12 Common Medication Error

Medication errors injure or kill 1.5 million people annually in the U.S., with more people dying annually from medication errors than from automobile accidents or workplace injuries. Nearly all medication errors are preventable.
The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention defines a medication error as "any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer...related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use."

It is widely recognized that most serious medication errors result from administration of: the wrong drug or medication; the wrong dosage; the wrong patient; the wrong time.

1. allergic/anaphylactic reactions
2. narcotic pain medication over dosage
3. coumadin anticoagulant dosage error
4. similar drug name confusion
5. insulin administration error
6. adverse drug interactions
7. pharmacy medication bottle labeling error
8. inadequate warnings or instructions
9. drug infusion pump programming error
10. confusing drug packaging
11. use of error prone abbreviations
12. miscalculation of proper pediatric dosage
How can you help prevent medication errors?

When your doctor gives you a prescription, ask him or her to tell you the name of the drug, the correct dosage, and what the drug is used for. Be sure you understand the directions for any medications you may be taking including the correct dosage, storage requirements, and any special instructions.

In the hospital, ask (or have a relative or friend ask) the name and purpose of each drug you are given.

Be sure to tell your doctor the names of all the prescription and non-prescription drugs, dietary supplements, and herbal preparations you are taking every time he or she writes you a new prescription. This will help to prevent another type of medication problem, undesirable and potentially serious interactions among medications


If you need to discuss a similiar situation, please call The Accident Law Offices of Philip DeBerard 24/7 to disucss

New Rule for Truck, Bus Drivers: No Texting

Washington (CNN) -- Drivers of commercial trucks and buses are prohibited from texting under federal guidelines that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Tuesday.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," LaHood said in a statement. "This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."

The prohibition is effective immediately. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750, the Department of Transportation said in a news release.

One of the nation's largest groups representing professional truck drivers -- the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association -- expressed support for the goal but dismay at its implementation.

"We support where they are going, but not how they got there," said Todd Spencer, the group's executive vice president. "Making their action effective immediately bypasses normal regulatory rulemaking processes. Those processes allow actions to be vetted for unintended consequences as well as potential implementation and enforcement problems.

"We very much share in their goal, but their legal justification for taking immediate action raises many concerns."

Cracking down on distracted drivers has been a focus of LaHood's since he took office last year.

In September, he convened a two-day summit on the issue in Washington. The Transportation Department recently launched the Web site distraction.gov to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.

And this month, LaHood and National Safety Council President Janet Froetscher announced the creation of the advocacy group FocusDriven, a nonprofit that supports the families of distracted driving victims, modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds while texting. This research shows drivers who text are more than 20 times more likely to get in an accident than nondistracted drivers.

Nineteen states, plus the District of Columbia and Guam, have passed laws banning texting while driving. Six states, plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, ban the use of handheld devices while driving.

President Obama also signed an executive order requiring federal employees not to text while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment, and were ordered to comply with the move December 30.

Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than 500,000 were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Eighty percent of crashes are related to driver inattention, according to a Virginia Tech study, and drivers who use handheld devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, the National Safety Council reports.

The focus on texting while driving comes after a few high-profile accidents.

Ambulance Company’s Carelessness Costs Woman Her Life and Insurance Company Half a Million Dollars

Sharon Hill, a 53 year-old Pinellas County resident died as the result of what she thought would be a routine trip in an MMG Transportation ambulance van. Ms. Hill, a double amputee, regularly used MMG’s services to take her to medical appointments, but on her last trip she violently hit her head on the vehicle’s dashboard and broke her neck.

This was an injury that never should have happened. Regulations required that Ms. Hill and her wheelchair be secured during the trip, but MMG failed to provide safety straps in the van. Ms. Hill even mentioned to the driver on that fateful day that she had never been transported before without the straps, and the driver commented that the straps had been removed and not put back.

