A coalition of lawyers who have sued tobacco companies says it is close to filing a class-action lawsuit against soft-drink makers for selling sugared sodas in schools. Leading the litigation effort is Richard A. Daynard, an associate dean at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, who is also president of the Tobacco Control Resource…
Continue reading ›Hypertonic resuscitation — a concentrated intravenous (IV) dose of saline and dextran, a sugar solution — has the potential to help survivors of blunt trauma by improving blood flow and delivery of oxygen to the injured brain while decreasing high pressure in the brain, a common problem for patients with brain injury. Trauma care begins…
Continue reading ›Washington, 12/2/05. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulations governing minimum standards for entry-level truck driver training are inadequate based on the record developed during the rulemaking process, a federal appeals court ruled today. The minimum requirements adopted last May by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration involve only classroom education and in only four…
Continue reading ›Researchers at Geron Corporationof Menlo Park, California, want to begin the first testing embryonic stem cell therapy in humans with damaged spinal cords. If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives its OK and the injections help, it could bring hope to many of the more than 250,000 people in this country with spinal disabilities.…
Continue reading ›Yesterday the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled for the defense in a sexual harrassment tort suit, rejecting the theories that the employer had ratified the fellow employee’s inappropriate advances, as well as claims against the employer based on theories of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. See the full text below. The Shigley Law…
Continue reading ›On 11/11/05 in Gwinnett County, a Gainesville man was killed when a tractor-trailer ran a red light and struck his pickup truck. Kevin Tanner, 32, died from his injuries at Gwinnett Medical Center about eleven hours after the tractor-trailer driver, Theodore Banks, 28, reportedly of Jonesboro, allegedly ran the red light and hit him. Tanner,…
Continue reading ›Judge Ashley Royal in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia has made a common sense decision in response to one of those frivolous Daubert motions to exclude testimony of treating physicians. In Flowers v. Wal-Mart, 2005 WL 2787101, decided 10/27/05, Judge Royal held: It is significant in this case that Dr.…
Continue reading ›Here is a “must read” paper on “best practices” in electronic discovery. A few key points to ponder: * “The recent Morgan Stanley case in which massive punitive damages were awarded ? at 1.5 times the actual damages sought?highlights a judicial and jury lack of tolerance for perceived refusal to produce electronic information promptly and…
Continue reading ›NEW CASTLE, PA, 11/30/05. The driver of a truck carrying liquefied oxygen apparently fell asleep at the wheel at 1:40 AM. The tank truck hit an embankment and overpass, starting a fiery crash that killed him. See article. The news report does not include anything about the driver’s hours of service, fatigue, or hazardous materials…
Continue reading ›Elgin, IL, 11/30/05. A truck carrying 42,000 pounds of gravel sped through a red light, stuck a minivan and 8 other vehicles, and killed the driver of the minivan. The driver of the gravel truck was to be tested for drugs and alcohol. See news story. In many states trucks carrying road construction materials, timber,…
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