All Topics

• 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...

• Pit bull bites woman second time

  Barry Doyle | May 22, 2007 8:30 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A California woman who was visiting a friend was bitten by the friend's 90 pound pit bull for the second time. The woman, who had been bitten on the leg in December, 2005, realized that the dog was acting aggressively, and tried to hide in the bathroom, but the dog broke down the door in order to attack her.The woman suffered serious injuries to her arm in the most recent attack.The traditional...

• Medication error kills patient

  Barry Doyle | May 21, 2007 8:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Montana nurse admitted to a coroner's inquest that she adminstered a wrong medication to a patient who died shortly after receiving the drug. The patient came to trhe emergency room of the hospital with difficulty breathing. The doctor ordered lasix, a diuretic, to help draw out fluid that may have been contributing the respiratory problems.Instead of taking the lasix from the pharmacy, she...

• Bill to permit wrongful death jurors to consider familly's grief

  Barry Doyle | May 21, 2007 6:36 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  The General Assembly has sent a bill to Gov. Blagoevich for signature that would allow juries to consider the grief of surviving family members as part of the damages in a wrongful death case. Hopefully, the governor will sign the bill.One thing that most people are unaware of is that the damages in a wrongful death case are controlled by a statute -- the Wrongful Death Act. By statute, the...

• Contractor cited after employee falls through floor

  Barry Doyle | May 20, 2007 4:21 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A contractor was hit with over $69,000 in fines by OSHA after an employee was injured when he plummeted three floors when the floor of the building he was working in collapased. The employee was involved in the demolition of a building at the time of the accident.Violations of OSHA regulations such as this put employees lives at unnecessary risk of harm.When done safely, demolition of buildings...

• CTA notice law denies legitimate claims

  Barry Doyle | May 19, 2007 1:55 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  NBC News had a recent feature on a little-known statute which requires persons injured in accidents with the CTA to provide the CTA with a special statutory notice. If the notice is not completed or if information is missing or wrong, then the lawsuit gets dismissed. It does not matter that the CTA has the correct information - the lawsuit still gets dismissed.The woman featured in the NBC...

• Girl mauled by pit bull

  Barry Doyle | May 18, 2007 9:15 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A visit to a friend's home tragic for a 7-year old Ohio girl last week. While she was playing in the backyard with her friend, a 7-month old pit bull owned her friend's uncle mauled the girl and did not stop attacking the girl until the friend's mother drove the animal away.The victim lost an ear and suffered facial fractures which required the insertion of a steel plate in her cheek. The bite...