Announcements | 
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Products |
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Women Can't Keep Breast Implants for Life: FDA |
| Women who get silicone breast implants are likely to need additional surgery within 10 years to address complications such as rupturing of the device, U.S. health regulators said on Wednesday. The FDA will work to revise safety labels for silicone breast implants after reviewing data from several long-term studies, which also showed that the products had a small link to a rare form of cancer. Anna Yukhananov, Reuters, Yahoo News 06/23/2011 | Read Article: Yahoo News |
Nearly a Half-Million Bottles of Gel Fuel for Firepots Recalled |
| Just over a week after warning about serious burn dangers linked to outdoor ceramic pots known as firepots, the government announced the recall of nearly a half-million bottles and jugs of the gel fuel used in the patio decorations. “The pourable gel fuel can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects nearby when it is poured into a firepot that is still burning,” the CPSC said. About 460,000 bottles and jugs of gel fuel are being recalled. They were distributed by Napa Home & Garden of Duluth, Ga. Associated Press, The Washington Post 06/23/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Laws/Cases |
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Supreme Court to Reconsider Lawsuits Against the Military |
| Today the US High Court will consider the death of Dean Witt and its connection to the controversial legal doctrine that shields military personnel from lawsuits. The case called Witt v. United States challenges a 61-year-old rule that protects the federal government against lawsuits by military personnel injured on active duty. Those protected can include military nurses and doctors who may have acted negligently. McClatchy, Kansas City Star 06/23/2011 | Read Article: Kansas City Star |
Lawyers File Lawsuits in Firepot Injury Cases |
| Attorneys have filed lawsuits in SC on behalf of a 2 women who allegedly received severe burns while using firepots made by a Georgia company. One lawsuit concerns a May 21 incident involving Rachael Smilowitz she said in an interview that a Napa firepot exploded into a fireball when her husband tried to light the jelly-like fuel on the porch of their home. The second lawsuit concerns Barbara Satterfield, a Florida woman who was burned over 30% of her body after a similar accident while visiting relatives. She remains in intensive care. Her husband was seriously burned while trying to extinguish the flames. GLENN SMITH, McClatchy, McClatchy News 06/23/2011 | Read Article: McClatchy News |
Lawsuit Filed Against Seattle Police Officer |
| A Latino man in Washington state has announced he will file a lawsuit against a Seattle police officer over civil rights violations during a confrontation between the two men. On video tape, the officer is heard telling the plaintiff that he will "beat the [expletive] Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?" The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff was assaulted, threatened and subjected to harsh ethnic slurs. John de Leon, Seattle Times 06/22/2011 | Read Article: Seattle Times |
Baby Left Alone at Daycare Center, Suit Claims |
| A lawsuit has been filed against a Georgia daycare center where a 3-month-old boy died after being left alone while staff members went to lunch. The lawsuit contends the baby was left "unattended and unsupervised for an extended period of time" and was found blue and unresponsive when staff members returned. An autopsy was unable to determine the cause of death beyond asphyxiation. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages from the daycare center. Alexis Stevens , Atlanta Journal-Constitution 06/23/2011 | Read Article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
Transgender Man Files Suit Against Oregon |
| A transgender public employee in Oregon has filed a lawsuit against the state after his health insurance refused to pay for a procedure needed to complete his sex change. The lawsuit claims discrimination based on "gender identity," saying that by not covering this procedure, the state is refusing to provide him with the same health care coverage as his co-workers." The procedure, a hysterectomy, is necessary to reduce the serious health risks of ovarian and uterine cancer, the suit says. Teresa Carson, Reuters 06/22/2011 | Read Article: Reuters |
Issues |
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Report by Transocean Blames BP |
| A bad cement job and BP's failure to appreciate the risks of its operations were key to the deadly blowout on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010, according to a report issued by rig owner Transocean. The accident, which killed 11 workers and led to the largest oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's history, resulted from "a succession of interrelated" decisions by BP on well design, construction and temporary abandonment of its Macondo well for production later, the report concludes. The report also faults cement contractor Halliburton for not adequately testing the cement or communicating the risks of the mix. TOM FOWLER, Houston Chronicle 06/23/2011 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Healthcare |
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Texas Rule Will Prescribe Fewer Potent Drugs to Kids |
| Children on Medicaid under the age of three would not be prescribed powerful anti-psychotic drugs without a special authorization, under new rules the state Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) implemented last week. In response to widespread concerns about the number of impoverished Texas kids being prescribed drugs like Seroquel and Risperdal — medications that can have serious side effects in children — prescribing doctors would have to get a prior authorization from the state, a steep hurdle designed to limit use of the drugs. Emily Ramshaw, Texas Tribune 06/23/2011 | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
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