GAO reports violating truck and bus companies stay on the road
- July 31
- Blog
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of tractor-trailer and bus companies ordered to shut down because of federal safety violations ranging from suspended licenses to possible drug use have stayed on the road by using different names, investigators say. The study by the Government Accountability Office, obtained Wednesday by T... CONTINUE READING
RESEARCHERS SAY TANNING BEDS MAY CAUSE CANCER
- July 29
- Blog
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 A recent AAJ article states that the CBS Evening News (7/28) reported that, according to a paper published online July 29 in The Lancet Oncology, tanning beds may "pose as big a risk as tobacco and asbestos." The article noted that Medical correspondent Jon LaPook, MD, explained that the "international panel of cancer experts upgraded the warning on tanning beds from prob... CONTINUE READING
Senate Bill Introduced to Restore Rights of Injured Service members
- July 23
- Blog
According to a recent AAJ article the legal rights of servicemembers injured by medical negligence would be restored under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate. The article states that a 1950 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Feres v. United States prevents servicemembers on active duty from holding the government accountabl... CONTINUE READING
San Francisco train crash- operator investigated
- July 20
- Blog
According to a July 19, AP report "The operator of a light-rail train that crashed [in San Francisco], injuring dozens of passengers as well as the operator, came under scrutiny on Sunday as federal investigators tried to figure out why he turned off the automatic controls moments before the accident. Ted Turpin, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the operator... CONTINUE READING
Disney monorail death to be investigated
- July 8
- Blog
The Chicago Tribune reported on July 7 that in addition to OSHA, "the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday it will investigate the deadly collision on Walt Disney World's monorai... CONTINUE READING
Washington DC train crashes into stopped train
- June 24
- Blog
Adressing the deadly Washington D.C. train crash Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board said the operator of the train that "slammed into a stationary train in front of it apparently had activated the emergency brakes in a failed effort to stop before the accident." as reported in the Washington Post. Hersman said the "emergency brake button, known as the 'mushroom,' was depres... CONTINUE READING
State Attorney Generals seek consumer protection in GM bankruptcy
- June 23
- Blog
As reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Attorneys general in 11 states, including Missouri and Illinois, have filed objections to General Motors Corp.'s reorganization plan. They have as... CONTINUE READING
FAA seeks new antifatigue rules after Buffalo crash
- June 16
- Blog
According to the Buffalo News " The Federal Aviation Administration will seek to modernize rules governing when and how much pilots can fly after the Feb. 12 crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Clarence raised concerns that the crew might have been fatigued. Randy Babbitt, the new FAA administrator, announced his commitment to new anti-fatigue rules Monday as regional airline executive... CONTINUE READING
COURT SEALS DOCUMENTS AT EXPENSE OF CONSUMER SAFETY
- June 15
- Blog
An AAJ article June 4, 2009 looks at the practice of courts sealing litigation documents to the advantage of manufacturers in certain product cases. For example, Bausch & Lomb settled hundreds of cases involving contact solution that involved blindness where the court ordered the documents to be sealed. This essentially... CONTINUE READING
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES THAT JUDGES MUST RECUSE THEMSELVES IF THERE IS AN APPEARANCE OF BIAS
- June 9
- Blog
An AAJ article today reported on the case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. in which the Court held in a 5-4 decision that state court judges that get big campaign contributions cannot sit in judgment of their biggest contributors. In this due process decision the court ruled that a judge must step down when one of the litigants is a major campaign contributor t... CONTINUE READING