Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Mandatory bicycle helmets, mandatory ignition lock devices for all drunk driving offenders and other measures can help save more lives in Indiana every year. According to a new report titled The Facts Hurt: a State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report, the state of Indiana had the 27th highest rate of injury-related fatalities in the country.

In Indiana, the rate of injury-related fatalities per 100,000 population was 60 per 100,000 population. Overall, the national rate is 57.9 per 100,000 population. Nationally, injuries are the leading cause of death for people between the age of one and 44.

The list was based on how states performed on 10 key indicators. These indicators included everything from seatbelt and motorcycle helmets laws, to the establishment of e-record systems in hospitals to track data.

Continue reading "Ignition Locks, Mandatory Helmets can Save More Indiana Lives Annually" »

If patients did not have enough to worry about with the risk of hospital-acquired infections and medical errors, they can now worry that when they open their eyes after a surgery, they will find a debt collector hovering over their bed. In a shameful example of the depths to which collection agencies can stoop, the Minnesota attorney general is reporting that a debt collection agency placed its employees in hospitals to harass patients.

The company, Accretive Health Inc. is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Atty. Gen. The Atty. Gen. alleges that the company violated US as well as state debt collection laws. The abuse is also believed to be in violation of patient privacy laws.

According to the Minnesota Atty. Gen., Accretive Health Inc pressured patients at a Minnesota hospital chain to pay for their medical expenses, even while they were undergoing care. These incidents allegedly occurred at Fairview Health Services, a chain of hospitals in Minnesota. The Fairview chain, which consists of 7 nonprofit hospitals based in Minneapolis, trained its employees to use a medical system that would track patients who had not paid their medical bills. Patients who hadn’t paid their bills were derisively referred to as ‘blue balls.’

Continue reading "Patients Being Harassed by Debt Collectors in Hospitals" »

The Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at our firm have frequently blogged about the risks of central line-associated bloodstream infections, and their growing number in our hospitals. Recently, many hospitals around the country have reported great progress in reducing the number of such infections that occur in their facilities. Many hospitals that have been able to reduce their hospital-acquired infection rates have relied on simple checklists for medical professionals in intensive and critical care units.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now confirming that there has been a reduction in such infection rates. According to the report, there has been a 32% reduction in the number of such central line-associated bloodstream infections in 2010, compared to numbers from 2006 and 2008. Central line-associated bloodstream infections are introduced through lines that are used to deliver food, nutrients, medications and fluids to patients in intensive care units.

Consumer Reports has also reported that there has been a reduction in these infections across the country. According to Consumer Reports, it focused on 1400 hospitals from the Hospital Ratings update by the agency in April. It found that the rate of infections between 2006 and 2008 dropped about 40%, compared to the national benchmark.

Continue reading "Feds Confirm Reduction in Blood Stream Infections" »