Study: Bullying is Widespread

USA Today reported that a study being released today, which surveyed 43,321 teens ages 15 to 18, from 78 public and 22 private schools, found 50% said they had "bullied, teased or taunted someone at least once," and 47% had been "bullied, teased or taunted in a way that seriously upset me at least once."  Read more.

Report: Serious Medical Errors Still High in Colorado

"Efforts to rein in surgical errors haven't eliminated cases of doctors operating on the wrong patient or the wrong body part, according to a new report" in the Archives of Surgery. Researchers "identified 25 wrong-patient procedures and 107 wrong-site treatments reported to just one insurance company in one state (Colorado)" over a six-year period. "'Colorado has some of the most anti-patient laws in the country, severely capping medical negligence cases,' Ray De Lorenzi, spokesman for the American Association for Justice, said Tuesday."  He added that any changes to malpractice law "should focus on the tens of thousands of people injured annually by medical errors, not taking away their rights via 'tort reform.'" Story here.

BP's Lawyers Helped Prepare Report on the Disaster

The Wall Street Journal reported that BP's lawyers were involved in the preparation of the company's internal investigation into the Deepwater Horizon accident.  BP had presented the report as an unbiased investigation; the involvement of the company's attorneys raises questions about whether the document was intended to promote the firm's legal position in litigation related to the disaster and the spill

Read Our October Newsletter

Medical mistakes, distracted driving, errors with electronic medical records and more, here.