Hospital to pay $6.5M in birth injury case

An Illinois hospital has agreed to a $6.5 million settlement in the case of a baby girl injured during childbirth. The medical error occurred in 2000 at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where Denice Cisneros was in labor with her first child. A family practitioner and nurse failed to diagnose cephalic pelvic disproportion, a condition in which a baby's head is too large to fit

Study finds 10,000 hurt yearly in cribs, playpens

A new national study has found that nearly 10,000 infants and toddlers annually -- or 26 each day -- suffer injuries in crib and playpen accidents. Most of the injuries resulted from falls after children tried to climb out of cribs and playpens, but many also occurred because of dangerous or defective products. A number of injuries were recorded involving drop-side cribs with side rails that move

Auto accident brings $2.7M settlement

Two Nebraska college wrestlers were in peak physical condition. Now both have severe long-term physical ailments because of a crash of a state vehicle driven by an assistant coach for their Chadron State College wrestling team. The accident occurred in 2008 when the team was on its way to the airport for a tournament in Las Vegas. Maxwell Baker, of California, suffered a traumatic head injury

Medication error threatens baby’s health

Stories of medication errors are common, but one account from Colorado is making headlines. The error occurred in a Safeway drugstore when a pharmacist gave the wrong drug to a pregnant woman. The mixup, according to a news account, occurred because two women had similar names – Mareena Silva and Maria Silva. Instead of getting antibiotics, Mareena Silva was given methotrexate, a potent drug used

1.7 million Summer Infant Inc., video baby monitors with electrical cords recalled due to strangulation hazard

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:Summer Infant Inc., video baby monitors with electrical cords (strangulation hazard - 1.7 million) Christmas Tree Shops Inc., oven rack guards (fire hazard – 430) GEA Products L.P., GE and Professional Series Brand Dehumidifiers (fire hazard -198,000) The Vermont Teddy Bear

Jury delivers verdict in fireworks mishap

A Virginia fireworks show ended in disaster after a high-powered "salute" rocket careened into a crowd in 2007. Kathryn Hollis was one of those who suffered severe burns to her head, face, arms and torso and also penetrating shrapnel wounds when a shell exploded next to her. She filed a civil suit against Schaefer Pyrotechnics, the Pennsylvania company that worked the show and several others that

Deadly chicken pox case results in medical malpractice verdict

Michelle Koenig, a 20-year-old Illinois woman, went to the hospital with a skin ailment. An emergency room doctor at Provena St. Mary's Hospital told her that she had a rash and sent her home. Two days later she was dead. The rash, it turned out, was chicken pox, a serious case of the virus that spread to her liver and killed Koenig. A jury recently returned a $1.5 million verdict in the medical