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Malpractice Suit Filed Against W.Va. Dentist
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A West Virginia woman has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a South Charleston, W.Va., dentist, alleging he “failed to exercise a degree of care, skill and learning” while treating her. According to the lawsuit, because of Dr. James A. Kennedy’s negligence, Beverly Frame suffered fractured teeth, bone loss and significant pain and suffering, among other things. The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages. Kyla Ashbury, West Virginia Record (C of C Publication) 01/13/2010
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Settlement Approved in Nightclub Fire Case
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A federal judge has approved a $176 million settlement for victims of one the deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history, reports the Providence Journal. Under the settlement approved by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, more than 300 victims of the 2003 Station nightclub fire stand to receive settlement payments over the next several months. The settlement resolves pending litigation against 65 defendants. Tracy Breton, The Providence Journal 01/08/2010
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Appeals Court Upholds Damages for STD Infection
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An Iowa appeals court has ruled that a dentist must pay $800,000 in punitive damages for infecting a former girlfriend with a sexually transmitted disease. In a previous ruling, the state supreme court held that Dr. Alan Evans failed to exercise reasonable care not to transmit a communicable disease. The lawsuit claimed Evans told his partner that he was disease-free and monogamous when he in fact had human papillomavirus. Lynda Waddington, The Independent 01/08/2010
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Nursing Home Settles Mistreatment Claims
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Texas-based nursing home operator Cathedral Rock Corp. has agreed to a $1.6 million settlement involving five patients in Missouri who claimed they were the victims of mistreatment while living in a St. Louis-area home. According to the lawsuit, the patients were malnourished, dehydrated and had untreated pressure sores that resulted in amputations. The settlement covers both criminal and civil claims. Robert Patrick, St. Louis Post Dispatch 01/07/2010
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Winery Settles Suit Over Alcohol-Related Crash
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A winery in Santa Rosa, Calif. has agreed to pay $3 million in a settlement with a Sebastopol man, Joshua Apodaca, who was permanently disabled in an alcohol-related car crash in 2006. The lawsuit states that Paradise Ridge Winery allegedly served alcohol to a minor at a wedding reception who then crashed his car with Apodaca in the passenger seat. The minor, Sean Bradley, agreed to pay Apodaca $105,000, and a 7-Eleven, where Bradley bought additional alcohol, will pay $500,000. Paul Payne, Santa Rosa Press Democrat 12/10/2009
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City Settles in Taser Injury Lawsuit
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The city of Columbia, Mo., has agreed to pay $300,000 to a man who was severely injured by a police Taser during an arrest last year. Police shocked Phillip Lee McDuffy on Interstate 70 in Missouri while trying to keep him from jumping off an overpass in July 2008. According to the lawsuit, the shock caused McDuffy to fall 15 feet off the overpass from which he sustained critical injuries. The city will pay $233,544.63 to McDuffy and $66,455.37 to the Family Support Payment Center to cover McDuffy’s overdue child support payments, the settlement states. Tram Whitehurst, Columbia Missourian 12/11/2009
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Second Lawsuit Filed in Death of Highway Workers
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A second $5 million lawsuit has been filed in Anderson County, Tenn., over the deaths of two teenagers killed by an out-of-control truck while working in the median of Interstate 75. Cheyenne Dakota Burke, 18, and Jeffery Brian Thompson II, 19, were killed Nov. 9 while tightening a barrier cable in the median. Both lawsuits make similar claims of negligence, contending the truck driver was speeding, driving improperly and failed to control his Ford F350 truck. Criminal charges are pending. Bob Fowler, Knoxville News Sentinel 12/10/2009
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Wage Suit Filed Against Temp Agencey
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Eight workers filed a lawsuit in Cook County, Ill., against temp agency SelectRemedy, alleging the company had been shorting wages over the past few years and failed to pay overtime and time-and-a-half wages. The plaintiffs work at the warehouse in Elwood, Ill., that houses merchandise shipped out to Wal-Marts across the Midwest. Wal-Mart is not named in the lawsuit. The amount of damages being sought has not been specified. Daarel Burnette II and Annie Sweeney, Chicago Tribune 12/11/2009
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Saints' Coach Leads Lawsuit Against Drywall Co.
