According to the “Large Truck Crash Causation Study,” the federal government’s most exhaustive research into fatal tractor-trailer accidents, the leading cause of such crashes is driver error. But another major contributor is improperly maintained commercial trucks, which recently was proven a common condition on today’s roads.
Driver Error Causing Fatal Tractor-Trailer Accidents
That federal study attributed nearly nine out of 10 fatal commercial truck crashes to a driver mistake or negligent action. These included:
· Driver falling asleep
· Driver inattentive
· ...
When something goes wrong in surgery and the unthinkable occurs – such as the patient dying - chances are it is due to a mistake made by someone on the surgical team.
The results of a new survey recently published online by JAMA Network Open (“Analysis of Human Performance Deficiencies Associated with Surgical Adverse Events”) show that more than half of surgical adverse events are the result of human error.
Researchers reviewed the records of 5,365 patients who underwent surgery over a six-month period and found that 182 patients suffered an adverse event during the procedure ...
Nearly two out of every five drivers in the United States believe it’s perfectly fine to use a hand-held cell phone while driving.
That’s according to the 2018 “Traffic Safety Culture Index” released in June by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. AAA Foundation annually surveys drivers across the country to establish a snapshot of driver thinking, beliefs and actions.
The good news is that most drivers support laws that restrict texting while driving. The bad news is that a significant portion still believe it is okay for them to drive while using a cellphone.
One key finding ...
It appears that technology meant to make health care more efficient may actually be leading to serious medical errors that harms patients.
Electronic health records are now widely used in St. Louis hospitals and those across the United States. They are the hi-tech version of a patient’s traditional paper charts. They include all important medical history information, including treatment plans, previous diagnoses, medication records, and more.
At least they should, but they often don’t.
EHRs are widely used in medicine today because of a 2009 federal rule encouraging their ...
Despite evidence that shows fatal commercial truck accidents are increasing, federal officials appear to be bending to the trucking industry’s financial interests by diluting an important public safety measure.
The safety measure is a relatively new set of federal rules designed to stop one of the leading causes of deadly truck crashes – fatigued truck drivers.
In June the U.S. Department of Transportation released a preliminary estimate of motor vehicle fatalities for 2018. The report projected that deaths in big rig crashes will rise 3 percent in 2018 over 2017, which will ...
There are preventable medical errors termed “never events,” meaning they are so serious they should never happen to patients. What should hospitals do when their caregivers make such a grave error?
The National Quality Forum, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving U.S. healthcare, has a list of 29 preventable medical errors it identifies as never events. The events are grouped in seven categories: surgical errors, radiological errors, medical device errors, patient protection errors, care management errors, environmental errors, and errors so heinous they ...
According to a new survey, there are today hundreds of thousands of commercial truck drivers who would fail a drug test or would refuse to take one for fear of failing.
The report, which warns that some 300,000 truckers may be under the influence of illegal drugs, comes from the Trucking Alliance, a group of trucking companies that is focused on improving safety and preventing fatal truck crashes.
Federal law mandates the drug testing of commercial truck drivers. It only compels trucking companies to use urine testing. Hair testing is commonly accepted as a more stringent test and a ...
New evidence suggests that nearly half of doctors today are unsure about their diagnoses. This is especially alarming given that one of the most common and harmful medical errors is a patient misdiagnosis.
A study (“Reflections on Diagnosis and Diagnostic Errors: a Survey of Internal Medicine Resident and Attending Physicians”) recently published on the website of the Journal of General Internal Medicine deals with medical misdiagnosis, examining doctors’ perception of this frequent medical mistake.
Researchers surveyed nearly 240 doctors in Connecticut in an effort ...
The highest court in the land recently sided with those who want to stop and punish a company’s bad acts.
In May the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that extends the time a whistleblower has to bring legal action against corporations that are defrauding the federal government. More specifically, whistleblowers now have four more years to file False Claim Acts litigation, also known as qui tam lawsuits, in which the federal government decides not to join.
Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the statute of limitations for such qui tam cases was six years. It is now 10, which is the same ...
Emergency rooms are often times fast-paced, hectic, and stressful workplaces. It’s not surprising, then, to learn that three out of every four less young emergency room physicians are burned out.
And this can lead to medical errors that harm patients.
Physician burnout is not a new concern. In September 2018, a study (“Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”) determined that physician burnout doubles the chances for a medical error, unprofessional behavior and low ...
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