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Car Accident Injuries & Deaths

Drunk Driving Injuries & Deaths

Brief Regarding the Liability of a 911 Dispatcher Who Fails to Send Help

Truck Accident Injuries & Deaths

Nursing Home - Abuse & Neglect

FELA Claims: Don’t Let Your Employer Railroad Your Rights!

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John Harris, III has been selected for national membership in The 2008-2009 Top 100 Trial Lawyers for the state of Virginia.
The American Trial Lawyers Association has selected John Harris for inclusion in the 2008-2009 Top 100 Trial Lawyers for the State of Virginia. A maximum of 100 attorneys from Virginia are considered for membership in the Association. Membership into The American Trial Lawyers Association is by invitation and is extended only to those attorneys who exemplify superior qualifications, trial results, leadership, influence, reputation, statue, and profile in the trial attorney community as viewed by the Association, other trial lawyers, members of the bench, and the public at large.
How Super Lawyers Are Selected
Super Lawyers explains how the select lawyers to be identified as Super Lawyers.
Super Lawyers selects John Harris to be a member
John P. Harris, III is again selected as a Super Lawyer.
The No-So-Independent Medical Examiner
This article was published in the Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. It uses uses an actual trial transcript from a nursing home case John Harris tried. The article demonstrates techniques to use in cross-examining the defense’s medical expert. The article explores bias, lack of knowledge of pertinent information, explanation of or clarification of medical terms and procedures, bolstering the testimony of the treating physician, and obtaining concessions.
The People's Law School
John Harris's radio show on 1230 am radio at 9:00 am every monday morning.
Carriage Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Dropped by Medicare
Carriage Hills nuring home's problems began with a pattern of problems which lead to the nursing home being dropped from the Medicare program.
John Harris has been selected one of the Best in the U.S.
The Best of the U.S. Inc. has identified, in Virginia, seventy-four such personal injury attorneys. John P. Harris, III is one of them.
In a letter to the editor of The Free Lance- Star, John Harris explains why a lawsuit helps limit suffering in a wrongful death case.
In a letter to the editor of The Free Lance- Star, John Harris explains why a lawsuit helps limit suffering in a wrongful death case.
$600,000 settlement for suicide by police officer
Medical malpractice by psychiatrist. Psychiatrist failed to properly treat police officer who was suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and depression which resulted in the police offer shooting himself.
Senior Citizens Handbook
A large amount of useful information for Seniors and their family and friends.
CNN reports Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.
ATTORNEY SUES INSURANCE ADJUSTER
This case is about a lawyer who represents personal injury plaintiffs. When one injured person met privately with a Nationwide insurance adjuster to discuss settlement of a claim, the topic turned to the claimant’s possible retention of an attorney. He mentioned that he was thinking of hiring the lawyer. The insurance adjuster told the claimant that the lawyer "just takes people’s money," and that claimants would get more for their claims if they dealt directly with the adjuster. The lawyer found out about the statement, and sued for defamation.
MOTHER CAN SUE FOR DEFECTIVE CHILD
The Virginia Supreme Court reconsiders and reaffirms its prior rulings that "a mother can recover, as an element of her own cause of action, damages for her mental suffering resulting from the birth of an impaired child.
John Harris has been selected as a 2006 Virginia Super Lawyer.
Only five percent of Virginia attorneys receive this honor each year.
John Harris selected by included in the publication Best Lawyers in America 2006 Edition
AV rating by Martindale Hubbell
HOW TO FIND THE "RIGHT LAWYER"
Finding the "right lawyer" for your case is a challenge. Here is how to do it for any case you might have.
National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration Releases Annual Crash Predictions
Dog Bite Lawsuit
Don't Be a Victim of Dog Bites
Truck Accident
In a truck accident, the change of injury occuring have increased because during a truck accident a truck is unable to remain upright. Truck drivers do not have the same visibility and quick reaction maneuverability that smaller vehicles have, which contributes to trucking accidents. If you have been involved in a trucking accident contact us to confer with a truck accident lawyer.
Medical Malpractice Statistics
According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), over 225,000 people die each year due to iatrogenic (malpractice) causes. This has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, after deaths from heart disease and cancer.
Plaintiff settles slip and fall in Federal Court
Fall on peanut shells yields a confidential settlement.
Plaintiff wins $47,500 for fall on wet floor.
Rearend collision with soft tissue injury
Verdict for the plaintiff for $16,049.20
How to find the "right lawyer" for your case.
Finding the "right lawyer" for your case is a challenge. Here is how to do it for any case you might have.
Paxil may cause birth defects
Doctors should use caution in prescribing Paxil without considering alternative.
How to complain about a nursing home.
Whiplash injuries more likely in minivan accidents
Many minivans do not adequately protect passengers from neck injuries in rear-end accidents.
2006 Medicare Drug Plan Has Adverse Effect on Maintenance Medications & the Elderly
A discussion of the 2006 Medicare Drug Plan. Who it helps and who it hurts and other things you should know.
Children's Bicycle Helments Recalled by Consumer Protection Safety Commission
The CPSC is recalling about 494,000 Back Trails Jr. Toddler, Youth and Child Bicycle Helmets sold by Target. Some of these helmets do not meet CPSC safety standards for bicycle helmets, which poses a risk of riders suffering head injuries.
More Experienced Physicians More Likely to Commit Malpractice
Failure to learn newer methods results in medical malpractice.
GEODECK DECKING AND RAILING MATERIALS - UNSAFE
The CPSC and Kadant Composites Inc., of Bedford, Massachusetts, are recalling about 11,000 constructed decks GeoDeck Decking and Railing Materials. When the decking or railing material is exposed to hot temperatures and sunlight, it can prematurely degrade. The degraded material could break, posing a fall hazard to consumers.
Older Consumers Safety Checklist
Falls and fires are two leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths among adults 65 and older.
The truth about the McDonald's coffee cup case.
As Paul Harvey would say, this is the rest of the story.
Class-action lawsuit against Beverly Enterprises Inc.
The lawsuit alleges the care provided to the nursing home residents was so poor that the state should get back the Medicaid money it paid on behalf of the patients.
Fredericksburg area nursing homes agree to shape up.
Seven nursing homes, including Beverly Healthcare here, signed agreements with U.S. attorney to improve operations.
Beverly Healthcare's Fredericksburg nursing home.
Beverly Healthcare's nursing home agrees to invest in improvements as part of settlement with U.S. attorney's office
Exercise may be more important for women than men.
Exercise Guidelines for Women Established
Malnutrition is a sign of Nursing Home neglect
Malnutrition is not a response to normal aging. It can signify nursing home neglect.
Cholesterol Drugs May Harm Ill Diabetics
Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs do not help severely ill diabetics, and may even raise their risk of a deadly stroke, a study found.
FDA Issues Warning About Abortion Pill
The government warned doctors Tuesday to be on the lookout for rare but deadly infections in women using the abortion pill RU-486, citing two more deaths after its use.
Which type of Diabetes do you have?
Diabetes is caused by a problem with the body's ability to use insulin.
Dangerous Antifreeze
A Senate subcommittee is considering a bill that will require antifreeze manufacturers to add a bittering agent in order to prevent ingestion by children and pets. According to an advocacy group in Washington, nearly 1,400 children and 10,000 pets ingest antifreeze every year. It only takes 2 two tablespoons of the substance to kill a 10-pound dog, while 4 ounces is a lethal dose for a 150-pound man.
Double Diabetes
Both types of diabetes at once
New Study Proves Insurers Have Misled Doctors and the Public
Attorney General Calls for Immediate Review of Malpractice Insurance Rates

