| | Operation PAC 100 | | Operation PAC 100: Inspired by Past President Mike Gallagher’s $100,000 matching challenge, the TTLA Advocates formed Operation PAC 100 to amplify our members’ collective political voice through the TTLA PAC. Be one of the PAC 100, by contributing $1000 or any amount you can. Help give our legislative team the tools needed to protect the civil justice system in the 2015 legislative session and beyond.Click on the headline to learn more. |
| Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| "3-Strikes" Plan Spurs Nursing Home Regulation Debate | | 
| | At a hearing in August to evaluate the state agency responsible for Texas’ elderly residents, State Sen. Charles Schwertner singled out seven of the 1,200 nursing homes licensed by the Department of Aging and Disability Services. At the hearing, he proposed a “three-strikes” rule that would force the state to close nursing homes found to have the highest-level violations of federal quality standards on three separate days over 24 months. Nursing facilities have been quick to push back against Schwertner’s proposal. “The nursing home sector remains one of the most heavily regulated settings in health care by both state and federal agencies,” said Kevin Warren, president of the Texas Health Care Association, which advocates for the industry. The state already has “authority in the current regulatory framework to identify infractions, impose financial penalties and require facilities to correct violations within the agency’s state and federal oversight responsibilities,” he said.
Edgar Walters, Texas Tribune 09/08/2014    | | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
| Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Crude Oil Shipments | |
| | A San Francisco Superior Court judge has dismissed an environmental group's lawsuit due to the fact that they waited too long to challenge regulators' approval of shipments of volatile crude oil to the rail terminal in Richmond, Virginia. The lawsuit, filed in March by environmental law firm Earthjustice, alleged that "air-quality regulators should have conducted an environmental study of the potential for toxic emissions as well as the explosions that have occurred elsewhere." The Superior Court judge stated in his decision on Friday that the deadline for filing was two months before the lawsuit was filed. The trains carrying crude oil have been making deliveries to the Kinder Morgan energy company since early February.
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle 09/05/2014 | | Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle |
| Church Members File Suit Over Deadly Bus Crash | |
| | Members of a church in Tennessee who were involved in a deadly bus crash have filed a lawsuit against the bus driver and the maker of the tires that allegedly caused the accident. Eight people were killed in the accident which occurred last October. The lawsuit was filed in Iredell County court on Wednesday by 12 survivors of the crash, in addition to estate executors of five people killed in the wreck. The lawsuit contends that the tire was "negligently and defectively manufactured and designed" and "failed to meet the reasonable expectations of an ordinary consumer as to its safety." Each of the 17 plaintiffs in the suit is seeking damages exceeding $10,000.
Chris Dyches, Charlotte Observer 09/05/2014 | | Read Article: Charlotte Observer |
| Settlement Reached in Suit Over Death of Woman Denied Flight | |
| | A widower from the Bronx, N.Y. has reached a $6 million settlement in his lawsuit against multiple airlines over the death of his wife. The man's wife died in Hungary after she was denied a flight back to the U.S. for medical treatment by multiple airlines because of her obesity. The 407-pound woman was unable to return to the United States to receive medical treatment from her doctor after multiple attempts and died in Hungary in October 2012. The plaintiff quietly reached the $6 million settlement with Delta, KLM Royal Dutch and Lufthansa airlines last month.
Dareh Gregorian, New York Daily News 09/08/2014 | | Read Article: New York Daily News |
| VA Hospital May Have Infected 1,800 Veterans With HIV | |
| | John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis has recently mailed letters to 1,812 veterans telling them they could contract hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after visiting the medical center for dental work. Dr. Gina Michael, the association chief of staff at the hospital, told the affiliate that some dental technicians broke protocol by handwashing tools before putting them in cleaning machines. The instruments were supposed to only be put in the cleaning machines, Michael said.
CNN , CNN 09/08/2014 | | Read Article: CNN |
| College Faculty Reach $19.5M Settlement in Class Action Suit | |
| | A class action federal lawsuit filed by faculty members of St. Michael's College in Vermont over the transfer of retirement accounts has reached a $19.5 million settlement. The lawsuit was filed after the faculty's retirement accounts were transferred from TIAA-CREF to another company. The lawsuit alleged that "their investment accounts failed to be credited with market gains during the lag time between when TIAA-CREF received all the paperwork required for the move and when the accounts were actually redeemed and moved." The settlement will be split among 106,000 claimants nationwide and will be paid in addition to $3.3 million in attorneys' fees.
Tim Johnson, Burlington Free Press 09/05/2014 | | Read Article: Burlington Free Press |
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