The Legal News

Finding legal news at its best

Archive for July, 2007

Stupid Laws In South Carolina

Legally if a man promises to marry an unwed woman, the marriage must take place.

In some cases when a train scares a horse the railroad may be liable?

A railroad must stay in a town that has more than 500 people.

Fortune tellers must  obtain a special permit from the state.

Dance halls may not function on Sundays except to sell light bulbs.
No work may be accomplished on Sunday.

It is illegal to sell musical instruments on Sunday.

You may not perform a U-turn within 1000 feet of an intersection.

Tattoos are illegal.

Horses are not to be kept in bathtubs.

You must obtain a permit to fire a missile.

Oral sex is outlawed in South Carolina.

In a non horse driven vehicle when you approach a 4 way intersection you must stop a hundred feet prior to the intersection, and shoot a gun to warn horse traffic.

On Sunday, it is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps.

Every adult male is required bring a rifle to church on Sunday.

It is a crime punishable by death to inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide.

You must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine.

No comments

FOLSP Sues State

The friends of Liberty State Park filed a lawsuit against the state to protect the views. The September 11th Memorial was placed in Liberty State PArk without a public hearing.

No comments

Doctors : A leading cause of death.

   People are often saying that we need tort reform, how often do you hear”Oh blah blah, so many medical lawsuits..” We have they ever posted facts? Lets try that.

The 3rd largest cause of death in the USA is… doctors. They account for more than a quarter of a million deaths every year. Twelve thousand people are killed anually by having unnecesary surgery. Seven thousand die due to medication errors. Twenty thousand die because of random hospital errors. Hosiptal infections claim another eighty thousand lives. Another 106,000 people die as a negative drug effect.

Another 18 percent of people experience negative effects in outpatient settings. Lets consider the numbers.

Another analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of patients experience negative effects in outpatient settings. An extra 116,000,000 doctor office visits. 77,000,000 additional prescriptions filled. 17,000,000 emergency room admittances. Another 8,000,000 people are hospitalized because of outpatient mishaps.3,000,000 of those are long term. Almost 200,000 die from outpatient care. Allt his generates 77 billion in costs.

Ninety eight thousand people die  as a result of inaccurate medical advice annually.

No comments

Botulism Recall

Hot dog chili sauce canned in Georgia has been linked to at least  four cases of botulism in the United States. The victims, the first to be involved with a botulism infection involving commercial canning since the 70’s, are in  the states of Texas and Indiana. The  infected products are 10-ounce cans of Castleberry’s, Austex and Kroger brands of  chili  dog sauce with best if used by dates from April 30, 2009, through May 22, 2009.

The recalled  chili dog sauce is created  by the Castleberry Food Co., which is owned by Bumble Bee Seafoods LLC, and was then canned at the Castleberry factory in Augusta, Georgia.

Botulism is a paralyzing disease affecting the muscles caused by a toxin thats made by a bacterium that we call botulism.

People  with any recalled cans are encouraged to discard the cans  without opening them.

FDA officials say the toxin is so strong that just getting it on your hands can make you sick.

It may be 6 hours to 2 weeks before  you seem symptoms.

This is the second recall of food from Georgia this year. Last time it was salmonella.

No comments

75000 Won in Fen-Phen SUit

75,000 dollars was awarded to Virginia Cavender from a jury in St Louis. The maker of the diet drug Fen-Phen was found in liable when the drug damaged Cavender’s heart valves.

The jury needed just over 6 hours of deliberation before returning the verdict. The jury found the drug compnay failed to warn users and also guilty of breach of implied warranty.

Cavender states shes used Fen-Phen for 2 months in 1996 in an effort to lose weight. Fen-phen was pulled from the stores in 1997 due to growing evidence of links between heart damage and the drug.

cavender won her claims of failure to warn and also breach of implied warranty, but a US judge granted a motion to the drug  manufacturer as a matter of law, the judges dismissed cavender’s claim for negligent failure to test and also breach of express warranty.

No comments

Against Workers Comp Reform

This short video is an interview, and shows one mans argument against workers compensation reform.

No comments

Avandia Maker Sued

A wrongful death suit has been filed against GlaxoSmithKline
creator of the drug Avandia. Avandia is a drug used treat diabetes.
Peggie stanford filed the suit in the US district court, eastern texas district. Her husband was just 60 when he died to a heart attack earlier this year.

Stanford had suffered a heart attack the very same day that the New England Journal of Medicine published findings from a study about wether or not Avandia opens users up to increased heart attacks.

This is the first lawsuit directed at the manufacturer for wrongful death. The company is also facing a suit from share holders, a class action suit, and a suit regarding personal injury. Peggie Stanford claims that GlaxoSmithKline made money in a indecent manner because they decieved people, including her husband, by withholding data of various studies. One of these studies was one in which Avandia was shown to increase the risk of heart attack. GlaxoSmithKline had 2.2 dollars in Avandia sales in 2006.

No comments

uninsured motorist coverage

With hundreds of accidents in any given metro area monthly, many many people are left weithout hope of ever being compensated fully for their injuries. Unless they have the one coverage they need.

Uninsured motorist coverage.

For example California law  has required liability insurance for years, most states do. However California has a real problem with uninsured drivers. Estimates are at 23% of drivers have no insurance at all. We hope that lawmakers will design a solution.

San Diego has even higher numbers, on not only uninsured, but also unlicensed. How do you  protect yourself from an insured driver? Buy as much uninsured motorist coverage as you can.

No comments

What to Expect from a Personal Injury Lawyer

This is an example of the level of service you should expect from a personal injury attorney.

No comments

119 Million Awarded in Coal case

A Brooke County Circuit Court jury has  decided that Massey Energy will pay more 219 million in punitive damages to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. The suit was in regards to a failure to deliver on  a contract.  The contract states that Massey Energy was to deliver 104,000 tons of coal per month to Wheeling-Pitt monthly.

The suit alleged that CWVE blamed production problems for its inability to deliver per contract. The plaintiff claims however, that the Massey company  rerouting coal from its contract to another marketplace in an effort to make more money.
The jury demanded Massey and CWVE to give Wheeling -Pitt 119 million in  compensation and 50 million each in damges punitive from both defendants.

Wheeling attorneys maintain  that when the price of coal went up worlwide that the defendants would short them coal and ship it worldwide.

Massey counsel is determined to appeal the ruling.
The jury ordered Massey and Central West Virginia Energy to pay Wheeling-Pitt $119.8 million in compensatory damages, as well as $50 million each in punitive damages from both parties. Wheeling-Pitt’s attorney stated that, “When the price of coal went up, Massey started cheating Wheeling-Pitt by shorting it and sending its coal abroad and making millions of dollars.” Massey’s executive vice president, Baxter Phillips, claimed that the company “will most certainly appeal.”

No comments