Six People Confirmed Dead after a Small Plane Crashed at TPC Scottsdale Champions Golf Course
A small plane crashed at the TPC Scottsdale Champions golf course on Monday night, killing all six people aboard. The Piper PA24 Comanche left Scottsdale Airport for Las Vegas, but crashed soon after take-off. The golf course is less than a mile away from the airport, and the plane burst into flames after crashing. The…
Read MoreKmart Settles False Claims Act Case For $32 Million
At the end of December 2017, Kmart Corp agreed to pay out $32.3 million to the United States as part of a settlement of a lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act. The lawsuit, filed in 2008, alleged that Kmart overcharged government programs and private insurers for generic prescription drugs over a period of 12…
Read MoreReviewing 2017’s Biggest Car Recalls
As we move into a new year with a new round of car models hitting the market, let’s look back on the past year and some of 2017’s significant auto recalls. It’s worth noting that the number of recalls in 2017 dropped sharply from 2016—from 52,985,779 down to 28,146,661—although that difference was likely affected by…
Read MoreUber Halts Testing of Self-Driving Cars after a Woman is Struck and Killed in Tempe
A fatal car crash involving an autonomous vehicle occurred yesterday in Tempe, when 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was struck and killed in Tempe, AZ. The investigation is still underway, but this is what the news is currently reporting: The car was traveling at a speed of 38 to 40 mph on a 35 mph stretch of…
Read MoreSupreme Court Unanimously Rules to Limit Dodd-Frank Protections for Whistleblower Actions
A whistleblower is a person who exposes fraud, or illicit or illegal behavior in an organization. When that information is reported to the government, and the government is able to recover funds from the company or organization engaged in such behavior, that is called a qui tam action. (So, all qui tam actions are acts…
Read MoreGrand Canyon Helicopter Crash Claims a Fifth Life
On February 10, 2018, a group of friends took a helicopter tour from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. They were visiting our country from Britain, to celebrate Stuart Hill’s 30th birthday. Just shy of 5:30 pm, the EC-130 helicopter, operated by tour company Papillon Airways, crashed near Quartermaster Canyon on the Hualapai Nation. Three…
Read MoreIllinois Court of Appeals Ruled that Motorola Must Face Birth Defect Claims in Court
When a worker is harmed by toxic chemical exposure, he or she can only make a claim for workers’ compensation. But what happens when the worker’s baby suffers a birth defect of injury that could be linked to those same chemicals? Can you make a claim in court for negligence? The First District Court of…
Read MoreAutonomous Trucks Are Coming to Arizona
In early 2018, the Chinese startup TuSimple will formally open a research and testing facility here in Arizona, testing and developing its autonomous trucks. The company already completed a successful test run in July 2017, with a 170-mile public road trial of an autonomous truck from San Diego, CA to Yuma, Arizona. They kick off…
Read MoreExploding E-Cigarette Leaves Man with First- and Second-Degree Burn Injuries
For the last few years, e-cigarettes have become the go-to product for people trying to quit smoking. While no one debates the dangers associated with traditional tobacco products (lung cancer, COPD, mouth and throat cancer, heart disease – the list goes on and on), there is a fierce debate over whether or not “vaping” is…
Read MoreQui Tam Whistleblowers Were Paid $392 Million by the Federal Government in FY 2017
You can be rewarded if you help uncover fraud perpetrated by a business against the federal government. That is what a qui tam action is. The latest numbers are out for fiscal year 2017, and this was a big year for the False Claims Act. The National Law Review reports that the Department of Justice…
Read MoreDistracted Driving is Downright Dangerous
Many people find driving to be a relaxing activity. Not that grinding day-to-day commute, but perhaps a leisurely weekend drive out to admire the local scenery. However, your pleasure drive can turn dangerous if confronted with road hazards or distracted drivers, which is why you need to always remain vigilant behind the wheel. Did you…
Read MoreSomeone Crashed a Car into My House. What Do I Do Now?