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A lawsuit has been filed in New Orleans district court against Knauf Plasterboard Tainjin Co. Ltd, a Chinese company whose drywall is allegedly ruining homes and causing illnesses among homeowners. Saints’ head coach Sean Peyton is one of the plaintiffs named in the suit. According to the lawsuit, Peyton’s family became ill this summer, with the drywall in his home allegedly the cause. KPT says the problematic drywall is confined to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Florida. More than 2,100 people are represented in the lawsuit. Rebecca Mowbray, New Orleans Times-Picayune 12/10/2009
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City Reaches Settlement in 'Don and Doff' Case
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The city of Oakland has agreed to pay $1.75 million in legal fees as well as provide vacation time and one-time payments to officers and former officers who claim they were not paid for overtime hours worked they worked. The original suit was filed in 2006 by Officer Bob Valladon, who said officers weren’t being paid for time spent putting on and taking off their uniforms. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, more than 500 current officers will receive an average of 130 vacation hours each, and about 60 retired officers each will be paid $3,500. Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle 12/11/2009
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Lawsuit Filed Against Johnson and Johnson
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A Sioux Falls woman filed a lawsuit against two mining companies and Johnson and Johnson last week, claiming the companies failed to warn consumers of the link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. According to the lawsuit, Deane Berg, 52, used talc-based body powder each day after showering from 1975 to 2007 and contracted ovarian cancer in 2006. The suit claims that companies that market talc-based products without a warning label are guilty of negligence, as are companies that mine and market the mineral. John Hult, Sioux Falls Argus Leader 12/10/2009
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Jury Awards Damages for Botched Cancer Diagnosis
A Pennsylvania jury has ordered a former Scranton urologist to pay $1.88 million for failing to diagnose a man’s cancer. According to the lawsuit, Dr. Milan J. Smolko, Dr. Lillian Longendorfer and Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale did not identify the man’s bladder cancer despite several consultations and examinations over a 16-month period. Dr. Longendorfer and the hospital reached settlements with the man’s widow prior to trial. Erin L. Nissley, The Scranton Time-Tribune 06/03/2009
Woman Awarded Damages in Med-Mal Case
A radiology practice and hospital were negligent in the treatment of a woman whose bowel was damaged during surgery to remove an ovarian cyst, a Michigan jury has ruled. Following 9 years of legal wrangling, a Shiawassee County jury on Friday awarded $2.9 million to Sue Apsey in her lawsuit against Owosso Memorial Hospital and Shiawassee Radiology Consultants. State caps on damages will likely reduce the award to $1 million less, according to attorneys familiar with the matter. Bryn Mickle, MLive 06/02/2009
Airline Had Problems Prior to Crash, Inspector Says
A federal aviation inspector told supervisors about problems with an airline that crashed near Buffalo more than a year before the accident, the New York Times reports. According to Christopher J. Monteleon, pilots with Colgan Air made repeated errors and oversights during test flights with Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. Monteleon claims he was retaliated against after reporting the problems to superiors. Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times 06/03/2009
Hospital Settles Over Death of Girl
An Illinois hospital has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of an 18-month-old girl who died after visiting a Chicago-area hospital. According to the lawsuit, St. Francis Hospital and Health Center in Blue Island administered penicillin to the child despite suspicion of an allergy to the drug. The lawsuit also claimed that the hospital destroyed evidence related to the case following the girl’s death. Staff, Chicago Tribune 05/18/2009
Supreme Court Rules on AT&T Maternity Leave Case
The Supreme Court on Monday reversed an appeals court decision over AT&T’s refusal to grant benefits to women who took maternity leave prior to the enactment of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. In a 7-2 vote, the justices found that that the 1979 law, which bars companies from treating pregnancy leave differently from other disability leave, was not intended to be retroactive. The former AT&T employees claimed they should be credited for leave taken between 1968 and 1976. James Vicini, Reuters 05/18/2009
Jury Awards Damages Over Unread X-Rays
