Federal investigators found scores of problems at UC Irvine Medical Center during a fall inspection that again put the troubled hospital’s Medicare funding at risk, according to report released Thursday. In an 85-page report on their surprise October inspection, regulators said they observed poor oversight and mistakes by UCI doctors,…
Articles Posted in Wrongful Death
Toyota Car Recall: Now Electronics Questions
The company vigorously denies that its vehicles’ acceleration problems might stem from an electronic or software glitch. But it remains an open question, and any such finding would be devastating. In the nearly five months since it launched a string of recalls to stop its cars from accelerating out of…
Colorado Man’s Crusade to Bring Attention to Defective Toyota Cars
A Colorado man has fought mostly unsuccessfully to get his concerns heard since his wife’s Prius car accident in 2006. Before his wife’s Prius suddenly accelerated uncontrollably to 90 miles per hour on a mountain highway, you’d have been hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of Toyota than Ted James.…
Ex NHTSA Regulators Hired by Toyota Helped Halt Investigations
Former regulators hired by Toyota Motor Corp. helped end at least four U.S. investigations of unintended acceleration by company vehicles in the last decade, warding off possible recalls, court and government records show. Christopher Tinto, vice president of regulatory affairs in Toyota’s Washington office, and Christopher Santucci, who works for…
Toyota Units Named in Suit Claiming Racketeering
Four Toyota Motor Corp. units were named as defendants in a racketeering lawsuit that claims the companies collaborated to sell cars they knew were unsafe. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 8 in federal court in Covington, Kentucky, targets Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., as well units that produce…
Toyota Faces Massive Legal Liability From Defective Cars
Legal expenses and damages could add billions to Toyota’s recall costs, with dozens of suits pending over injuries and deaths and at least 30 seeking class-action status over lost use of vehicles. Toyota Motor Corp.’s massive recalls for acceleration and braking problems are creating a huge legal liability for the…
Boston Scientific Defibrillator Safety Questioned
Two defibrillator brands made by Boston Scientific Corp. have a design flaw that can result in the devices delivering potentially life-threatening shocks to the hearts of patients, authors of a medical journal article say. The defect can cause the Cognis and Teligen brand defibrillators to deliver the shocks when they…
Port Arthur Texas St. Mary’s Found Negligent in ER Wrongful Death
A Jefferson County jury has found Christus St. Mary Hospital negligent in its treatment of a 41-year-old woman who died of a heart attack within hours of an emergency room visit. In the verdict, filed Jan. 21, the jury found that the Port Arthur hospital along with Dr. Michael Peterson…
Toyota to Fix Gas Pedals as Lawsuits Increase
Toyota said that its dealers are working overtime to fix sticking gas pedals on some 2.1 million recalled vehicles at a rate of 50,000 per day and have so far repaired 225,000 cars. Toyota recalled 3.8 million vehicles last fall to repair what it called floor-mat “entrapment” of the gas…
Family of Crash Victim Sues Dixie Dance Hall for Serving Drinks to Driver
The parents and daughter of a man killed in a car crash have sued the bar that allegedly sold alcohol to the driver who was not only drunk, but also underage. Michael Slay Chapman died on Nov. 27 when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck by a…