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• Attention New Nursing Home Residents: Put Down That Pen

  Kristina Labanauskas | July 19, 2008 5:47 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  When you enter a nursing home, you expect that you are in good hands and will be afforded the best possible health care. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Disputes arise due to nursing...

• Inadequate staff levels tied to falls

  Barry Doyle | July 23, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Rhode Island nursing home has been ordered to increase staffing levels in order to prevent residents from falling. A survey of the home resulted in immediate jeopardy findings by public health officials after they found several residents had fallen multiple times because of inadequate supervision due to low staff levels.At least three residents were injured as a result of falling, including...

• 300+ People Sick at Chicago Food Tasting

  Staff Writer | July 14, 2007 2:48 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Chicago Sun-Times reports that over 300 people have become sick after eating at a popular food tasting event in Chicago with a number complaining of salmonella poisoning.On Thursday about 126 people who ate at the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth at the Taste of Chicago had reported illness. As as of this weekend the number of complaints had more than tripled according to Chicago Sun-Times.City...

• Woman bitten by Akita

  Barry Doyle | May 17, 2007 8:30 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Georgia woman passing through a trailer park attempted to provide some water to a dog that was tied to a trailer and was bitten for her efforts.The dog, an Akita, bit the woman so badly on the hand that she had to undergo thumb reattachment surgery.The Akita is one of the breeds which insurers are increasingly reluctant to provide coverage for. Some carriers are excluding them from coverage...

• Doctor killed by malfunctioning elevator

  Barry Doyle | March 26, 2007 11:08 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  While boarding a hospital elevator, a Houston doctor was caught in between the doors when doors shut. Instead of automatically opening, the doors remained shut and the elevator began to rise even as a nurse inside the elevator car pushed the "door open" button.The doctor was decapitated by the http://www.houstonpress.com/2003-10-09/news/catching-elevators. Sadly, this was not the first serious...

• Man loses arm in pit bull mauling

  Barry Doyle | February 17, 2007 10:00 AM | 1 CommentCook County, IL

  A Memphis area auto repair shop purchased two pit bulls to safeguard the property after being broken into. Unfortunately, the dogs were not kept on the property and attacked a man who was simply walking down the street.The man was knocked to the ground by the pit bulls and lost consciousness. The injuries to the man's arm were so severe that it had to be amputated below the elbow.When dogs...

• Fatal scaffolding accident

  Barry Doyle | February 16, 2007 8:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  OSHA has fined a Florida firm over $65,000 in connection with an accident occurring at a construction site. OSHA found that the scaffolding did not have guard rails or properly installed planking and that the company did not adequately train it employees or have a competent person supervising their work.As a reslt of the unsafe condition of the scaffold, a company employee fell over 100 feet,...

• Trench collapse injures worker

  Barry Doyle | January 06, 2007 6:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Pennsylvania construction worker was injured when the trench in which he was working collapsed while he was still inside it. The crew with whom he was working was installing a pipe which was being run into a school. The worker suffered a fractured leg and was listed in critical condition.An OSHA investigation was underway to determine the cause of the collapse and whether citations will be...

• Medication error kills cancer patient

  Barry Doyle | December 30, 2006 11:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A cancer patient died after being given 10 times the dose of chemotherapy medication ordered by his doctor. The patient was to receive 50 mg of the medication ordered by his doctor, but was instead given a 500 mg dose. Four days later, the patient died. There were a number of allegations that the hospital staff tried to cover up the error.Fortunately, the hospital disclosed the error to the...

• Staph Infections on the Rise in Kids: Wash Hands Frequently

  Kristina Labanauskas | January 22, 2009 3:48 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A new national study, published in the Archives of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, found that the incidence of such infections as ear, nose, and throat, blamed on methicillin-resistant...