A Pennsylvania jury has ordered a Philadelphia hospital and two emergency room doctors to pay nearly $2.2 million to the widow of a man who died after hospital staff failed to review his x-rays. According to court records, x-rays and other tests that would have revealed a serious heart condition were not interpreted until the morning after Zachary James had died. Jurors found that Dr. Thomas Powell was 48 percent liable, Dr. Emil Skobeloff was 36 percent liable and St. Joseph's Hospital was 16 percent liable. Stephanie Farr, Philadelphia Inquirer 05/14/2009
Southwest Named in False Imprisonment Suit
A California woman has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines claiming she was wrongly imprisoned after a dispute regarding use of her cell phone. According to the lawsuit, Norma Steiner was arrested for disorderly conduct and jailed for several hours in Nashville when a flight attendant accused her of failing to comply with a request to turn off her cell phone. Steiner maintains that she immediately complied with the flight attendant’s request. The lawsuit seeks $2 million in damages. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA Today 05/17/2009
Jury Finds for Plaintiff in Med-Mal Case
A Rhode Island jury has awarded $4 million to a former truck driver who claimed to be the victim of medical malpractice. Following a three-week trial, jurors found that Dr. Kenneth J. Morrissey was negligent in his care of the plaintiff during treatment for arm pain in 2002. The award includes $1.5 million for physical pain, $1.5 million for mental suffering, $500,000 for disfigurement and $500,000 for lost wages. Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal 05/16/2009
Transplant Patients to Receive $1 Million Settlement
The nation’s largest HMO will pay $1 million to settle allegations that it jeopardized the lives of patients in its kidney transplant program, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to an attorney for the plaintiffs, Kaiser Permanente’s mismanagement of the program caused the deaths of three patients. The settlement, reached in arbitration, covers claims by two former patients and the families of three deceased patients. Rong-Gong Lin II , LA Times 04/17/2009
Final Bridge Collapse Settlements Reached
All 179 eligible victims of the 2007 Minnesota Interstate 35 bridge collapse have accepted settlements from the state. The total sum of the settlements reached $36.6 million, ranging from $4,500 to more than $2.2 million. Minnesota law severely limited victims’ ability to recover damages from the state, providing incentive to settle. Several lawsuits against contractors and other firms who worked on the project may still be forthcoming. Steve Karnowski, Law.com 04/17/2009
Parts Companies Face New Price-Fixing Suit
Nine auto-parts makers have been sued by the Florida attorney general’s office for allegedly working together to fix the price of auto filters and related items. The companies are currently facing other lawsuits that have been consolidated into one federal court case in Chicago. This new federal lawsuit seeks $1 million in fines for each violation reaching as far back as 1999, and a tripling of any award received. Staff, Miami Herald 04/17/2009
State Board Challenged Over Education Funding
A case brought by the Chicago Urban League and related organizations against the Chicago State Board of Education alleging racial discrimination in the way the state funds schools will go forward. The state’s motion to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit was denied by Cook County Judge S. Martin Agran. According to the suit, the state’s funding formula violates minorities’ rights under a 2003 civil rights law. Tara Malone, Chicago Tribune 04/16/2009
Jury Awards Damages to Bus Accident Victim
A jury has ordered the Metropolitan Transit Authority to pay $27.5 million to a New York City woman who was struck by a bus as she crossed the street in 2005. Following a nearly seven-week trial, jurors found that the transit authority and the bus driver were 100 percent negligent for injuries that resulted in the amputation of Gloria Aguilar’s leg. Attorneys for the transit authority said they expect to appeal the verdict. Liz Robbins, The New York Times 04/16/2009
Class Action Filed Against Nationwide Insurance
Plaintiffs filed a putative class action-lawsuit Wednesday accusing Nationwide Life Insurance Co. of violating Washington's Consumer Protection Act through the sale of fixed-payment health plans. According to the lawsuit, the plans had not been authorized by the state and did not meet minimum state standards. The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of about 465 people who bought Nationwide health plans between April 16, 2003, and Aug. 27, 2008. Tim Klass, Seattle Times 04/16/2009
Pharmaceutical Companies Warned About Internet Ads
The Food and Drug Administration warned major drug manufacturers last month that their Google search ads must contain information of potential risks, or be removed from the site. Industry executives argue that the 95-character limit does not allow for the warning information, and that a “one-click” rule should apply, meaning if the information is only one click away from the page the ad is on, they should be in compliance. An agency spokesperson said there is no such provision. Stephanie Clifford, The New York Times 04/16/2009
Fitness Balls Recalled Over Explosion Risk
