| Announcements | | 
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| | TTLA Annual Conference has moved to June 1-3 in Austin | |
| | We’ll be hosting all the events you’ve come to expect from our December conference. Between the 2-day CLE, parties, meetings, legislative update & special events, you’ll leave the live music capital of the world feeling energized, connected, and bad to the bone! Check out the CLE program agendas for Wednesday and Thursday, which include a live video presentation with David Ball plus family friendly events to make this a true vacation opportunity. Click on the headline to register! | | Share with your FB friends! | |
| | BP reports profit of $7.2 billion, Posted on April 27, 2011, Fuelfix Blog, Houston Chronicle. LONDON — BP PLC posted a 16 percent rise in first-quarter net profits on Wednesday as gains from the sale of major assets to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill outweighed the ongoing cost of that disaster. Click on headline to read more. | | Laws/Cases | |
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| | Lawsuit to Proceed Over Woman's In-Jail Birth | |
| | A 2007 lawsuit filed by a mentally ill woman who gave birth alone in a King County, Wash., jail 14 years ago has been allowed to proceed. The judge ruled that due to her mental illness, she met the criteria for a provision that stops the clock on statute of limitations. In her suit, she claims she called for help on the jail cell intercom while giving birth, but says officers said they did not believe her and refused to come to her aid. Another officer, the suit states, saw the woman preparing to give birth and walked away without helping. Vanessa Ho, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 04/28/2011 | | Read Article: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | | $1.9 Million Settlement Reached Over Stun Gun Use | |
| | Marin County, Calif., officials have agreed to a $1.9 million settlement in a lawsuit filed against the local sheriff's department for improper use of a stun gun. According to the suit, sheriff's deputies repeatedly shocked a 66-year-old man with a stun gun in his home in 2009. The officers had responded to a call saying the man had fallen and was potentially a suicide risk. The man, who was sitting on his couch when officers arrived, was immediately shot with the gun when he stood up. Wire Report, San Jose Mercury News 04/27/2011 | | Read Article: San Jose Mercury News | | Allergan Ordered to pay $212M in Botox Brain-Injury Lawsuit | |
| | Botox-maker Allergan Inc. was ordered by a federal court jury to pay $212 million to a Virginia man who alleged that use of the drug left him severely disabled. The verdict awarded Douglas Ray, 67, $12M in compensatory damages and $200M in punitive damages. Ray was injected with the drug in 2007 to treat hand tremors. Ray suffered brain damage and now requires round-the-clock care. The suit, filed a VA federal court alleged that Allergan failed to adequately warn about the potential risks of Botox for off-label use. Shan Li, LA Times 04/29/2011 | | Read Article: LA Times | | Issues | |
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| | U.S. Courts Face Backlogs and Layoffs | |
| | Stephen Zack, president of the American Bar Assn., compares the effect of recent state budget cuts on the U.S. courts to injustices perpetrated by the secret service in Cuba, the country he fled as a teenager after revolutionaries seized his family's factories. "You can't get equal justice if the courts are closed" he said. With states facing record budget deficits and trying to pare spending, courts around the country are trimming hours, laying off staff, and delaying trials. Businesses are watching with increasing concern. Karen Weise, Business Week 04/29/2011 | | Read Article: Business Week | | Healthcare | |
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| | Patient Ratings to Affect Medicare Payments to Hospitals | |
| | The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is finalizing details for the new reimbursement method, required by last year’s health-care law. Consumer advocates say tying scores from patient-satisfaction surveys to payments will result in better care. But many hospital officials are wary, arguing the scores don’t necessarily reflect the quality of the care and are influenced by factors beyond their control. Under CMS’s proposal, Medicare will begin withholding 1 percent of its payments to hospitals starting in October 2012. That money — $850 million in the first year —will go into a pool to be doled out as bonuses to hospitals that score above average on several measures. The agency is poised to release the final rule. Jordan Rau, The Washington Post 04/29/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | |
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