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 They descrive him as vibrant, and someone who enjoyed his family and friends to soemone who became withdrawn, apathetic, and frightened.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.

A look at the ethics of product recalls.

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.

Reducing personal liability in a business environment.

   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.

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.

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.

How to claim your assets as exempt when filing a personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Your debts disappear and you can keep all or most of your assets.