On November 29th, a car crashed into an LA Fitness in Mesa. The details are still coming in, but ABC 15 reports that “a man rammed his vehicle into another occupied vehicle in the parking lot of LA Fitness at Stapley and University drives. According to police, the suspect hit the vehicle twice and, in…
Read MoreAvanir Pharmaceuticals Paid Problem Doctors to Prescribe and Promote Nuedexta
There is a medical condition called pseudobulbar affect, or PBA. It’s technically a rare nervous system disorder that causes people to laugh and/or cry uncontrollably. The Mayo Clinic says it is often brought on by brain injuries or strokes, or by neurological diseases, like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. There are only about 200,000 cases a year.…
Read MoreHoliday Shoppers, Take Note: What Not to Buy the Kids This Year
If you are like most holiday shoppers, you want to find gifts that will be loved and appreciated by your friends, family and loved ones. For some of us, though, the best gifts are the ones we give to the children in our family. Of course, you want to make sure those gifts for the…
Read MoreFiling False Claims and FEMA: Whistleblower Alert
We had our fair share of natural disasters in 2017. So far, the country has weathered hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires. Hundreds of people have died, and countless citizens have lost their homes and personal property. Clean up and recovery could take months or years. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created to…
Read MoreSelf-Driving Cars: Convenience or Danger on the Roads? Or Both?
Just a few weeks ago, the car development company Waymo started test-driving autonomous vehicles on Phoenix-area roads. Although they have been offering free taxi rides over the past year, there has always been a human behind the wheel ready to take over in case of trouble. Starting now, though, the vehicles are driving themselves. Waymo…
Read MoreHigh School Cheerleading Can Lead to Catastrophic Injuries
When we think about high school sports injuries, football is typically the first thing that comes to mind—head and neck injuries, specifically. Another group of athletes, however, who often suffer catastrophic injuries are competitive high school cheerleaders. Although they fly and twist through the air and make it look easy, the stunts our cheerleaders perform…
Read MoreBMW Recalls 1.4 Million Vehicles Because of Risk of Fire
BMW has issued two separate recalls of its vehicles, because some of their cars and SUVs have been catching fire. Replacement parts will become available on December 18th. If you own one of the affected vehicles you’re entitled to a free replacement at any BMW dealership. To find out if your car is on the…
Read MorePlaytex Recalls 5.5 Million Children’s Plates, Bowls, and Dining Sets
Playtex, one of the leading manufacturers of children’s products, has recalled over 3 million dining sets after receiving reports of children choking on unexpectedly detached plastic. The brand has a history of product safety issues (particularly in the cases in the 1980’s concerning toxic shock syndrome). In recent years, the company has struggled to avoid…
Read MoreFraternity Injuries and Liability
Fraternity membership, also known as Greek life, has become synonymous with alcoholic overindulgence, misbehavior, and lack of consequences. Families across the country are becoming wary of allowing their children to pledge a fraternity or sorority in the wake of widely publicized incidents such as the alcohol-related death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State Beta…
Read MoreWrongful Death from Defective Medical Devices
When you think about the miracles modern medicine can perform to save lives, to improve the quality of lives and relieve suffering, it is shocking to know that some of the medical devices that make those miracles possible can also cause irreparable harm and death to patients. Defective medical devices which were supposed to treat…
Read MoreTruck Underride Guards Can Save Lives in Truck Crashes
Underride guards are safety equipment that can be added to tractor trailers and other large, commercial trucks to protect drivers of passenger vehicles from fatal injuries. These pieces of equipment can keep a vehicle that collides with the side or back of semi-truck from going under the truck, thus turning a fatal crash into something…
Read MoreExamples of Qui Tam Whistleblower Healthcare Fraud Cases
The number of health care fraud cases under the False Claims Act (FCA) is increasing every year. A study conducted by Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF), reported 62 cases of qui tam health care fraud in the years between 1987 and 1992, but that number spiked to 417 cases in 2011, 412 in 2012, and in…
Read MoreBeware, Drug Manufacturers – You May Actually Have to Face the People You Hurt
The Supreme Court of the United States may be best known for hearing cases that capture the attention and imagination of the American public, but that is not all they do. In fact, on October 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States heard motions on a case that we have been paying close…
Read MoreThe Newest Vehicle Safety Watch List Is Out. Did Your Car Make the List?
Back in 2010, a young woman named Brooke Melton died in a car crash after the ignition switch in her 2005 Chevy Cobalt slipped into a different position. The lawsuit resulting from her death revealed that General Motors had known about the defective switch since 2001, covered it up, and done nothing to fix the…
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