John Harris, III has been selected for national membership in The 2008-2009 Top 100 Trial Lawyers for the state of Virginia.

How Super Lawyers Are Selected

Super Lawyers are selected by a three step process....

Super Lawyers selects John Harris to be a member

John P. Harris, III is again selected as a Super Lawyer.....

The No-So-Independent Medical Examiner

This article was written by John Harris and published in the Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. The article uses an actual trial transcript from a nursing home case he tried. In the article he demonstrates cross examination techniques to use in cross-examining the defense’s medical expert. The article explores bias, lack of knowledge of pertinent information, explanation of or clarification of medical terms and procedures, bolstering the testimony of the treating physician, and obtaining concessions.

The People's Law School

Listen to The People's Law School at 9:00 on Monday mornings on 1230 am radio. It is a "call in radio show" so feel free to call in with your questions to 540-371-5756. So far, The People's Law School has covered auto accidents, bankruptcy, the court system, child custody, elder law, social security disability. There will be a different subject every Monday morning. Be sure to listen, be sure to call in. The People's Law School is sponsored by John Harris.

Carriage Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Dropped by Medicare

The pattern of problems included 13 rooms in which the call bell did not work. A certified nursing assistant, or CNA, allowed a resident to fall from the bed onto the floor face first. Another resident fell and broke her hip. Another received second and third degree burns. Others did not receive the treatment that was prescribed. Another resident strangled to death on a nurse-call cord. The Office of Licensure and Certification found that the nursing home staff was not always properly trained.

John Harris has been selected one of the Best in the U.S.

The Best of the U.S. Inc. is a research, publishing, and consulting firm that is dedicated to recognizing excellence in the U.S. It researchs, organizes and provides lists of those professionals who have displayed a search for excellence in their profession through their continuing education, leadership, peer recognition and contributions to their field. The Best of the U.S. Inc. strives to level the playing field in obtaining professional services through access of information. The Best of the U.S. Inc. has identified, in Virginia, seventy-four such personal injury attorneys. John P. Harris, III is one of them.

In a letter to the editor of The Free Lance- Star, John Harris explains why a lawsuit helps limit suffering in a wrongful death case.

Don't forget insurance in air crash case
The last sentence of Shirley Braden's letter to the editor ["Air crash lawsuit adds more sadness," Feb. 8] is, "These men's deaths alone were enough reason for suffering; it should have gone no further."

It is necessary that it go further because the families lost more than loving fathers and husbands. They lost the financial support and security of loving fathers and husbands.

If harm is caused, who should bear the loss: the one who caused the loss or the victim of the loss?

Certainly Mr. Potter was responsible enough that he had insurance to cover the cost of the crash of his $600,000 airplane and to pay for the tragic consequences of its crash.

Mr. Potter did not give his premiums to the insurance company as a gift. He was buying something. He was buying compensation for the families of those who were killed in the crash.

However, one must remember that insurance companies are in the business of collecting premiums. They are not in the business of paying claims. (They deny and delay as long as they can.)

Perhaps if the insurance company had stepped up to the plate and paid the claims of the surviving families, there would be no lawsuits. The lawsuits will probably be settled, but in the meantime the insurance company will continue to earn interest on the money that rightfully belongs to the families.

In the meantime, the families are not only without their loved ones, they are also without their paychecks. How are they supposed to get by without them without filing suit?

John Harris

Fredericksburg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2007 The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company.

$600,000 settlement for suicide by police officer

Plaintiff with depression, drug and alcohol addiction was misdiagnosed and not treated properly by his psychiatrist. He was over medicated, not supervised or required to have regular visits. He eventually committed suicide by shooting himself. The case settled for $600,000 four days before trial was to begin.

Senior Citizens Handbook

Please click on the read more details link below to learn about financial assistance, social security, pensions, veterans benefits, medicaid, medicare, long-term care, alzheimer's, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.

CNN reports Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.

That's what CNN discovered in an 18-month investigation into minor-impact soft-tissue injury crashes around the country. Those are accidents in which there is little damage to the vehicle and the injuries to people are not easy to see by the naked eye or conventional medical tools like X-rays.

Since the mid-1990s, most of the major insurance companies -- led by the two largest, Allstate and State Farm -- have adopted a tough take-it-or-leave-it strategy when dealing with such cases.

The result has been billions in profits for insurance companies and little, if anything, for the public, according to University of Nevada insurance law professor Jeff Stempel.

"We can see that policyholders individually are getting hurt by being dragged through the court on fender-bender claims, and yet we don't see any collateral benefit in the form of reduced premiums even for the other policyholders," Stempel said.

"So I think now we can say to continue this kind of program is in my view institutionalized bad faith."

If you have never heard of the strategy, it's because insurance companies don't want you to know that they are paying out less and less for minor crashes even while their profits soar and your premiums continue to rise.

But after a review of more than 6,000 company documents and court records, interviews with a dozen people nationwide, including former company insiders, and conversations with accident victims, the picture is clear: If you challenge the offer by some insurance companies you will be left with no option but to go to court, where you will be dragged through the wringer.

