The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm Blog

Back in Novenber of 2010 we wrote in this blog of a report issued by The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services regarding statistics from a study indicating that an estimated one in seven elderly patients experience some sort of medical error or other adverse effect from their hospitalization. Earlier this month the Office of Inspector General released a new report indicating that the hospital incident reporting systems do not capture most patient harm that occurs in hospitals.

In the 2010 report, the department of Health and Human Services found that 13.5 % of hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during their hospital stays that resulted in prolonged hospitalization, required life-sustaining intervention, caused permanent disability, or resulted in death. Additionally, 13.5 % experienced temporary harm events that required treatment. The recently released report collected incident reports from hospitals where these adverse and temporary harm events occurred and interviewed administrators from hospitals and representatives of accreditors.

The study found: Hospital staff did not report 86 % of events to incident reporting systems, partly because of staff misperceptions about what constitutes patient harm. Nurses most often reported events, typically identified through the regular course of care. Hospital accreditors reported that in evaluating hospital safety practices, they focus on how event information is used rather than how it is collected.

The study was based on an independent review of patient records at 189 hospitals. Forty events were reported, twenty eight of which led to investigations and five led to policy changes. Hospitals only looked into the 14 percent of medical errors which they considered most likely to lead to quality and safety improvements. Of the remaining 86 percent, roughly 62% of hospitals did not consider the events reportable and roughly 25% were events that hospital staff typically report but did not report during the study.

The number of fatalities in Missouri due to highway and roadway accidents declined again last year according to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety.   As of the latest totals, 773 people died on Missouri roads last year, representing roughly a 6% decline.  Overall, the decline in traffic fatalities has been 35% since 2005. Following are the totals for those years:  

•2010 Year End Total = 821

•2009 Year End Total = 878

•2008 Year End Total = 960

•2007 Year End Total = 992

•2006 Year End Total = 1,096

•2005 Year End Total = 1,257

Other items related to highway safety noted by the Missouri Coalition are that 7 out of 10 deaths are to drivers and passengers that are unbuckled.  Only an estimated  79 percent of Missourians wear selt belts or other safety restraints – which is considerably below the national average of 85%. 30 percent of all Missouri roadway deaths involve an impaired driver, with speeding, drinking and inattention leading the list of fatal accident causes.

In preliminary figures, the Illinois State Police reported that 906 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2011, as opposed to 927 the year before.

While those numbers are good news relatively speaking, the first week of January in eastern Missouri was marred by the tragic deaths of three individuals.

Nathan Patterson, of Bonne Terre, was a passenger in a car that veered off the roadway, overcorrected and lost control and overturned in St. Francois County.  Also tragically killed in the first week of January was  Laura Dunn, 48 of Wildwood.  Ms. Dunn was traveling west on Highway 40 east of Clarkson on the afternoon of January 4^th, when she was struck in the rear by a vehicle driven by Jeffery Dobner of Foristell, causing her to lose control and veer into the path of a Freightliner and ultimately into another vehicle before the coming to rest off the roadway in a ditch.  Finally Jerri  Swank of Bonne Terre, Missouri was killed when her vehicle veered into the path of a Volvo Tractor on Route Y in Ste. Genevieve County.

While reductions in statistics are good news, those statistics are meaningless when they include a loved one.  Our sincere condolences go out to the affected family and friends. The Padberg Corrigan Law Firm remains committed to continue to work through 2012 to help reduce the number of negligent deaths on Missouri Roadways in the coming year.

Following the death earlier this month of Avery Cornett,  a newborn baby from Lebanon, Missouri, Walmart has decided to remove Enfamil Newborn formula from its shelves, while awaiting tests on the powdered formula from health officials.  Initial hospital tests have indicated that little Avery died from a rare bacterial infection know as Cronobacter sakazaki.  The rod shaped Cronobacter bacteria has infected at least 120 infants worldwide since 1958 and has been linked to baby formula in the past, according to public health researchers.

The bacteria can grow rapidly if the powdered product it is found in is not reconstituted with water hot enough to kill it. Once it is inside a baby, the infection can cause swelling of the brain lining according to the CDC in Atlanta.

While the bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics, it is extremely dangerous to premature babies and those infants less than a month old, particularly if they have weak immune systems.  In newborns, the blood brain barrier, as well as parts of the gastrointestinal tract, may not be fully developed, which, it is believed, may make them more susceptible than older children and adults.

An Illinois newborn has also fallen sick from the infection during a trip in Missouri and yesterday another infection was confirmed by the CDC in a hospitalized baby in Oklahoma.

