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You can check our site at your convenience or subscribe to our RSS feed. | Products | | | Newer Birth Control Drugs Under Scrutiny | | Research suggesting that newer birth control formulations are more likely to cause blood clots than older drugs has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to consider new safety measures in meetings later this week. The increased risk is slight but significant because blood clots can cause heart attacks, strokes and blockages in lungs or blood vessels, which can be fatal. Regulators could order new warning labels on several contraceptives that gained popularity in the last decade, including Bayer’s pill Yaz, which was the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. for 2008 and 2009. Associated Press, The Washington Post 12/06/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post | Laws/Cases | | | Man Sued by Stepdaughter for Wrongful, Negligent Acts in Death of Her Mom | | A Virginia woman is suing her stepfather for “wrongful, negligent, intentional and/or malicious” behavior surrounding the still-unresolved death of her mother last year. The civil suit falls under the state’s “civil slayer statute” and claims the man waited too long before calling police and changed his story multiple times about the events leading up the disappearance. The stepdaughter is seeking compensation for her portion of the estate, claiming it should not belong to her stepfather due to his alleged fault in the death. Bill Mckelway, Richmond Times-Dispatch 12/06/2011 | Read Article: Richmond Times-Dispatch | Sex Abuse Case Against Former Attorney to Proceed | | After five years on hold, a judge has lifted a stay on a sex-abuse lawsuit against a former Illinois attorney by his alleged victim. The attorney is currently serving jail time after being federally prosecuted for having “cocaine-fueled sex parties at his home with minors.” The ex-attorney “pleaded no contest to state charges involving his molestation of the man now suing him and was given no additional prison time.” Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune 12/06/2011 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | Utah Attorney General Plans to Sue BCS | | Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has announced that in early 2012 he will sue the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for alleged mischievous activity and having too much “power and control.” Shurtleff is currently seeking outside antitrust legal counsel for assistance with the suit, which aims to prove the “BCS is an illegal monopoly that restrains free trade.” He claims the exclusion of Boise State from a major BCS game is further evidence. Craig Harris, Arizona Republic 12/05/2011 | Read Article: Arizona Republic | ESPN Reporter Sues for $10 Million in Invasion of Privacy Suit | | Erin Andrews, a reporter for ESPN, is suing a Nashville Mariott and the man who secretly recorded and then posted a video to the internet of her undressing in her hotel room in 2008. The suit seeks $4 million in damages from the man and $6 million from the hotel, claiming the incident caused her “great emotional distress and embarrassment.” Nate Rau, Tennessean 12/06/2011 | Read Article: Tennessean | BP Says Halliburton Destroyed Well Data | | BP on Monday accused Halliburton of destroying test results showing that the oil field services company used unstable cement to secure the Macondo well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico last year. BP made the allegations in a 310-page legal filing at the U.S. District Court in New Orleans that is overseeing a class action lawsuit tied to the 2010 oil spill. BP accused Halliburton of "steadfastly" refusing to turn over its internal results from testing on the cement mix and subsequently destroying the data from those examinations. JENNIFER A. DLOUHY, Houston Chronicle 12/06/2011 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Mine Owner to Pay $200 Million in Death of 29 Men | | Alpha Natural Resources agreed to pay $209 million in restitution and civil and criminal penalties for the role of its subsidiary, Massey Energy, in a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 men in West Virginia. That amount includes $46.5 million allocated to the families of the victims and those who were injured in the blast, and includes terms that protect Alpha — but not individual Massey executives — from prosecution, said Steven Ruby, an assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. SABRINA TAVERNISE, The New York Times 12/06/2011 | Read Article: The New York Times | NFL Concussion Suit: Widespread Pregame Use of Toradol | | A lawsuit filed by 12 former football players against the NFL about its concussion policies says there was widespread pregame use of an anti-inflammatory drug (Toradol) that could put someone with a head injury at increased risk.It’s one of about a half-dozen suits filed against the NFL in recent months by past players who say the league did not do enough to protect them from concussions. As in other complaints against the league, the latest criticizes the NFL’s original committee on brain injuries and says the league concealed risks of concussions. Associated Press, The Washington Post 12/06/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post | Jury Awards $14M to Victim of Pennsbury Bus Crash | | A Bucks County jury awarded $14 million Monday to Ashley Zauflik, the former Pennsbury High School student who was run over by a bus in 2007, resulting in the loss of her left leg. The jury voted unanimously to award the Fairless Hills woman $2.9M for past and future medical costs and $11.1M for pain, suffering and disfigurement. But there’s no guarantee the 21-year-old woman will collect $14 million, because of a $500,000 state cap limiting the general liability for school districts and municipalities. The verdict will probably be appealed by the school district in the next few days. Bill Reed, Philadelphia Inquirer 12/06/2011 | Read Article: Philadelphia Inquirer | Healthcare | | | Feds to Allow Use of Medicare Data to Rate Doctors | | The government announced Monday that Medicare will finally allow its extensive claims database to be used by employers, insurance companies and consumer groups to produce report cards on local doctors and hospitals. By analyzing masses of billing records, experts can glean such critical information as how often a doctor has performed a particular procedure and get a general sense of problems such as preventable complications. Compiled in an easily understood format and released to the public, medical report cards could become a powerful tool for promoting quality care and reducing waste. Associated Press, USA Today 12/06/2011 | Read Article: USA Today | | | | |