Expensive, time-consuming
In an affidavit in a New Mexico case where Allstate is being sued, one of the company's former attorneys said the strategy is to make fighting the company "so expensive and so time-consuming that lawyers would start refusing to help clients."

Shannon Kmatz, a police officer and former Allstate claims agent, said company employees were encouraged to get rid of claims quickly and cheaply and even offered accident victims as little as $50, telling them to take it or leave it.

Both Roxanne Martinez of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Ann Taylor of West Lafayette, Indiana, saw the practice firsthand.

Martinez suffered neck and back injuries when she was sideswiped by a driver insured by Allstate.

After three years, the company finally offered her $15,000 -- a little more than half of what she needed for lost wages and medical bills.

She went to court, and four years after the accident a jury awarded her $167,000 plus interest.

"It's kind of hard when you are thinking they are going to leave you broke. ... That was very stressful," she said.

Taylor was not as fortunate when her case went to trial.

The Indiana nurse was rear-ended by a State Farm employee driving a State Farm car. Damage to her car was minimal but she suffered herniated disc and muscle tears.

Taylor racked up medical bills and lost wages amounting to about $15,000. The company offered her $2,000.

"I was just very insulted," she said.

She sued, but three years later a jury came back with a judgment for her of only $1,500.

The jury didn't believe she could be hurt in an accident in which the vehicle had barely a dent.

Three jurors told CNN photos of the two cars involved in the accident -- enlarged and prominently displayed by the defense -- played a huge role in their decision.

And one said they assumed Taylor had already been compensated by the insurance company and was just trying to get more money.

Profitable strategy
The cases, CNN found, illustrate a carefully developed strategy to make the victims look like they are trying to defraud the insurers.

But documents CNN obtained indicate profit, not fraud, is the reason companies decided to play hardball in small accidents.

For Allstate and State Farm, according to documents obtained by CNN, the strategy was developed in the mid-1990s with the assistance of consulting giant McKinsey & Co.

Looking for a way to boost profits, McKinsey focused on soft-tissue injuries incurred in minor crashes.

While the McKinsey documents -- numbered in the thousands -- are under seal in courts around the country, CNN saw several of them during a court hearing in Lexington, Kentucky.

Playing off Allstate's signature slogan, one document recommends the insurer put boxing gloves on its "good hands" for those who insist on going to court.

The strategy, according to former Allstate and State Farm employee Jim Mathis, relies on the three D's -- denying a claim, delaying settlement of the claim and defending against the claim in court.

"The profits are good, and as long as the community, the public allows this to occur, the insurance companies will get richer and people ... will not get a fair and reasonable settlement," Mathis said.

Both Allstate and State Farm declined requests for interviews.

In an e-mail, Allstate wrote it did not believe it would "have any real opportunity of being successful in getting you (CNN) to do a balanced report."

State Farm wrote: "We take customer service seriously and seek to pay what we owe, promptly, courteously and efficiently, and we handle each claim on its own merits."

The company also said, "Any attempt to generalize that State Farm adopted consultant recommendations as other insurers is just plain wrong."

A company spokesman sent an additional e-mail, saying that the company did work with McKinsey to improve claims handling but State Farm stopped using the McKinsey program in 1999.

Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, told CNN insurers do not have a strategy of blanket denial of claims. He also said strategies to limit expenditures on minor-impact crashes are needed to fight fraud.

Hartwig specifically singled out lawyers who he claims make a living on car accident victims, saying those lawyers are upset because "the gravy train is over."

ATTORNEY SUES INSURANCE ADJUSTER

MOTHER CAN SUE FOR DEFECTIVE CHILD

John Harris has been selected as a 2006 Virginia Super Lawyer.

Super Lawyers is an annual listing of outstanding lawyer who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Polling, research and selection are performed by Law & Politics. Law & Politics uses a multi-step selecton process that takes approximately nine months.

John Harris selected by included in the publication Best Lawyers in America 2006 Edition

John Harris was again selected by his peers to be included in the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. John is one of a distinguished group of attorneys who have been listed in Best Lawyers for Eight consecutive years.

Corporate Counsel magazine describes Best Lawyers in America as "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice." Selection is based on peer review surveys. Over 18,000 leading attorneys cast their votes on the legal skills of their colleagues.

Best Lawyers in America, in its 12th Edition, is subscribed to by more than 4,000 law firms in the United States and abroad.

AV rating by Martindale Hubbell

John Harris has been honored by his colleagues in the Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford, King George, and Caroline legal communities with an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell.

This rating, the highest one awarded is given only to lawyers who have the highest legal ability and a high adherence to ethical standards.

John Harris was the first attorney in the Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford, King George, and Caroline area to be certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He was first certified in 1985 has been recertified every five years since. John Harris and the Harris & Harris law firm limit their practice to serious personal injury and wrongful death litigation including medical malpractice and elder abuse cases.

HOW TO FIND THE "RIGHT LAWYER"

Finding the "right lawyer" for your case is a challenge. Here is how to do it for any case you might have. When you have a personal injury case regardless of whether it is, medical malpractice, boating accident, automobile accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, construction site accident, nursing home abuse and neglect, unsafe product, property damage, wrongful death, surgeons liability, tourists injury, dental malpractice, podiatric malpractice, obstetric, gynecology, orthopedic malpractice, legal malpractice or even a wrongful death case, it is imperative that you find the right lawyer for you. This article will help you find the "right lawyer" for you and your case.

National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration Releases Annual Crash Predictions

The NHTSA has released its annual projections for crashes and fatalities on our nation's highways.

Traffic fatalitites are expected to increase by 1%, while injuries caused by crashes are expected to decline by 4%.

To view the entire report, please follow the link below.

Dog Bite Lawsuit

Did you know that there are over 5 million victims of dogs bites reported every year? Approximately 12 people die every year as a direct result of dog attacks. If you are one of the millions of Americans who has been bitten or otherwise physically harmed by a dog, you may have recourse to file a lawsuit. Potentially harmful animals have no business on our streets.

In Brevard County, Florida, a meter reader who was scalped and had ear chewed off by four pit bulls claimed property owner allowed dangerous condition to exist. The plaintiff was awarded $1,000,000 dollars.

