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• Contaminated Dairy May Have Caused 3 Deaths

  Jenny Albano | January 10, 2008 7:36 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Health officials claim that the milk from Whittier Farms dairy in Shrewsbury has caused the death of 3 elderly men and caused one women to miscarriage since last June because the milk was contaminated with listeria.Whittier Farms is popular because they still deliver milk to your door in glass bottles and the milk does not contain added hormones.All were infected with listeria, which is...

• The Bon-Ton Department Stores Inc. is Recalling Hooded Jackets Due to Strangulation Hazard from Drawstrings

  Jenny Albano | November 28, 2007 2:14 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The Bon-Ton Department Stores Inc., in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 3,240 Children's fleece hooded zip-up jackets with neck drawstrings because the drawstring could pose a strangulation hazard to children.In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist by drawstrings in upper garments, such as jackets...

• Vintage Chocolates Inc. Recalls Soy Milk Chocolate Bars

  Jenny Albano | October 11, 2007 2:11 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Vintage Chocolates Inc., in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling 4,455 soy milk chocolate bars because they may contain undeclared traces of milk. Anyone that is allergic or sensitive to milk and consumes this product could run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions.The bar is presented in a beige cardboard package of 3.5 oz, depicting tree with a green band on top stating...

• FDA Announces Safety Review of FosaMax, Boniva Class of Drugs

  Courtney Mills | October 02, 2007 2:06 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The FDA released an 'early communication' to the public of an ongoing safety review regarding the drug class bisphosphonates due to potential atrial fibrillation with the use of this class of drug. The agency has requested that further data be obtained in order to assay the merits of the tendency.Bisphosphonates are a class of drug prescribed by physicians to treat osteoporosis. These...

• E. Coli Hamburgers Make 21 Sick in 8 States

  Courtney Mills | September 28, 2007 2:42 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The CDC has announced that at least twenty-one people in eight states are on record as having fallen ill in the latest E. coli scare after having consumed hamburger meat tainted with E. coli bacteria.According to reports, CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said three cases - two in New York and one in Florida - are confirmed as being linked to the ground beef, with the other 18 cases possibly linked...

• Charitable Immunity is Unjust

  Ken Margolin | September 19, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Protecting charitable organizations from liability for the negligence of the organization or its employees, may sound noble, but is in fact, unfair. The immunity doesn't really accomplish its goals, and insures that employees of an organization involved in a personal injury lawsuit, will be sued instead of the organization. Here's the way it works in Massachusetts. By statute, M.G.L. c. 231,...

• Hospital Falls

  Ken Margolin | September 17, 2007 3:45 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  A great deal of attention has been paid lately - rightfully so - to the subject of infections contracted in hospitals. Less focus has been placed on another source of serious and preventable injuries in hospitals - falls. The result of a fall down injury in a hospital may be severe. Patients are ill and often debilitated or disoriented to begin with. If a patient's condition presents any...

• Deadly Medication Errors

  Ken Margolin | September 14, 2007 6:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  The problem of medication errors has by now been well-reviewed, and efforts to minimize such errors are underway in hospitals and doctors' offices across the country. Nevertheless, the problem of medication errors has proven to be a very stubborn one. In his groundbreaking book, "To Err is Human," Lucien Leape, M.D., estimated that medication errors caused approximately 98,000 deaths per year....

• Teen Cell Phone Ban

  Ken Margolin | September 14, 2007 3:35 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  California has banned cell phone use by drivers ages 16 & 17. The ban will include text messaging. Older drivers will be allowed to use hands free phones, but the ban for the teenagers will be total. While the legislation is positive and regrettably, too rare, it is insufficient. A number of studies have shown that even during conversations on hands free cell phones, drivers' reactions times...

• Tainted Beef Sold in Shaw's Supermarkets Recalled

  Ken Margolin | September 06, 2007 1:15 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Ground beef patties sold under the Shaw's supermarket label, were recalled yesterday. According to Fairbank Farms, the company that sells the beef to Shaws, packages with the tainted beef could have been purchased in New England between 7 a.m. - 11 a.m., on Wednesday, September 5, 2007. The 85% lean beef was sold in 1.33 pound packages with the establishment number "Est. 492. The beef was...