Falls and fall-related injuries in hospitals are a common occurrence and a major concern for hospital personnel, patients and their families. In 2006, the Connecticut Department of Public Health reported that falls accounted for 42% of reportable adverse events in Connecticut hospitals. A new Medicare ruling has brought more attention to the problem of hospital falls and placed new emphasis on prevention. As of October 2008, Medicare will no longer cover the extra costs of treating injuries from falls that occur during hospitalization. While more fall prevention interventions in the …

Here is a USA Today report which ranks the nation’s hospitals death rates.  It provides links to several formats you can use to compare hospitals with one another in your region or across the nation.
Check it out here.  http://tiny.cc/IYES3

In this very interesting, yet sad story, Mark Taylor tells of real estate agent, Donna Dunham’s death at the hands of medical staff.  Unfortunately this type of thing happens all too often.  Accoring to the story, Dunham’s children had repeatedly warned hospital staff that their mother was allergic to codeine and morphine and that a previous allergic reaction to the narcotics had made her seriously ill. Despite repeated cautioning, a Pinnacle doctor allegedly ignored those warnings and administered morphine. Ms. Dunham is no longer enjoying BINGO.  Read the full story …

In a case of first impression, a Bergen County, N.J., judge has ruled that a plaintiff can compel the videotaping of her own deposition, even if the deposing party opposes it.
Superior Court Judge Rachelle Harz wrote that a plaintiff-driven recording does not run afoul of the court rule governing videotaped depositions and that any party may videotape a deposition.
Defense counsel had argued that the request to videotape the proposal would limit how attorneys conducted discovery. In the ruling, Superior Court Judge Rachelle Harz noted that videotaping has become a common …