From 1979 through 1994, attacks by dogs resulted in 279 deaths of individuals in the United States. Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households (or 40.6 million) own at least one dog. In these households, two or three children a day require hospitalization as a result of being attacked by a dog.

Who are most at risk for dog bites?

Children under 12 years of age are most at risk
Children aged 1-4 years have the highest rate of injury
Dogs of family or friends are involved in most attacks (78%)
The fact that nearly 80% of all dog attacks occur from family pets is very discouraging. There are an estimated 68, 000,000 dogs owned by families in the United States.

Where do most dog bites occur?

Many attacks occur at home, 40% occur in the victim's house/yard
At a friend or neighbours house, 30% occur in these houses/yards
Keeping a potentially dangerous dog safely away from people is a top priority amongst many dog owners. Many dog owners use common sense in dealing with their pets. Most use caution and maintain their dogs in their territory in kennels or dog houses and are keen on safety standards and regulations.

Remember that dog owners are responsible for their dog’s actions.

If you or anyone you know are in need of a personal injury lawyer specializing in dog bite law, please contact us now and receive a free case review.

Truck Accident

There are safety regulations that are intended to help prevent trucking accidents from occurring, however violations of safety recommendations greatly increase the risk of trucking accidents.

Truck drivers must assume responsibility to take all measures to avoid trucking accidents and putting other drivers on the road in risk of becoming injured because of a trucking accident.

Due to the large size of trucks, a trucking accident can greatly endanger the lives of other smaller vehicles unnecessarily when truck operators fail to consider proper trucking accident prevention.

If involved in a trucking accident file a report to have documentation of the trucking accident occurring and obtain all necessary information. Avoid discussing the events of the trucking accident because another said or documented can later be used against you.

Medical Malpractice Statistics

12,000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgery
7,000 deaths/year from medication errors in hospitals
20,000 deaths/year from other errors in hospitals
80,000 deaths/year from infections in hospitals
106,000 deaths/year from non-error, adverse effects of medication

? What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical Malpractice is the failure of medical professionals to provide adequate treatment to patients resulting in a personal injury or substantial loss of income.

Why Is A Medical Malpractice Lawyer Needed For Medical Mistakes?
Medical Malpractice is a doctor’s failure to exercise the degree of care and skill that a physician or surgeon of the same medical specialty would use under similar circumstances. When medical "standards" are not followed, it is also known as med mal. A lawyer that knows about medical problems & medical laws is needed to help a claim reach the courts in the fastest, accurate, and most complete way possible. A medical malpractice lawyer will work with the hospital system & medical law system to find out what your rights and legal options are. While you or someone you know gets better or recovers from your medical mistake or injury, the medical malpractice attorney will fight for your legal rights.

Have I Waived My Rights Because I Signed A Consent Form?

This is a question asked by many. A consent form does not give the health care provider a license to commit malpractice. While the execution of a typical consent form indicates acknowledgement of stated risks and complications associated with a given treatment or procedure, it does not relieve the health care provider from his or her duty of meeting the standard of care associated with such treatment or procedure.

What Is The First Step A Medical Malpractice Attorney Would Do In Pursuing A Medical Malpractice Claim?

The first step in pursuing a medical malpractice case is suspecting that one may have been the victim of medical malpractice. While not every bad result is due to medical malpractice, one who develops a "gut feeling" that something was wrong should consult a qualified attorney to review the matter, who often will consult with medical professionals. This process often involves obtaining and reviewing medical records and other pertinent information. If it is determined that one has a good case, the next step is usually to give written notice of the claim to the individuals or entities that are believed to have committed the medical malpractice.

If you or your loved ones have been victimized by Doctor's negligence, contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer. Contact me for help.

Plaintiff settles slip and fall in Federal Court

Plaintiff slips and falls on peanut shells which had been thrown of the floor of a local restaurant. Plaintiff filed suit for $300,000 in the Circuit Court of Spotsylvania. The defendant restaurant removed the case to Federal Court in Richmond. The case settle for a confidential sum.

Plaintiff wins $47,500 for fall on wet floor.

While attending a seminar at the Wyngate Inn in Stafford County, plaintiff slips and falls on water an employee left when mopping the floor. The plaintiff suffered a soft tissue injury to her hip. A verdict of $47,500 was returned for the plaintiff.

Rearend collision with soft tissue injury

Plaintiff was slowing on Carl D. Silver Parkway behind a car that had a green light to turn at intersection of Route 3 when she was rearended by the defendant.

How to find the "right lawyer" for your case.

When you have a medical problem, a doctor will help decide whether you need specialized care and assist in providing immediate and necessary care. On the other hand, when you are in need of legal assistance, you are on your own. Outside of the Yellow Pages there is little readily available information to help in the selection of an experienced lawyer.e is a challenge. Here is how to do it for your case you.

Paxil may cause birth defects

The Food and Drug Administration is warning that a study has suggested that the antidepressant Paxil may be associated with birth defects. Failure of doctors "to carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits of using paroxetine therapy in women during pregnancy may be malpractice. Doctors should also discuss these latest findings as well as treatment alternatives, with their patients. Failure to do so may be malpractice.

How to complain about a nursing home.

If you have a concern or complaint about the quality of care you or your family member get from a nursing home, you may call one of the organizations below if you are unable to get a satisfactory resolution from your nursing home.

Whiplash injuries more likely in minivan accidents

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released crash test ratings for seven different minivans. A rear impact test showed that several models have inadequate head restraints, which can cause neck injuries during a crash. The institute's chief operating officer is concerned about the results because "mothers frequently drive minivans, and women tend to be more vulnerable to whiplash injuries, which account for about 2 million in insurance claims annually."

2006 Medicare Drug Plan Has Adverse Effect on Maintenance Medications & the Elderly

Children's Bicycle Helments Recalled by Consumer Protection Safety Commission

BE SURE TO SEE THE PHOTOS OF THE HELMENTS FOR EASY IDENTIFICATION OF THIS SAFETY HAZARD!

More Experienced Physicians More Likely to Commit Malpractice

GEODECK DECKING AND RAILING MATERIALS - UNSAFE

The CPSC and Kadant Composites Inc., of Bedford, Massachusetts, are recalling about 11,000 constructed decks GeoDeck Decking and Railing Materials. When the decking or railing material is exposed to hot temperatures and sunlight, it can prematurely degrade. The degraded material could break, posing a fall hazard to consumers.

