- Randy Walton | October 31, 2007 11:21 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseThis Halloween a San Luis Obispo transplant surgeon is accused of dependent adult abuse after allegedly prescribing excessive painkillers and sedatives to expedite the death of a 25-year-old patient with the hope of harvesting his organs.Prosecutors say Dr. Hootan Roozrokh ordered massive doses of drugs to speed the death of 25-year-old Ruben Navarro last year. Navarro was taken to Sierra Vista...
- Randy Walton | October 29, 2007 9:26 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued its annual reminders to parents as to how to have a fun, but safe Halloween. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but Halloween in San Diego now looks more and more like Christmas. Driving around there are lights on houses, artificial pumpkins, and large inflatable ghosts and witches dot every other yard. By the way, what's up with those...
- Randy Walton | October 25, 2007 1:53 PM |
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MiscellaneousLike a few hundred thousand other San Diegans, I spent Sunday night in a grocery store parking lot with my neighbors, and Monday night in a hotel room after being ordered to leave my home because of the encroaching wildfires. I'm one of the lucky ones. Unlike about 1,500 other San Diego County residents, I got to take my wife and kids back to a home that, except for ash and soot, and a bit of...
- Randy Walton | October 19, 2007 8:22 PM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseOnly hours before it would become law, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 399, a popular assembly bill that would have required the California Department of Public Health to complete investigations of nursing home neglect and abuse complaints within reasonable time limits and to notify complainants of findings. According to the California Advocates of Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), abuse...
- Randy Walton | October 17, 2007 10:39 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseA UCLA study has revealed that vulnerable elderly patients receive only 65 percent of the tests and other diagnostic evaluations and treatments for a number of conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.The research was gathered from 100,258 community-dwelling geriatric residents in 19 California counties. All the patients studied were enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, and all a mean...
- Randy Walton | October 16, 2007 11:32 AM |
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MiscellaneousThousands of Americans are learning a sad insurance secret the hard way, when there's a disaster, insurance companies homeowners count on to protect them from financial ruin routinely pay less in insurance claims than what the insurance policies promise. Bloomberg News has reported that in the last 12 years, insurance company net income has soared, recording record profits, while paying less to...
- Randy Walton | October 15, 2007 10:43 AM |
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Wrongful DeathA fiery truck accident on Interstate 5 killed three people and injured at least ten last Friday evening. The chain-reaction accident occurred on southbound lanes near Santa Clarita, closing the southbound lanes.The Los Angeles Times reported that the accident occurred inside a southbound tunnel that is used primarily by big-rig truckers and caused a fire that was so intense that firefighters...
- Randy Walton | October 12, 2007 9:24 AM |
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MiscellaneousJesse Klinger was an 18-year-old Marine when he arrived at Camp Pendleton from some training before being deployed to the Middle East. One of the training exercises was designed to simulate the ordeal of interrogation by the enemy, and included actors playing the role of interrogator.During the mock interrogation, Klingler's mouth was gagged, he was blindfolded and his wrists and ankles were...
- Scott Barber | October 11, 2007 10:51 AM |
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MiscellaneousOakland-based Center for Environmental Health has sent a legal complaint to Marvel Entertainment Inc., which markets the Curious George Birthday doll. Alarmed by new testing that reportedly found high levels of lead contamination in the doll, the group is brandishing California's Proposition 65 environmental law in its drive to get lead out of the toy chest.California has identified lead as...
- Randy Walton | October 09, 2007 9:03 AM |
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MiscellaneousA veterinarian who is afraid of dogs? That's how Nancy Matthews of Valley Center describes her dog bite experience after being viciously attacked by two boxers near her Valley Center home. Matthews was attacked in November while taking a walk with her two young.Pedro Balerio Torres, the owner of the dogs, will stand trial this month on two felony charges for failing to protect the public from...
- Randy Walton | October 08, 2007 1:25 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeTexas is seeing the greatest influx of medical doctors it has seen in a very long time. At last count, the state has climbed to 42nd in the U.S. rankings of physician's per capita, up from a raking of 48 in 2001. Some attribute the growth to a voter approved constitutional amendment, proposition 12, which was narrowly approved by voters in 2003. Under the new law, any pain and suffering...
- Randy Walton | October 04, 2007 6:28 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsEvery weekend it seems there is another automobile or motorcycle accident on Palomar Mountain. Just last Sunday a motorcyclist died, and the following day two cars crashed racing up the windy mountain road. The community now wants to do something about it.Palomar Mountain Fire Chief George Lucia has asked the county's road department to install a "rumble strip" - a passive traffic and speed...
- Scott Barber | October 03, 2007 10:50 AM |
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MiscellaneousA Florida longshoreman who sustained serious personal injury when he was almost crushed to death at work has settled his case for $13.2 millon. It is believed to be the largest such settlement in Florida history.Michael Clarkin, who was employed as a clerk to track the movements of containers, was severely injured when a 20 foot shipping container fell on his Ford Explorer work vehicle. A...
- Scott Barber | October 02, 2007 10:53 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseA bill which would require the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to investigate the majority of all claims of elder abuse in nursing homes within 40 days, has made it to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill was sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and passed the Legislature last month. An article in the Los Angles Times referred to a number of occasions...
- Randy Walton | October 02, 2007 7:25 AM |
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MiscellaneousSan Diego County health department officials are urging county residents to throw out beef products from Topps Meat Company. The meat was recently recalled because of possible E.coli contamination.Topps Meat Company announced the recall on September 25, and expanded it to include 21.7 million pounds of frozen products after federal health inspectors discovered new E. coli contamination. The...
- Randy Walton | October 01, 2007 9:53 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseThe county-owned nursing home Vermilion Manor in Virginia is looking to increase the bottom line. Last year it lost money, and a consultant hired to address the problem has the answer: reduce the number of nurses. According to the News Gazett, the consultant found that the nursing facility provides daily nursing that exceeds the state and national averages, so cutting nursing hours, he...