- Elaine Mandel | November 28, 2006 4:27 PM |
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MiscellaneousA grieving father's fight changed the system that required medical residents to work too many hours and thereby provide sub-standard care.In 1984 eighteen year old Libby Zion died at a New York hospital. The resident caring for her had been on duty for thirty six hours. The senior resident was sleeping in a nearby building when Libby became agitated. Her temperature rose to 107 degrees. ...
- Paul Kiesel | November 27, 2006 3:00 AM |
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Toxic SubstancesConsumer Attorneys take on Global warming. The plaintiffs bar fights pollution.Once again consumer attorneys have stepped in where the government has failed to act. Consumer attorneys have long been the champions of the underdog against such goliaths as insurance companies, car manufacturers and global pharmaceutical companies. Now with the White House and Congress' failure to address the...
- Paul Kiesel | November 20, 2006 3:00 AM |
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Toxic SubstancesHarmful pesticides on the rise. Pesticides link to cancer, birth defects and neurological damage.This week the state released data showing that California farmers are using more pesticides than ever before. California growers applied 194 million pounds in 2005, up 14 million pounds from 2004. The rise in pesticide use is of great concern to health professionals and environmentalists because many...
- Cheryl Buchanan | November 19, 2006 12:54 AM |
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MiscellaneousThis week, 100 more clergy child molestation cases in Los Angeles were released from a discovery stay and set to go forward in trial. For the Survivors who have come forward, Judge Fromholz's order signifies both the end of a three year attempt at mediation and an important milestone in a much longer journey. For many, the trial process is not nearly so overwhelming as the idea might have been...
- Paul Kiesel | November 17, 2006 1:16 PM |
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MiscellaneousCalifornia Los Angeles Complex Court annual seminarCalifornia is one of the few states in the country that has courts solely devoted to handling the litigation of complex cases. While some states, such as New York, have business courts devoted to business-related disputes, California has certain courts set aside to deal with all types of complex litigation case. Complex cases can include class...
- Patrick DeBlase | November 16, 2006 12:00 AM |
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MiscellaneousCity files charges against Kaiser for dumping patients on skid row.As previously discussed in here, Los Angeles health care providers have been having a hard time caring for the poor and have even taken to dumping patients on skid row while they are dazed and confused. These patients require treatment, not transportation to a strange and dangerous place. Kaiser along with about ten other area...
- Elaine Mandel | November 14, 2006 10:42 AM |
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MiscellaneousCell phone carrier T-Mobile is sued for charging a flat rate $200 early cancellation penalty. The suit seeks damages for consumers in 13 states.Cell phone provider T-Mobile has a flat $200.00 cancellation fee if you decide to switch carriers before your contract term is up. Whether you have a week, a month or a year left on your plan, you get hit with that $200 early termination penalty. Even...
- Paul Kiesel | November 12, 2006 12:14 PM |
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Toxic SubstancesIndustry should not attempt to influence studies linking benzene exposure to cancer. The public should be protected from the petrochemical industries "junk science". A recent article published in the respected International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health sheds light on the petrochemical industry's efforts to withhold data showing that employees working with benzene have an...
- Patrick DeBlase | November 11, 2006 2:33 PM |
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MiscellaneousAfrican American man fed dog food by fellow firefighters in the Fire Department obtains racial discrimination settlement.Discrimination is alive and well. Through the outstanding work of a plaintiffs' attorney in Los Angeles, racial discrimination in the Los Angeles Fire Department was exposed and those responsible brought to justice. Two firefighters purchased and mixed dog food into...
- Cheryl Buchanan | November 11, 2006 11:59 AM |
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MiscellaneousThis week, the National Catholic Reporter gave us an in-depth, and all too familiar, view into the clergy child molestation crisis. This time, the cover story was foused on the Diocese of Spokane Bankruptcy. Beneath a tangeled web of corporate ownership and property law issues, lie the same simple truths: children were serially sexually abused, crimes were covered up, and lives continue to be...
- Elaine Mandel | November 07, 2006 5:57 PM |
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MiscellaneousA new study shows that there are thousands of accidents on school busses each year. Looking at the types of injuries can hopefully shed light on how to decrease those numbers.Each year in the United States, 23.5 million children travel 4.3 billion miles on school buses. You put your child on the school bus every morning. You think they're safe. But a just-released study provides some scary...
- Helen Zukin | November 06, 2006 3:00 AM |
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Toxic SubstancesTougher state standards for perchlorate in water urged. Is there a "safe" level of perchlorate?State health officials with the Department of Health Services have been urged to require water providers to clean up perchlorate contamination in drinking water. Perchlorate is a highly toxic component of rocket fuel and as a result of decade's of military and aerospace industry activities is now a...
- Paul Kiesel | November 04, 2006 2:51 PM |
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MiscellaneousJudge Peter Lichtman is a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles Superior Court and very well respected as a trial judge and mediator.Judge Peter Lichtman who had been the mediator assigned to oversee Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange cases was rebuffed in his attempt to creatively craft a settlement around recalcitrant insurers. In a fascinating discussion of California Court of Appeals decision...
- Michael Eyerly | November 03, 2006 5:47 PM |
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MiscellaneousFederal suit alleged Los Angeles sheriff's deputies used excessive force.The parents of the late Devin Eichenlaub filed a lawsuit in federal court this past Wednesday. The suit alleges Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies used excessive force resulting in the death of their son, Devin Eichenlaub. In their suit Mr. and Mrs. Eichenlaub claim their son was beaten to death by "nearly 20 deputies"...
- Patrick DeBlase | November 02, 2006 4:51 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThere's a lot of talk going on right now about the subject of punitive damages following an Oregon jury's verdict and the U.S. Supreme Court's pending review of a $79 million punitive damage award to the widow of a man who died of lung cancer caused by cigarette smoking. $79 million is a lot of money. At first blush it would seem like someone just one the litigation lottery. However, the...