Older Consumers Safety Checklist

Older Consumers Safety Checklist

Falls and fires are two leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths among adults 65 and older. About two-thirds of all hospital emergency room visits by older people involve falls. Older adults have a higher death rate from fires than the general population. To help make your home safer, follow these tips.

To help prevent falls:

¦When using stairs, always grip the handrails. Keep stairs well lighted.

¦Keep floors cleared and slip resistant. Remove loose carpets. cords, and other items you could trip over. Be sure all rugs, mats, and other au-faces are non-skid.

¦Install grab bars mid slip-resistant surfaces in your bathroom.

¦Use only stable step stools with a top handrail. Don't climb alone - have someone help you.

¦Stand up slowly from a sitting or lying down position.

¦Be sure your telephones and emergency numbers are easily accessible - so you can get help if you fall.

To help prevent fire deaths and injuries:

¦Install a smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside every sleeping area, and on every floor of your home.

¦Install a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm outside every sleeping area.

¦Don't smoke in bed.

¦Keep space heaters away from flammable materials. Hire a professional to check all fuel-burring appliances, including fireplaces, every year.

¦Don't wear loose-fitting clotting with long sleeves near ranges or ovens. Store combustibles away from these and all heat-producing appliances.

¦Practice an emergency fire escape plan.

The truth about the McDonald's coffee cup case.

Here are the true facts regarding the real-life case of 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, whose hot-coffee case against McDonald's became the poster child for frivolous claims. According to popular accounts of the lawsuit, Liebeck coaxed nearly $3 million from an Albuquerque jury in 1994 after being scalded by McDonald's coffee she spilled on herself while riding in a car. These are the story's best-known elements, but filling in the missing facts puts the case in a different light.

Trial testimony showed that at 180 to 190 degrees, McDonald's coffee was much hotter than that served by other restaurants or by people in their homes. The fast-food chain had received at least 700 complaints about hot coffee in the previous decade and had paid more than half a million dollars in settlements, according to trial testimony cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Liebeck's injuries were hardly minor. She suffered third-degree burns on her thighs and groin area, was hospitalized for a week and had to undergo painful skin grafts. Before filing a lawsuit, she wrote McDonald's requesting that it lower the temperature of its coffee and cover her uninsured medical bills and incidental costs of about $20,000. McDonald's offered $800.

Later, as the case neared trial, a mediator recommended that McDonald's pay a settlement of $225,000. The company refused.

Jurors ultimately awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages and about $2.7 million in punitive damages. "The facts were so overwhelmingly against the company," one of the jurors told the Journal. "Their callous disregard was very upsetting," another said.

Soon after the verdict, the trial judge slashed the punitive damages by more than 80% to $480,000. Then the case settled for an undisclosed amount.

Class-action lawsuit against Beverly Enterprises Inc.

The state of Florida has joined a $25 million class-action lawsuit against Beverly Enterprises Inc., the nation's largest nursing home chain. The lawsuit alleges the care provided to the nursing home residents was so poor that the state should get back the Medicaid money it paid on behalf of the patients.

This is the first time such an action has been taken in Florida, and possibly in the nation, say state officials.

Fort Smith, Ark.-based Beverly Enterprises owns 700 nursing homes in the nation, including 65 facilities in Florida. Nine of those are in Central Florida.

Tampa attorney Jim Wilkes originally filed the suit last year on behalf of William D. Olmstead III, who died after choking on a sausage in Manhattan Convalescent Center, a Beverly Enterprises facility in Tampa.

Fredericksburg area nursing homes agree to shape up.

By JIM HALL

A settlement agreement between Beverly Healthcare and government regulators is part of a statewide effort to get nursing home companies to invest in staffing and facilities to improve the quality of their care.

Since 2000, seven Virginia nursing homes have signed settlement agreements that require the payment of civil penalties, the hiring of additional staff and the purchase of new equipment.

"We thought this would be the best way to help residents," Paul J. McNulty, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, said in a phone interview yesterday.

McNulty said U.S. Justice Department officials worked with the Medicaid Fraud Unit in the Virginia Attorney General's Office to identify nursing homes that were deficient in their care.

"What immediately caught our eye was the deplorable condition a number of these facilities are in," McNulty said.

Investigators also identified homes that had "troublesome billing practices," including double billing and billing for services not performed, McNulty said.

Investigators subpoenaed nursing home records before beginning settlement talks with them, McNulty said. All of the allegations were civil claims made under the federal False Claims Act and the state's Medicaid Fraud laws. The deficiencies were alleged to have occurred from 1995 to the present.

Nursing homes receive much of their revenue from state and federal governments through the Medicaid and Medicare health programs.

Seven nursing homes, including Beverly Healthcare, a 177-bed facility on State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County, signed the agreements to avoid litigation.

According to prosecutors, the other homes are:

Ashland Convalescent Center, Ashland.

Chippenham Manor Nursing Center, Richmond.

Leewood Healthcare Center, Annandale.

Oak Meadow Nursing Center, Alexandria.

Warsaw Health Care Center, Warsaw.

Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, Alexandria.

Beverly's 23-page agreement is similar to the others, McNulty said. In it, the Arkansas-based company does not admit any violation of state or federal laws, yet it does agree to spend thousands of dollars in penalties and improvements to its home.

The civil penalties are smaller than they could have been, McNulty said. Instead, prosecutors asked the nursing home companies to invest that money in their facilities.

"That was a different way of doing things," McNulty said.

Beverly signed its agreement with prosecutors in April 2004 and has 18 months to complete the required changes.

Beverly officials said Monday that they have already invested at least $500,000 in improvements.

"We have better systems in place," said Mike Jeffries, regional vice president.

Beverly's agreement with prosecutors calls for it to pay civil penalties of $17,420 to the federal government and $25,000 to Virginia's Medicaid Fraud Unit.

The company agreed to increase staffing levels and to purchase equipment, such as insulated food carts. It will also set up programs to better care for residents, such as weighing them regularly, and preventing them from falling or developing bed sores.

And the company must set up a cash reserve of $150,000 to pay for future improvements.

