| | A struggling Kansas production company and former Wal-Mart contractor has begun selling footage of internal Wal-Mart meetings and management conferences. Critics of Wal-Mart and other researchers, including plaintiff attorneys, have been quick to seize on the opportunity to gain backstage access to the world’s largest retailer. "Once in a while you come upon documents that are helpful in a case," one plaintiff attorney said. Marcus Kabel, Chicago Tribune 04/09/2008 | |
| | Attorneys representing at least 70 law firms were awarded an additional $414 million Tuesday for their work in a 10-year fen-phen diet-drug lawsuit. According to the judge responsible for calculating the fees, work in the case was equivalent to 66 years of litigation. Attorneys had previously been awarded a combined $156 million. AP, Philadelphia Inquirer 04/10/2008 | |
| | The family of a murdered New Mexico convenience store clerk decided to settle its lawsuit against the chain Tuesday moments before a verdict was returned. In the lawsuit family members claimed that Allsup's Enterprises failed to provide adequate safety precautions for clerks working the overnight shift. The jury was prepared to award about $51 million in damages, one juror said. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. AP, Las Cruces Sun-News 04/09/2008 | |
| | Twelve Pennsylvania teachers should receive $1.2 million for age and gender discrimination, a federal jury has ruled. According to the lawsuit, the Elizabeth Forward school district paid the women less than their younger and male counterparts despite comparable experience levels. A federal jury also ruled against the school district in a similar case in 2006. Brian Bowling, PittsburghTribune-Review 04/10/2008 | |
| | More than 34,000 complaints of medical privacy violations have been filed with the government in the past five years. However, less than a dozen alleged Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations have been prosecuted since the government began enforcing the law. Now, recent privacy lapses at the UCLA Medical Center are raising new questions about the focus of HIPAA enforcement efforts. Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, LA Times 04/09/2008 | |
| | Health officials are trying to determine whether 62 deaths linked to a widely used blood thinner were caused by a Chinese-made contaminant. The Food and Drug Administration raised the heparin-related death toll earlier this week from 19 to 62 following it first detailed analysis of fatalities. Reports of suspicious death have tailed off sharply since Baxter International recalled heparin manufactured with Chinese ingredients. Walt Bogdanich, The New York Times 04/10/2008 | |
| | A number of unexplained safety lapses over the past few months aboard New Jersey Transit trains have passengers and some employees worried. In at least five cases, doors have improperly opened on moving trains, leaving passengers at risk of falling out. In another case, passengers were stranded after several cars became uncoupled from the engine. Officials at the transit board insist that the recent malfunctions are isolated incidents. Ken Belson and Vincent M. Mallozzi, The New York Times 04/10/2008 | |
| | Patients who used the discontinued inhaled insulin Exubera are at an increased risk for lung cancer, Pfizer reported today. According to one researcher, potential cancer risks will likely also be found in other inhaled insulin treatments. Pfizer abandoned rights to Exubera last year because of high costs and waning popularity among patients. Bloomberg , LA Times 04/10/2008 | |
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