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Now Available: Detailed info about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home |
| Nursing Home Compare has detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country and includes the following: Updated quality measures based on a new resident assessment called MDS 3.0.; Ownership information including the names of individuals and organizations with ownership or managerial control of nursing homes; and Full text of survey findings (Statements of Deficiency) from each nursing home’s most recent health inspections. Click on the headline to learn more. |
Center for Justice & Democracy: Here’s what is really true about the U.S. civil justice system |
| A chart is making its way around the Internet called “We The Plaintiffs ... A Closer Look at America’s Obsession with Lawsuits.” It is written by – or was given to – a company named “eLocalLawyers.” The chart is heavy on graphics and low on truth. For a truthful perspective on “tort” (or personal injury) litigation today, a far better source is the impeccably researched academic study, “The empirical effects of tort reform,” by Cornell Law School Professor Theodore Eisenberg, a leading authority on the use of empirical analysis in legal scholarship. Click on the headline to learn more. |
Products |
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Faulty Fuel Line Led to Ford Escape Recall |
| Ford Motor Co. has discovered that a manufacturing flaw in the fuel line of the 2013 Ford Escape contributed to the company's recall of about 11,500 vehicles last week. The company said that some of the fuel lines had cuts on the surface, which could split open and leak, posing a fire hazard. Staff Report, Chicago Tribune 07/24/2012 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune |
Laws/Cases |
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Brutal Beating by Cop in Bank Prompts $25 Million Suit |
| A Queens man has filed a $25 million lawsuit against a NYPD detective for an alleged "Gestapo-like beating" during an arrest at a local bank. Surveillance footage shows the victim raising his hands, palms up and lowering himself to the ground when the officer suddenly began beating him. The officer also allegedly avoided answering questions about the 2008 incident during a subsequent investigation. John Marzulli , New York Daily News 07/24/2012 | Read Article: New York Daily News |
La. Insurer of Last Resort Pays $104M Award Over Slow Claims After Katrina, Rita |
| Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort has paid a $104 million judgment that will benefit more than 18,500 policyholders who sued over slow adjustment of claims after hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck in 2005. All eligible plaintiffs will receive their share of the judgment in 3 to 6 months. A state judge still has to decide how much of the award should pay for attorneys’ fees and costs. A state judge ruled in 2009 that Citizens did not adjust damage claims for the storms within 30 days, as required by law. Associated Press, The Washington Post 07/24/2012 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Issues |
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Like Working in a Refinery: Fracking’s New Chemical Hazards for Workers |
| Federal workplace watchdogs are warning that the boom in “fracking” is now exposing oilfield workers to hazards they can inhale. It’s an additonal risk for roughnecks and service company crews working in an industry that already has a much-higher-than average injury rate. A “Hazard Alert” from government agencies OSHA and NIOSH has the industry scrambling for fixes. Dave Fehling, StateImpact Texas, Texas Tribune 07/24/2012 | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
UT Fracking Researcher has Financial Ties to Industry |
| The lead author of a recent UT study that suggested that hydraulic fracturing does not contaminate groundwater is a paid board member and shareholder in a company that engages in the practice, a situation that critics are calling a conflict of interest and of which the researcher's supervisors were unaware. Charles "Chip" Groat has been on Houston-based Plains Exploration & Production Co.'s board for several years. Groat was paid $413,900 in cash and stock by the company in 2011, according to SEC filings reviewed by the Statesman, more than twice his salary from the university, and holds almost $1.6M in the company's stock. Farzad Mashhood, Austin American Statesman 07/24/2012 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
AP IMPACT: Gas Line Safety Valves Resisted |
| The bulldozer was clearing land outside a day care center in Hapeville, Ga., when it broke open a buried 1-inch pipeline. The escaping gas ignited into a fireball that killed nine people. That was 1968. Since then, there have been at least 270 similar accidents across the country that could have been prevented or made less dangerous by a valve that cuts off leaking gas and costs as little as $10-$15 for homes and small businesses and $200-$300 for larger buildings, an Associated Press investigation found. Yet nearly 90 percent of the nation's gas service lines aren't fitted with the valves. Despite persistent government recommendations, the gas industry has argued that they are unreliable and cost too much to install. Associated Press, The New York Times 07/24/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Insurance |
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Insurer Says Higher Rates for Some N. TX ZIP Codes are Justified |
| State Farm has weighed in on a story in The Dallas Morning News yesterday that highlighted the disparities in home insurance rates in the Dallas area. The DMN found that prices can vary widely between ZIP codes even when homes have similar values, coverage and claims histories. The insurer has significant rate differences from ZIP code to ZIP code in the Dallas area – like many other companies. A spokeswoman for State Farm, said those variances can occur because losses experienced in one area may be quite different from the next. A leading consumer group isn’t buying the argument, noting that most property losses stem from destructive weather in N. TX. Alex Winslow of Texas Watch said it is hard to justify such differences in premiums on homes that are just several miles from each other. Terrence Stutz, blog, The Dallas Morning News 07/24/2012 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
Labor/Employment |
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Goodyear Settles Suit with Fired Employee |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has agreed to pay $20,000 to settle a lawsuit with a former employee who claims she was fired for having a bleeding disorder. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff claims that during a medical examination after the job offer, it was discovered she had menorrhagia; despite being cleared by two doctors to work, she was fired a few weeks into her job. Michael Futch, Fayetteville Observer 07/24/2012 | Read Article: Fayetteville Observer |
Wrongful Death |
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Death of Former Pitcher Prompts Lawsuit |
| A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Mack Trucks and two retailers over the death of former Major League pitcher Mark Fidrych. According to the lawsuit, Fidrych was working on his Mack truck when "his clothing became caught in the vehicle's power takeoff shaft." The suit, filed by his widow, says the truck was "in dangerous and defective condition" when purchased. Wire Report, Boston Globe 07/24/2012 | Read Article: Boston Globe |
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