Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs more funds to be able to carry out vital bus safety initiatives that would prevent accidents. 2011 has been a deadly year for bus passengers across the country, with the fatality toll from accidents already standing at 25. Earlier this month, the chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spoke before a Congressional hearing, asking for more funds for her agency to prevent these deadly accidents.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief Anne Ferro, her agency needs to be able to conduct more inspections of buses, especially long-haul carriers. Currently, the agency does not have the financial resources to hire the number of inspectors it would need to inspect every long-haul bus at least once a year. Additionally, Anne Ferro wants to hire more inspectors to be able to conduct surprise safety checks on buses.

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It’s not surprising to Indiana medical malpractice attorneys that so much effort is spent every year on enhancing inpatient safety. After all, tens of thousands of hospitalized patients are injured or contract deadly infections due to errors made in hospitals. However, all this focus on inpatient safety may have had a detrimental effect on outpatient safety. According to a new study, the proportion of outpatient injury-related medical malpractice claims has actually been increasing.

According to the study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, there were more than 10,739 paid medical malpractice claims in 2009, and out of these, 4,910 were for events that occurred in an inpatient setting, while 4,448 were for events that occurred in the outpatient setting. While there wasn't much difference in the number of medical malpractice claims involving inpatient and outpatient settings, there was a slight increase in the proportion of outpatient claims. The proportion of medical malpractice claim payouts for incidents that occurred in outpatient settings increased from 41.7% in 2005 to 43.1% in 2009.

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Elderly pedestrians are at a much higher risk of being killed in accidents in the United States, not just because there are more pedestrians these days than in decades past, but also because streets and crosswalks have not been designed with their safety in mind.

Elderly persons are expected to account for close to 19 % of the population of the United States by the year 2030. They currently account for 13% of the American population, but make up a staggering 22% of all pedestrian accident fatalities.

There are several factors contributing to this high rate of pedestrian fatalities involving seniors. For one, the average American can expect to live for 78.3 years, which means there are a lot more seniors alive today. These seniors are increasingly active and mobile, and many of them choose to walk to exercise. Also, many of them choose to live in urban areas, where there is easier access to medical care, and a strong sense of community, in short, the things that they need for a healthy life.

Continue reading "Elderly Pedestrians in Indiana at Risk from Myopic Road Planning" »

Hamilton County residents were reminded again of the need for caution and attention on the roads when motorcycles are present.

A tragic accident resulted in the death of a Fishers couple who were killed at the intersection of 146th street and Gray Road. The motorcycle was traveling behind an SUV but changed lanes to travel through the intersection as the light turned yellow. A box truck turning north onto Gray road was unable to stop and the motorcycle hit the passenger door. The driver of the box truck was uninjured.

Police reports indicate that neither the driver nor passenger of the motorcycle was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

As we have reported in past blogs, motorcycle riders need to take special precautions to ensure their safety and the safety of their passengers. Motorcycle training is of utmost importance. Wearing a helmet is also critical to the safety of those on the roads.

Every year, there are about a million biopsies performed in the United States. For some of the men who undergo these biopsies, the procedure also means the introduction of dangerous bloodstream infections. According to specialists, the rates of bloodstream infections related to prostate biopsies have been increasing steadily over the past few years.

According to a study by researchers at the University of Toronto, there's been a steady increase in prostate biopsy-related infections that were serious enough to require hospitalization. Over a period of 10 years, the number of infections related to prostate biopsies went up from 1% to 4%. While those may not seem like very high numbers, it's important to remember that approximately 1 million men undergo prostate biopsies annually. That works out to about 40,000 men with prostate biopsy-related infections – not what Indiana medical malpractice lawyers would call a small number at all.

Continue reading "Increase in Prostate Biopsy Infections Is Very Concerning to Indiana Medical Malpractice Attorneys" »

The country’s very first patient safety institute dedicated entirely to issues related to the prevention of hospital and medical errors and enhancement of patient safety, will soon be a reality. Indiana medical malpractice lawyers welcome an announcement by John Hopkins that it is using a $10 million gift from the chairman of its board of trustees to establish a patient safety institute.

The Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality will focus on conducting research into patient safety techniques that can be used not just at John Hopkins, but also at hospitals and health care facilities around the country. The money has been gifted by C. Michael Armstrong, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hopkins Medicine. According to Armstrong, the need for a patient safety institute like this seemed very dire to him because of the numerous medical errors that he saw in years of working at John Hopkins. According to a press release, the Armstrong Institute will devote itself to the testing of strategies that can be used in the prevention of patient harm.

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