Beverly also agreed to let a independent inspector--a registered nurse with experience in caring for the elderly--visit the home to monitor compliance. The nurse files quarterly reports and will file a final report later this year after the agreement ends.

Beverly Healthcare's Fredericksburg nursing home.

Beverly Healthcare has hired staff and made improvements to its Spotsylvania County nursing home as part of a negotiated settlement with the U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria.

The nursing home company signed the agreement in April 2004, and has until October to complete the changes and improve care.

The agreement stemmed from inspections of the nursing home from 1998, 1999 and 2000 that showed that its care was deficient, according to a company official.

Word of the settlement was first reported yesterday in a story in The Washington Post.

Beverly Healthcare is a national nursing home chain, based in Fort Smith, Ark. Its nursing home on State Route 3 in Spotsylvania is the area's largest with 177 beds. The facility is one of 354 nursing homes and 18 assisted living centers in the Beverly chain.

Mike Jeffries, regional vice president for the company, said yesterday that Beverly has added to its consulting staff and hired three nurse's aides, two unit managers, and a nurse practitioner at its Spotsylvania home since signing the agreement.

It also has added 60 new electric beds at the home, replaced some of the plumbing and air conditioning systems, remodeled its kitchen and dining room and placed new locks on the exit doors.

The U.S. attorney's office took action against Beverly under the federal False Claims Act, alleging that it cheated the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs by failing to provide residents with quality care, according to the Post account.

"This facility had a three-year history of not having good surveys," Jeffries added.

The problems at the Spotsylvania home were said to result from inadequate staffing.

Paul J. McNulty, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, told the Post, "At Fredericksburg, we saw what happens due to the lack of attention to people."

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's in Alexandria declined comment about the agreement yesterday.

Nursing homes in Virginia are inspected annually by the state Health Department for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Nancy R. Hofheimer, director of the state's Center for Quality Health Care Services and Consumer Protection, which does the inspections, said yesterday that she first learned of the settlement from the newspaper account.

Jeffries said his company spent more than $500,000 to make the changes required by the agreement.

"We have better systems in place," he said.

Beverly's latest inspection, done in March of this year, found three deficiencies, Jeffries said. Inspectors found nine deficiencies in 2004, four deficiencies in 2003 and five deficiencies in 2002.

The typical nursing home in Virginia had five deficiencies in 2004, according to Nursing Home Compare, Medicare's national online database. The national average was seven deficiencies.

The agreement between Beverly and the U.S. attorney's office is one of nine similar settlements made with Virginia nursing homes and management companies in the last four years, according to the newspaper account. All were for allegations of poor care.

Exercise may be more important for women than men.

Dr. Martha Gulati stands on a treadmill at the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 in Chicago. Gulati and other researchers devised a fitness chart for women that can be used to gauge your fitness by age. Until now, the only such fitness chart was based on men.

For the first time, researchers have established how much exercise women should be able to do for their age and found that their capacity is slightly lower than men's. It also declines a bit faster than men's as they grow older.

Women whose exercise capacity was less than 85 percent of what it should be were twice as likely to die within eight years, the researchers found.

Until now, the only guidelines available were based on men and it wasn't certain whether they applied to women as well. But as more women are being included in medical research, gender differences in some diseases and other health issues are emerging.

The researchers found that to be true for fitness levels. They used the results of 5,721 exercise stress tests on women over 35 to figure out what should be considered normal for them compared to the established fitness levels for men.

"In general, women's fitness levels seem to be lower regardless of her age than for men," said Dr. Martha Gulati, a Chicago cardiologist who led the study.

While fitness declines with age for everyone, the research showed the difference between men and women becomes more pronounced with age, she said. Women lose about 1 percent of their exercise capacity per year, their study found.

"Given that we live longer, it just emphasizes the importance of fitness for women," said Gulati, who along with a fellow researcher has a patent pending for the fitness guidelines.

Their findings are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Malnutrition is a sign of Nursing Home neglect

Malnutrition is not a response to normal aging: it can arise from many causes. Its presence may signal the worsening of a life-threatening illness, and it should always be seen as a dramatic indicator of the risk of sudden decline in the elderly. Dehydration is a condition in which water or fluid loss far exceeds fluid intake. The body becomes less able to maintain adequate blood pressure, deliver sufficient oxygen and nutrients to the cells, and rid itself of wastes.

Regardless of the causes, early problem recognition can help to ensure appropriate and timely nutritional and or fluid intervention. For many residents, simple adjustments in feeding or drinking patterns may be sufficient. For others, compensation or correction for food and fluid intake problems may be required.

A Nutrition/Hydration Awareness Campaign has been developed to call attention to the early warning signs of unintended weight loss and dehydration among residents of long term care facilities. "Nutrition Care Alerts", present an easy to follow method of observing warning signs for unintended weight loss and dehydration and action steps that should be taken to avoid further progression of the condition.

"Nutrition Care Alerts" are designed to assist Certified Nurse Assistants in nursing homes in identifying residents who are at risk for malnutrition and dehydration. However, "Nutrition Care Alerts" can be used by family members, friends, and other caregivers of the elderly to help prevent unintended weight loss and dehydration.

Additonal information about Nutrition and Hydration Care can be viewed on www.cms.hhs.gov.

Cholesterol Drugs May Harm Ill Diabetics

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Medical Writer

In the study, patients on Lipitor were twice as likely to die of a stroke.

It was the first major test of statins in diabetics who need dialysis machines to remove wastes from their bloodstream because their kidneys cannot do the job. The results are surprising because previous research showed Lipitor helped less severely ill diabetics.

Dr. Robert Stanton, who is chief of kidney diseases at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and was not involved in the study, said it may be too late to start diabetics on statins once their kidneys have failed.

The study was funded by Lipitor's maker, Pfizer Inc., and involved 1,255 Europeans with Type 2 diabetes, in which the body cannot properly use insulin. The findings were reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

More than 120,000 Americans are on dialysis because of diabetes, and they have higher risks of heart disease, stroke and deaths than the general population and other diabetics. Lipitor is the world's most-prescribed medication. It and other statins have dramatically lowered such risks by reducing levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol.

The study, led by Dr. Christoph Wanner at the University of Wurzburg, Germany, tested a relatively low dose of Lipitor _ 20 milligrams a day _ against dummy pills and found virtually no difference four years later in participants' combined risk of heart attacks, strokes and death.

