Issues |
The Lawyer Who Invented a Way to Take Cash From Accident Victims |
George Rawlings a Kentucky lawyer is the father of a little-known but burgeoning industry that helped insurers like Aetna Inc. and Kaiser Permanente recover at least $3.5 billion in 2014 alone from policyholders hurt by someone else's negligence. A growing body of law, including a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision, gives health insurers power to recoup expenses for medical treatment. Critics say people end up being victimized twice, with Rawlings Co., and the competitors that its success has spawned, essentially acting as bounty hunters. "A whole cottage industry has grown up around these health insurance rights, and they're going after reimbursement recoveries on the backs of the injury victims themselves," says an attorney who argued against the practice before the Supreme Court. David Armstrong, Bloomberg 06/10/2015 |
Read Article: Bloomberg |
American Medical Association Adopts Youth Sports Concussion Policy |
The American Medical Association, responding to rising concern about concussions in youth sports like soccer and football, on Tuesday adopted policies intended to lower the risk of these brain injuries and called for prompt diagnosis and medical care. The influential doctors' group recommended that young athletes suspected of having a concussion be removed immediately from a game and permitted to return only with a doctor's written approval. Reuters, Reuters 06/10/2015 |
Read Article: Reuters |
Laws/Cases |
Honeywell Pays Out $10M Settlement in Chromium Lawsuit |
Honeywell will contribute $10 million to a pool for homeowners who filed suit against the company alleging it was responsible for chromium contamination on their properties. The $10 million settlement will give about $2,000 to each resident who had chromium contamination on their property. The lawsuit, which was filed back in May 2010 is up for final approval by a federal judge on Sept. 24. Ron Zeitlinger, NJ.com 06/09/2015 |
Read Article: NJ.com |
Hotel Named in Sexual Assault Lawsuit |
A lawsuit has been filed against a hotel in Charleston, North Carolina by a woman who alleges hotel staff gave her room key to a man who she alleges sexually assaulted her. The lawsuit alleges that a hotel employee gave the plaintiff's room key to a man who claimed to be her boyfriend and then sexually assaulted her in her hotel room. Embassy Suites, Hilton Worldwide and the alleged attacker are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Christina Elmore, The Post and Courier 06/09/2015 |
Read Article: The Post and Courier |
Wells Fargo Says City of Los Angeles Cannot File Suit |
Wells Fargo & Co. has argued that the city of Los Angeles cannot file a lawsuit against the bank on behalf of Californians stuck with unwanted accounts and bogus fees. The bank alleges that according to federal law, the city cannot file suit against the bank because banks are accountable only to federal regulators. The bank filed its argument in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The comptroller's office has not yet commented on the bank's attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed. E. Scott Reckard, LA Times 06/09/2015 |
Read Article: LA Times |
Guardrail Maker to Pay $663M for Not Revealing Design Change |
A federal judge ordered a Texas company to pay $663 million in damages for failing to tell the government about design changes to highway guardrails that critics say made the systems more dangerous.A Trinity competitor in Virginia sued the company on behalf of the government and will receive $199 million plus attorney fees. A jury in Marshall, Texas, decided last October that Trinity defrauded the government by failing to tell regulators about changes to its ET-Plus guardrails, which are designed to fold up when hit by a car, reducing the chance of death or injury to car occupants. Associated Press, The New York Times 06/10/2015 |
Read Article: The New York Times |
Honda Driver=E2=80=99s Death May Be Seventh From Recalled Takata Air Bag |
A Louisiana woman who got an air bag recall notice for her 2005 Honda Civic two days after the crash that killed her may be the seventh fatality linked to the defective Takata Corp. safety device. The driver, Kylan Langlinais, 22, received the recall notice in the mail April 7, two days after the wreck and two days before she died, according to a complaint filed Monday in federal court in Lafayette, Louisiana. Jeff Green & Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg 06/10/2015 |
Read Article: Bloomberg |
Products |
Gastric Reflux Drugs Linked to Heart Attacks |
The widely used drugs known as proton pump inhibitors, or P.P.I.'s "gastric reflux preventives like Prilosec and Prevacid" may increase the risk for heart attack, according to analysis of data involving almost three million people. Previous studies have found that P.P.I.'s are associated with poor outcomes for people with heart disease, probably because of an interaction with clopidogrel, a drug commonly prescribed after a heart attack. This new study examines the heart attack risk in otherwise healthy people. NICHOLAS BAKALAR , WSJ Blogs 06/10/2015 |
Read Article: WSJ Blogs |
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