Miscellaneous

• One Father's Crusade Reforms Medical Practices

  Elaine Mandel | November 28, 2006 4:27 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  A 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. ...

• First they laugh at you, then they fight you...

  Cheryl Buchanan | November 19, 2006 12:54 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  This 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...

• California Complex Courts' Seminar

  Paul Kiesel | November 17, 2006 1:16 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  California 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...

• Kaiser Permanente Criminally Charged with Patient Dumping

  Patrick DeBlase | November 16, 2006 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  City 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...

• Cell Phone Company Sued for Early Termination Fee

  Elaine Mandel | November 14, 2006 10:42 AM | 2 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Cell 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...

• Fire Dept. Pays $2.7 Million to Settle Dog Food Dinner Discrimination Case

  Patrick DeBlase | November 11, 2006 2:33 PM | 2 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  African 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...

• A Familiar Scenario in the Spokane Diocese

  Cheryl Buchanan | November 11, 2006 11:59 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  This 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...

• Are Your Kids Safe on the School Bus?

  Elaine Mandel | November 07, 2006 5:57 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  A 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...

• Judge Peter Lichtman priest molestation mediations

  Paul Kiesel | November 04, 2006 2:51 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Judge 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...

• Federal Suit Alleges Decade-Long Pattern of Violence and Corruption by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

  Michael Eyerly | November 03, 2006 5:47 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Federal 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"...