settlement was a “bitter pill to swallow,” he also said that without filing the suit they would not have gotten the details surrounding their son’s death. […]

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