Suit Challenges Constitutionality of Indiana Damages Cap

Stage Collapse at State Fair Killed Seven

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reported that a wrongful-death class action arising out of a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair challenges the state's five million dollar damage cap. According to the AP, plaintiffs claim the cap is unconstitutional because it violates victims' rights to equal protection and due process. Plaintiffs' attorney Kenneth Allen told the AP, "If the people who caused the harm are held to account for it, then I guarantee you they will take the safety measures next time to prevent it." The state attorney general's office says it will defend the cap. The August incident killed seven people. 

MA Lawyer Says Malpractice Reforms Must Focus on Patient Safety

In a Boston Herald op-ed, Andrew Abraham, President of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys responded to a Herald editorial critiquing Gov. Deval Patrick's medical malpractice proposal. Abraham said "The governor's proposal of a six-month "cooling off" period before filing a medical malpractice case might be valuable but only if the law that allows hospitals to keep patients in the dark is changed." Abraham said the "editorial misses the point that medical negligence actions play an important role in patient safety by ensuring doctors who choose to violate patient safety rules are held accountable." He concluded that "patient safety must be the impetus for any reform action - not the profit line of health care institutions or insurance companies."

Concerns Increase About "Overtesting" Older Patients

Kaiser Health News reported that "increasingly, questions are being raised about the overtesting of older patients, part of a growing skepticism about the widespread practice of routine screening for cancer and other ailments of people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s. Critics say there is little evidence of benefit -- and considerable risk -- from common tests for colon, breast and prostate cancer, particularly for those with serious problems such as heart disease or dementia that are more likely to kill them." Some physicians and researchers argue that the tests "trigger a cascade of expensive, anxiety-producing diagnostic procedures and invasive treatments for slow-growing diseases that may never cause problems, leaving patients worse off than if they had never been tested." 

Five Die After Lap-Band Surgery 

Surgeries Affliliated with Ad Campaign

The LA Times reported that in Orange County, CA, a "woman has died after weight-loss surgery at a West Hills outpatient clinic, the fifth person to die shortly after Lap-Band procedures at clinics affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising campaign since 2009, according to lawsuits, coroner's records and interviews." The woman passed away on Sept. 8 after having been rushed "from Valley Surgical Center to a nearby hospital," according to Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter. The woman "was the second Lap-Band patient to die after surgeries at the West Hills facility on Woodlake Avenue, which has used multiple names, most recently Valley Surgical Center. Three patients have died after procedures at another clinic on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, which also has used numerous names, including Beverly Hills Surgery Center." 

Hospital Privacy Curtains Often Contaminated 

Reuters reported that, according to a study presented at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, hospital privacy curtains may often be contaminated with possibly hazardous bacteria. Researchers found that, of the 43 curtains tested, 41 were found to be contaminated. The investigators found that the curtains tested positive for things like MRSA and different types of Enterococci. 

NTSB Supports Trucker Cellphone Ban

Reuters reported that "The government should ban truckers from using cellphones while driving except in emergencies, transportation safety investigators said" last month.  Read more.