This happened even though the drug reduced LDL levels to an average of 72 milligrams per deciliter of blood, close to the target of 70 that new federal cholesterol guidelines recommend for people at very high risk of heart disease.

There were 27 fatal strokes among the 619 people on Lipitor versus 13 among the 636 in the placebo group, a result the authors said was unexplained and could be just a chance finding, considering that previous research showed a benefit from the drug.

"It's definitely a concern, but I don't know from a single study that you can say for sure you shouldn't use it in this population. It certainly raises your alarm levels," Stanton said.

FDA Issues Warning About Abortion Pill

FDA Issues Warning About Abortion Pill
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON

The government warned doctors Tuesday to be on the lookout for rare but deadly infections in women using the abortion pill RU-486, citing two more deaths after its use.

At least five U.S. women have died after taking the pill since it began selling in 2000, although the Food and Drug Administration stressed that it could not prove the drug was to blame.

But the four deaths caused by bloodstream infections, or sepsis, all occurred in women who didn't follow FDA-approved instructions for a pill-triggered abortion, said agency drug chief Dr. Steven Galson.

"We don't know that this off-label use has caused the deaths," he cautioned.

Still, the FDA issued a public health advisory warning doctors of the possible link and urging them to be on the lookout for infections in women who have used the Mifeprex abortion pill.

Such women may not have typical symptoms of sepsis, such as a fever, Galson stressed.

Tuesday's action comes just eight months after the FDA warned about two sepsis cases associated with Mifeprex, also called RU-486 or mifepristone. Additional sepsis cases were reported to the agency in April and June.

The drug, sold by Danco Laboratories, is approved to terminate pregnancy up to 49 days after the beginning of the last menstrual cycle. It blocks a hormone required to sustain a pregnancy. When followed by another medicine, misoprostol, the pregnancy is terminated.

The FDA's instructions call for women to swallow both pills, but most abortion clinics instead instruct that the misoprostol tablet be inserted into the vagina, Galson said. Studies have shown it can work that way, too.

But the four sepsis deaths, all reported from California, came after this so-called off-label use. Galson couldn't say if the women had inserted the tablet vaginally themselves.

In two of the infections, doctors identified a bacterium called Clostridium sordelli, a common germ not usually associated with illness, he said.

The abortion pill remains safe enough to stay on the market, Galson stressed. The rate of sepsis is about 1 in 100,000 uses of the Mifeprex system, comparable to infection risks with surgical abortions and childbirth.

"There are no alarm bells going off with this rate," he said.

The other U.S. death associated with Mifeprex was a case of a ruptured ectopic, or tubal, pregnancy in October 2001. The drug is not to be used by women with suspected or confirmed ectopic pregnancies, a life-threatening condition in which the fertilized egg has implanted outside the uterus.

Which type of Diabetes do you have?

In Type 1 diabetes, the body produces little or no insulin.

In Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and the other types of diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it produces (this is called "insulin resistance").

Dangerous Antifreeze

Antifreeze Makers Face the Bitter Pill
Senators consider a bill to require an additive to deter ingestion by children and pets.

By Cynthia H. Cho, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The audience in the hearing room Monday was a bit unusual for Capitol Hill — it included six dogs and their owners — but the issue before a Senate subcommittee was a serious one: legislation requiring antifreeze manufacturers to add a bittering agent to prevent accidental ingestion by pets and children.

"I'm not usually one to want more government laws," said Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), the panel's chairman, "but this is a reasonable way to prevent harm to humans and animals."

About 1,400 children and 10,000 household pets ingest antifreeze each year, said Sara Amundson, legislative director of the Doris Day Animal League, an advocacy group in Washington. Ingesting one teaspoon of antifreeze can kill a cat, she said; two tablespoons can kill a 10-pound dog.

According to government toxicology guidelines, the minimum lethal dose for a 150-pound man is 4 ounces, Amundson said — meaning that "it takes far less to kill a child."

Most cases of ingestion are accidental — a pet in a garage may lick from a pool of antifreeze from a leaky car radiator, for example. But New Mexico state Rep. Kathy A. McCoy told the panel that antifreeze also is used to deliberately poison pets. The taste has been described as sweet and syrupy.

"For many of us, losing a beloved pet is like losing a member of the family," said McCoy, who was instrumental in the passage of bittering-agent legislation in her state. "I'm here today because I lost my golden retriever, Cujo, to a painful and prolonged death due to antifreeze poisoning."

Antifreeze manufacturers have not previously supported such legislation. But their position has changed, largely due to the momentum at the state level. California, New Mexico and Oregon have passed such laws, and at least eight other states are considering similar bills.

"It's appropriate now, I think, because we have industry on board with us," said Nancy Blaney, a lobbyist at the Doris Day Animal League. "They saw, with rapid succession, that many states were looking at passing some sort of antifreeze bittering agent legislation."

Setting a uniform standard would help the industry and retailers, said Allen, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee's subcommittee on consumer affairs and is the bill's main sponsor.

"The legislation … would avoid the potential inconsistency and practical difficulty of manufacturers complying with what could become a patchwork of various state and local mandates," Jeffrey Bye, vice president of Prestone, a unit of Honeywell International Inc., told the panel. Prestone is the largest manufacturer and supplier of antifreeze in North America.

For the same reason, the Consumer Specialty Products Assn., a trade group for manufacturers of a variety of household items, also favors the federal bill.

"State-specific products are not practical for national distribution," said Bill Lafield, an association vice president. "Manufacturers do not control the distribution of their products at a state-by-state level. For example, we deliver to 11 Wal-Mart warehouses across the country, and our products are then distributed to approximately 3,000 stores."

But not all animal advocates support the legislation. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken a neutral position because there is no evidence that adding a bittering agent to antifreeze will keep pets from ingesting it, said Steve Hansen, senior vice president of the society's Animal Poison Control Center.

"What we're afraid of is that if we require a bittering agent to be added, people are going to be lackadaisical" about keeping antifreeze and other poisonous products from pets, Hansen said.

"Our current feeling is that we need to educate people. I don't think that it's a good to take on legislation just because we hope that it works."

Hansen said that more research should be done either to prove that a bittering agent is effective or to find another solution proven to work.

