Legal Radar

Wester State Hospital Embroiled in Yet Another Sexual Harassment Scandal

Officials of Western State Hospital, Tacoma, Washington, are embroiled in yet another sexual harassment scandal. Five years ago they made a million dollar legal payout and had to fire a notorious employee and a CEO. AN independent investigation was launched to see if hospital authorities were failing to address the chronic sexual harassment between co-workers.
This year, the sexual harassment charge has come back to haunt the hospital with three lawsuits being filed against them, with a fourth in the process of being filed.
The CEO who replaced the earlier CEO has been fired and three hospital employees accused of harassment have been fired.
To read more about the case click here.

Family of Police Officer Seek Justice for His Death in an Accident Last Year

The family of a police officer, killed in a crash last August, has filed a lawsuit against the man responsible for the officer's death.
John William Belk III, an Opelika, Alabama, police officer, was killed while driving a jeep, when it collided head-on with an SUV, driven by Jimmy Vickerstaff Jr. Belk's wife and two sons have filed a lawsuit against Vickerstaff Jr. who was driving the vehicle and against Shawn Teresa Patterson who allegedly owned the car.
A criminal trial against Vickerstaff Jr. is still pending. He is being tried for manslaughter and for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.
At present, Vickerstaff Jr. is being held at the Lee County Detention Facility.
To read more about the case click here.

California Supreme Court Rules that Good Samaritans are Liable for Lawsuits

In a shocking ruling last Thursday, the California Supreme Court decided that a woman who helped her friend out of a car wreck was liable to face a lawsuit as she was not a qualified medical professional. The court ruled that good Samaritans who unintentionally harm people they are trying to help, can be sued.
This decision contradicts the state's 1980 Health and Safety code that states that 'no person, who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency, shall be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission.'
Lisa Torti helped her co-worker Alexandra Van Horn out of a car wreck in 2004. As a result of the accident Van Horn became a paraplegic. Now, Van Horn alleges that Torti's actions at the scene of the accident, contributed to her injuries as she provided non-medical assistance. Van Horn also sued the driver of the car she was riding in, Anthony Glen Watson.
To read more about the case click here.

Economic Slump Affects Justice - New Hampshire Suspends Jury Trials for a Month

New Hampshire suspended all its jury trials for a month after court budgets were slashed following the economic instability rocking the U.S. at the moment. 19 other stated have also slashed their court budgets and other state services.
Cash-strapped New Hampshire is unique in that, it has become a leading example of the problems all the states are facing.
To save $73,000 in jurors' per diems, the state courts will halt for a month all civil and criminal jury trials.
To read more click here.

Woman Not Satisfied With Baltimore Federal Jury Verdit Files For Damages Again

A Colombia woman who claims to have been forced to quit her work shortly after filing a criminal lawsuit against an executive of her company, American Office Equipment Co. after being assaulted at their retreat by him, was disappointed with the jury's verdict earlier this month.
A federal jury in Baltimore awarded Barbara A. Surran $53,000. She has filed a motion for a new trial solely on the issue of damages.
Harriet Cooperman, attorney for James A. Kuntz, the executive of American Office who assaulted Surran, is happy with the verdict since her client had offered Surran $250,000 to settle the case, in late October this year.
Kuntz could recover $3,498 from Surran, under federal rules for not accepting his offer two months ago which nearly equals the $3,880 in medical damages that Surran was awarded for counseling after the incident.   
To read more about the case click here.

County Constable Files Suit Against County for Violation of his Rights

A veteran county constable, who is facing a lawsuit to oust him from the force, is filing a counter lawsuit.
Roane County, Tennessee constable Mark Patton is seeking $250,000 in damages from the county, 15 commissioners, the county attorney, Tom McFarland and Roane County purchasing agent, Lynn Farnham. He is also suing Johnny Griffin, an insurance agent for an auto company.
Patton alleges that Griffin was directed by Farnham to remove the county from the bond Patton had obtained to satisfy requirements for office.
To read more about the case click here.

Taser Deaths Land San Jose Police in Trouble

 

The death of a man at the hands of police officials in San Jose after they used a taser gun on him landed them in a civil lawsuit which was resolved recently when officials agreed to pay the man's wife and child, $70,000 in damages.
Ever since San Jose authorities issued the weapons to officers in 2004, the safety of the weapons has come into question.
Jose Angel Rios is one of five people who died after being shocked by police tasers since they were introduced as a less-deadly alternative to guns. His case was among two taser related deaths which were backed by the coroner's report.
To read more about the case click here.

Pic courtesy J. Star/ Jaybird from flickr.com

Partial Victory for Investigator Who Accused a Fresno County District Attorney of Gender Discrimination

A Fresno County Superior Court jury decided in favour of an investigator who alleged gender discrimination by the county district attorney, Elizabeth Egan and her predecessor, Ed Hunt. The jury decided that while the attorneys were not guilty of denying the plaintiff a promotion because of her gender they were guilty of discriminating against her in retaliation to the complaint she filed with the state department of fair employment and housing in 2002.
The jury decided that Judy Tucker had to be paid $300,000 in damages for future lost wages and $50,000 for the mental anguish she suffered after filing her complaint.
Tucker alleged that she was denied a promotion in favour of male candidates who were less qualified and less educated.
David Petrie, Tucker's lawyer stated in his arguments that Egan had launched an internal investigation into Tucker's personal life and that she had also failed to give his client an evaluation for nearly five years.
To read more click here.

Landmark Tobacco Case Shuttled Across Missouri Courts Finally Faces Decisive Trial

A landmark tobacco case that was first tried three years ago and which was returned to the Missouri Court of Appeals by the Missouri Supreme Court in July this year, finally moved forward this week.
In February 2005, a Jackson County jury found Brown &Williamson responsible for the death of Barbara Smith who died of a heart attack at the age of 73 after smoking Kool cigarettes for almost 50 years. The jury awarded Smith's family, who brought the case against the tobacco company, $2 million in compensatory damages which they later reduced to $500,000. They also set a precedent by awarding the family $20 million in punitive damages - the largest ever in a Missouri smoking case.
The tobacco company appealed and since the basis of the jury's decision for the punitive award was unclear, the Missouri Court of Appeals ordered a new trial in August last year only for the issue of punitive damages.
The Supreme Court heard the trial in February but sent the case back to the appeals court in July. Thus the appeals court re-adopted its earlier August 2007 decision and sent the case back to the trial court for a trial exclusively for punitive damages. 

Pic courtesy yoppy from flickr.com

The Quaids Win Trial Against Cedar-Sinai Medical Center For Lethal Heparin Dose Administered to their Newborn Twins

Hollywood star, Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly will get $750,000 from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where their newborn twins were administered lethal doses of the anticoagulant heparin, last year.

Workers at the medial center administered the newborn twins a dose of the blood thinner, 1000 times the normal dose.

The settlement only covers the parent's damages but the Quaids can still file lawsuits on behalf of their children.

The hospital on its part, denied any wrongdoing although, at the time of the overdose, which was administered to several patients apart from the twins, the hospital's chief medical officer called the incident a 'preventable error, involving a failure to follow standard policies and procedures'.

The Quaids had also filed a lawsuit against the maker of the blood thinner saying that their packaging was confusing but their claim was dismissed.

Pic courtesy public citizen from flickr.com