KC Diocese Settles Two Cases From Stack of Civil Lawsuits | | Two civil lawsuits filed against the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph — one claiming sexual harassment and another alleging wrongful dismissal — have been settled. The lawsuits are among about 30 that have been filed against the diocese in the last two years and are the first to be settled. Most of the lawsuits allege sexual abuse by priests. Read more here: JUDY L. THOMAS, Kansas City Star 10/22/2012 | Read Article: Kansas City Star | Suit: Monster Energy Drinks Caused Girl's Death | | A Maryland couple has filed a lawsuit against Monster Beverage Corp. over the death of the couple's daughter in December. The suit says the girl drank two 24-ounce Monster beverages the day before she went into cardiac arrest; the medical examiner said the girl died from "cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity." The suit accuses the company of failing to properly warn consumers of the dangers of their products. Steve Kilar and Scott Dance, Baltimore Sun 10/19/2012 | Read Article: Baltimore Sun | Nissan Recalls 13,000 Altimas | | Nissan Motor Co. has issued a recall of more than 13,000 Altima vehicles due to bolts that were not properly tightened during the manufacturing process. If any of the bolts - four transverse link bolts and two power steering rack bolts - were to come off while the vehicle is in motion, a crash could result, the company said. The recall covers Altima sedans from the 2012 and 2013 model years. Bernie Woodall, Yahoo News 10/22/2012 | Read Article: Yahoo News | ‘Worried Sick’: Meningitis Risk Haunts 14,000 | | About 14,000 people in the US are in a nerve-racking situation: knowing they might have been infected, waiting to see if they get sick. So far, 282 have contracted meningitis, and 23 have died, in a national outbreak linked to a contaminated drug made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. A few other patients have developed joint infections from having the drug, methylprednisolone, injected into knees, hips, shoulders or elbows. Three lots of the drug, more than 17,000 vials, were shipped to 23 states. The meningitis and other infections are not contagious. DENISE GRADY, The New York Times 10/22/2012 | Read Article: The New York Times | Banana Boat Recalls Sunscreen Over Fire Risk | | The maker of Banana Boat sunscreen is recalling some half-million bottles of spray-on lotion after reports that a handful of people have caught on fire after applying the product and coming in contact with an open flame. Energizer Holdings said Friday that it is pulling 23 varieties of UltraMist sunscreen off store shelves due to the risk of the lotion igniting when exposed to fire. The recall includes aerosol products like UltraMist Sport, UltraMist Ultra Defense and UltraMist Kids. Associated Press, USA Today 10/22/2012 | Read Article: USA Today | Appellate Court Shuffle: Case Transfers Aim for Docket Equalization | | Of the 14 intermediate appeals courts in TX, the 2nd Court transferred the highest number of cases to other courts of appeals between Sept. 1, 2011, and Aug. 31, 2012 according to statistics from the Office of Court Administration. A case filed in the 2nd Court during that period had a nearly 20% chance of being heard elsewhere. Since 1995, the chief justices on the intermediate courts of appeals and the Texas Supreme Court have engaged in what's known as "docket equalization." It's an attempt to keep incoming cases on the dockets of each of the state's 80 intermediate appellate court justices roughly the same every fiscal year. Currently, the statewide incoming caseload average is about 130 cases per intermediate court justice. To maintain that caseload level, the Texas Supreme Court periodically orders the chief judges of the busiest courts to send a random portion of their recently filed cases to less-busy courts of appeals. John Council, Texas Lawyer 10/22/2012 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer | Texas Shows Success at Punishing Medicaid Cheaters | | Long known for its business-friendly litigation climate, Texas has quietly become the national leader in using the courthouse to punish one set of corporations: pharmaceutical companies that cheat government health programs. Teaming up with company insiders and others who claim to know of wrongdoing by suppliers to the Texas Medicaid program, the state has recovered more than $1.2 billion over the last decade from suits accusing drug manufacturers and health care providers of overpricing and fraud. Records from the Texas attorney general show that the recoveries resulted in Texas keeping $407 million, plus $92 million in fees for the AG’s office. The state sent $554 million to the federal government and $149 million to whistle-blowers and their lawyers. JANET ELLIOTT, The Texas Law Book (http://texaslawbook.net), The Dallas Morning News 10/22/2012 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News | “End-Run” Lawsuits Can Blindside Physicians | | Most physicians know about the medical liability risks they face, so they take necessary steps to prevent such lawsuits. But unconventional claims that doctors often don’t anticipate pose some of the greatest legal dangers, legal experts say. The “scary thing is physicians feel like if they have professional liability coverage, that they should be fine,” said attorney Michael J. Sacopulos, chief executive officer for the Medical Risk Institute in Terre Haute, Ind. The institute counsels health care professionals on understanding and reducing litigation risks. “Little do they know there are attorneys out there who have designed an end run around that. [In some of these cases], you’re not going to be covered under traditional medical malpractice coverage.” Alicia Gallegos, American Medical News 10/22/2012 | Read Article: American Medical News | Geography Determines Justice for Scout Abuse vVictims | | With the release this week of more than 1,200 confidential files on suspected sexual abuse from past decades, the Boy Scouts of America faces the prospect of a new wave of lawsuits and potentially costly damages. But as in past child sex abuse cases, alleged victims’ ability to get their cases before a jury will vary dramatically by state. Many states have strict statutes of limitation on such allegations, and experts say the likelihood of even finding a lawyer to take decades-old cases can be difficult. Multimillion-dollar verdicts are possible in states such as Oregon and Washington with loose time limits — especially if juries find the Scouts acted recklessly and award punitive damages. But recourse for alleged victims could prove far more elusive in states like Alabama and New York, unless their tight time limits are changed or set aside. Ashley Powers, LA Times 10/22/2012 | Read Article: LA Times | Liability Premium Relief Good for Doctors, Worries Insurers | | Small but persistent declines in medical liability insurance premiums have many insurers concerned about the future of their industry. Yet doctors are benefiting from lower rates and rising competition among insurers vying for their business. Nearly 60% of premiums nationwide held steady in 2012, and about 26% decreased, according to the Medical Liability Monitor Annual Rate Survey. Only 15% of premiums increased. Overall, rates fell 1.7% in 2012. In the previous two years, they dipped 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, the October report said. The result is a continuing “softening” of the medical liability insurance market in the last several years, characterized by declining rates and low returns on investment for insurers. Carolyne Krupa, American Medical News 10/22/2012 | Read Article: American Medical News | Suit: Doctors Wrongly Pronounced Boy Dead | | A malpractice lawsuit has been filed against two doctors at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago for incorrectly pronouncing an 8-year-old boy dead. On the morning of Feb. 18, doctors pronounced the boy dead after he suffered cardiac arrest; the suit claims that, over the next five hours, doctors ignored "signs of life" in the boy before a cardiac ultrasound showed a heartbeat. The lawsuit is seeking $200,000 in damages. Jennifer Delgado , Chicago Tribune 10/19/2012 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | Suit Filed over Fatal Wrong-Way Crash | | A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the man responsible for a fatal wrong-way car crash in northern California last year. The lawsuit claims the defendant - who is being treated for schizoaffective disorder - was under the influence of illegal drugs at the time of the crash. The suit also names the man's father, who owned the car, saying he knew his son would be a danger behind the wheel. Jason Hoppin, San Jose Mercury News 10/19/2012 | Read Article: San Jose Mercury News | | |