| | | | | Announcements | | | Laws/Cases | | | Midland Man Awarded $6M After Losing His Arm in Paper Baler | | A jury awarded a Midland man, Michael Hartlove, $6M after he lost his arm in a paper baler. The MHMR client was loading scrap paper into the bale when the machine turned on and took his arm. The baler shouldn't have functioned with the loading gate opened but the safety sensor had been bypassed. The MHMR program was being run with Butts Recycling and both companies were found responsible for the accident. Worker's comp will take care of MHMR's portion. Butts Recycling will cover the remaining $3M. Staff, KWES News West 9 07/31/2012 | Read Article: KWES News West 9 | Medical Debt Collector to Settle Suit for $2.5 Million | | Accretive Health, one of the nation’s largest collectors of medical debt, has agreed to pay $2.5M to the Minnesota state attorney general’s office to settle accusations that it violated a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care, even if patients cannot afford to pay. As part of Monday’s settlement, Accretive Health is also barred from contracting with hospitals within the state for at least two years, effectively ending its business at three Minnesota hospitals. For four years after that, the company will have to obtain permission from the attorney general before resuming business in the state. JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG, The New York Times 07/31/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times | Products | | | Hyundai Jumps Ahead of Settlement With Latest Recall | | The move by Hyundai over the weekend to recall about 200,000 of its 2007-9 Santa Fe crossovers for an air bag problem stemmed from an unlikely source: the proposed settlement of a lawsuit seeking class-action status. As part of the settlement, owners will have an unusual fallback, if a federal judge approves it: Hyundai will buy the vehicles back if they cannot be fixed a Phoenix lawyer who filed the suit, said in an interview. CHRISTOPHER JENSEN, The New York Times 07/31/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times | Healthcare | | | The Biggest Blood Supply Risk: Tainted Platelets | | Hospitals and blood banks are adopting new measures to improve the safety of donated platelets—the tiny cells that make blood clot and heal injuries but that also present the No. 1 infection risk in the U.S. blood supply. A growing number of studies show that standard tests performed by blood banks before they ship platelets to hospitals miss the majority of contaminated platelets. Unlike other blood components such as red cells, which are refrigerated, platelets must be stored at room temperature to remain effective, but during storage periods that last up to five days bacteria can grow and multiply. Laura Landro, WSJ Blogs 07/31/2012 | Read Article: WSJ Blogs | Labor/Employment | | | Suit Against Florida City to Go Forward | | A Florida judge approved a lawsuit this week filed against the city of Homestead by the former deputy city manager. In her lawsuit, the plaintiff claims city officials released private romantic text messages sent to her by her then-boss, whom she claims was sexually harassing her. The plaintiff says that at the time of the texts, she had decided not to file a harassment claim, and that the messages should have been kept confidential by the city under Florida public records law. Christina Veiga, Miami Herald 07/31/2012 | Read Article: Miami Herald | Discrimination Suit Against EEOC Revived | | An appeals court has revived a lawsuit against the EEOC by a former employee, who claims she was discriminated against because she is disabled. The plaintiff, who was an administrative law judge for the EEOC, claims she was ostracized and treated differently from other employees because she has multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. She says that she was effectively discharged from her position after seeking accommodations for her illnesses. Joe Palazzolo, WSJ Blogs 07/30/2012 | Read Article: WSJ Blogs | Business Litigation | | | Utah Men Settle $200 Million Ponzi Scheme Suit | | A father and son in Utah have agreed to settle a $200 million fraud lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC filed suit against the men in December, saying their real estate investment company was operating as a Ponzi scheme; the men were allegedly "taking money from later investors and using it to pay earlier ones to make it appear their projects were always profitable." Tom Harvey, The Salt Lake Tribune 07/31/2012 | Read Article: The Salt Lake Tribune | Wrongful Death | | | Boy's Death at Kansas Concert Results in Lawsuit | | The death of a Nebraska teenager at the 2010 Country Stampede Music Festival in Manhattan, Kan., has prompted a lawsuit from the boy's family. The parents claim in the suit that concert officials and security "failed to provide timely aid to their son," who was inexplicably injured at the event and died. His cause of death has been ruled the result of an "unexplained internal injury." Wire Report, Topeka Capital-Journal 07/31/2012 | Read Article: Topeka Capital-Journal | | | | | | Published by TRIALSMITH, Litigation Tools for Trial Lawyers 5113 Southwest Parkway, Suite 285, Austin, TX 78735 You received this email because you are subscribed to this service from your trial lawyers association. • Unsubscribe • Search National Litigation Bank • 800-443-1757 | |