Health
Most Tasered suspects unarmed
Richard D. Walton and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star examined the use of Tasers by Marion County law enforcement officers. “At least 112 unarmed suspects were Tasered while fleeing IPD or sheriff’s deputies. At least 87 people were shocked while handcuffed. And only one in 12 Tasered suspects was reported to have been armed.”…
Read More‘Guest workers’ suffer from exploitation, neglect
A nine-month investigation by Tom Knudson and Hector Amezcua of The Sacramento Bee “has found pineros [Latino forest workers in the United States] are victims of employer exploitation, government neglect and a contracting system that insulates landowners — including the U.S. government — from responsibility.” The report, “based on more than 150 interviews across Mexico,…
Read MoreLack of standards plagues drug industry testing
David Evans, Michael Smith and Liz Willen of Bloomberg Markets report on the lack of strong regulation and standards that is plaguing the pharmaceutical industry in the testing of experimental substances on humans, resulting in the death and injury of scores of people. The world’s largest drugmakers spend $14 billion each year to test experimental…
Read MorePatient care neglected at Texas jail
Jennifer Autrey, with contributions from Bill Teeter, of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reviewed documents of JPS Health Network, the organization that runs the county’s public hospital and jail health-care system, to show that with the inmates’ health care, nightmare medical experiences happened all too often. The investigation revealed that administrators overlooked numerous telltale signs of…
Read MoreGenerous deals for Wash. dentists
Michelle Nicolosi of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Washington state’s dental board has been slow to act and has cut generous deals with some of the state’s most complained-about dentists. The P-I investigation found that dentists were allowed to continue working in Washington with little restriction long after they lost licenses in other states, or…
Read MoreSacramento nursing homes fail to meet minimum standards
Phillip Reese and Nancy Weaver Teichert of The Sacramento Bee used state inspection reports to show that “ Sacramento nursing homes failed to meet minimum federal and state standards more often than facilities in the rest of the top 10 largest cities in California during the last two years“. The leading complaints were quality-of-care, and…
Read MoreHospitals not prepared for worst quake scenario
Duane W. Gang and David Olson of The (Riverside, Calif.) Press-Enterprise examined state, county and hospital emergency plans and found that Inland California counties were unprepared to provide medical services after a large earthquake. “A major temblor could leave multiple hospitals damaged and unable to treat their own patients, let alone the thousands of injured.”
Read MoreMo. tops in alcohol-related boating accidents
Bente Birkland and Catherine Rentz Pernot of the Columbia Missourian used data from the U.S. Coast Guard to determine that “between 2000 and 2004, Missouri led the nation in alcohol-related boating accidents.” Among other findings: “The Lake of the Ozarks topped the list for boating accidents in Missouri, and it is the most dangerous body…
Read MoreDay cares fall below standards
Lee Rood of The Des Moines Register checked state child care facility inspection records to find that “at least one in 10 licensed centers — including several newer programs — failed to meet several of the state’s minimum standards for health and safety during their last licensed renewals.” Many of the programs receive only sporadic…
Read MoreResearchers sell secrets to Wall Street investors
Luke Timmerman and David Heath of The Seattle Times use sources and documents to investigate at least 26 claims that drug researchers leaked secrets to Wall Street. “In 24 of the 26 cases, the firms issued reports to select clients with detailed information obtained from doctors involved in confidential studies. The reports advised clients whether…
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