A year ago, two patients died and several more suffered serious complications as a result of drug-resistant bacterial infections at a Los Angeles hospital. It turned out that an endoscope used at the hospital – a device to look inside a patient’s digestive system – was designed in a way that made it difficult to…

Essure is a contraceptive device that is inserted into a woman’s fallopian tubes to create a physical barrier preventing conception. Since it was introduced, thousands of women have come forward complaining that the device didn’t work, resulting in unwanted pregnancies. In some cases, women have experienced ectopic pregnancies, where the egg fertilizes in the fallopian tube…

IVC filters are small spider-like nets that are implanted into a patient’s bloodstream in order to prevent blood clots from entering the heart or lungs. But a recent NBC News investigation revealed that as many as 27 deaths have been associated with the product, known commercially as the “Recovery Filter.” Apparently the filters have been…

Keyless ignitions can be great for people who have their hands full and don’t want to take their keys out of their pocket. But it’s possible that such ignition systems could pose a deadly threat of carbon monoxide poisoning. The problem occurs because many such cars won’t shut off automatically if the driver doesn’t press the start/stop…

For years, exposure to asbestos was common in many industries, including on construction sites, in shipyards, in factories, and in auto- motive repair shops. Asbestos was eventually banned for most uses because it causes a number of different kinds of health problems for those who have been exposed to it. Of these, among the most…