Miscellaneous

• Insurance: Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

  Geoff Trachtenberg | March 24, 2007 9:28 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Negligent infliction of emotional distress claims often arise where someone who is in the "zone of danger," i.e., subject to being injured, and they witness a family member's injury or death. Like most serious injury claims, limited insurance can present a barrier to recovery. Recently, however, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim is...

• Two Orange County toddlers drown in backyard pool

  IB Contributor | March 24, 2007 2:28 PM | 0 CommentsOrange County, CA

  This week was a tragic one for a Garden Grove family that lost two toddlers, who drowned in the family's backyard swimming pool Wednesday.Khloe Hyunh was only 21 months old and her cousin, Jason Nguyen was 2 years old. The children's mothers are sisters, according to an article in the Orange County Register.Officials say that it took only minutes for the two children to slip away into the deep,...

• An Informed Client Makes A Happy Client

  M. Brandon Smith | March 23, 2007 11:38 PM | 0 CommentsAtlanta, GA

  Many times those uninformed about the personal injury litigation process can become frustrated about the length of time involved in getting their personal injury claim resolved. It is a conversation I have all too often but in doing so I realize how important it is to give my client the overall picture of the process right from the beginning-at the initial consultation. I have found when you...

• Baycol Settlement Reached with 30 States

  Brent Adams | March 23, 2007 3:41 PM | 0 CommentsRaleigh, NC

  Bayer Corp, the manufacturer of Baycol, has agreed to pay North Carolina and twenty-nine other states 8 million dollars in settlement of a claim alleging that Bayer failed to adequately warn consumers about the risk of taking Baycol, a cholesterol-reducing drug.Bayer voluntarily withdrew Baycol from the market in August 2001. Baycol, which was first introduced in the United States in February...

• Louisiana Tobacco Verdict Cut in Half

  Brent Adams | March 23, 2007 2:58 PM | 0 CommentsRaleigh, NC

  In 2004, Louisiana jurors held that tobacco manufacturers had conspired to keep the truth about the hazards of tobacco from the Louisiana public. For this conspiracy, the jury set the damages at 591 million dollars.That verdict has now been cut to less than half by a Louisiana appeals court.The recovery from the judgment was to be used for smoking cessation programs. The appellate court's...

• ERISA Does It Again

  Brent Adams | March 23, 2007 2:18 PM | 0 CommentsFayetteville, NC

  The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, a federal law commonly referred to by its acronym ERISA, has been used by employers and related insurance companies to avoid their responsibility to their employees and insureds. Federal courts have construed ERISA in such a way that the insurance companies and employers have all the rights and the working public has very little rights. As a...

• Rat Poison in Recalled Pet Food

  Ben Glass | March 23, 2007 2:06 PM | 0 CommentsNorthern Virginia, VA

  There are some reports now coming out that it was rat poisoning in the pet food that is being recalled nationally. According to CBSRat poison has been found in pet food blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs, a spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets said Friday.The toxin was identified as aminopterin, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker...

• Legal column tackles questions about wills and rental agreements

  Dale Emch | March 23, 2007 1:53 PM | 0 CommentsToledo, OH

  "Legal Briefs," Dale Emch's new bi-weekly column in the Toledo Blade addressed two areas: getting information about a will and breaking a less in a rental property.On the will question, the writer asked about her inability to get any information about their mother's will because her sister, the executor of the estate, wouldn't communicate with her.The other question was from a mother whose...

• DEATH IN GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY RESULTS IN WRONGFUL DEATH MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT

  Bruce Roberts | March 23, 2007 1:32 PM | 1 CommentTyler, TX

  The mother of a Houston woman who died after undergoing gastric bypass surgery filed a wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit against the surgeon, Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, and Houston Community Hospital. In her wrongful death lawsuit the mother claims that the doctor and the hospital did not sufficiently warn her daughter who weighed 520 pounds that the surgery would be especially risky for...

• Rat Poison May Be Behind Pet Food Recall

  Shannon Weidemann | March 23, 2007 12:29 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Menu Foods announced a large recall of pet food last week. It included over 90 brands of "cuts and gravy" style canned and foil packet food. It has been blamed for causing kidney failure in cats and dogs. Early reports coming out now are saying that rat poison has been found in the recalled food. The deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food produced by Menu Foods and...