Despite the precautions, and previous links to powdered formula, it is still unclear at this point what the exact source of the current bacterial outbreak is.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises boiling water for one minute and then letting it cool before mixing formula. Studies suggest powder needs to be mixed with water heated to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius) to kill off bacteria according to the agencies website.

The Padberg Corrigan Law Firm has recently begun representation for injured parties in the recent Schnucks Market E. coli outbreak.

The  outbreak, which has sickened 60 people over 10 states has resulted in at least one lawsuit in St. Louis County against St. Louis based Schnucks Markets with additional lawsuits expected.  A County woman who ate some of the romaine lettuce contaminated by the E. coli bacteria at the Des Pere Schnucks on Manchester Road, spent 11 days in and out of the Mercy hospital intensive care unit with kidney failure, a blood clot in her lung and atrial fibrillation as a result of the contamination.

The Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported December 7^th that illnesses began October 10, 2011 and extended through November 4, 2011. Sixty people have reported being infected from the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri  and Nebraska.  Of the 45 persons with available information, 67% required hospitalization and 2 have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.   To date, no deaths have yet been reported.

The collaborative investigation efforts of state, local and federal health officials have pinpointed the likely source to romaine lettuce sold at several locations of Schnucks markets.  Affected persons reported eating romaine lettuce from the Schnucks salad bars between the dates of  October 5 and October 24, 2011.   The outbreak was traced back to a single lot of romaine lettuce harvested by a single farm via a single distributor. The distributor was not named in the CDC report but is believed to be Vaughan Foods of Oklahoma.

This outbreak is one of the largest involving E. coli 0157 in recent years. Symptoms include  bloody diarrhea and severe stomach cramping between one to 10 days after exposure. Although the illnesses usually resolve within a week, some people can develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure.  While the CDC noted that this particular outbreak appears to be over, they stress that E. coli remains a threat to public health and people can avoid being sickened by thoroughly cooking all meat, washing fruits and vegetables and avoiding cross-contamination with good hygiene.

If you believe that you or a loved one has been sickened or injured by this recent E.coli outbreak please contact our office for a free consultation.

In August of last year we wrote of the tragic pile up accident on Interstate 44 near Gray Summit, Missouri involving two school buses carrying 50 band members in route to Six Flags St. Louis. Two people were killed in that accident and 38 were injured. 

The National Transportation Safety Board reported its investigative findings today regarding the causes of that accident.  The NTSB reported that the teen driving the pickup truck that rear-ended a tractor trailer, starting the fatal pileup, had sent 11 texts in the 11 minutes prior to the crash on August 5^th of 2010.    The accident has focused the NTSB’s attention on the distractive effects of portable electronic devices when used by drivers.  The unanimous recommendation by the five-member board was that there should be a national ban in all states on drivers using cell phones and other portable electronic devices when behind the wheel.  This recommendation applies to both hands free and hand held devices.

Missouri currently forbids drivers under 21 to text while driving, but it was noted by the NTSB board that the Missouri law was not being vigorously enforced.   The NTSB recommendation expanded on its earlier recommendation to ban texting and cell phone use by commercial truck, bus and beginning drivers.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said that as the use of personal electronic devices increases, investigators are coming across an increasingly number of accidents in all modes of transportation.  It has become routine for NTSB investigators to immediately request the cell phone and texting records when they launch an investigation.

According to a survey of over 6,000 drivers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roughly 20% of all drivers and half of drivers between 21 and 24 admit that they have texted  or emailed from the driver’s seat.

Additional causal factors in the accident included evidence that the young driver of the pickup had also suffered fatigue – only averaging about 5 ½ hours of sleep a night for several days preceding the accident.  Failure to maintain a safe distance between the school buses also contributed to the crash. The NTSB found significant brake issues with both school buses, but found that the brake issues did not contribute to the severity of the accident.    

An Article entitled “Headache After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cohort Study” was published online earlier this month in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.   The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of headaches in children 5 to 17 years of age, three and twelve months following the suffering of a traumatic brain injury.  It was determined that kids who do suffer concussions and other traumatic brain injuries are in fact more likely to suffer headaches for up to a year following the injury. The study used a control group of children who suffered arm injuries for comparison.

