Maximiliano Calcaño is 2 and was born with no arms. Maximiliano’s mother, Anajai Calcaño, lives in a small house with no indoor plumbing in a rural village in northern Dominican Republic, not far from where coal ash generated by Virginia-based AES Corp. wound up at the edge of the sea.…
Ten months after millions of cubic yards of coal ash spilled from a Tennessee Valley Authority dam, Gary Topmiller and his wife, Pam, said they are trapped in their home across the Emory River from the site and “living in hell.” Topmiller was among several people who spoke to reporters…
The husband and estate of a woman who developed blood clots and died shortly after undergoing outpatient knee surgery have been awarded more than $6 million. In December of 2003, Ruby Quarles, 42, was referred by her primary care physician at Fort Benning’s Martin Army Community Hospital to an orthopedic…
A federal jury awarded more than $6.2 million in an age discrimination suit brought by two scientists who said they were fired from their jobs at a Chester County, Pa., chemical manufacturing firm when the company targeted only older workers in layoffs in 2005. The jury concluded that PQ Corp.’s…
The Chinese drywall product liability complaint is now nearly a year old. And while incidents of Chinese drywall being installed in homes have all but stopped, complaints of bloody noses, sinus infections and vomiting spells for pets and people, widespread corrosion and blackening of copper tubing and wiring and “rotten…
Cancer patients who took drugs to cut the risk of anemia were twice as likely to develop blood clots in the lungs or legs as other patients, a decade-long study of more than 55,000 cancer patients has found. The study adds to mounting evidence that the risks of the commonly…
An Air Force veteran and a one-time contractor who served in Iraq are suing military contractors Halliburton Co. and KBR Inc., claiming that the companies exposed them to toxic fumes by burning everything from human remains to tires in massive open-air pits. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court…
Balsamic and other red wine vinegars often contain lead, a potent neurotoxin, and could pose a risk to children who consume it regularly, according to a new analysis by Environmental Health News. Eating just one tablespoon a day of some vinegars can raise a young child’s lead level by more…
Traffic deaths on U.S. roads reached a record low in the first half of 2009, according to projections released Oct. 9. Estimates show that 16,626 people died in traffic crashes between January and June –- a 7 percent decline from 17,871 for the same period last year. Projected figures for…
There is progress to report in the Yaz and Yasmin multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2100) currently underway in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Judge David Herndon, who is overseeing the Yaz and Yasmin MDL, has appointed members to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. The Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee…