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New study: Tort reform has not reduced health care costs in TX, Austin American Statesman 6-21-12 |
| New study: Tort reform has not reduced health care costs in Texas Austin American Statesman 6-21-12: A new study found no evidence that health care costs in Texas dipped after a 2003 constitutional amendment limited payouts in medical malpractice lawsuits, despite claims made to voters by some backers of tort reform. Access Will Tort Reform Bend the Cost Curve by Myungho Paik, Bernard S. Black, David A. Hyman, and Charles Silver. Click on the headline to access the article and the full study. |
Products |
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Dole Recalls More Lettuce Salad Bags |
| Dole Fresh Vegetables has issued a recall of more than 1,000 cases of pre-bagged salad sold in six states due to possible listeria contamination. The products, Fresh Selections Green Supreme and Leafy Romaine and Marketside Leafy Romaine, were sold at Wal Mart and Kroger stores. The salad bags have a use-by date of June 19, 2012. Schuyler Velasco, Christian Science Monitor 06/26/2012 | Read Article: Christian Science Monitor |
Laws/Cases |
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Wyndham Hit with Data Breach Lawsuit |
| A lawsuit has been filed against Wyndham Worldwide Corp over a data breach that allegedly led to the loss of $10 million to fraud. The Federal Trade Commission claims in the suit that the company "failed to secure consumer data," which led the sharing of hundreds of thousands of consumers' payment card information. The breaches occurred in April 2008, March 2009 and in late 2009, the agency said. Staff Report, Reuters 06/27/2012 | Read Article: Reuters |
Suit: Washington CPS Failed to Protect Kids |
| Six Washington children have filed a lawsuit against the state, accusing child services of failing to protect them from their foster mother despite numerous complaints of abuse. The lawsuit claims multiple calls were made to CPS over a two or three-year period from teachers, counselors and others close to the children. The woman is facing five charges of assault and is currently in jail awaiting trial. Levi Pulkkinen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 06/26/2012 | Read Article: Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
Two Lawsuits Challenge the Lack of Air-Conditioning in Texas Prisons |
| Inmates and their families have complained for years about the heat and lack of air-conditioning in the summertime, but the issue has taken on a new urgency. An appeal is pending in a lawsuit initially filed in 2008 by a former inmate claiming that 54 prisoners were exposed to Death Valley-like conditions at a South Texas prison where the heat index exceeded 126 degrees for 10 days indoors. And several inmates at other prisons died of heat-related causes last summer; a lawsuit was filed Tuesday in one of those deaths. Inmates and their advocates say the overheated conditions violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. They accuse prison officials of failing to supply enough fans, ventilation and water and refusing to follow local and national prison standards. MANNY FERNANDEZ, The New York Times 06/27/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times |
One Sandusky Victim Set to File Civil Lawsuit |
| Attorneys for the victim who triggered the child sex-abuse investigation against Jerry Sandusky said Tuesday that they are preparing to move forward with a civil lawsuit likely targeting Penn State University where the former assistant football coach assaulted many of his 10 victims during a 15-year period. Kevin Johnson, USA Today 06/27/2012 | Read Article: USA Today |
Issues |
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Investigation: Texas Medicaid Dental Program Pays Millions For Crowns |
| One year after News 8 began looking into the $1.5 billion Texas Medicaid dental program, its executives have either announced their departure, already left, or have been reassigned. These changes came after News 8 revealed that more than $500 million was paid out for Medicaid children, primarily for cosmetic braces. Meanwhile, Medicaid data obtained by News 8 under the Texas Public Information Act indicate a potentially larger problem with steel crowns and composite fillings. Last year, the state paid more than $100 million for 690,145 steel crowns on children's' teeth, all of them for kids less than nine years old. BYRON HARRIS, WFAA.com 06/27/2012 | Read Article: WFAA.com |
Healthcare |
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FDA Report Faults Houston Stem-Cell Company |
| The Sugar Land company involved in Gov. Rick Perry's unlicensed adult stem-cell procedure is rife with basic manufacturing problems, according to the FDA. In a report one expert called a blow to the entire adult stem-cell industry, the FDA found that Celltex Therapeutics Corp. cannot guarantee the sterility, uniformity and integrity of stem cells it takes from people and then stores and grows for eventual therapeutic reinjection. "You have not performed a validation of your banking and thawing process to assure viability" of the stem cells, reads the April 27 report, meaning that the company cannot verify the cells are alive. Todd Ackerman, Houston Chronicle 06/27/2012 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Hospitals Get Grades on Patient Safety |
| Dozens of quality/safety report cards scrutinize hospital performance. Now patients and physicians will see a letter grade to sum up how well a hospital does on 26 patient-safety metrics based on publicly collected data. The grading system was compiled by a panel of patient safety experts working on behalf of the employer-backed Leapfrog Group. Anyone can find out how hospitals in their area score at Leapfrog’s free website, Hospital Safety Score (hospitalsafetyscore.org/). Kevin B. O'Reilly, American Medical News 06/27/2012 | Read Article: American Medical News |
Electronic Records Tied to Fewer Malpractice Claims |
| Doctors who start using electronic health records are less likely to get sued than their colleagues who stick with traditional paper records, according to new findings from Massachusetts. The technology is being introduced with the goal of decreasing errors and streamlining patient care. But some researchers have worried that in transitioning to electronic records doctors could make more mistakes using new and unfamiliar systems - such as writing notes and prescribing drugs in the wrong patient's record. Reuters, Reuters 06/27/2012 | Read Article: Reuters |
TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES |
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Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts |
| The trial court denied a motion to dismiss this suit for damages allegedly sustained during a laser hair removal procedure. The laser hair removal procedures in this case are not health care liability claims. The trial court's order is affirmed. Cosmetic Procedures Clinic of North Dallas v. Ayub, Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-11-01286-CV, 06-22-2012. Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 06/27/2012 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) |
Texas Supreme Court: Torts |
| The court of appeals held that allowing a seaman to recover for physical pain and mental anguish under both a negligence claim and unreasonable-failure-to-pay claim did not constitute a double recovery. There is no evidence that the employer's failure to pay caused the seaman additional injury. The court of appeals' judgment is reversed and rendered in part and affirmed in part. Weeks Marine Inc. v. Garza, Texas Supreme Court, No. 10-0435, 06-22-2012. Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 06/27/2012 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) |
Business Litigation |
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Another Bank Settles Debit Transaction Order Suit |
| PNC Bank has agreed to a $90 million settlement in a lawsuit over improper manipulation of customer debit card transactions. The suit accuses the bank of ordering debits from highest to lowest instead of chronological, which paved the way for higher overdraft fees. Other banks, including JPMorgan Chase, have settled similar lawsuits this year. Joel Rosenblatt, Bloomberg 06/26/2012 | Read Article: Bloomberg |
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