All Topics

• Florida eliminating no-fault auto insurance

  Barry Doyle | May 31, 2007 7:42 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Florida lawmakers recently allowed the state's no-fault auto insurance law to lapse. No-fault auto insurance, which was intended to keep a reign on auto insurance costs, had resulted in Florida consumers paying the sixth highest rates in the nation for coverage.At least one commentator besides myself thinks that this is a good thing.The virtue and vice of a no-fault auto insurance system is...

• CNA sentenced in rape of nursing home resident

  Barry Doyle | May 30, 2007 5:14 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A DuPage County judge today sentenced a former nursing home CNA to 25 years in prison. The sentence follows a guilty plea to sexual assault charges.The victim of the assault was a severely disabled woman who resided in the nursing home. The sexual assult was not discovered until after it was discovered that the woman was pregnant. The CNA was identified as the perpetrator through DNA...

• Bicyclist hit by car

  Barry Doyle | May 29, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A California dentist training for the AIDS Ride was hit by a car while out on a training ride. The motorist who hit him said that he did not notice the dentist on his bike.The dentist was severly injured in the accident, suffering several fractured ribs, a fractured shoulder, leg injuries, and road rash. He was in a medically-induced coma is on a ventilator.When a car crash happens, people...

• Wilmington nursing home cited by IDPH

  Barry Doyle | May 28, 2007 10:46 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  The Embassy Care Center in Wilmington recently received a citation from the Illinois Department of Public Health after a number of residents there were injured in falls.The care of five residents in all were the subject of the citation, including two who suffered a fractured hip as a result of falling.Falls and fall prevention are a major concern in the nursing home setting. Indeed, concerns...

• Two year old mauled by pit bull

  Barry Doyle | May 27, 2007 10:32 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  In Toledo, Ohio last week a two year old girl was attacked by a pit bull while she was sitting in her stroller. The pit bull was being brought out of the house by its owner. Before the owner could attach a line to the pit bull's collar, it broke free, jumped the fence, and attacked the girl.The little girl suffered numerous bite wounds to her face.Advocates of pit bull owners say that they are...

• DuPage prosecutor drunk, on phone at time of crash

  Barry Doyle | May 26, 2007 3:42 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Two weeks ago, a DuPage County prosecutor was killed in a car crash in which she crossed over the center line. The prosecutor had been drinking most of the afternoon, and had a .25 blood alcohol level at the time of the crash. Recent news accounts show that she was also driving a county-owned vehicle at the time of the crash and had been making a series of work-related phone calls on her cell...

• Medication dispensing errors in Texas

  Barry Doyle | May 25, 2007 8:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Houston TV station ran a segement recently on the occurrence of medication dispensing errors at local pharmacies, and the apparently lax discipline of pharamcists who make dispensing errors.In one instance, a cancer patient was prescribed medication to be taken four time per week, but was given instructions by the pharamcist to take four times daily. The cancer patient suffered permanent...

• Bus driver drunk at time of crash

  Barry Doyle | May 24, 2007 8:15 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Monday's horrific school bus accident is in the news again because authorities have learned that the bus driver was drunk at the time of the crash. The driver apparenly had three double shots of whiskey before dropping off the children, and then drank a six pack of beer before the crash.Fortunately, there were no children on the bus at the time of the accident, but the bus struck a pedestrian...

• Kentucky nursing home cited in resident death

  Barry Doyle | May 24, 2007 8:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Kentucky nursing home was recently cited by the state for care deficiencies which has resulted in harm to residents of the facility.In one instance, the facility was cited with failing to change the feeding tube of a resident, resulting in dehydration and death.Dehydration is a hidden killer in nursing homes. Elderly residents have a diminished sense of thirst, so they need to be encouraged...

• Child injured in hit and run accident

  Barry Doyle | May 23, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A South Carolina boy is recovering from injuries sustained when he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. The boy was playing on the sidewalk when he was hit by a car which fled the scene.The child suffered a fractured femur which required surgery for the placement of pins to stabilize the fracture.Under Illinois law and the law of most states, hit-and-run drivers are considered uninsured...