The Legal News

I bet the big wigs who scoff the eldery residents in their nursing homes arent smiling now!

Many coporate executives and others figure that the seniors in their homes wont ever get a settlement of any substantial size due to age or preexistiong condition. enter the  case of an 81 year old man who was savagely beaten by the vioelent and mentally ill roommate he was assigned by nursing home staff.

In a few weeks the victim recovered, but he never recovered mentally and emotionally. He became a shell of his former self.  He was never the same. He died 3 years after the beating.

His family members brougth the suit against the nursing home. They descrive him as vibrant, and someone who enjoyed his family and friends to soemone who became withdrawn, apathetic, and frightened.

The family states that the home knew the other man was unstabe and violent, and he should have been discharged, but discharging that viloent man would mean less money for them. SO he was kept in the facility.

The defense attempted to downplay the injuries but medical records don’t lie. 150 million was in punitive damages alone.

  If if seeing a driver to your right on the interstate, gabbing away on his cell phone gets you ticked off, you’ve got a right to be. Multiple studies have demonstrated that operating a vehicle while talking on a cell phone can be as deadly as driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. Estimates of the number of U.S. traffic fatalities instigated by cell phone use while operating a vehicle  are normally in the 2,000 - 3,000 range with 100 times as many injuries.

The best fix for the plague of cell phone  collisions, would be common sense by many drivers and a realization that the common practice is rude and dangerous. Without a sudden epidemic of intelligence, law creation and strict enforcement need to be actualized. Bringing forth  legislation will be difficult given the lobbying ability of the cell phone industry. The effort, though, added to public education, can rescue thousands of lives annually .

It is illegal to keep time with music via tapping of feet, or nodding your head, etc, in any public establishment.

You may not sell the clothing upon your person to rectify gambling debts.

It is illegal to check into a hotel under an assumed name.

Its unlawful to pick up seaweed off a beach.

TITLE XVIII

FISH AND GAME

CHAPTER 207

GENERAL PROVISIONS AS TO FISH AND GAME

Collecting Seaweed

Section 207:48

In Night. ? If any person shall carry away or collect for the purpose of carrying away any seaweed or rockweed from the seashore below high-water mark, between daylight in the evening and daylight in the morning, he shall be guilty of a violation.

Source. 1973, 532:10, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.

Cattle crossing state raods must have a bag or similar device to catch their fecal matter.

It is illegal to operate machinery on Sundays.

It is illegal to eliminate waste from your body one a Sunday while looking skyward.

You may not get intoxicated, have a picnic, enter the grounds at night, or enter alone if under age 10: this is in regards to cemeteries.

Anyone caught cleaning or beautify parks or faorests will be fines 150 dollars for “maintaining a park without a permit”.

The parents of a child killed in a car collision were awarded money damages by a Montana Court. The defective car seat at issue was made and sold by Evenflo. The Plaintiffs case showed proof that Evenflo was aware the car seat had a issue in its design that might lead to the belt hooks snapping; however, they still made the choice to put in on the store shelves. The total jury award is roughly $10 million , several million dollars in punitive damages to punish and hopefully correct the conduct of Evenflo.

Congress is being asked to authorize, create, and fund a nationwide database that will store oll positive drug tests, and DUI encounters. The American Trucking Association wants to see a  centralization of these records and for the records of these to be released to any interested employer in an effort to keep abusers from behind the wheel of large and potentially dangerous vehicles.

The ATA has noted that with just 2% of the nationwide commercial drivers testing positive for drugs,  the number of drivers affected by drugs is roughly 68000. A positive test during any portion of the employement process would be added to the databse and that applaicant would have that permanent mark on his record, likely barring him from any commercial driving job.

As is the norm, product safety is a great burden for consumers. lately, the list of defective items imported from some foreign countries, namely China, has been receiving much needed press coverage. From the contaminated pet food fiasco to a smorgasboard of items meant for human consumption, the public is coming to the realization that they should consider twice before using any product that is brought in from China or any country where safety regulations are a far cry from regulations that are in place currently in America.

It is accurate that the amount of exports of food, drugs and consumer products has grown very rapidly in recent years. So much so, that it is progressivley arduous for inspectors in the States to catch contaminated  or potentially dangerous shipments. It has been divulged
that with so much money at risk, China will try  to center on product safety in an attempt to stave concerns about its faulty products. It is not, however, anticipated  to be an easy job given the level of corruption, pollution and product piracy problems are deeply embedded in that society.

What can we do to better protect ourselves? Starting  in 2008, money  to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be escalated. The greater financial contribution will allow the agencies to hire and field more inspectors. In addition, Legislators will also empower the FDA and USDA to issue food recalls, which is not something they are currently commissioned to do, and to declare stricter reporting and labeling.

Many Americans feel they are getting a “bargain” when buying imports. However, with the seriously defective products of late, it’s sure to leave one wondering whether they are really obtaining bargains at all.

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.

   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.

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.

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.