Medical malpractice trial dismissed
A medical malpractice lawsuit brought by Katrina Dennis, a University of Maryland regent and a corporate lawyer against a doctor and hospital at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, was dismissed Tuesday a week into her trial because the woman died from breast cancer.
The trial was supposed to last two weeks in Baltimore County Circuit Court, but Dennis died Saturday from the cancer that had spread around her body.
Her lawyer, Robert Weltchek, confirmed that a mistrial was declared after lawyers for the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center made the request and Dennis’ lawyers did not oppose it.
Welchek had no further comment. A spokesman for the hospital, Michael Schwartzberg, also had no comment on the trial.
Dennis had alleged in her lawsuit that her doctor, Dr. Michael Schultz, head of the St. Joe’s Breast Center, was negligent in her care. She alleged Schultz led her to believe that her cancer, diagnosed in 2015, would not recur after surgery and didn’t press a drug, Tomoxifen, that might have staved off regrowth and spread of the cancer.
When she was diagnosed again with the cancer again in 2017, it had invaded other parts of her body, spreading to her blood, bones and organs before she died.
Lawyers for Schultz, a surgeon with decades of experience treating cancer patients, argued that he provided Dennis with the standard of care, informing her of her options and testing her blood and lymph nodes to ensure that the cancer had not spread. when Maryland’s trees are expected to transition into vibrant hues of red and orange.
The state is expected to see peak fall foliage around the last weekend of October, according to the Smokey Mountain National Park’s 2019 fall foliage prediction map. That’s slightly later than last year’s predictions, which called for peak foliage around mid-October.
The predictions, which Smokey Mountain National Park publishes annually, are based on an algorithm that analyzes several million data points from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to generate a county-by-county forecast, according to park spokesman David Angotti.
“Although the scientific concept of how leaves change colors is fairly simple, predicting the precise moment the event will occur is extremely challenging,” map data scientist Wes Melton said in a news release. “The major factors impacting peak fall are sunlight, precipitation, soil moisture and temperature. Although we cannot control Mother Nature and ensure 100% accuracy, our data sources are top-tier and each year we refine our algorithmic model achieving higher accuracy over time.”
$250K Powerball ticket still unclaimed
A lottery ticket worth $250,000 was purchased in Thurmont but is still unclaimed, according to Maryland Lottery and Gaming.
The winning numbers are 14, 41, 50, 56 and 57; the Powerball was 18. The winning ticket was sold at the 7-Eleven on Frederick Road in the Frederick County town.
The player must claim the prize within182 days of the drawing, which took place Saturday. The third-tier prize would typically be worth $50,000, but the player added the Power Play multiplier for an extra $1 when purchasing the ticket, according to a news release from Maryland Lottery.
A winning Keno ticket purchased Sept. 1 at CarterQue BBQ & Grilling Co. in Mount Airy was also unclaimed as of Tuesday, according to the
release. The win is worth $15,000.
Maryland Health Department releases naloxone toolkit
The Maryland Department of Health launched an online toolkit Friday that provides information about naloxone — a prescription medication used to treat an opioid overdose — and how to administer the life-saving drug.
The Naloxone Electronic Toolkit includes a video, printable posters and brochures about naloxone, which is available to anyone — without a prescription — at any pharmacy in the state, thanks to a statewide order handed down in June.
A state health department report released in June found that opioid-related fatalities dropped 14% in the first quarter of 2018 compared with last year.
On Thursday, the governor’s office announced $10 million in grants to fight the opioid epidemic. The grants are part of Gov. Larry Hogan’s promise to contribute $50 million over five years when he declared a state of emergency in 2017 to address the crisis. more time to continue those discussions.
Transource, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has been hired by PJM Interconnection — a regional transmission organization that manages the power grid for 13 states — for a $372 million project to build 45 miles of new power lines, upgrade existing substations and build new substations in Maryland and Pennsylvania to provide congestion relief to power lines and improve reliability.
The eastern leg of the project would include nearly 16 miles of power lines between York County in Pennsylvania and Harford County, including 3.1 miles in Harford ending at the Conastone Substation in Norrisville.
Transource filed a motion with the commission on June 21 seeking a 60-day suspension and asked last week that it be extended for an additional 30 days, or until Sept. 26, according to the letter from the commission granting the extension request.
In the letter, Transource said it would be meeting this month with PSC staff, the Office of People’s Counsel and the Power Plant Research Program “to discuss other settlement issues related to state agency parties’ statutory responsibilities.”
An update on the settlement status will be provided by Sept. 26, according to the letter.
Residents of northern Harford County and southern Pennsylvania have been fighting the proposed power line project for the past two years, angry they will have to pay for infrastructure that won’t benefit them and that the project will “ruin” farms, property rights and values, rights to privacy and beauty, health and safety, and will cause “great detriment to their very piece of mind.”
They said Transource could use two utility poles already in the area that nearly parallel the new lines proposed route.
PJM denied that claim until earlier this year, when it admitted, in response to questions from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Power Plant Research Program, it could use those lines.