Couple Awarded $117 Million in Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
On April 11, a New Jersey couple was awarded $80 million in punitive damages from Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc America. This comes a week after a Middlesex County jury had already awarded Stephen Lanzo $30 million and $7 million to his wife in compensatory damages. Lanzo claims his long-term use of asbestos-contaminated J&J…
Read MoreNine Deaths, Dozens of Injuries, Hundreds of Crashes – and Goodyear Has Known the Entire Time
In 1996, Goodyear started installing the G159 275/70R 22.5 tire – the G159, from here on – on RVs. That same year, the first complaint was made, claiming that the tire failed. To hear Goodyear tell it, there have only been 7 injuries and 58 tire failure reports since 1996. In truth, there have 74…
Read MoreCrash or Accident – Does it Make a Difference Which Word You Use?
With the incredibly high rate of traffic fatalities lately, safety advocates and concerned people have been advocating for a change in what word we use to describe the collision of vehicles on the road. We have used the words, crash, collision, or wreck to describe what has come to be described as a traffic accident.…
Read MoreClarifying the Definition of Whistleblower Anti-Retaliation Protections
In February, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled that the anti-retaliation protections of the Dodd-Frank Act do not kick in until a whistleblower has reported the fraud to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A whistleblower, as the law defines it, is someone who provides information to the SEC (or another federal…
Read MoreSix 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…
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