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 3 million fitness balls because of explosion risks. The Chinese-made balls were sold at department stores and sporting good retailers nationwide under the names Bally Total Fitness, Everlast, Valeo and Body Fit. Some injuries have been reported in connection with the bursting balls. Diane Lade, Orlando Sentinel 04/17/2009
Family of Crane Collapse Victim Settles Lawsuit
The family of a man who was crushed in a 2006 crane collapse has settled its lawsuit against two Seattle companies responsible for erecting the crane, the Seattle Times reports. According to the lawsuit, Lease Crutcher Lewis and Magnusson Klemencic Associates were negligent in the installation, design and operation of the crane. The undisclosed settlement comes as the case was scheduled to go to trial this month. Ian Ith, The Seattle Times 04/20/2009
Advocates, Families Push for More Bus Oversight
A string of deadly bus accidents on U.S. highways has safety advocates and the families of accident victims calling from increased oversight of the motor coach industry. During the last seven years for which data are available, more than 400 people have died in bus crashes or about four times the number killed in passenger trains and about 25 times the number killed in commercial airline accidents. It is unclear whether pending legislation to address bus safety will succeed in Congress this year. Sholnn Freeman, The Washington Post 04/21/2009
Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Building Collapse
A construction subcontractor and job placement agency were negligent in the death of a worker crushed in a building collapse, a lawsuit filed last week claims. Ramiro Cigala died last week when a building he was working in collapsed while undergoing renovation. The lawsuit, filed by Cigala’s widow, does not specify damages. Houston Chronicle, Houston Chronicle 04/20/2009
Trucker Liable for Waving On Other Driver, Jury Finds
A New Jersey jury has ordered a truck driver to pay $750,000 after finding that he contributed to an accident that injured a motorcyclist. During the trial, jurors heard testimony that the truck driver had waved another driver into traffic. As the other driver crossed a highway, he collided with a motorcycle ridden by the plaintiff. New Jersey law allows drivers to be held liable if they wave others into traffic. AP, Philadelphia Inquirer 04/18/2009
Wells Fargo Named in Securities Fraud Lawsuit
California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Wells Fargo & Co. of fraud for its role in selling $1.5 billion of risky auction-rate securities to more than 2,000 Californians. According to the lawsuit, three Wells Fargo investment subsidiaries mislead investors to believe the securities were as safe as money market accounts. The lawsuit seeks to recover losses on behalf of Wells Fargo investors including retirees and small business owners. Martin Zimmerman, LA Times 04/24/2009
Flea Collar Chemicals Fuel Lawsuit
An environmental group filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that chemicals found in some cat and dog flea collars may pose health risks to pets and pet owners. The Natural Resources Defense Council claims that the presence of propoxur and TCVP, or tetrachlorvinphos, in pet collars violates California anti-toxics laws and could cause cancer or neurological damage in children. The lawsuit seeks to force regulators to remove from the market products containing the chemicals. Jane Kay, San Francisco Chronicle 04/24/2009
Attorney Reports Major Problems at Peanut Plant
A peanut production plant partially blamed for a nationwide salmonella outbreak had serious structural and sanitary problems that would have contributed to contamination, an attorney for a number of salmonella victims said Thursday. According to Bill Marler, who is representing plaintiffs in nine lawsuits, the Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely Ga. showed signs of a leaking roof and rodent infestation. A tour of another Peanut Corp. plant in Texas earlier this week revealed similar problems. Greg Bluestein, Houston Chronicle 04/23/2009
Class Action Filed Over Tainted Water
A Chicago-area resident filed a putative class-action lawsuit Thursday over allegations that local residents were exposed to contaminated drinking water for more than 20 years. In the lawsuit, Joseph Marzano claims the Village of Crestwood and current and former city officials covered up evidence of contamination as a cost-cutting measure. The lawsuit alleges the water contained a highly toxic dry cleaning chemical linked to cancer and other health problems. Staff, Chicago Tribune 04/23/2009
Lawmaker, Families Take on Cheerleading Safety
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at making the sport of cheerleading less dangerous. The move toward increased regulation comes in the wake of a growing number of cheerleading-related injuries and several deaths. In a report released last year, researchers concluded that cheerleading was the most dangerous sport in which high school and college-age women participate, accounting for more than half of serious injuries and deaths between 1982 and 2007. Kathleen Burge, Boston Globe 04/23/2009
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