A lawsuit has been filed against a Chattanooga, Tenn., bar that claims the establishment provided its employees with free alcohol that resulted in the death of a woman in a drunk-driving accident. Chattanooga Billiard Club employee Jeremy Lane was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI in the death of Susan Berry Wood in December of last year. According to the lawsuit, Lane stayed at the bar and drank “free alcohol” after his shift ended at 3 a.m. on Dec. 23. He left the bar four hours later “visibly intoxicated,” the suit claims, and hit Wood with his car. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

A Sacramento jury awarded an Oregon girl $24.3 million who was run over by an 18-wheeler six years ago driven by her father. The judge in the case ruled that the fact that her father was driving the truck was irrelevant, because he had been hired by the trucking company, Freeway Transport Inc., who the jury found liable. Diana Yuleidy Loza-Jimenez got accidentally caught under the back wheels of the truck, suffering severe injuries to her entire lower body. She will need an untold amount of surgeries that will affect her the rest of her life, an attorney said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case filed by a Pennsylvania family who has filed a lawsuit against vaccine maker Wyeth, claiming the vaccines their daughter received at the age of 6 months caused permanent neurological damage. Hannah Bruesewitz suffers from sever seizures and needs 100 percent care. Last year, a Philadelphia court ruled against the Bruesewitzes, saying that drug makers cannot be sued over injuries unavoidable if the vaccine was made properly. The family will argue to the Supreme Court that Wyeth could have manufactured a safer vaccine but failed to do so in a timely manner. The case will be heard this fall.

Two U.S. Congressmen have sent letters to Toyota Motors Inc., questioning whether or not the company had any basis for claiming it was “confident” of no defects in its electronic throttle controls or other systems. U.S. Reps. Bart Stupak and Henry Waxman said that they have not seen any evidence that Toyota has actually tested the electronic throttle controls to prove their safety. The Congressmen are asking for empirical evidence from these tests. Questions are also being raised over how Toyota decided which vehicles were to receive an upgraded brake-override system.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week began cracking down on companies they claim offer exaggerated nutritional facts about their products and hide information about unhealthy contents. The FDA released 17 warning letters to various companies to make due on their promise to improve food information for customers. The warning letters bring into questions various claims, including those on products that read “zero trans fats” but are high in saturated fats. Many of the companies that received the letters have said they look forward to working with the FDA resolve the issues.

The Wichita, Kan. School District has filed a lawsuit against four architecture and construction firms, claiming that the work they did on one of the schools in 2000 put the lives of students and teachers at risk due to poor construction. According to the lawsuit, the repairs to Hamilton Middle School, finished in 2004, left the school “structurally unsound and violated city codes and national construction standards.” The district is seeking $2 million in damages to cover the cost of repairs.

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in Maryland against a truck driver and his employer after the driver accidentally hit and killed a bicyclist last year. John Yates became caught in the rear wheels of the truck as it made a right turn. The lawsuit claims that the driver was negligent because he failed to signal for the turn and did not look to see if “it was clear and free of traffic - cyclists or pedestrians.” The lawsuit is seeking $5 million in damages.

A lawsuit has been filed against a Fort Worth, Texas, bar for allegedly serving alcohol to an already intoxicated man who then got into a car wreck, killing a woman. According to the lawsuit, the Pour House bar continued to serve Jesus Cisneros until he was “dangerously inebriated” and then allowed him to leave in his own vehicle. Baker’s family said they wish to send a message to all local drinking establishments so this does not happen again.

A group of patients at Lake Worth Manor nursing home in Florida have filed a lawsuit against the home, claiming it provided improper care and attempted to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. According to the lawsuit, Lake Worth Manor improperly kept patients until they developed other conditions that would restart Medicare or Medicaid payments. Lake Manor has received low ratings from state agencies and was on the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration “watch list” for 31 days since 2007.

A lawsuit has been filed by a Connecticut man who claims he was sexually molested by a priest between 1989 and 1992. The lawsuit also accuses New York’s former Edward Cardinal Egan of assigning Rev. John Castaldo to Thopsey Brooks’ parish after being warned of the man’s “bizarre sexual proclivities.” The lawsuit states that while he was in seminary, a church psychologist reported that Castaldo had “difficulty accepting his own sexual urges.” Castaldo was arrested in 2001 for soliciting sex from an undercover cop posing as a minor.