Medical News May 2st, 2008
Medical journal calls for review of Taser safety
An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is calling for more study of the health risks posed by stun guns.
The opinion piece released on Thursday argues that Taser use is a public health issue, and Canadian officials should not be relying on the manufacturer, Taser International, or its paid research to determine if stun guns are safe.
Medical marijuana user dies for lack of liver transplant
A musician who was denied a liver transplant because he used marijuana with medical approval under Washington state law to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C died Thursday.
The death of Timothy Garon, 56, at Bailey-Boushay House, an intensive care nursing center was confirmed to The Associated Press by his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, and Alisha Mark, a spokeswoman for Virginia Mason Medical Center, which operates Bailey-Boushay.
Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant.
Boston Scientific strikes deal with Bovie Medical
Bovie Medical Corp. disclosed an agreement with Natick medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. to acquire technology and assets for a radio frequency resection device. No financial details were given. The agreement with the Melville, N.Y., company covers Boston Scientific technology, patents, and assets related to the use of conductive sintered steel as an electrode for RF cutting and coagulation. (Chris Reidy)
Mum wins medical malpractice case, gets B3.9m
NONTHABURI : A mother whose teenage son was left disabled after his respirator was erroneously disconnected in hospital following a road accident was yesterday awarded 3.9 million baht after winning a civil lawsuit against the Public Health Ministry.
The Nonthaburi Court ruled in favour of Duangnapa Pannina, 45, who sued the ministry and Phrae hospital for negligence in treating her son Yongyuth.
The court also awarded legal costs of 10,000 baht and set a 7.5% interest rate on the settlement.
Yongyuth, then 19, was admitted to the hospital after a road accident on Dec 31, 2004. Before he was fully recovered a doctor ordered the removal of the respiratory tube.
Judge strikes down cap on malpractice suit awards
A Fulton County judge has struck down the cap on monetary awards in a medical malpractice case, a decision that if upheld on appeal could undercut a major component of Georgia’s tort reform laws.
Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington wrote in an order released Wednesday that the legislative cap of $350,000 for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering was unconstitutional because it gave special protections to the medical profession. This meant people injured by doctors had less protection than those injured by, say, a manufacturer’s product.
Understanding Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice kills about 80,000 people every year and injures far more. It is estimated that only two percent of malpractice victims seek compensation. Many people do not understand what constitutes malpractice or realize that they may have a case.
‘MIRACLE MAN’ MARINE DIES
A brave Manhattan-born Marine - whom doctors nicknamed the “Miracle Man” for surviving burns to 97 percent of his body after a roadside blast in Iraq three years ago - has died, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
DEA: San Diego homeless recruited to aid drug fraud
The man fit in with the homeless people staying at San Diego’s winter shelter near Petco Park. By all appearances, he had come in from the street and needed a place to stay.
But he was there for more than just shelter from the cold.
According to a homeless advocate who works in downtown San Diego, the man was secretly recruiting other homeless people to make a daylong trip to Los Angeles to meet a doctor who federal authorities say is at the center of a multimillion-dollar prescription fraud operation.