Over 500,000 children a year go to hospitals with head injuries.  While the findings initially seem intuitive, the significance of the study is relevant to the appropriate care and treatment of head injured children, particularly with regard to reducing the difficulties associated with long term problems. The authors explain for example that headache issues that make it harder to sleep or concentrate may effect treatment decisions.   Currently, there are no studies guiding the treatment of post-traumatic headaches in children

The study tracked over 450 emergency room brain injury cases typically suffered by children from falls, sports or automobile accidents.  402 of those cases were listed as mild injuries and 60 were noted as moderate to severe.  

Surprisingly, children who suffered mild head injuries were found to be more likely to have headache issues than those who suffered more severe injuries. The reasons for this are not yet fully understood. It was also discovered that the risk of headache is more pronounced in adolescents ages 13-17 and in girls.

It does appear that 12 months following the injury, headache levels seem to go back to normal.

Consult a doctor if you believe your child may have suffered a concussion or other brain injury. You should  seek emergency care if the child has repeated vomiting or a severe new headache, is confused, off balance, or has new weakness, numbness or trouble speaking.

Two Missouri Southern State University football players from Springfield were killed in an accident on Interstate 44 two miles east of Sarcoxie at approximately 2:30 the morning of December 2. Diondre (Dre) Johnson, 19 and Michael McCrimmons, 19 were passengers in a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder SUV traveling westbound on Interstate 44, when the vehicle veered off the left side of the road, went over the median cable barrier and flipped into the eastbound lanes.

Dre Johnson was ejected from the vehicle and killed. Michael McCrimmons was still in the overturned vehicle when it was struck by a 2003 Sterling Conventional Tractor Trailer heading eastbound on 44. Both were graduates of Parkview High in Springfield, Missouri. The driver of the Nissan, Jeremy Johnson, 19 of Harrison, Arkansas was hit by a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Charles Lee, 62 of Wentworth, MO, as he moved away from the accident and walked into the driving lane of Eastbound I-44. Jeremy Johnson also played football for SMSU. He was airlifted to Freeman hospital in Joplin with serious injuries. It was noted in the Joplin Globe that Jeremy Johnson is now in a hospital in Tulsa in a coma, with some hope that he may survive his injuries.

Another passenger in the vehicle, Patrick Holt, 19 of Benton, Arkansas, and a member of the MSSU golf team, was airlifted to St. Johns Hospital in Springfield in serious condition.

The seriousness of the accident delayed traffic for five hours on Interstate 44. Tragically, the fatalities mark the 104th and 105th fatalities this year for Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D, which covers the southwest corner of the state.

A man from Eldon, Missouri was killed last Sunday morning on U.S. Route 54 near Brazito in Cole County when he was hit head-on by a wrong way driver.  Marta Vaca, 29, of Kingdom City, Missouri  was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of Route 54 at approximately 2:33 a.m. on November 20, 2011 when the Dodge Ram pickup she was driving struck Larry Huston, 56, of Eldon coming west in a 2004 Ford Van.  

Mr. Huston was not wearing a safety belt and was pronounced dead at the scene.  Ms. Vaca ws transported to University Hospital in Columbia by helicopter ambulance with serious injuries.  Her passenger, Jerry Friend of Fulton , was not wearing a seat belt and also suffered serious injuries in the crash. He was taken to Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, Missouri.

The accident happened approximately one half mile west of Route D.  It was reported that the Jefferson City dispatch center had transmitted an alert to officers to investigate a report of a wrong-way driver on 54 just a few minutes before the crash occurred.  Both westbound lanes were closed for roughly two hours following the accident, one lane was kept closed for several more hours as authorities continued their work at the scene.

On Friday, November 18^th , three family members returning from a wedding in Rolla, were tragically killed on Highway 70 in Cooper County when Judy Titoch, 50 of Independence. Missouri  slowed her  car in the westbound driving lane of Interstate 70.   Her vehicle was then struck from behind by a 2012 Kenworth tractor-trailer rig and caught fire. Also in the car was David Ritoch, 49 from Independence and Eileen Ritoch from Sweet Springs, Missouri. All three were pronounced dead at the scene by the Cooper County Coroner.  

The driver of the semi,  Dustin Wright, of Nobel, Illinois was not injured.   No charges have been filed against Wright, but the accident is still under investigation.

As of November 18, 2011, the diabetes drugs containing rosiglitazone (Avandia, Avandamet and Avandaryl)  will only be available by mail order through specially certified pharmacies enrolled in the Avandia–Rosiglitazone Medicines Access Program sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA had issued a reminder on November 4th to all healthcare providers and patients to enroll in the program by November 17th if they wished to continue to prescribe or receive rosiglitazone medicines.

