A lawsuit by the widow whose husband died of lung cancer is headed to trial again. Nearly two months after ending in a mistrial, the first of about 8,000 cases against tobacco companies in Florida is scheduled to head to trial again in Florida. Elaine Hess is suing cigarette maker…
In 2004, a 24-year-old mother found blood in her stool and kept having pain when she went to the bathroom. When she went to her local doctor, she was repeatedly told that she was merely suffering from hemorrhoids. Seven months after she visited the doctor, she was rushed to University…
High school cheerleading is a contact sport and therefore its participants cannot be sued for accidentally causing injuries, according to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court ruled that a former high school cheerleader cannot sue a teammate who failed to stop her fall while she was practicing a stunt. The…
The family of a Wisconsin teenager killed on a 2007 amusement park ride will be paid $1 million in the settlement of their lawsuit against the operators. The girl aged 16, died July 14, 2007, in a fall from a giant swing ride at Lifest 2007 when her safety harness…
An Army investigation called the electrocution death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq a “negligent homicide” caused by military contractor KBR Inc. and two of its supervisors. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Pittsburgh, died as a result of negligent homicide because the contractor failed to ensure that “qualified electricians…
CA lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation that would offer greater legal protections to Good Samaritans in light of a recent California Supreme Court decision. Legislators have introduced three bills to address Van Horn v. Watson, 08 C.D.O.S. 15199, which held that a state statute only shields rescuers from liability…
Hospital companies in Texas, many of which collect millions in state and federal funds, operate with minimal public disclosure of deficiencies. The state keeps information on complaints and inspections largely private because influential health care corporations want it that way, and Texas legislators have obliged. As a result, it is…
According to city officials the parents of a teenager who was killed in a confrontation with Huntington Beach police in 2006 will receive $125,000 from the city in a settlement of their wrongful-death lawsuit. The victim aged 18, was shot by two Huntington Beach police officers after they responded to…
Harris County is the most dangerous county in Texas for railway accidents, according to a recently released report. There were 1,376 reported incidents including derailments, collisions, pedestrian trespassing and hazardous material releases from 1998 through 2007 in the county, according to the Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Association. The accidents…
The Dallas VA medical center’s psychiatric wing, where two patients committed suicide last year, reopened fully after a nine-month closure. The wing has been renovated, with new technologies to help safeguard patients and alert hospital personnel about potential problems. Among the renovations, said hospital spokeswoman Penny Kerby, are pressure-sensitive door…