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| | Gibson Vance: How our cars got safer, Washington Post 4-16-11. Traffic deaths in the United States have dropped to their lowest level since 1949, according to a report released this month by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Remarkably, this drop occurred even as Americans drove 21 billion more miles in 2010 than they had the previous year. Click on the headline to continue reading. | | Products | |
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| | Concern Grows Over Window Blind Safety | |
| | For the last 25 years or so, manufacturers of window blinds have installed safety features and offered tips to parents to try to minimize the dangers from their products. Even so, children continue to strangle on the cords with grim regularity, an average of one a month. The CPSC has asked manufacturers to devise a way to eliminate the risks from window cords or perhaps face mandatory regulations. Critics of the industry complain that manufacturers have dragged their feet on addressing safety hazards for decades, making minor tweaks or putting the onus on parents to shorten cords or buy tie-down devices. Until recently, regulators have done little to crack down, they say. ANDREW MARTIN, The New York Times 04/21/2011 | | Read Article: The New York Times | | Laws/Cases | |
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| | BP Sues 3 Companies Over Oil Spill | |
| | BP filed lawsuits in New Orleans against Halliburton, which provided the cement for the well; Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig; and Cameron International, the company that made the blowout preventer that failed last year, on the deadline for bringing suits in the federal litigation surrounding the disaster. The company said in a statement that the move was “to ensure that all parties involved in the Macondo well are appropriately held accountable.” JOHN SCHWARTZ, The New York Times 04/21/2011 | | Read Article: The New York Times | | Suit: Oil Rig Company Discriminates Against Workers | |
| | A lawsuit has been filed against oil rig construction company Signal International over the alleged discriminatory treatment of immigrant workers. According to the complaint, workers were subjected to "hostile working conditions,” forced to live in crowded resident areas, and were provided with food that was poor quality. The company faced a similar lawsuit in 2008, which it called "baseless and unfounded." Wire Report, Houston Chronicle 04/20/2011 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | Former Beer CEO Settles Suit over Girlfriend's Death | |
| | The former CEO of Anheuser-Busch, August Busch IV, has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed over the accidental overdose of his girlfriend at his St. Louis home in December. The autopsy showed she died of an oxycodone overdose. The lawsuit was filed by the woman's ex-husband on behalf of her eight-year-old son. There will be no charges filed against Busch, the St. Louis County prosecutor announced. Wire Report, Atlanta Journal-Constitution 04/20/2011 | | Read Article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | | Boy Falls to Death from Rollercoaster, Suit Filed | |
| | A lawsuit has been filed against the Go Bananas amusement part in Norridge, Ill., after a 3-year-old boy fell from one of the rides and died earlier this month. The boy was riding on the Python Pit roller coaster when he somehow came out of the restraints and fell below the cars, the police report states. The lawsuit says the park was negligent and that the ride did not stop quickly enough to save the boy's life. Erin Meyer, Chicago Tribune 04/20/2011 | | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | | Insurance | |
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| | State Farm Isn't There: Insurer Cancels Coverage on Older Mobile Homes | |
| | Jon Nicholas of Lumberton is shopping for new insurance because his provider for the last 35 years - State Farm - cut him loose. Nicholas, 65, didn't do anything wrong, and didn't file a claim. It's just that his home, a manufactured structure commonly called a mobile home, is too old, according to his insurer. Nicholas and his wife, Beverly, also had their vehicles insured through State Farm and had qualified for a discount because they had their home and its contents insured with the company. They lost that discount because they are no longer "bundled," an industry term meaning they have multiple insurance policies with the same company. Dan Wallach, Beaumont Enterprise 04/21/2011 | | Read Article: Beaumont Enterprise | |
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