During the trip the driver stopped short in traffic which caused Ms. Hill to fall from her unsecured wheelchair and hit her head. At the hospital, she was diagnosed with a very serious cervical fracture – a fracture of the anterior arch of atlas -- and her head was placed in a halo to keep both her head and her neck stable. She eventually was transferred to a rehabilitation facility, but she never recovered. She was never able to return home, where she had been living independently despite her disabilities. Her injuries from the ambulance incident were just too serious, and she died in May 2008.

MMG Transportation’s insurance company agreed to pay Ms. Hill’s estate $500,000. “Every year people are injured needlessly in accidents that occur during transport,” said Ms. Hill’s attorney, Philip DeBerard. “Many products, such as floor straps, wheelchair locks and harness systems, are available to secure wheelchair patients in ambulances, and this company failed to protect our client.”

There is a lesson in this for other businesses that transport people.
DeBerard said, “You can protect your facility and residents from this type of tragedy by developing guidelines for the safe transport of wheelchair passengers and by providing appropriate training for implementation.
Proactive risk management is an ongoing challenge, but all of the time and trouble is definitely worthwhile if accidents such as this can be avoided.”

The following guidelines for safe transport of passengers should be considered:
• Appropriate training for guideline implementation.
• A preventive maintenance schedule for each vehicle, according to
the manufacturer's recommendations. Keep a log of monthly
inspections.
• A visual checklist to perform routine safety inspections. Service
vehicles as needed, and keep reports and corrective action receipts
filed with the vehicle maintenance records.
• Provide an appropriate number of staff to adequately meet the needs of
the passengers while en route (e.g., residents at risk for seizures,
dependent on oxygen, or confused and unable to fasten their safety
restraints, etc.).
• Visually check equipment for proper working condition before loading
residents. Make sure safety straps are not frayed, torn or broken.
• Set both wheelchair brakes and fasten safety restraints before raising
the lift to the level of entry into the van.
• Always fasten restraints according to the vehicle's manufacturer
directions when transferring a wheelchair into the vehicle. The
operator should verify that the wheelchair restraints provided on the
van are compatible with both the resident and the wheelchair to secure
the passenger in place.
• Develop an audit system in which the fleet manager randomly travels
with drivers to assess their skills and knowledge. Provide training
based on needs.

New tactic From Law Enforcement Agencies Nabs Unlicensed Drivers
Courthouse stings catch illegal drivers in the act as they try to drive from
parking lots
By C. Ron Allen South Florida Sun-Sentinel


Teams of state troopers and deputies have been ordered to stake out courthouses to catch drivers pulling out of the parking lot after they've lost their license.

The move is part of an aggressive crackdown by the Florida Highway Patrol and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on unlicensed drivers who repeatedly get behind the wheel.

The focus on these drivers is part of a plan to put the brakes on what authoritiest call an epidemic infecting the roadways. A 2003 study by the American Automobile Association found that motorists without a valid driver's license are five times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those properly licensed.

Under the new tactic, ordered by Maj. Luis Ramil, FHP's Troop L commander, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, law enforcement officers lay in wait in and around courthouses, some in plainclothes to blend in with spectators at the hearings.

When the judge suspends a driver's license, the troopers or deputies then alert their colleagues outside who nab the drivers. Additional operations are planned for Broward and Miami-Dade counties but officials would not disclose the dates.

This aggressive new approach is atypical because law enforcement agencies don't usually actively pursue these drivers, authorities said.

"It upsets anyone that reads in the paper or sees online where a driver who should not even be behind the wheel of a car has a crash, hurts someone or kills someone," said Lt. Tim Frith, spokesman for the Highway Patrol, which has about 1,500 troopers. "That strikes a nerve with anyone. What are they doing in the car in the first place? It's the first thing we hear: 'They shouldn't even been driving.' Absolutely right, they shouldn't."

Not everyone likes the tactic.

Marshall Geyser, a Fort Lauderdale defense attorney who represents motorists with traffic tickets, said he is troubled by the courthouse stings because he thinks it is a poor use of taxpayers' dollars.

"I don't agree with what they do," said Geyser, who has been practicing for 22 years. "I think that our tax dollars could be spent policing more important things. We have a boatload of violent crimes going on in both counties and throughout South Florida and they're spending their time catching people who may not be licensed."

Last year, law enforcement officers statewide wrote 379,976 tickets for driving under one or more of five categories: no license, expired license, improper license, and a suspended or revoked licenses, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The county-by-county breakdown was unavailable.

Since the courthouse crackdown started last month, 22 drivers whose licenses were suspended by a judge have been arrested and their cars and a motorcycle were towed, officials said.

In 2008, the latest numbers available, the state suspended or revoked about 2.4 million driver's licenses, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles records show. There are nearly 16 million licensed drivers in Florida.

First-time offenders are charged with a second-degree misdemeanor and face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, while a second offense can lead to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The third offense results in a third-degree felony and up to five years in prison and a $ 5,000 fine. But those penalties are at a judge's discretion.

Drivers can lose licenses for many reasons: failing to pay a traffic fine, failing to pay child support, and getting convicted of drug crimes or underage alcohol possession, to name a few.

The Florida Legislature has tried unsuccessfully at least four times to stiffen penalties and impound cars of unlicensed drivers. Rep. Ari Porth, D- Coral Springs, said he plans to reintroduce a bill to address the issue.

"We're not planning to increase jail time. I think [the bill] meets the needs of getting people off the road and answers the criticism that it's been perhaps too Draconian in the past," Porth said. "I do want to take people's cars away from them until they have cleaned up their licenses but this is a somewhat softer approach."

Although authorities are focusing on courthouse blitzes, they still plan to conduct checkpoints.

"I don't know what more can we do," Frith said. "Are people finding it inconvenient and irritating at times? Absolutely, but there is a greater portion of the public that feels they are necessary. They love the fact that we are removing drivers that shouldn't be out there and possibly could hurt or even kill their loved ones."

C. Ron Allen can be reached at crallen@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6611.

$1 Million Settlement in Death of 3-Year-Old

Okeechobee: An Okeechobee family has accepted $1 million policy limits in a wrongful death lawsuit. Their toddler was riding his bike when a truck driver struck and killed him.

On a quiet Sunday morning in the parking lot of the Town Center Apartments in Okeechobee, FL, the parents of a three-year-old boy thought he was in a safe place to ride his bicycle. The parents were standing close by, watching; signs saying “Slow Children at Play” were posted; and there were speed bumps throughout the complex to slow down drivers.

Yet, the driver of a 1 ton business truck with dual rear tires “gunned” his vehicle, pulled straight out of the parking space, and unknowingly ran over the small child’s bike, killing the boy instantly. The driver of the truck was unaware of the tragedy and had to be chased down to get him to stop.

The night before this tragedy, the truck driver had been partying in West Palm Beach, not arriving home until 6:30 am. He went to the apartment complex to drop off a friend, and he admitted seeing the child riding his bike in the parking lot when he arrived.

Witnesses said there were no obstructions in the way, so the driver should have seen the child and his bicycle, making the driver negligent. The young boy suffered massive head trauma, which resulted in his death. Tony Goodman, an attorney with the Accident Law Offices of Philip DeBerard, said, “This incident showed blatant disregard for responsible driving in a vicinity where small children play on a regular basis. We hope this settlement will make a difference, emphasizing how motor vehicle drivers must take responsibility for pedestrians.”


The defendant’s business insurance company accepted responsibility for the defendant’s actions, settling the case for the entire policy limits of $1 million. Attorney Philip DeBerard said, “This accident robbed his family of a young and spirited son due to the careless driving of one person. No amount of money can ever take the place of the little boy whose life was cut short so tragically.”

The Accident Law Offices of Philip DeBerard, www.flainjurylawyer.com practices in the area of Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, serving Okeechobee, Stuart, Jupiter and Fort Pierce.

IS SPEEDING REALLY AN ISSUE ON THE ROADS?

