Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| New Report Finds Diagnostic Errors Harm 'Unacceptable Number' of Patients | | | When physicians and other health care providers fail to make accurate and timely diagnoses, they place their patients at risk of serious harm. In September, the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a comprehensive report that identified diagnostic errors as a persistent and pervasive problem
Michael Carome, M.D., Health Letter, December 2015 , Public Citizen 12/04/2015   
| | Read Article: Public Citizen |
| Tax Deductions Blunt Impact of Large Corporate Settlements, Report Says |  | Corporations continue to use big civil legal settlements with federal regulators as a way to deduct billions of dollars from their American tax bills, largely because the regulators fail to forbid the practice in the terms of the settlements. U.S. PIRG analyzed the 10 largest settlements by five federal regulators since 2012, six of them bank settlements in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The report, to be released on Thursday, found that while corporations paid a collective $80 billion to resolve federal charges of wrongdoing, some $48 billion of that amount was eligible as a deduction. The end result was a loss of $17 billion in tax revenue, more than the annual amount in estate taxes collected by the Internal Revenue Service, the group noted.
LIZ MOYER, The New York Times 12/04/2015 | | Read Article: The New York Times |
| Largest Power Company in Texas Settles Uranium Mine Dispute | | Energy Future Holdings, Texas' largest power company, would pay the federal government up to $2 million to help clean up long-abandoned uranium mines in northwest New Mexico, under a settlement filed late Tuesday. And under the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice would drop its objection to the company's plan to emerge from one of the biggest bankruptcies in American history.
Jim Malewitz, Texas Tribune 12/03/2015 | | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
| Girl Expelled From Catholic School Due to False Rumors, Lawsuit Alleges | | A California parent has filed suit alleging that his daughter was expelled from Catholic school because of false rumors about her sexual misconduct. The lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that the girl was expelled from Holy Family Grade School after she complained about being bullied by her peers. The complaint alleges that the girl was kicked out of the school after false rumors that the girl had been seen partially undressed in the bathroom with her boyfriend. The lawsuit names as defendants the school and its administrators, a teacher and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and alleges breach of contract, defamation of character, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Alene Tchekmedyian, LA Times 12/02/2015 | | Read Article: LA Times |
| Kentucky Student Killed by Bullet Through Ceiling at Apartment Complex | | A lawsuit has been filed over the death of a student from Eastern Kentucky University who was hit by a bullet coming through the ceiling at her apartment complex. The lawsuit was filed by the 19-year-old girl's parents in Clark Circuit Court and contends that the apartment complex lacked security and was susceptible to criminal activity. The girl was killed when she was hit by a bullet during a gun fight in the apartment above hers at the Summit Apartments in Winchester, Kentucky.
Greg Kocher, Lexington Herald-Leader 12/03/2015 | | Read Article: Lexington Herald-Leader |
| Calif. Gas Leak Subject of Residents' Lawsuit | | A class action lawsuit has been filed against Southern California Gas Co. and a state regulatory agency over a gas leak in Porter Ranch, California that has lasted for over a month. The lawsuit alleges that residents have suffered health problems, including nausea, headaches and nosebleeds because of the gas leak that started on Oct. 23. Reports indicate that the gas leak is releasing methane, a greenhouse gas, in addition to mercaptans, odorants added to the gas, into the air. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday by a local advocacy group called Save Porter Ranch.
Abby Sewell, LA Times 12/02/2015 | | Read Article: LA Times |
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