A new report from the Government Accountability Office has concluded that scores of commercial bus and tractor-trailer companies ordered to close because of safety violations remain in operation under new names. According to the report, at least 20 bus companies and nearly 1,100 trucking companies are believed to have dodged compliance that should have forced them to shut down. A commercial bus company blamed for a crash that killed 17 passengers in Texas last year was among the companies that changed named to avoid federal safety rules, the report said.

A New York jury has awarded $19.2 million to a man who was left paralyzed by the negligence of a Bronx hospital. According to court documents, staff at the Montefiore Medical Center failed to diagnose an infection on Wilfredo Figueroa’s spinal cord that ultimately caused paralysis. A spokesman for the hospital said they would likely appeal the verdict. 

Texas health officials are investigating whether a surgery technician implicated in a hepatitis C scare in Colorado may have spread the disease while she worked at a Houston-area hospital during 2005 and 2006. A spokesperson for the Texas health department said the agency is trying to determine whether Kristen Diane Parker had hepatitis C while she worked at Christus St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay. Parker admitted that she stole syringes containing a narcotic painkiller from Denver’s Rose Medical Center and replaced them with used syringes containing saline.

A new study has concluded that the use of tanning beds raised the risk of skin cancer by 75 percent among persons who began tanning before age 30. The risk assessment, produced by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, now classifies tanning beds in the same category as carcinogens such as cigarettes. The study appears in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.

An unknown number of body-building products marketed as nutritional supplements may contain steroids and could cause liver and kidney problems, the Food and Drug Administration has warned. Specifically, the warning applies to eight supplements sold by American Cellular Labs that the FDA says contain hidden steroids. However, the agency admitted it was not sure how many other products could be covered by the warning.

Jurors in California have ordered Georges Marciano to pay $370 million to five former employees who claimed the Guess Jeans co-founder harassed and defamed them, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the suit, Marciano accused the employees of stealing from him and conspiring to sell his property. Throughout the case, Marciano, now candidate for California governor, has accused the judge of bias and constitutional violations.

A federal judge has scheduled the first of three remaining wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for April 12. In scheduling the trial, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said he wanted the first trial to focus on a case involving victims aboard the hijacked planes. More than 90 other families who chose not to accept payments from a special Congressional fund have already settled their claims against aviation defendants.

A medical professor at the University of Minnesota received $6,000 from medical device maker Medtronic in exchange for testimony that urged lawmakers to continue funding medical research involving a bone growth product called Infuse, according to the New York Times. The newspaper reports that Dr. David W. Polly Jr. failed to disclose that he was working as a consultant for Medtronic when he testified before a Senate panel in 2006. Documents released by Senator Charles E. Grassley show that Polly received $1.14 million in fees and expenses from Medtronic from 2003 to 2007.

Sending or receiving text messages while driving significantly increased the risk of collisions among long-haul truck drivers, a new study has concluded. According to the study, the truckers took their eyes off the road for about five seconds while texting. Researchers say that while the study focused on truckers, the finding can be applied to all drivers.

A Tennessee attorney said he plans to file claims on behalf of scores of veterans who may have been exposed to hepatitis or HIV while being treated at VA hospitals. According to reports, as many as 10,000 veterans may have been exposed to infectious body fluids at three separate VA hospitals. The initial claims are being filed on behalf of 60 veterans who were infected or thought they were infected