CDC: 15,000 in US Die Each Year from Prescription Painkiller Overdoses

The CDC says "Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed in the past decade. Every year, nearly 15,000 people die from overdoses involving these drugs—more than those who die from heroin and cocaine combined."  Read more.

Study: Doctors Aren't Always Honest With Patients

The AP reported that according to the study, "More than half admitted describing someone's prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn't fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued. And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they'd told a patient something that wasn't true in the past year."  Read more.

State Report Says CT Hospital Errors Persist

A new report by the State shows bed sores, wrong-site surgeries and other surgical errors reported by Connecticut hospitals have increased in the last five years, despite numerous efforts to reduce them.  Read more.

Gov't Looks to save Money by Denying Compensation to Military Dependents for Medical Malpractice

This is just wrong.  The Supreme Court's 1950 Feres decision has prevented active-duty troops from suing for injuries due to malpractice in military medical facilities, but now, as reported in the Army Times, "government lawyers in Florida are seeking to expand that restriction to include the spouses and children of service members." Jimmy German, an active-duty Navy mechanic, sued when the Jacksonville Naval Hospital failed to diagnose his wife's soon-to-be fatal cerebral hemorrhage, but the government is seeking dismissal, saying under the Feres doctrine, whether or not Navy doctors committed medical errors, "troops should not be allowed to sue for negligent care provided to their dependents." Although the government has settled many cases involving injured military family members, this new interpretation, according to George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley "is a very clear effort to establish the rule that children and spouses are equally barred from tort recovery from negligence."  It's one thing to bar troops from suing for things arising out of their active duty service, but why should a similar restriction be placed on their spouses and children?