Medical Malpractice

• Cost of Medical Errors Estimated at $19.5 Billion

  Scott Kappes | August 11, 2010 2:36 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  I have written about the abundance of medical errors on a few occasions, but I believe this is the first time that I have seen an actual dollar figure attached to the subject. The estimated annual...

• New Documentary Aims to Raise Awareness about Medical Errors

  Scott Kappes | April 23, 2010 4:27 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The ash plume from the world most unpronounceable active volcano, now aptly named E-15 for the first letter and the 15 that follow it, has put a damper on the large crowds expected for the Nice,...

• Medical Errors Claim 200,000 Lives Each Year

  Scott Kappes | August 11, 2009 3:03 PM | 2 CommentsHouston, TX

  Experts estimate that 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical mistakes and an additional 99,000 patients die each year from hospital acquired infections. A highly publicized report...

• Autopsy Confirms Cheerleader’s Suspected Cause of Death

  Scott Kappes | June 12, 2008 11:53 AM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  It has been over two months since the nation heard the story about a high school senior who died shortly after experiencing complications during a routine breast augmentation surgery. Now the...

• Investigation of Endoscopy Clinics Turns Up 77 Cases of Hepatitis

  Scott Kappes | May 09, 2008 12:18 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Yesterday Nevada health officials released the findings of a probe investigating the patients treated at Las Vegas clinics that allegedly reused single use medication vials and syringes. This...

• Hepatitis Scare Prompts State Wide Inspection

  Scott Kappes | March 10, 2008 1:54 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Over the weekend the Las Vegas Sun reported that a local clinic might have exposed up to 40,000 patients to a risk of hepatitis and HIV. The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada should have been inspected by state health organizations every three years, but had not been inspected over seven years. In order to lower costs that clinic allegedly reused syringes and vials and skimped on virtually...

• Women Encouraged to Take Folic Acid by CDC

  Scott Kappes | January 11, 2008 4:21 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging women to make sure they take in 400 micrograms of folic acid each day. This week is National Folic Acid Awareness Week and the CDC has taken this opportunity to make more women aware of the benefits of folic acid. Folic acid is a B vitamin the has been shown to prevent birth defects. The National Council on Folic Acid estimates...

• New York Doctor Reused Needles

  Scott Kappes | November 19, 2007 2:40 PM | 0 CommentsHouston, TX

  Last week the New York state health officials informed over 600 patients of Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, anesthesiologist, after learning that the doctor may have put his patients at risk by reusing syringes. They began investigating Finkelstein back in 2005 after two of his patients contracted hepatitis C. In 2005 officials notified 98 epidural recipients of possible infection after the two cases...

• Pregant Women Should Cease Use of Paxil and Other SSRIs

  John Ghezzi | October 11, 2006 5:32 PM | 1 CommentHouston, TX

  Recent studies are showing that use of Paxil and other SSRIs (selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors) during any part of a woman's pregnancy may cause severe health risks to the unborn child. In late 2005, the FDA issued a public health advisory warning consumers that exposure to paroxetine (Paxil) during the first trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk for congenital malformations,...

• Negligence in the Emergency Room?

  Lindsay Bauer | September 15, 2006 3:55 PM | 1 CommentHouston, TX

  I read an article in today's paper that disappointed me but did not surprise me. If you have ever had to visit the emergency room, you might feel the same way. The article appeared in the Houston Chronicle and centered around a woman in Waukegan, IL who at age 49 was exhibiting the classic signs of having a heart attack.She went to the emergency room and upon evaluation, her case was decided...