A federal appeals court this past Tuesday struck down New York’s so-called Passenger Bill of Rights, which requires airlines to provide food, water, working toilet facilities and fresh air to passengers stuck on the ground for more than three hours. The law, which took effect January 1, 2008, and signed by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was supported by consumer groups angered … Read the rest
Month: March 2008
Jane Jarvis, Former Mets Organist, Displaced by NYC Crane Accident; She Had Seen Crane Swaying in the Wind (and other Mets nostalgia)
The 146-ton crane that collapsed in New York City this past March 15, forced 300 apartments to be evacuated. One of the people displaced by the collapse is Jane Jarvis, who played the organ for the New York Mets at Shea Stadium from 1964 through 1979.
Weeks before the crane toppled, Ms. Jarvis, who is now 92 years … Read the rest
Doctors Successfully Repel Aetnas Unwarranted Intrusion Into How They Perform Colonoscopies
After coming under attack from doctors, Aetna has withdrawn its intention, announced late last year, that in New Jersey, effective April 1, 2008, it would drop its coverage of propofol, the anesthesia typically used during colonoscopies, calling the same medically unnecessary. In reality, it is not the propofol that Aetna minds paying for; what Aetna wants to cut-out is the … Read the rest
Ensuring Every American Access to Broadband Is Essential For the Nation’s Health Care, Says Congress
Ensuring that every American has access to broadband throughout the country has been declared to be an essential health care imperative by the Joint Advisory Committee on Communications Capabilities of Emergency Medical and Public Health Care Facilities in a recently released report. The Joint Advisory Committee was established pursuant to legislation Congress passed in 2007 to implement the recommendations of … Read the rest
Will Congress Pass First Major Consumer Product Legislation in 18 Years?
Recent U.S. Senate approval, by a vote of 79 to 13, of a measure to overhaul the country’s consumer product laws and strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission that oversees the marketplace, moved Congress closer to passing the first major legislation in 18 years regulating dangerous products.
However, the Senate bill bears many more teeth than the version the House … Read the rest
More Details Emerge About Crane Accident at Construction Site
With the recovery of three more bodies, seven people – six construction workers and a woman visiting for St. Patrick’s Day – were killed in Saturday’s crane collapse on East 51stStreet in Manhattan. A preliminary city investigation found that the crane toppled after a steel collar used to tie it to the side of the building fell as … Read the rest
Construction Safety at Issue: Crane Accident Yesterday Kills 4 and Injures over 12; Deutsche Bank Tower Contractors Fined $464K and Issued 44 Citations for Fatal Fire
Just weeks after federal safety regulators proposed fining two contractors hired to demolish the condemned ground zero skyscraper Deutsche Bank tower $464,500 and accused them of a total of 44 safety hazards at the building in connection with a fire at the building on August 18, 2007, in which two firefighters died , yesterday at about 2:20 P.M., in what … Read the rest
Import Surveillance Division Established to Inspect Toys and Other Products for Potential Safety Hazards and Liabilities
29 million toys were recalled in 2007. This unfortunate and scary trend has continued in 2008.
Since the beginning of this year, at least 19 products manufactured overseas have been voluntarily recalled by manufacturers in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) due to high lead levels, choking and aspiration problems in infants and children, magnets potentially causing fatal … Read the rest
Bill Introduced in Senate Requires Nursing Homes to Provide Clearer Information About Their Ownership and Accountability
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl have introduced the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2008 which seeks to force nursing homes to provide clearer information about ownership and accountability. Confusion regarding ownership has made it difficult for regulators to identify parties responsible for poor care and shields owners from potential lawsuits. Additionally, a primary goal … Read the rest
Amid Privacy Concerns, Google Announces “Google Health”, an On-Line Health-Records Management System
Google has announced a pilot project called Google Health in which it will begin storing the medical records of 1,500 to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic who agreed to an electronic transfer of their personal health records so they can be retrieved through Google’s service, which will not be open to the general public. Each health profile, including information … Read the rest
