All Topics

• Clean Air and Auto Emissions

  Rick Patterson | January 11, 2007 2:59 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  Senate President Mike Miller told a state conference of county officials meeting in Cambridge that legislation to reduce air pollution from cars "is going to pass. In an interview, several days earlier, House Speaker Mike Busch voiced a similar belief.According to The World Health Organization, currently air pollution leads to 4.6 million deaths a year, which is a larger number than the one...

• High Courts Rules on Railroad Negligence

  Rick Patterson | January 10, 2007 2:16 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  In the case of Norfolk Southern v. Sorrell, 05-746, Timothy Sorrell was awarded $1.5 million by a jury in Missouri state court. Mr. Sorrell claimed the railroad failed to provide him with a reasonably safe place to work. He suffered neck and back injuries when the dump truck he was driving fell on its side on a gravel road. However, Norfolk Southern claimed that it was Sorrell's own negligence...

• Runway Safety Is More than an Airport-only Challenge

  Rick Patterson | January 10, 2007 1:38 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  Most aviation accidents occur in close proximity to an airport. Runway safety is one of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) top safety priorities. In the late 1990's, the FAA decided to address non-compliant safety areas on a national level. Dane County Regional Airport was a high priority safety improvement project. The project was very involved, and the solution required moving...

• Wrongful Termination Award Slashed

  Rick Patterson | January 05, 2007 2:21 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  In Northern California, a jury award of more than $19 million has been slashed to $3.405 million. Charlene J. Roby was fired by McKesson Corporation after working for them for 25 years. Charlene had presented substantial evidence to the court that the company fired her based on a psychiatric condition. Additionally, she showed that the company failed to reasonably accommodate her disability....

• Medical Malpractice

  Rick Patterson | January 05, 2007 1:56 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  Medical malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and which causes injury to the patient. The American Academy of Family Physicians looks to a study entitled "Learning from Malpractice Claims about Negligent, Adverse Events in Primary Care in the United States", in suggesting that the medical community...

• ATV Accidents

  Rick Patterson | January 03, 2007 3:31 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  ATV sales amassed $3 billion last year, fueled by families and young children. ATV accidents and deaths have also been on the rise for over ten years. Many young children are getting behind the wheel of these adult toys. "Just as you would never put a 12-year-old behind a steering wheel, never put a child under 16 on an ATV," says Rachel Weintraub, assistant general counsel for the Consumer...

• Dog Bite Statistics

  Rick Patterson | January 02, 2007 2:59 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year more than 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs. Given that over 50 percent of all dog bites occur on the dog owner's property, the issue is a major source of concern for insurers.In 2005 dog bites cost insurers $317.2 million. In 2003 the cost was $321.6 million. The cost of an average dog bite went from $16,600 in...

• Lewis County Nursing Facility Cited

  Rick Patterson | January 02, 2007 2:36 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services imposed fines on a Lewis County Nursing Facility as a result of resident-on-resident sexual abuse and deficiencies in the quality of care, nutrition and errors in medication. Initially the fine was $4,050 per day starting on November 17, 2006. However, since November 20, 2006 the fine has been $150 daily. A 38-page report was obtained by NewsWatch50. ...

• Johnson & Johnson Exec. Alleges he was Fired for Safety Concerns

  Christina Cole | December 30, 2006 4:11 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  Former vice president of two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries claims in a lawsuit that he was fired for seeking recalls on numerous faulty products. One such product includes the Ortho Evra birth control patch which was the subject of at least 1,000 product liability suits. One of the world's largest medical and drug product makers, New Jersey based Johnson & Johnson, said last week they fired the...

• Car Accident - One Person Trapped in Vehicle

  Christina Cole | December 28, 2006 1:01 PM | 0 CommentsLancaster, CA

  An off duty California Highway Patrol officer responded to a motor vehicle accident that took place on Interstate 10 in Palm Desert early morning. At least one person is trapped inside the vehicle according to CHP reports.At approximately 7:23 a.m., a SUV reportedly crashed in to the center divide on eastbound Interstate 10, just east of Cook Street. According to California Highway Patrol, at...