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• TTLA Home • Search Litigation Bank • About	September 07, 2007
-  Refunds to be Issued in ‘Use it and Lose it’ Complaint -  Senate Seeks Disclosure of Payments to Doctors -  State Attorney General Files Class Action Against Insurers -  BP Plant Manager Questioned on Safety Reports -  Ruling Provides Access to Information on Doctors -  Public Health System to Publish Errors Online -  Senate Panel Questions Mining Agency’s Safety Record -  Toy Companies Press for Increased Testing -  San Antonio Court of Appeals: Damages -  Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts -  Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts -  Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts -  Ground Zero Health Findings Called into Question -  Youth Suicide Rate Jumps in Wake of Warning     This Service Sponsored Exclusively by The James Street Group A Member Service of Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Announcements     Laws/Cases   Refunds to be Issued in ‘Use it and Lose it’ Complaint Farmers Insurance Group has agreed to pay $3.4 million in fines and customer refunds to settle complaints that the insurer unjustly raised premiums or cancelled policies of consumers who filed claims. According toCalifornia insurance regulators who filed the complaint, Farmers routinely penalized policy holders for using their insurance for its intended purpose, an industry practice known as “use it and lose it.” Refunds are expected to be extended to approximately 6,000 customers.  Marc Lifsher, LA Times  09/06/2007 Read Article: LA Times       Senate Seeks Disclosure of Payments to Doctors A Senate bill introduced Thursday would require drug and medical device manufacturers to report almost all payments and gifts made to doctors. The proposed bill is far more comprehensive than existing state requirements because it requires companies to disclose a wider range of gifts and also covers the makers of medical devices. Members of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry have continually defended such payments to doctors as appropriate.  Gardiner Harris, The New York Times  09/07/2007 Read Article: The New York Times       State Attorney General Files Class Action Against Insurers Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti has filed a class action lawsuit that accuses nearly every private insurance company of misusing flood exemptions to deny claims for approximately 150,000 hurricane victims. According to the lawsuit, the companies violated rules that require insurers to explicitly state exclusions by which claims may be denied. A similar argument has already been dismissed by federal courts. The attorney general said he hopes to pursue the lawsuit in state courts.  David Hammer, New OrleansTimes-Picayune  09/07/2007 Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune       BP Plant Manager Questioned on Safety Reports Testifying during the first civil trial stemming from an explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City, the manager of the plant said that he did not believe safety was a major concern, despite reports that hazards were present. Don Parus was questioned about the findings of reports that indicated many workers feared for their lives because of safety issues at the plant. The trial, which began Wednesday, is expected to last about two months.  Brad Hem,Houston Chronicle  09/06/2006 Read Article: Houston Chronicle       Ruling Provides Access to Information on Doctors A federal judge ruled last month that the Health and Human Services Department must disclose specific data about doctors from the Medicare claims database. The judge’s ruling could open the door for consumers to access information on more than 700,000 doctors. Consumer advocates hope the ruling will signal a shift toward transparency in the healthcare industry. The Health and Human Service Department said it has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.  Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, LA Times  08/30/2007 Read Article: LA Times       Healthcare   Public Health System to Publish Errors Online The largest public health system in the nation plans to unveil a new Web site Friday that will make public infection and death rates at its 11 hospitals accessible to the public. Officials at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation say that exposing flaws in the healthcare system is an essential step to improvement. According to experts and patient advocates, the public health system’s decision to publicize records extends far beyond state requirements.  Sarah Kershaw, The New York Times  09/06/2007 Read Article: The New York Times       Labor/Employment   Senate Panel Questions Mining Agency’s Safety Record In a Senate committee hearing Wednesday lawmakers voiced concerns over whether the agency charged with ensuring mine safety acted responsibly in attempting to prevent a Utah mine collapse last month. Six men are presumed dead from the collapse at the Crandall Canyon Mine and three more were killed during a rescue attempt. The head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration has defended the agency’s approval of the mining technique believed to have caused the collapse.  Sarah Abruzzese, The New York Times  09/06/2007 Read Article: The New York Times       Products   Toy Companies Press for Increased Testing On the heels of a series of recalls, toy manufacturers are asking the federal government to mandate industry-wide safety testing standards. Toy makers hope that increased safety testing will help restore consumer confidence in time for the upcoming holiday season. Under the proposed plan toy companies would be required to hire independent contractors to test a portion of toys in production and establish uniform requirements laboratories conducting the testing. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has not taken a position on the proposal.  Eric Lipton and Louise Story, The New York Times  09/07/2007 Read Article: The New York Times       TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES   San Antonio Court of Appeals: Damages The trial court erroneously awarded judgment against Summit Care Corp., Summit Care Texas LP, Sylvia Casas and Robert Gundling in an amount exceeding the total of one compensatory damages cap, pursuant to former Texas Revised Civil Statutes Art. 4590i, §11.02. Casas v. Paradez, San Antonio Court of Appeals, No. 04-06-00417-CV, 9-5-20  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  09/07/2007 Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)       Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts Dr. Thomas M. Zellers did not establish that the Turners' health-care liability claim could have been brought under the tort claims act against the governmental unit. Accordingly, the trial court erred in granting the motion to dismiss. Turner v. Zellers, Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-06-00093-CV, 9-4-2007.  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  09/07/2007 Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)       Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts The trial court did not err in denying the three physicians' objections to evidence attached to the expert report of Dr. Christina Cruz Grost. Romero v. Lieberman, Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-06-00810-CV, 8-29-2007.  , TexasLawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  09/07/2007 Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)       Dallas Court of Appeals: Torts Sufficient evidence supported the verdict of the jury, which found no negligence and no responsibility for William Nichols' conduct on the part of the M1 defendants. Crooks v. M1Real Estate Partners Ltd., Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-05-01593-CV, 8-29-2007.  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  09/07/2007 Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)       Study   Ground Zero Health Findings Called into Question Researchers are questioning the results of a number of studies published byMount Sinai Medical Center doctors on health problems stemming from theWorld Trade Center collapse. Specifically, experts charge that doctors from the J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine failed to follow adequate data collection methods and have exaggerated findings. Doctors at the center have published multiple studies on the effects of dust and other toxic materials on ground zero workers.  Anthony DePalma and Serge F. Kovaleski, The New York Times  09/07/2007 Read Article: The New York Times       Youth Suicide Rate Jumps in Wake of Warning In the year following government warnings about potential dangers of children and teens using antidepressants, the youth suicide rate jumped significantly, researchers have found. According the report, published in the American Journal of Psychology, antidepressant prescriptions for youths fell 22% and suicides increased 14% after regulators ordered a black box warning for the medications. The increase is the largest since the government began recording suicide statistics in 1979.  Thomas H. Maugh II and Denise Gellene,LA Times  09/06/2007 Read Article: LA Times
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