Speeding is a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes, killing more than 1,000 Americans every month. In 2007, 13,040 people died in speed-related crashes. Based on a national representative sample of police-reported crashes, in 2007 speed was a factor in about 15 percent of property-damage only crashes and 26 percent of crashes involving injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that the economic cost of speed-related crashes is more than $40 billion each year.1

In a high-speed crash, a passenger vehicle is subjected to forces so severe that the vehicle structure cannot withstand the force of the crash and maintain survival space in the occupant compartment. Likewise, as crash speeds get very high, restraint systems such as airbags and safety belts cannot keep the forces on occupants below severe injury levels.

IS SPEEDING REALLY AN ISSUE?

Speed influences the risk of crashes and crash injuries in three basic ways:

•It increases the distance a vehicle travels from the time a driver detects an emergency to the time the driver reacts.
•It increases the distance needed to stop a vehicle once an emergency is perceived.
•It increases the crash energy by the square of the speeds. When impact speed increases from 40 to 60 mph (a 50 percent increase), the energy that needs to be managed increases by 125 percent.
For practical reasons, there are limits to the amount of crash energy that can be managed by vehicles, restraint systems, and roadway hardware such as barriers and impact attenuators. The higher the speed, the more likely that these limits will be exceeded in crashes, thus limiting the protection available for vehicle occupants. To put speed into perspective, note that government crash tests for occupant protection are conducted at speeds of 30-35 mph, and these are severe impact speeds.

2009 Licensed Drivers by County
Florida Department of Motor Vehicles

Martin County: 126,587
St. Lucie: 213,469
Indian River: 117,550
Okeechobee: 29,139


 Highway Fatalities Down in Florida: Florida ended 2008
with 2,983 traffic fatalities, the lowest the statistic has been
in eight years. The last time Florida’s total number of fatalities
was less than 3,000 was in 2000 when there were 2,999
fatalities. State traffic deaths in 2008 were down 238, a seven
percent reduction, from 2007 when 3,221 people died and
328 fewer than the five-year average of 3,311 deaths. While
the numbers of fatalities are similar for 2000 and 2008, the
Sunshine State’s population grew by more than 2.8 million,
an increase of nearly 18 percent.
 Primary Safety Belt Law Passed: Senate Bill 344, the
“Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law” was
passed by the 2009 Legislature. The new law allows for the
primary enforcement of Florida’s safety belt requirements,
which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
estimates will prevent 142 fatalities in Florida annually. The
law, sponsored by Senator Nan Rich, Representative Rich
Glorioso, and supported by Governor Charlie Crist, took
effect June 30, 2009. According to a 2008 National Traffic
Highway Safety Administration study, states with primary
enforcement laws rank in the top five for safety belt usage
while Florida ranks 35th in the nation.
 DUI Enforcement: Ten Troopers from across Florida were
recognized for their outstanding DUI enforcement efforts
in 2008. Each Trooper made over 100 DUI arrests. Trooper
Ronald Evans Jr. earned the Hurd-Smith award for his extraordinary
DUI enforcement efforts, which included 187 DUI
arrests, more than one every other day.
 Aggressive Driving: FHP initiated several enforcement
initiatives to combat aggressive driving. In North Florida Operation
“Take Back 98,” intensified enforcement and awareness
on US 98, a congested route in Okaloosa and Walton
Counties, where speeding increases incidents of crashes,
injuries and deaths. In South Florida the Blitz on Aggressive
Drivers task force focused enforcement on the Interstates
running through Broward County. The task force works in
concert to save lives and reduce injuries by stopping aggressive
drivers. In the first six months the task force issued over
1,000 citations. In Southwest Florida where a high frequency
of speeding complaints, crashes and fatalities occur, Aggressive
Concentrated Enforcement Teams have issued 1,158
seatbelt citations, 263 speeding citations, and arrested 26
drivers with a suspended or no valid license.
 Operation Safe Ride: A powerful unannounced concentrated
enforcement effort targeted spring-time drivers in
March and April. The effort addressed the growing concern
over speeding, aggressive driving, and other driving practices
that place motorists at higher risk for crashes. Operation
Safe Ride is part of a long-term traffic safety campaign
that focuses on hazardous violations to prevent deaths and
injuries on our roadways. Troopers issued over 22,000 traffic
citations during the combined eight day effort