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New study: Tort reform has not reduced health care costs in TX, Austin American Statesman 6-21-12 |
| New study: Tort reform has not reduced health care costs in Texas Austin American Statesman 6-21-12: A new study found no evidence that health care costs in Texas dipped after a 2003 constitutional amendment limited payouts in medical malpractice lawsuits, despite claims made to voters by some backers of tort reform. Access Will Tort Reform Bend the Cost Curve by Myungho Paik, Bernard S. Black, David A. Hyman, and Charles Silver. Click on the headline to access the article and the full study. |
Products |
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DuPont Facing 30,000 Claims for Tree Deaths |
| A year after it became clear that a new and highly touted lawn herbicide called Imprelis was killing and damaging many thousands of trees around the country, the manufacturer, DuPont, is busy processing claims for compensation. Some 30,000 homeowners, golf courses, municipalities and landscapers have submitted claims. The formal deadline for submission was Feb. 1, but a few are still trickling in and being accepted, the company said. The process will probably be completed by the fall, DuPont officials say. JIM ROBBINS, Blog, The New York Times 06/22/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Laws/Cases |
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Suit Over Hep C Outbreak Seeks Class-Action Status |
| A New Hampshire man is one of more than 40 people who have filed a lawsuit against a New Hampshire hospital believed to be the center of a hepatitis C outbreak. The man was treated at the hospital last summer after suffering a heart attack, where he contracted the virus. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, accuses the hospital of negligence in the supervising of its staff. Wire Report, Boston Globe 06/21/2012 | Read Article: Boston Globe |
Blind El Paso Girl's Family Gets $2.1M Judgment in Med Mal Case |
| A Dallas County court has issued a $2.1M judgment to the family of an El Paso girl who was blinded by medical malpractice. The judgment was issued in 101st Judicial District Court in favor of Marcela and José Bustamante, who sued El Paso ophthalmologist Dr. Jorge Fabio Llamas-Soforo and his practice. The lawsuit claimed Llamas-Soforo did not have specialized pediatric training, failed to re-examine the infant for four weeks and did not properly treat the infant, causing her to lose her sight. Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times 06/22/2012 | Read Article: El Paso Times |
Issues |
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Should Companies Get Fined for Causing Earthquakes? |
| Companies can face stiff penalties for contaminating water or polluting the air, but should companies face similar penalties for causing man-made earthquakes? Under current law, companies can’t face any penalties for cause a man-made earthquake, which several studies have shown are a rare event. A recent study by the National Research Council found hydraulic fracking rarely cause earthquakes large enough to be felt, but the study found injection wells, which companies use to pump waste water underground, could be connected to increased seismic activity in parts of the country. Dan X. McGraw, blog, Houston Chronicle 06/22/2012 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us |
| Records from disparate corners of the United States show that wells drilled to bury this waste deep beneath the ground have repeatedly leaked, sending dangerous chemicals and waste gurgling to the surface or, on occasion, seeping into shallow aquifers that store a significant portion of the nation's drinking water. Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica 06/22/2012 | Read Article: ProPublica |
Insurance |
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Insurers Seek to Soften Their Image |
| Over the past year, many of the largest insurance companies in the country, including Aetna, Cigna and Humana, have introduced elaborate marketing campaigns to reposition themselves as consumer-friendly health care companies, not just insurance providers. The insurers have been preparing for the possibility that the court may uphold the most controversial provision in the legislation — the individual mandate that would require people to buy health insurance or face a fine. TANZINA VEGA, The New York Times 06/22/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Wrongful Death |
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Berkeley Police Blamed for Man's Death in Legal Claim |
| A legal claim has been filed against the city of Berkeley, Calif., and local police over the brutal murder of a local resident by a mentally disturbed man. The suit claims the resident called local police to report the intruder on his property and was told an officer was being sent over, when in fact no such order was placed. The suit says police "lulled [the victim] into a false sense of security" and could have prevented the death. Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle 06/21/2012 | Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle |
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