All Topics

• Bausch & Lomb Solution Linked to Fungus Infection?

  Staff Writer | April 11, 2006 4:15 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Bausch and Lomb announced yesterday that it has stopped shipment of ReNu contact lens solution due to fears the product may be linked to fusarium keratitis, a fungal infection. While this is a good move by the company, it makes you wonder why steps weren't taken sooner, since the company halted sales in Singapore and Hong Kong nearly two months ago. Officials in Singapore are investigating 39...

• Study Says Medical Errors Leading Cause of Death in Hospitals

  David Lowe | April 05, 2006 8:28 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Medical errors remain a leading cause of death and injury at hospitals nationwide, and the effort to improve patient safety at the facilities "is too slow and should be a cause for great alarm," according to a study released on Monday by HealthGrades, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports.For the study, researchers examined the records of Medicare beneficiaries treated at about 5,000 hospitals...

• Limiting Attorney's Fees Will Deny Justice to Malpractice Victims

  David Lowe | March 15, 2006 9:01 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  They are at it again: The Republican legislators and their insurance industry puppeteers have passed a bill designed to impede victims of medical malpractice from seeking compensation for their injuries. The bill would limit the attorneys fees that can be charged to victims of medical malpractice, leaving untouched (of course) the amount that doctors and hospitals can pay to their attorneys to...

• National Patient Safety Awareness Week--

  David Lowe | March 09, 2006 8:15 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  With 98,000 deaths annually due to medical error and negligence in U.S. hospitals, the old saw, "An Ounce of Prevention is Worth A Pound of Cure" remains the best prescription for avoiding injury. Hospitals are complex systems, and doctors and nurses are busy people. Patients who take an active role in risk avoidance will do well for themselves in this environment.The American Trial Lawyers...

• Truckers Hours of Service Rule Threatens Highway Safety

  David Lowe | February 28, 2006 8:09 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  "That (DOT) chose in both rules to expand driving hours is astounding given its statutory mandate to make safety its highest priority and Congress's specific directive to the agency to reduce fatigue-related incidents," said Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.Truck driver fatigue has wreaked havoc here in Wisconsin recently. In October, 2005, a truck driver...

• Malpractice Victims Would Lose Under Proposed Limits On Fees

  David Lowe | February 26, 2006 8:32 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  The hospital and insurance industries have come up with another way to insulate themselves from accountability to victims of medical malpractice: remove the incentives of attorneys to accept these cases by cutting their fees. A bill that would limit attorneys' fees in medical malpractice cases is set for hearing on Monday, February 27 in Madison. It would limit attorney fees in medical...

• Incentives to Avoid Misdiagnosis Lacking

  David Lowe | February 23, 2006 10:27 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  If we are to improve upon the alarming rate of physician misdiagnosis of illness, pay-for- performance is the way to go. But political will is going to be required to make this structural change in the health care system.A New York Times Story asks why doctors so often get it wrong in diagnosing illness. It appears that the answer lies in a failure of the health care system to reward success in...

• GOP Once Again Attempts to Impose Malpractice Caps

  David Lowe | February 21, 2006 9:21 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin are trying once again to circumvent the jury system by introducing legislation to impose caps on jury awards in medical malpractice cases. In July, 2005, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out the statutory limits on awards for pain, suffering and disability, emphasizing that the then-existing cap of $445,755 was arbirtary and unconstitutional. Citing concerns that...

• Cheney Mishap Puts Spotlight on Hunting Safety

  David Lowe | February 15, 2006 11:08 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Vice President Cheney's hunting accident case parallels 1999 shotgun accident involving basketball coach Bobby Knight. Both cases involved the violation of basic rules of hunting safety.Vice President Richard Cheney's hunting accident on a private ranch in Corpus Christi, Texas, once again places needed attention on the topic of hunting safety. Hunting experts seem to agree that Cheney violated...

• Wisconsin Attorney Handles Olympic Slip and Fall

  David Lowe | February 13, 2006 6:36 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  While I am managing cases involving slips and falls on ice in Wisconsin, across the globe in Turin, Italy a classmate of mine is handling a much more high profile case. When U.S. Olympic figure skater and gold medal hopeful Michelle Kwan fell during practice in Turin, Italy, raising concerns that ultimately led to her withdrawal from the 2006 Winter games due to injury, she was seen being...