Blaney disagreed, saying that denatonium benzoate — the bittering agent named in the legislation — has been used for decades in many household products, cosmetics and toiletries to deter ingestion. Denatonium benzoate is one of the most bitter-tasting substances known.

The two leading manufacturers of antifreeze, Honeywell and Old World Industries Inc., also use propylene glycol, which is less toxic than the more common ethylene glycol. Ingesting propylene glycol-based antifreeze will make a child or pet sick, but it is not lethal.

Propylene-glycol antifreeze, however, is more expensive to consumers because it can cost twice as much to produce. By contrast, adding a bittering agent to ethylene-glycol antifreeze would cost the manufacturer about 3 cents per gallon, Bye said.

Bye said that the proposed legislation would "provide fair responsibility for the antifreeze and denatonium benzoate products by assigning liability between the respective manufacturers."

Antifreeze manufacturers and the industry opposed previous bills that did not have that kind of protection explicitly stated in the language of the current measure.

The Senate bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). Similar legislation has been introduced in the House by Reps. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).

Double Diabetes

'Double Diabetes' Harder to Detect, Treat
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON

Martha Larkin, 11, who has Type 1 diabetes and is at high risk for Type 2, right, walks with her mother, Cindy Stevans, at Frick Park in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 17, 2005. Having one type of diabetes is bad enough, but two? Doctors are seeing a new phenomenon dubbed double diabetes, making it harder to diagnose and treat patients _ especially children. It can strike at any age, and it comes in various guises: Children who depend on insulin for Type 1 diabetes gain weight and then get the Type 2 form where their bodies become insulin resistant. Or someone with classic Type 2 symptoms happens to get a special blood test that uncovers they also have the insulin-dependent form. ( AP Photo/Lisa Kyle)
Having one type of diabetes is bad enough, but two? Doctors are seeing a new phenomenon dubbed double diabetes that makes it harder to diagnose and treat patients _ especially children.

The mix can strike at any age, and comes in various forms: Children who depend on insulin injections because of Type 1 diabetes gain weight and then get the Type 2 form in which their bodies become insulin resistant, for example.

Or someone with classic Type 2 symptoms isn't responding to therapy, and tests reveal they also are developing the insulin-dependent form of the disease. Or they may not fall clearly into either category.

The labels are important _ different forms require different treatments.

Yet "there are many people in which it's very blurred as to what kind of diabetes they have," says Dr. Francine Kaufman, a University of Southern California pediatric endocrinologist and past president of the American Diabetes Association.

There are no good statistics on this complex disease-mixing.

But the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh counts about 25 percent of child patients with Type 1 diabetes who also are overweight and have other Type 2 features, says Dr. Dorothy Becker, a pediatric endocrinologist and leading double-diabetes researcher.

And an ongoing study to determine the best treatment for child Type 2 diabetics is uncovering many participants who harbor antibodies that signal they have or are developing the Type 1 form, too, says Kaufman.

Those findings echo a handful of recent research reports raising concern about the phenomenon, which some call atypical diabetes or "diabetes 1 1/2" or even Type 3 diabetes.

Diabetes occurs when the body can't turn blood sugar, or glucose, into energy, either because it doesn't produce enough insulin or doesn't use it correctly.

With the Type 1 form, the patient's own immune system attacks the insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. Once thought to strike only in childhood, it also can develop in adults. Symptoms usually appear suddenly and can quickly become life-threatening. Insulin, given by shots or a pump, is required to survive.

With the Type 2 form, the body loses its ability to use insulin properly, even though the pancreas pumps out extra and drugs often are given to rev up that production even more. Type 2 usually develops slowly, and once was thought to hit only the middle-aged but now is striking even overweight children.

Both forms can lead to heart and kidney disease, blindness and amputations, and kill if not properly treated. But Type 2, which afflicts over 90 percent of the more than 18 million U.S. diabetics, has gotten more attention recently because it's an epidemic fueled by increasing obesity.

Yet specialists knew Type 1 was quietly increasing, too _ and then they began spotting double diabetics.

The theory: Overweight people need more insulin to process glucose regardless of whether they're insulin-resistant yet. So, perhaps obesity overworks the pancreas until it wears out, Pittsburgh's Becker suggests. Or perhaps obesity accelerates the autoimmune destruction _ meaning someone genetically predisposed to Type 1 diabetes might not have gotten it had they stayed thin.

"You've not just exceeded what you can make but perhaps accelerated the destruction," and then insulin-resistance sets in, agrees Kaufman, who just authored a book called "Diabesity" exploring the overall obesity-diabetes threat.

Whatever you call that mix, it complicates treatment.

Consider Martha Larkin of Pittsburgh, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 3. For years, her mother would wake up in the middle of the night to test Martha's blood sugar and administer insulin. Set mealtimes and off-limit foods became the family's norm.

Then early puberty hit at 10, and Martha began gaining weight, says her mother, Cindy Stevans. Now almost 12, Martha's daily insulin requirement grew to that of grown man, signaling developing insulin resistance. And, in a vicious cycle, the more insulin she gets, the hungrier she feels.

A recently implanted insulin pump is helping, and the family joined a pool in hopes that physical activity will help Martha stave off double diabetes _ and that her twin brother will stay diabetes-free. But weight is a problem for this whole family of bookworms who hate exercise so much that Stevans calls it "torture."

"It's painfully hard," she says of her daughter's co-battles with diabetes and weight.

Scientists don't yet know if double diabetics will need special treatments. For now, the emphasis is on prevention. For Type 2, that means weight loss. For Type 1, scientists are enrolling pregnant women from diabetes-prone families into a major study to hunt what might protect their babies from the illness later in life. To enroll, check http://www.trigr.org.

_

New Study Proves Insurers Have Misled Doctors and the Public

While medical malpractice insurance premiums have more than doubled, actual claims paid have remained flat.

"There is not enough accountability... Without insurance industry reform, we won't see a significant drop in premiums." - Bonnie Bowles, Executive Dir., Missouri Assoc. of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons

With new evidence of insurance industry price-gouging in hand, Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal is leading the charge for an investigation of medical malpractice insurers, along with the attorney general of Missouri and the Michigan state insurance commissioner.

In calling for action, Blumenthal said he was outraged that malpractice premiums in Connecticut have increased by 213% while claims have actually decreased by 1.6%.