Mammography screening is a highly recommended medical procedure in the United States for all women ages 40 and older, yet recent studies indicate overdiagnosis is a serious concern which is not commonly shared with patients. As many as one out of every three women who undergo regular mammograms end up being treated with surgery, radiation…

On January 20, 2017, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld a $3 million dollar verdict awarded to Katherine Palar to compensate for a four year delay in cancer diagnosis which reduced her chances of survival from approximately 70 percent to less than 25 percent. Palar’s struggle began in March of 2009 when she received an MRI after…

Meningococcal disease (meningitis) is a relatively rare bacterial illness that impacts the meninges of the brain and can lead to serious complications. The disease had been in decline for years before the CDC recommended the meningitis vaccine for widespread use. The vaccination is associated with serious side effects including neurological disorders and death, particularly when given in conjunction with another vaccination. Most…

Many pharmaceutical companies have a long, scandalous history and less than ethical marketing tactics which have caused harm to millions of people around the world. Deep pockets and significant influence in the U.S. political system have resulted in many drugs being rushed through the FDA approval process and sold to consumers without forewarning of potential risks. In some cases, drug manufacturers have been…

The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) was created to provide the public access to the official record of adverse vaccine reactions to help them determine whether the benefits of each particular vaccine outweigh any potential risks. The database was not intended to replace scientific studies which are normally completed before a medication is approved for use in the general…

Municipal water fluoridation within the U.S. began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, MI and now impacts nearly two thirds of all Americans. Although the rate of dental caries has indeed declined in recent decades, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates this trend has occurred in all developed countries, including those that do not…

Approximately 15 percent of all personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed throughout the nation result from medical malpractice. This translates into roughly 20,000 medical malpractice claims filed each year, despite estimates that up to 120,000 annual incidents of medical negligence occur. Age, gender and additional characteristics of the average plaintiff have been analyzed. While the vast majority of…

Back in the year 2000, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published data revealing the shocking reality that doctors and medical errors were directly responsible for more than 225,000 deaths each year. Later in 2013, another study in the Journal of Patient Safety confirmed these statistics with even more dramatic figures, this time linking as many as 440,000 lives lost…

Preterm birth rates, measured as the number of babies born before reaching 37 weeks of gestation, have grown to virtually epidemic proportions in the U.S., accounting for 10 percent of all births during the year 2015. Preterm babies are much more likely to be impacted with cerebral palsy (CP) or other developmental disorders, among other…