Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Common Back and Leg Pain Treatment May Not Help Much, Study Says |  | A widely used method of treating a common cause of back and leg pain - steroid injections for spinal stenosis - may provide little benefit for many patients, according to a new study that experts said should make doctors and patients think twice about the treatment. The research, involving 400 patients at 16 sites, was published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
PAM BELLUCK, The New York Times 07/03/2014    | | Read Article: The New York Times |
| Harris County Seeks $23M from Energy Firms | | The Harris County Attorney's Office on Wednesday sued several companies involved in the 2010 Deep-water Horizon oil spill, claiming that the local government lost tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue as a result of the disaster, spurring a lawsuit similar to those filed by the city and state more than a year ago. According to the federal lawsuit, the companies, which primarily include BP, Transocean, Halliburton Energy Services and their related businesses, engaged in "grossly negligent, wanton and reckless conduct in the drilling operation of the Macondo well," which was the site of the drilling and the April 20, 2010, explosion that killed 11 workers.
Anita Hassan, Houston Chronicle 07/03/2014 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| $90.5M Awarded to 11 Manville Families | | A judge in New Brunswick has awarded 11 families from Manville more than $90 million for their pain and suffering caused by losing loved ones to an asbestos-related cancer. After a week of hearings, Superior Court Judge Ana Viscomi issued her ruling today, awarding the families $90.5 million, to be paid by Anova Holding, AG, and Becon, AG, the companies that supplied asbestos to Johns Manville from the 1950's into the 1980's. The lawsuits stem from the mesolthelioma-related deaths of 11 people, including a mother and daughter.
Sue Epstein/, NJ.com 07/03/2014 | | Read Article: NJ.com |
| Supreme Court to Decide UPS Workplace Pregnancy Accommodation Dispute | | The U.S. Supreme Court will use a case involving United Parcel Service Inc. to decide whether pregnant employees can be denied accommodations such as light duty when other workers with disabilities receive them. The court said it will hear an appeal by a UPS driver who says the company's refusal to give her a temporary light-duty assignment violated the U.S. Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
Laurie Asseo, Insurance Journal 07/03/2014 | | Read Article: Insurance Journal |
| Lawsuit Alleges Volunteer Sexually Abused 3 Siblings | | A lawsuit has been filed by three Illinois siblings who allege they were sexually abused by a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters in the 1990s. The three brothers filed the lawsuit on Wednesday and claim that their memories of the abuse were repressed until 2011. According to the lawsuit, a supervisor knew that a volunteer was sharing a bed with one of the plaintiffs during weekly sleepovers, but failed to do anything about it. The lawsuit contends that the abuse lasted for about seven years, when the plaintiffs ranged in ages from 6 to 16 years old. The lawsuit names Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago and Metropolitan Family Services DuPage as defendants and seeks more than $1.7 million in damages.
Mitch Smith, Chicago Tribune 07/02/2014 | | Read Article: Chicago Tribune |
| T-Mobile Faces Lawsuit Over Bogus Charges | | T-Mobile is facing a lawsuit which alleges that the company charged customers for "purported 'Premium' SMS subscriptions that, in many cases, were bogus charges and never authorized by its customers." The lawsuit was filed by the Federal Trade Commission and targets the phone company for making millions of dollars off the questionable practice known as "cramming." According to the filing, T-Mobile had been receiving from 35 to 40 percent of the total amount charged (by third parties) to consumers for subscriptions to SMS content, and had been aware of the practice for years. T-Mobile has denied any wrongdoing and the FTC says that recent settlement talks with the phone company went nowhere.
Edward C. Baig, USA Today 07/01/2014 | | Read Article: USA Today |
| Former UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Files Suit Against School | | A former reading specialist for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has filed a lawsuit alleging that "the university values the eligibility of its student athletes more than academic integrity." The plaintiff alleges in her lawsuit that she was demoted for speaking out about academic fraud and phony classes offered to athletes. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, alleges that the plaintiff was subjected to a hostile work environment for about three years after informing her supervisor that she had talked to reporters about the school's actions. The plaintiff seeks damages and an opportunity to return to her job if she chooses.
Anne Blythe, Charlotte Observer 07/01/2014 | | Read Article: Charlotte Observer |
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