TrialSmith Eclips • TrialSmith Home • Search Litigation Bank • About April 21, 2009 -  Family Struggles for Coverage After Layoff -  Trial Begins Over Katrina Damages -  Family of Crane Collapse Victim Settles Lawsuit -  Advocates, Families Push for More Bus Oversight -  Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Building Collapse -  Hearing Could Affect Banana Worker Cases -  Trucker Liable for Waving On Other Driver, Jury Finds -  Study Links Ovary Removal to Health Risks     This Service Sponsored Exclusively by The James Street Group A Member Service of TrialSmith.com   Insurance Family Struggles for Coverage After Layoff Danna Walker’s recent layoff from DHL has left her family among the growing ranks of Americans struggling to gain access to affordable healthcare because of pre-existing medical conditions. Walker’s problems are heightened because her son is struggling with cancer. Some projections estimate that as many as nine million people have lost employee-sponsored healthcare since 2007.  Kevin Sack, The New York Times  04/20/2009 Read Article: The New York Times     Laws/Cases Trial Begins Over Katrina Damages A federal judge heard opening arguments Monday in what could be a groundbreaking case over home and property damages caused by Hurricane Katrina. Plaintiffs in the case accuse the federal government of magnifying the hurricane damage by building a 76-mile-long channel along the eastern portion of New Orleans. The government maintains that damages caused by Katrina were unrelated to the canal. The trial is expected to take four weeks.  John Schwartz, The New York Times  04/20/2009 Read Article: The New York Times     Family of Crane Collapse Victim Settles Lawsuit The family of a man who was crushed in a 2006 crane collapse has settled its lawsuit against two Seattle companies responsible for erecting the crane, the Seattle Times reports. According to the lawsuit, Lease Crutcher Lewis and Magnusson Klemencic Associates were negligent in the installation, design and operation of the crane. The undisclosed settlement comes as the case was scheduled to go to trial this month.  Ian Ith, The Seattle Times  04/20/2009 Read Article: The Seattle Times     Advocates, Families Push for More Bus Oversight A string of deadly bus accidents on U.S. highways has safety advocates and the families of accident victims calling from increased oversight of the motor coach industry. During the last seven years for which data are available, more than 400 people have died in bus crashes or about four times the number killed in passenger trains and about 25 times the number killed in commercial airline accidents. It is unclear whether pending legislation to address bus safety will succeed in Congress this year.  Sholnn Freeman, The Washington Post  04/21/2009 Read Article: The Washington Post     Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Building Collapse A construction subcontractor and job placement agency were negligent in the death of a worker crushed in a building collapse, a lawsuit filed last week claims. Ramiro Cigala died last week when a building he was working in collapsed while undergoing renovation. The lawsuit, filed by Cigala’s widow, does not specify damages.  Houston Chronicle, Houston Chronicle  04/20/2009 Read Article: Houston Chronicle     Hearing Could Affect Banana Worker Cases A three-day hearing is scheduled to begin Tuesday to determine whether to throw out two lawsuits accusing the world’s largest food processor of exposing Nicaraguan food workers to pesticides that made them sterile. Attorneys for Dole Food Co. have accused attorneys for the plaintiffs of fraudulently recruiting people who had never worked on banana plantations to participate in the lawsuit. The outcome of the hearing could affect more than 40 pending cases and millions of dollars in unpaid damages.  Gina Keating, Reuters  04/21/2009 Read Article: Reuters     Trucker Liable for Waving On Other Driver, Jury Finds A New Jersey jury has ordered a truck driver to pay $750,000 after finding that he contributed to an accident that injured a motorcyclist. During the trial, jurors heard testimony that the truck driver had waved another driver into traffic. As the other driver crossed a highway, he collided with a motorcycle ridden by the plaintiff. New Jersey law allows drivers to be held liable if they wave others into traffic.  AP, Philadelphia Inquirer  04/18/2009 Read Article: Philadelphia Inquirer     Study Study Links Ovary Removal to Health Risks A new study has found increased health risks for women who elect to have their healthy ovaries removed during hysterectomy procedures. According to the study, to be published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, women whose ovaries were removed were more likely to develop life threatening conditions including coronary heart disease and lung cancer. About half of the 600,000 women who undergo hysterectomies each year also have their ovaries removed.  Deborah L. Shelton, LA Times  04/21/2009 Read Article: LA Times     Published by TRIALSMITH, Litigation Tools for Trial Lawyers