‘Miracle’ Pilot on Mission Against Medical Errors | Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger in 2009 coolly landed his jet safely on the Hudson River in what was dubbed as the Miracle on the Hudson. He has refashioned himself as an expert on reducing medical errors, which by some estimates kill up to 200,000 people a year — “the equivalent of 20 jetliners crashing per week,” he told POLITICO. If tens of thousands of people died in plane crashes, he says, “There would be a national ground stop. Fleets would be grounded. Airports would close. There would be a presidential commission. The NTSB would investigate. No one would fly until we had solved the problems.” But patients die needlessly every day, and it’s barely a blip on the national radar. Click on the headline to learn more. | Suit: Contaminated Salad Sickens Mother & Son | | A Texas mother and son have filed suit against a Lincoln, Neb., Olive Garden location, claiming they were sickened by a rare parasite after eating there. The suit names Darden Restaurants, the company that owns and operates the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, as the main defendant. The Food and Drug Administration has blamed an outbreak of severe stomach illnesses in Iowa and Nebraska on salads served at multiple restaurant locations in the area. Wire Report, Albany Times Union 08/12/2013 | Read Article: Albany Times Union | Suit: Geek Squad Put Nude Photos on Internet | | A student at the University of Alabama has filed suit against a local Best Buy, claiming Geek Squad employees at the store published nude photos of her on the Internet that they found while fixing her computer. The lawsuit cites invasion of privacy and says that many of the photos were taken for "professional use," as she is an art major. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Kent Faulk, AL.com 08/09/2013 | Read Article: AL.com | Racial Discrimination Tossed Out in Paula Deen Suit | | Yesterday a U.S. district judge in Georgia dismissed the racial discrimination portion of a lawsuit filed against former television chef Paula Deen. In his ruling, the judge said that the plaintiff, a white woman who worked for Deen for five years, did not have any grounds to sue for discrimination against African Americans because she herself is not black. Deen has been accused of using the "N-word" around employees, but "there were no allegations that any racially offensive remarks were directed at [the plaintiff] or intended to harass [the plaintiff]." Jane Sutton, Reuters 08/13/2013 | Read Article: Reuters | Mike Leach Defamation Suit Dismissed, Will Appeal | | A judge in Lubbock, Texas, has issued a one-sentence ruling saying he will dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach against ESPN and analyst Craig James. The judge did not give any explanation of his decision. Attorneys for Leach, who now coaches at Washington State University, said they will appeal the decision. Walt Nett, Lubbock Avalanche Journal 08/08/2013 | Read Article: Lubbock Avalanche Journal | Doctor Files Defamation Suit Against Patients | | A doctor in the Chicago area has filed a lawsuit against three former patients, accusing them of defamation. The patients made claims that the doctor fondled them in his office, incidents he vehemently denies occurred. Since the patients made their claims, the doctor has been stripped of his license and practice, lost his annual income and his home is in foreclosure. No criminal charges were filed, and initially the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board had declined to suspend his license, but was overruled by the state Division of Professional Regulation. Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune 08/13/2013 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | BP Sues US Over Suspension From New Federal Contracts | | BP sued the U.S. government on Monday over its decision to bar the British oil giant from new federal contracts to supply fuel and other services following the company’s agreement to plead guilty to manslaughter and obstruction charges in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. Harry R. Weber (blog), Houston Chronicle 08/13/2013 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Toyota Recalls 342,000 Tacoma Trucks | | Toyota Motor Corp. has issued a recall of 342,000 Tacoma trucks due to an issue with the vehicle's seat belts. The recall covers Tacoma Access Cab vehicles, model years 2004 through 2011. Staff Report, Kansas City Star 08/07/2013 | Read Article: Kansas City Star | Texas: After Illnesses, Compounded Drugs Are Recalle | | A pharmacy has recalled all of its compounded sterile products after 15 patients in two Texas hospitals fell ill from what federal health officials said were tainted sterile infusions. The patients developed bacterial infections in their bloodstreams from infusions of calcium gluconate made by Specialty Compounding of Cedar Park, the Food and Drug Administration said. The substance is used to treat conditions related to low calcium levels. SABRINA TAVERNISE, The New York Times 08/13/2013 | Read Article: The New York Times | Safety Fears Spur Regulations for Trampoline Gyms | | Citing broken necks, shattered leg bones and one death, some doctors say the trampoline parks are dangerous and can lead to serious injuries that eclipse any benefits. Governments are starting to take notice, with proposed regulations in Utah and California among the first attempts in the country to address concerns about safety in the burgeoning industry. MICHELLE L. PRICE, AP, Yahoo News 08/13/2013 | Read Article: Yahoo News | Asiana Airlines Offers $10,000 to Survivors of July Crash | | Asiana Airlines Inc. has offered $10,000 to each of the 288 surviving passengers of the flight that crash landed in San Francisco last month. Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said Tuesday the payout is not a settlement and accepting the money does not prevent passengers from suing the airline. Associated Press, The Washington Post 08/13/2013 | Read Article: The Washington Post | A Glut of Antidepressants | | A study published in April in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, found that nearly two-thirds of a sample of more than 5,000 patients who had been given a diagnosis of depression within the previous 12 months did not meet the criteria for major depressive episode as described by the psychiatrists’ bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or D.S.M.). RONI CARYN RABIN (blog), The New York Times 08/13/2013 | Read Article: The New York Times | Suit Filed over Electrocution Deaths in Missouri Lake | | A lawsuit has been filed against a utility company in Missouri after two children were electrocuted at the Lake of the Ozarks on the Fourth of July last year. The kids were swimming at their family's vacation home when they were shocked by wiring at the dock's juncture with the seawall. The lawsuit claims the utility company "failed to notify lake dock owners of the need to install electrical protection devices known as ground fault interrupters to prevent shocks in case of short circuits." Wire Report, Kansas City Star 08/11/2013 | Read Article: Kansas City Star | | |