‘Miracle’ Pilot on Mission Against Medical Errors | Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger in 2009 coolly landed his jet safely on the Hudson River in what was dubbed as the Miracle on the Hudson. He has refashioned himself as an expert on reducing medical errors, which by some estimates kill up to 200,000 people a year — “the equivalent of 20 jetliners crashing per week,” he told POLITICO. If tens of thousands of people died in plane crashes, he says, “There would be a national ground stop. Fleets would be grounded. Airports would close. There would be a presidential commission. The NTSB would investigate. No one would fly until we had solved the problems.” But patients die needlessly every day, and it’s barely a blip on the national radar. Click on the headline to learn more. | Appeals Court Revives Hearing-Impaired Suit | | A Circuit Court of Appeals in California has given two hearing-impaired teenagers another chance to file suit against their school districts over the lack of transcription services in classes. In their suit, the students claim they have been denied a "trained stenographer to provide real-time captioning of conversations on computer monitors" in their classrooms. The appeals court found that the lower courts had improperly applied the law in ruling for the school districts in the case. Maura Dolan, LA Times 08/06/2013 | Read Article: LA Times | Toyota Wrongful Death Lawsuit Scheduled to Begin | | Opening statements were set to begin in a wrongful death trial involving a California woman whose family says she died when her Toyota Camry suddenly accelerated and crashed despite her efforts to stop. Lawyers were to outline the case Thursday of 66-year-old Noriko Uno. Her family sued Toyota Motor Corp., claiming the automaker should be held liable for her death. Hers is the first so-called “bellwether” case to go to trial in state courts. LINDA DEUTSCH, AP, Chicago Sun-Times 08/08/2013 | Read Article: Chicago Sun-Times | Suit Filed After Counselor Killed by Falling Tree | | A lawsuit has been filed against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. over the death of a camp counselor in the Sierra foothills. The counselor was crushed to death when an 80-foot oak tree fell onto the benches where she was seated. Several other people were injured in the incident. According to the suit, PG&E and a group of contractors had been hired to manage vegetation around the camp and inspect the tree, which was close to a stretch of power lines. The suit claims the defendants failed to properly inspect the tree and ensure the campers and counselors were safe. Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle 08/08/2013 | Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle | Church Removed as Defendant in Wrongful Death Suit | | The Indiana Court of Appeals dismissed a local Presbyterian church as a defendant in a suit over the death of an infant. The infant died in 2010 while in the care of a local baby sitter, who has been sentenced to six years in prison. The suit had named the Westminster Presbyterian Church as a defendant, claiming the pastor recommended the babysitting service to the infant's parents without telling them a child had died under the sitter's watch a few months earlier. Douglas Walker, , Indianapolis Star 08/07/2013 | Read Article: Indianapolis Star | | |