Helping You Put Your Life Back On Track After A Serious Injury
Do non-profit and for-profit nursing homes differ significantly in the quality of care they provide to their residents? In an “Economic Scene” article, the New York Times posed that question last week. The author cited several academic papers to suggest that the profit motive may interfere with the goal of providing top-quality care to nursing home residents, as compared to…
Hundreds of people around the country die every year when they are hit by trains while walking on or along railroad tracks. Despite such a seemingly large number of fatalities, the issue received little attention by lawmakers or the justice system. Railroad companies view the issue as a matter of trespassing and take few, if any, measures to prevent deaths…
A lawsuit filed by an anonymous company sought to remove allegedly false or misleading information about the company’s product from an online product safety database maintained by a federal agency. The plaintiff in Company Doe v. Tenenbaum, No. 8:11-cv-02959, slip op. (D. Md., Oct. 22, 2012), alleged that a report submitted to the website described injuries or damages that were…
A lawsuit brought under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) by an Indiana resident, involving allegations that an Indiana nursing home had defrauded the Medicaid system, failed to establish that the court had subject matter jurisdiction, according to a recent ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court held in United States ex rel. Black v. Health &…
“Energy drinks,” a general category of drinks with high levels of stimulants like caffeine, taurine, and guarana, have been the subject of much scrutiny in recent years, as their excessive consumption has allegedly led to multiple injuries and deaths. Four Loko, an energy drink that also contains alcohol, has been especially controversial, earning the nickname “Blackout in a Can” among…
A welder filed a products liability lawsuit, claiming that defects in the shirt he was wearing caused it to catch fire while he was operating a plasma torch. The suit, Hathaway v. Cintas Corporate Services, Inc., also asserted causes of action for breach of warranty and negligence. The District Court for the Northern District of Indiana granted summary judgment for…
We recently addressed a wrongful death lawsuit brought in federal court that invokes Nebraska’s fetal death statute, and how that law differs from corresponding statutes in Indiana. The lawsuit, Baumann v. Slezak, et al, also asserts a cause of action for alleged violations of federal commercial truck driving regulations, including restrictions on the number of hours a driver may be…
A Nebraska law allowing wrongful death claims for unborn children is getting its first test in a federal lawsuit. The suit, Baumann v. Slezak, et al, arises from a multi-vehicle accident that killed a family of four and their unborn child. It asserts causes of action for negligence and violations of federal trucking regulations. Several states, including Indiana, have passed…
An Illinois appellate court overturned a $30 million verdict in favor of a chemical-flavoring plant worker who claimed that a chemical used in popcorn butter flavoring caused him permanent lung damage. The verdict in Solis v. BASF Corporation was reportedly the largest in a series of popcorn flavoring lawsuits. The appellate court reviewed the question of whether Illinois’ statute of…
Indiana has been one of the hardest-hit states in a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that has caused more than three hundred illnesses and over twenty deaths in eighteen states. Health officials believe an injectable medication from a Massachusetts pharmacy is the source of the infection. The pharmacy has recalled the medicine and ceased its facility’s operations. It is already facing…