The Medicines Access Program was necessitated by the FDA’s concern to limit the number of people exposed to the potential heart side effects found to exist with Avandia.  It has been estimated by experts that as many as 100,000 heart attacks may have been caused by Avandia.  The drug is currently the subject of thousands of lawsuits against GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical company that markets the drug.  While GSK has agreed to settlements on many of these suits, there are still thousands of injury cases related to Avandia still being litigated in courts throughout the United States.

Because of the heart related problems with Avandia, Actos (pioglitazone) has become a popular alternative treatment option for those individuals dealing with type 2 diabetes.   Actos already was the tenth-best selling drug in the U.S. in 2008, with sales exceeding $2.4 billion.

Actos has now been determined to carry with it a high risk of bladder cancer. The French Agency for the Safety of Health Products decided on June 9, 2011 to withdraw pioglitazone due to the risk.  On June 10, 2011 Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices advised doctors not to prescribe the medication until further investigation into the cancer risks could be conducted.  The U.S. FDA announced on June 15, 2011 that pioglitazone use for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.  Information about this risk was to be added to the Warnings and Precautions section of the label of any pioglitazone containing medicines.  The FDA had released an early communication in September 2009 that interim data from an on-going 10 year study of Actos users indicated that they may have an increase in the incidents of bladder cancer.  Actos cancer warnings were approved by the FDA in August 2011.

Lawsuits have been filed throughout the United States against the drug’s manufacturer Takeda Pharmaceuticals, alleging failure to provide adequate warnings about the risk of bladder cancer and/or that Takeda should have recalled Actos from the market because the risks of bladder cancer outweigh the minimal benefits the drug offers.

The Padberg Corrigan Law Firm has extensive experience in medical and pharmaceutical related inuries. If you feel that you or a loved one has been injured by the drugs Avandia, Avandament, Avandaryl or Actos, please contact us for a free evaluation of your case.

I recently had emailed to me a video produced to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  The video shows a head-on crash test between a 1959 Chevy Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Malibu.  While one may think that the “old tanks” of the 50’s would crush a modern vehicle, the opposite occurred.  The final assessment revealed that the driver of the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air would have been killed instantly on impact while the driver of the 2009 Chrevrolet Malibu would have walked away with a slight knee injury.

The result is a wonderful example of the success of manufacturers, engineers,  government, the legal system, organization like the Insurance Industry for Highway Safety and others in creating vehicles that have greatly reduced the number of fatalities and serious injuries that occur in accidents on our roadways each year.

Yet while the number of people who die in highway accidents in the United States each year is at a record low, the estimated 32,788 motor vehicles crash deaths last year provide plenty of room for continued improvement.

A recent status report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety entitled “Low-Hanging Fruit” outlines seven additional areas of possible improvement which could have an immediate impact on the number of U.S. motor vehicle related fatalities. Many of these suggestions we have discussed here before in this blog.

Enact Primary Safety Belt Laws

Wearing safety belts is the number one most effective way to reduce crash fatalities and injuries. The NHTSA estimates that seat belts saved 12,713 lives in 2009 and projects that the use of safety belts could have saved another 3, 688 lives.

Mandate Helmets for all Motorcycle Riders

Helmet use saved an estimated 1,483 lives of motorcyclists in 2009 and an estimated 732 lives were lost due to lack of helmet laws.  Helmets have been shown to be 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to drivers and 41 percent effective for motorcycle passengers.  Stricter helmet performance standard  requirements could also reduce the number of serious brain injuries and skull fractures.

Toughen Teen Driver Laws

Teen drivers  have the highest crash risk per mile traveled.  Graduated licensing requirements have been shown to reduce these crashes by 10-30 percent in the states that have implemented them.

Lower Speed Limits

10,591 lives were lost in speed-related crashes in 2009.  Studies have shown that lowering speed limits reduces fatalities and serious injuries while raising them has the opposite effect.  The American Trucking Association has supported a national maximum speed limit of 65 for all vehicles not only for safety but to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions as well.    

Use Automated Enforcement

The use of cameras to enforce traffic laws is gaining ground. Most of this automated enforcement has been used at traffic intersections where an estimated 676 were killed and 130,000 were injured in 2009.

Conduct Sobriety Checks

It is estimated that 7,400 of the almost 33,000 vehicle deaths in 2009 would not have occurred if all drivers had a blood alcohol level below 0.08 percent.

Build Roundabouts

Circular intersections have been shown to significantly increase traffic flow and safety.  Where roundabouts have been installed in lieu of intersections, vehicle crashes have dropped by about 40 percent, with injury related crashes dropping about 80%.