Consumer and child health advocates are warning parents about the dangers of treadmills following the treadmill-related death of Mike Tyson’s daughter earlier this week. According to experts, home exercise equipment is responsible for about 25,000 injuries to children each year. Exodus Tyson died after being discovered by her brother with a treadmill cord wrapped around her neck.
The number of mortgage-related lawsuits filed during the first quarter of this year jumped by more than 50 percent, an online mortgage news analyst has reported. According to MortgageDaily.com, 81 mortgage-related lawsuits were filed during the first quarter of 2009 compared to only 50 during the first quarter of 2008. Attorneys familiar with the matter said the rise in filings is not surprising given the effects of the crisis on both homeowners and investors.
Iowa has agreed to pay nearly $150,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a mentally ill woman who blinded herself while being held in a state prison. According to the lawsuit, Shayne Eggen, who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was repeatedly held in solitary confinement in violation of her constitutional rights. Eggen’s case brought widespread attention to care provided to mentally ill inmates in America’s prisons.
The family of a woman who died after waiting more than 24 hours to be treated at a New York City psychiatric emergency room will receive $2 million as part of a settlement with the city, the New York Times reports. Video of the incident showed workers at Kings County Hospital Center ignoring Esmin Elizabeth Green as she lay on the floor of the city-run hospital. A federal report issued earlier this year found multiple problems at the facility, including attempts by employees to falsify records to cover up neglect.
A federal jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $18.3 million to a musician paralyzed in a 2005 rollover crash. Following a three week trial, jurors found that Ford was 100 percent at fault for a defect in the seat latching mechanism that caused the man’s head to slam into the roof when the vehicle skidded off an icy road in Iowa. The award will be used to pay for past and future care, the man’s attorney said.
A California man should receive $21.1 million for injuries he sustained when his Land Rover Discovery sport utility vehicle rolled over following a highway collision, a judge has ruled. In the decision, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien noted that the vehicle’s roof crushed easily and its high center of gravity rendered it prone to rollovers. The accident left 53-year-old Sukhsagar Pannu unable to move his arms or legs.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a lawsuit that resulted in a $13 million punitive damages award against Chrysler LLC. The case stemmed from a 2001 rear-end collision that resulted in the death of an 8-month-old boy. The lawsuit claimed that the front passenger seat of the Dodge Caravan in which the boy was riding collapsed, resulting in a fatal skull fracture. A Tennessee appeals court had previously ruled to uphold the damages against Chrysler.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday that it will issues a serious citation to retail giant Wal-Mart for failing to implement safety measures that would have prevented the death of a temporary employee crushed in a holiday shopping stampede. The maximum fine for such a violation is $7,000. According to figures from the most recent quarter, Wal-Mart makes about $23,000 per minute.
A judge on Tuesday granted summary judgment in favor of AstraZeneca in a lawsuit alleging that anti-psychotic drug Seroquel caused a Kansas woman to develop diabetes. The dismissal of the case arose after the judge ruled to exclude expert testimony for the plaintiff. The case was scheduled to go to trial next month.
Fiat has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to shield the automaker from "unknowable, but potentially vast" tort claims as it prepares to take over bankrupt Chrysler. Attorneys for Fiat argue that the company should not be held liable for injuries caused by vehicles it had no role in putting on the road. Consumer groups and plaintiff attorneys have asked the judge to protect consumers with current or future injury claims against the struggling automaker.
