Newly gathered e-mails could provide a different view on who could have prevented the deaths of six civilian truck drivers during a 2004 attack of a KBR convoy in Iraq. A Houston judge initially ruled that the U.S. Army had control over the deployment of the convoy, but new-found e-mails may point the other way. According to the Houston Chronicle, e-mails have been uncovered that suggest many KBR supervisors did not believe they were constrained by military orders — a constraint that is central to KBR’s defense in the federal case. U.S. District Judge Gray Miller is expected to rule soon on whether the case will proceed to trial in 2010 or be dismissed again.

An Arizona school district is facing a $350,000 lawsuit filed by a high school football player who was injured in 2008 on a high school practice field. The lawsuit claims that Blake Garcia severely injured his ankle in September 2008 because of “deplorable” condition on the Lake Havasu High School practice field and, as a result, could not earn an athletic scholarship to college. Garcia needed surgery to repair the injury and four months of home rest. The lawsuit also states that the field’s condition has been the subject of previous criticism and litigation.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday recalled all Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds with cords – around 50 million – due to the risk of child strangulation and death. The Chicago Tribune reports that eight child deaths and 16 near-strangulations from these types of shades have occurred since 2001. A nonprofit group called Parents for Window Blind Safety was founded earlier this decade by a parent whose child was strangled by shades in 2002 and has been lobbying the federal government for action. Several major retailers, including Wal-Mart and JCPenney, also are participating in the recall, the Tribune reports.

A four-year lawsuit initially brought on by a whistleblower against Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Penn., was settled this week. Lourdes Health System agreed to pay the federal government $7.9 million to settle claims against two of its Philadelphia suburb hospitals, Lourdes Medical and Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, who allegedly inflated charges to Medicare patients to obtain “outlier” payments from the government. Hospital officials said that the settlement funds will not adversely impact hospital

A former Montgomery County, Md., police officer has filed a workers’ compensation lawsuit against the county, claiming he developed heart problems in 2005 while on the job. According to the lawsuit, Steven Hood was treated for hypertension in 2005. According to the Washington Examiner, Maryland law presumes a work-related cause for heart disease among public safety officials and that they are therefore eligible for workers’ compensation.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against an Ohio daycare by parents of children who were allegedly given the supplement Melatonin to make them sleep during the day. The lawsuit accuses the daycare and the church that owns it of negligence, battery and negligent supervision. The lawsuit claims that parents of many of the children “spent large sums of money for doctors and hospitals due to the medication.” The lawsuit seeks at least $25,000 in damages.

An Irving, Texas, family has filed suit against the North Texas Toll Authority, claiming the median wall on the Dallas North Tollway is unsafe. In December 2007, William Bond was killed on the tollway when a driver traveling in the opposite direction struck the median, sending chucks of concrete through Bond’s windshield, killing him instantly. The lawsuit claims the wall was below current standards and that the Tollway Authority was negligent in its maintenance.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against G.E. Healthcare Tuesday in Huntsville, Ala., on behalf of 16 people who allegedly received high doses of radiation from the company’s CT perfusion scanners. According to the lawsuit, G. E. Healthcare “carelessly researched the design and failed to adequately test its products, and that the scanners lacked safety features to warn of overdoses.” The suit is seeking a minimum of $5 million to cover future healthcare costs and payments.

The city of Montgomery, W.Va., has agreed to pay $500,000 to a Charleston, W.Va., couple were falsely arrested and beaten by a former Montgomery police officer in September 2008. The Charleston Gazette reported that Twan and Lauren Reynolds were assaulted by Officer Matthew Leavitt during a traffic stop. Leavitt allegedly beat Twan Reynolds with a “slapjack” and forcibly removed Lauren Reynolds from the vehicle. Leavitt was sentenced to two years in prison for the incident for violating the Reynolds’ civil rights.

The city of Miami Beach has agreed to pay $5 million to the family of Zachary Breaux who drowned in 1997 while trying to save a woman who was caught in a riptide. According to a 2005 Florida Supreme Court ruling, cities have a responsibility to warn beachgoers of dangerous conditions that are known or should be known. At the time of the drowning, that portion of Miami Beach had neither lifeguards nor warning signs or flags during dangerous swimming conditions. The city also agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of the woman who drowned, Eugenie Poleyeff.