The First Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a plaintiff’s pre-mortem pain and suffering claim that was initially dismissed by the district court. The claim is part of a 2014 case involving a woman who had been transferred to a New York City nursing home after hospitalization for severe respiratory distress and pneumonia, where she eventually died of cardiac arrest … Read the rest
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Doctor Pleads Guilty to Illegal Distribution of Opioids Resulting in Overdose
A doctor in Manhattan pleaded guilty early in December to illegally distributing fentanyl and oxycodone to patients who did not medically require it. As a result, at least one of his patients is dead from an overdose, having been prescribed hundreds of times the amount of oxycodone generally prescribed for medical purposes. The doctor, who worked for a major Manhattan … Read the rest
New Report Shows FDA Failed to Adequately Address Opioid Crisis
A new report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University shows that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to adequately address the opioid epidemic that has caused enormous suffering throughout the United States. The documents show the FDA failed to appropriately conduct oversight of the pharmaceutical industry and did not adequately train doctors to handle opioids and the associated risk … Read the rest
PG&E Settles Wildfire Lawsuits for $13.5 Billion
PG&E Corp., one of the largest utility providers in the country, has settled numerous lawsuits related to wildfires allegedly caused by its faulty equipment. The lawsuits arose around so-called “jumper cables,” which have been found to have a high likelihood of breaking or malfunctioning, which have resulted in at least 22 wildfires between 2017 and 2018. A federal judge has … Read the rest
Congress Passes Law Allowing Military to Sue for Malpractice
In the 1950s, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Feres v. U.S. that active duty members of the military couldn’t sue the government for negligent acts committed by other members of the armed forces, including medical malpractice claims. The Feres doctrine has been in place for close to 70 years, and in that time, it has received much criticism, … Read the rest
How to Identify Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
When people place their loved ones in the care of a nursing home, they do so with the hope and expectation that their loved ones will be properly cared for. Indeed, the law requires that nursing homes provide their residents with a level of care that will safeguard their health and make them as comfortable as possible. However, not every … Read the rest
Nassau County Takes Steps to Protect Pedestrians During “Fall Back”
Research has shown that pedestrian deaths increase in the period immediately after the end of Daylight Savings Time. The combination of fewer daylight hours plus the sudden shift in people’s sleep schedules has the combined effect of drastically increasing the danger to pedestrians in the weeks immediately after the “fall back” to Eastern Standard Time. Nassau County has recently announced … Read the rest
Hit-and-Run Driver in Bronx on the Run
Police are on the lookout for a dark-colored pickup truck that was involved in a hit-and-run on Pitman Avenue in the Bronx, according to ABC 7’s Eyewitness News. The incident occurred on September 22nd at 7:55 PM, when the truck backed over the woman as she was crossing the street, resulting in her suffering injuries to her legs … Read the rest
Juul Accused of Selling Tainted Vaping Pods
The vaping manufacturing company, Juul, has been sued for allegedly allowing as many as one million tainted vaping pods to be sold on the market. The suit was filed by Juul’s former vice president, Siddharth Breja, who claims he was fired for raising concerns about the contaminated pods, as well as additional concerns that the company was knowingly selling expired … Read the rest
Purdue Proposes Settlement for Opioid Suits in Bankruptcy Court
Purdue Pharma LP, one of the largest manufacturers of opioids in the United States, recently filed for bankruptcy in New York amidst a bevy of lawsuits related to the sale and marketing of opioid medications. Its now-former owners, the Sackler family, have been accused both individually and as Purdue’s board members of deliberately pushing its prescription painkillers, thus aggravating an … Read the rest
