Author: Ring of Fire Staff

By Bill Cash December 10th, 2012  3:15pm Last week, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of a drug company employee who encouraged doctors to prescribe a dangerous drug to inappropriate populations and for unapproved diseases.  This is a closely-watched decision that has a lot to say about companies’ responsibilities to doctors and patients.  If the decision stands, it could affect the safety of patients across the United States. Alfred Caronia was a sales representative for a small drug company, Orphan Medical.  Orphan sold a drug called Xyrem, whose active ingredient is known as...

By Bill Cash December 8th, 2012  8:00am Last week the Supreme Court heard argument in the case of US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen.  The court’s decision in this case is expected to have an impact on people who are hurt by others and must enter the court system to seek compensation for injuries and medical bills.  The court will have to decide in this case whether individuals may keep the damages they recover in lawsuits or must turn that money over to their insurance companies. The facts of the case were tragic but simple.  Mr. McCutchen was driving his...

By Cameron Stephenson December 7th, 2012  12:00pm On Wednesday, December 5,2012, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) filed an administrative complaint against Baby Matters, LLC for failing to warn consumers about the risks associated with its products.  Specifically, the manufacturer’s infant recliners, the Nap Nanny Generation One and Two and Chill models, have been linked to the deaths of at least five infants, not to mention the more than 70 additional complaints of infants either falling out of the products or being caught in the three-point safety harness systems. Despite limited initial cooperation in the investigation by Baby...

By Bill Cash December 7th, 2012  8:00am The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a woman injured by a generic painkiller that caused an intensely painful skin reaction that blinded her and burned off sixty percent of her skin.  The case, Bartlett v. Mutual Pharmaceuticals, was tried in New Hampshire in 2009.  Mrs. Bartlett described how her doctor prescribed the drug sulindac, a rarely-used anti-inflammatory drug, for her shoulder pain.  Sulindac was originally sold under the brand name Clinoril, but dispensed to Mrs. Bartlett in generic form.  After the reaction began, Mrs. Bartlett’s life turned to...

By Virginia Buchanan December 6th, 2012  12:00pm A recent study by the University of Florida suggests that a primary tool used by hospitals to prevent in-patient falls from hospital beds is inadequate.  In an analysis of approximately 28000 patients, using 349 beds, during a year and a half time frame, the study found that bed alarms were not effective at reducing falls. “False alarms” are part of the problem.  When they sound off improperly, “alarm fatigue” occurs, according to Dr. Ronald Shorr, the principal investigator and professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida. Falls occur in the hospital...