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Family Alleges Government Negligence in Botulism Case | 
| The family of an infant who contracted botulism has filed a lawsuit that alleges the infection originated from a large pile of dirt and debris dumped near the family home by the federal government. The family claims that federal officials should have conducted more strenuous tests on the soil before dumping it in a residential area. An Army investigation into the incident maintains that the bacteria occurred naturally. Bradley Olson, Baltimore Sun 08/26/2007 | Read Article: Baltimore Sun |
Appeals Court Cuts Punitive Damages Award | 
| The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered that punitive damages stemming from a contractual dispute between two healthcare firms be reduced from $2 million to $750,000. The court reasoned that punitive damages that are 18 times greater than the compensatory award are unconstitutionally excessive. A trial judge had previously reduced the original $30 million punitive award to $2 million. Shannon P. Duffy, Law.com 08/27/2007 | Read Article: Law.com |
Home Health Aid Schools Admit to Fraud | 
| The former operators of two schools for health aides have pleaded guilty to charges that they sold state certificates to people who never received training. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo described the schools as certificate mills that conspired to defraud Medicaid by billing for subsidized home healthcare. The state attorney general’s office is currently investigating dozens of other schools for similar violations. Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times 08/24/2007 | Read Article: The New York Times |
La. Attorney General Appointed to Represent Flood Victims | 
| A federal judge has ordered Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti Jr. to take up the case of thousands of citizens without attorneys who wish to pursue Katrina-related lawsuits before the Aug. 28 deadline. The federal judge authorized the attorney general to file new paperwork for approximately 350,000 people who met a March 1 deadline signaling their intent to file claims against the government. People who have already retained counsel will be removed from the original list of 350,000. Susan Finch, New Orleans Times-Picayune 08/25/2007 | Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune |
Companies Reach Settlement Over SAT Scores | 
| The firms that own and administer the SAT have agreed to pay $3 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed over thousands of inaccurate test scores. Approximately 4,000 students filed the lawsuit against The College Board and NCS Pearson claiming that a problem with scanning their answer sheets caused them to receive lower than actual scores. Each student covered by the class will receive about $275. Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post 08/25/2007 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Insurance | 
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Flood Insurance Program in Need of Repair | 
| Recent flooding in the Midwest has rekindled calls for Congress to reform the nation’s primary flood insurance program. The 2005 flooding caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left the National Flood Insurance Program roughly $20 billion in debt and vulnerable to collapse. While critics have urged government leaders to overhaul the program, recently proposed legislation has stalled in the House. Ben Evans , Houston Chronicle 08/27/2007 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Issues | 
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Attorney General Gonzales Resigns | 
| United State Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has told President Bush that he will resign. Gonzales, who has received increasing scrutiny over his handling of the Justice Department, told Bush of his plans in a phone call on Friday. An official announcement of the resignation is expected to take place Monday morning in Washington. Steven Lee Myers and Philip Shenon, The New York Times 08/27/2007 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Products | 
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Drug Patches Pose Unseen Threats | 
| Despite cautions from the Food and Drug Administration, health care providers are failing to head warnings about the dangers of using skin patches to administer a powerful painkiller. Scores of deaths have been traced to accidental overdoses by people wearing the drug delivering patches and the use of patches is likely to rise as new drugs switch to patch form. Drug safety advocates have urged the FDA to reexamine its safety policies regarding drug patches. Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, LA Times 08/27/2007 | Read Article: LA Times |
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