Mother injured while giving birth wins $12M settlement

It took eight years and $600,000 in expenses, but a legal team finally won a court-approved $12 million settlement for an Illinois woman who was left severely brain-damaged during labor. The medical malpractice occurred at Provena Covenant Medical Center while Tim Ravanh was in labor with her son her son who was later born by cesarean section. Ravanh was given an epidural injection that sent her

Worker blows the whistle on safety problems

A Michigan City, Indiana, public sanitary worker was fired from his government job after he reported worker safety violations and also told authorities about unreported cases of overflowing sewers. So Ron Meer went to the state attorney general and the Indiana labor commissioner to complain about his firing. They in turn sued the city for violating the state whistleblower law. Said Indiana

Bad diagnoses result in many fatal medical mistakes

A study estimates that between 40,000 and 80,000 people are killed each year due to diagnostic errors by doctors. The study, which included analysis of autopsies over the past four decades, found that such errors in diagnosing patient symptoms was also the leading cause of medical malpractice lawsuits, accounting for as many as 40 percent of all cases. In a news report, Peter Pronovost, a

Lowe's recalls about 5 million roll-up blinds due to strangulation hazard

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:Lowe's Home Centers, Inc., Roman shades and about 5 million roll-up blinds (strangulation risk - 6 million) General Wax & Candle Company, Silver and Gold Metallic Taper Candle (fire hazard - 33,000) Meijer, Touch Point Oscillating Ceramic Heaters (fire hazard - 6,700) MTD

Philadelphia medical malpractice verdict reached

A Philadelphia jury has handed down a verdict for a 72-year-old woman who died in the hospital after doctors failed to treat an internal bleed until it was too late. The recent award was for nearly $5.2 million for Sandra Sacks, who suffered retroperitoneal bleeding following an elective cardiac catheterization performed in October 2007. Sacks had complained of abdominal and groin pain after

Surgeon admits wrong kidney was removed

A slip of a pen resulted in a surgeon removing the wrong kidney during an operation on a young boy in Ireland. The surgery proceeded on the wrong kidney despite concern voiced before the procedure by the child's parents. The doctor, Martin Corbally from Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Dublin, admitted his error after the wrong-site surgery was performed and apologized to the family. He said he

Bassett Furniture recalls drop-side crips due to entrapment hazard

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc., Bassettbaby drop-side cribs with external plastic hardware (entrapment hazard - 90,000) J & H International, Carafes (burn hazard - 36,000) L.L.Bean, Folding Camp Rockers (fall hazard - 2,300) Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, Bosch hammer

City to pay millions to hurt handicapped man

The City of Roseville, CA, and the bus company it contracts will have to pay a heavy price for a tragedy that befell a man who had already suffered one bad accident. It happened to 38-year-old Thomas Avery, of Del Paso Heights, who has been a quadriplegic since a 1989 traffic accident. Nine years later, Avery was in Roseville and powered his motorized wheelchair onto the lift of a Roseville