Announcements | 
| 
|
TTLA Annual Meeting & Advanced PI CLE December 1-2, Hotel ZaZa Houston |
| Formerly the TTLA Annual Conference, our December event is now the Annual Meeting & Advanced PI CLE! We've streamlined this event and we're now offering a one-day Advanced PI CLE, along with the Annual Membership & Board Meeting, President's Luncheon, and a spectacular Holiday Party at the home of Steve and Amber Mostyn. Topics include: Trucking, Immigration, Insurance Bad Faith, Discovery, Cross Examination And More! |
Products |
|
|
One in 10 Stent Patients Readmitted Within a Month |
| ne out of every 10 people who get a stent inserted to open up blocked arteries ends up back in the hospital within 30 days, suggests a new study that also found the readmitted patients are more likely to die in the next year. Readmission rates are now publicly reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and are one performance measure used to determine how well a hospital is doing at treating its heart patients. The study suggests that at least some of the factors related to a patient's chance of going back to the hospital, including the severity of the diseases they had to begin with, cannot necessarily be changed by better care. Genevra Pittman, Reuters, Baltimore Sun 11/29/2011 | Read Article: Baltimore Sun |
Laws/Cases |
|
|
Judge Rejects $285M Settlement Between SEC, Citigroup |
| A federal judge in New York issued a stern challenge to the government's recent history of imposing "relatively modest" punishments on big Wall Street banks for wrongdoing during the financial crisis. Jed Rakoff, a federal judge in Manhattan, issued a sharply worded order Monday rejecting a proposed $285-million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup Inc. that would have allowed the bank to avoid admitting it defrauded investors over toxic mortgage securities. He said that other similar settlements had not stopped banks from breaking the law, and added that the fines are "pocket change to any entity as large as Citigroup." Nathaniel Popper, LA Times 11/29/2011 | Read Article: LA Times |
ArthroCare to Pay $74M to Settle Investors' Lawsuit |
| Austin-based ArthroCare Corp. said Monday that it has agreed to settle an investors' class-action lawsuit against it for $74 million. The medical device company, which moved its headquarters to Austin from California in 2004, had been accused by the SEC of inflating its revenue between 2006 and 2008. The SEC alleged that the company also overstated its profits by more than $53 million during that period by using a process known as channel-stuffing to make it appear that the company was selling more of its surgical products than it actually was. Kirk Ladendorf, Austin American Statesman 11/29/2011 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
Supreme Court Will Consider if Drug Co Sales Reps Should be Paid Overtime |
| The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether pharmaceutical sales representatives can bill their employers for overtime, a case that could affect the pay of tens of thousands of people. The court said Monday that it will review a federal appeals court ruling that held the sales reps do not qualify for overtime under federal labor law. Other appeals courts have ruled differently and the pharmaceutical industry joined in the call for Supreme Court review. Associated Press, The Washington Post 11/29/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Parents to Sue After Fl Band Drum Major Dies |
| The parents of the Florida A&M University drum major who died after suspected hazing said on Monday they will file a lawsuit against the school to stop what they say is a violent initiation rite. Robert Champion, 26, died November 19 after being rushed to a hospital following a performance by the internationally renowned FAMU Marching "100" band at the annual Florida Classic football game against Bethune-Cookman University in Orlando. Michael Peltie, Reuters, Yahoo News 11/29/2011 | Read Article: Yahoo News |
Suit Over Cardiac Monitor Settled |
| The family of a man who died at Massachusetts General Hospital when nurses did not respond to alarms on his cardiac monitor - a death that focused national attention on the dangers of “alarm fatigue’’ among hospital staff - settled its case against the hospital for $850,000. Mass. General and the patient’s family reached an agreement in May, but the private settlement was never filed in court and the parties have not discussed it publicly until now. Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe 11/29/2011 | Read Article: Boston Globe |
Lawsuit: School Bullying Resulted in Boy's Suicide |
| An Indiana woman has filed a lawsuit against a local school district, claiming her son killed himself last year as a result of bullying at the high school. The lawsuit claims teachers and administrators ignored complaints that her son was being picked on due to his race and for "perceived homosexuality and emotional disability." The plaintiff said school officials knew of the incidents and should have put a stop to them. Dan McFeely, Indianapolis Star 11/28/2011 | Read Article: Indianapolis Star |
Issues |
|
|
Companies Will Face New Spill Allegations |
| The federal government is set to impose new penalties against BP, Transocean and Halliburton for alleged safety and environmental violations in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, an Obama administration official said Monday. Michael Bromwich, the outgoing head of the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said notices alleging additional infractions of offshore drilling rules could be issued to the companies within the next several weeks. JENNIFER A. DLOUHY, Houston Chronicle 11/29/2011 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Healthcare |
|
|
Medical Tests: Pointless if Results Don’t Reach the Doctor or Patient |
| Medical tests can reveal critical information about a person’s health, but only if the results are communicated to clinicians and patients. Sometimes, the ball gets dropped somewhere between the lab or the radiology department and the clinician who ordered the test and the patient. There are also financial consequences for providers when tests aren’t promptly reported: A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology found that annual medical malpractice payouts for communication breakdowns, including failing to share test results, more than quadrupled nationally between 1991 and 2010, to $91 million. For patients, the missteps and mistakes can be life-altering. Michelle Andrews, The Washington Post 11/29/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
|
|
| |