By Vivian Kuo, CNN

Products containing sunflower seeds from a Minnesota-based company are under a voluntary recall in at least 24 states.
The recall stems from concerns about possible listeria contamination, though no illnesses have been directly linked to the products.
 
Certain products made by Planters, Sunrich Naturals, and Papa John's Salads and Produce are included in the recall.
 
The potentially-affected sunflower seeds were produced by SunOpta.
 
The recall affects Planters and Sunrich Naturals sunflower kernels made between the dates of February 1 and April 21, the date when the facility stopped production of the seeds, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a release.
 
Separately, Arizona-based Papa John's Salad and Produce, Inc. has issued a voluntary recall of its Oriental Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing, with sell-by dates of May 18 through May 25.
The salads are a pre-packaged blend sold in retail grocery stores including Albertson's, Safeway, Food 4 Less and Bashas'.
 
The FDA is urging consumers who bought any of these items matching these descriptions to promptly throw them away or return them to the store for a refund.
 
"SunOpta is committed to ensuring consumer safety and providing quality products and ingredients to customers. The Company has completed its root cause analysis and is working with food safety experts to implement corrective and preventative measures," the company said in a statement provided to the FDA.
 
"In an abundance of caution, SunOpta is voluntarily extending the period during which it is recalling a limited number of sunflower kernel products that have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes."
 
Listeria, also known by its scientific name of Listeria monocytogenes, can sometimes cause a serious infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract.
 
The infection can cause short-term problems such as a high fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea, headaches, stiffness and nausea.
 
They can be particularly dangerous for pregnant women, the elderly, children and anyone with a weak immune system due to a chronic condition.
 
Some infections can cause death.
 
The CDC estimates there are 1,600 illnesses and 260 U.S. deaths per year due to listeriosis infections.

To watch a video from CNN.com Go to:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/22/health/listeria-concerns-recall/

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Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, a new study contends. Johns Hopkins University researchers analyzed several years of U.S. data and concluded that more than 250,000 people died each year due to medical errors.

If confirmed, that would make medical errors the third leading cause of death among Americans. Currently, respiratory disease, which kills about 150,000 people a year, is listed as the third leading cause of death by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, "incidence rates for deaths directly attributable to medical care gone awry haven't been recognized in any standardized method for collecting national statistics," said Dr. Martin Makary, a professor of surgery at Baltimore-based Hopkins.

The CDC's data collection method does not classify medical errors separately on a death certificate, according to the study authors, who called for changes to that criteria.

"The medical coding system was designed to maximize billing for physician services, not to collect national health statistics, as it is currently being used," Makary explained in a university news release.
The Hopkins researchers examined four separate studies that analyzed medical death rate data from 2000 to 2008, including two that used data from federal agencies.

Then, using hospital admission rates from 2013, the investigators extrapolated that information, and based on a total of over 35 million hospitalizations, concluded that more than 251,000 deaths stemmed from a medical error. That translates to 9.5 percent of all U.S. deaths each year, the study authors said.

But the CDC data paint a different picture.

The CDC statistics show that in 2013, over 611,000 people in the United States died of heart disease, nearly 585,000 died of cancer and about 150,000 died of chronic respiratory disease.

"Top-ranked causes of death as reported by the CDC inform our country's research funding and public health priorities," Makary said. "Right now, cancer and heart disease get a ton of attention, but since medical errors don't appear on the list, the problem doesn't get the funding and attention it deserves."

The findings were published May 3 in the BMJ.


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​A jury in Dedham awarded $35.4 million Thursday to a Walpole woman who is paralyzed from a stroke that she suffered hours after she gave birth, her attorney said.

The verdict for Andrea Larkin, 35, was handed down in Norfolk Superior Court, said her lawyer, Benjamin Novotny of the Boston firm Lubin & Meyer.

The defendants were Dedham Medical Associates, where Larkin sought treatment for dizziness in 2004; and Dr. Jehane Johnston, a physician who examined Larkin, Novotny said.

Neither Johnston nor an attorney listed for her could be reached for comment on Thursday night.

In a statement, Dr. Michael Querner, Dedham Medical’s chief medical officer, said, “Our hearts go out to Andrea Larkin and her family. However, we respectfully disagree with the jury’s finding in this case and intend to pursue all available legal measures.”

According to Novotny, Larkin had dizzy spells in 2004 after running the Boston Marathon and went to be checked out by Johnston at the medical group’s Dedham location.

An MRI and a CAT scan showed brain abnormalities, which meant Johnston was required to place Larkin on a special list of patients with certain medical conditions that other doctors can access, he said.

However, Novotny said, Johnston failed to place Larkin’s name on the list. When Larkin became pregnant four years later, her obstetrician was not aware of her brain issues because her name did not appear in the database.

Had that doctor known of Larkin’s problems, a caesarean section would have been ordered because it was dangerous for her to be in labor, according to Novotny.

Larkin delivered her daughter, Alexa, without having a caesarean section, Novotny said, and suffered a massive stroke within hours of the birth that left her completely paralyzed, except for movement in her right arm.

“She requires 24-hour care for pretty much everything,” Novotny said of his client, a former teacher at the Foxborough Regional Charter School. “She has difficulty with speech. She can’t work. It’s really sad.”

Her husband, Tim, 36, said in a phone interview Thursday night that he was shocked when the verdict was handed down. He praised the family’s legal team for their diligent work on the case.

Alexa is “a little ball of energy,” he said, and the couple “couldn’t ask for a better daughter.” But it pains him to see his wife interact with their child, because she has a limited ability to communicate.

“Any time you see your wife, your best friend, have this happen to her, and given the person that she was before all this happened, and given [how] she wanted to be as a mother, in terms of playing a very active role in that capacity, it’s devastating to see,” Larkin said.

He said his wife has therapy sessions twice a week, and family members occasionally take her out to run errands, but she is generally homebound and reliant on two caregivers to help her get through the day.

“We always remain hopeful” that her health will improve, Tim Larkin said. “But I think that given that we’re going on seven years into this, I think Andrea’s situation is likely the way it will be for the future moving forward. But that doesn’t preclude us from keeping those prayers alive.”

Johnston was licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts in 1996, according to the state Board of Registration in Medicine. The board has never disciplined Johnston and has no record of any hospital or out-of-state panel issuing sanctions against her, records show.

Dedham Medical Associates was launched in 1937 and has locations in Dedham and Norwood, according to the company’s website.

The group offers internal medicine and pediatrics, with specialities including allergy and immunology, audiology, cardiology, dermatology, ears, nose and throat, endocrinology, and neurology, the website states.

The jury award with interest comes to just over $41 million, Novotny said, adding that the Larkins have been paying out-of-pocket for Andrea Larkin’s care, which has exceeded $200,000 annually.

Tim Larkin said Thursday that he hopes the jury award “can help bring some comfort to her moving forward to give her the best possible support that she needs.”

By Travis Anderson – Globe Staff

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