Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

April 23, 2009

Popcorn Lung Lawsuits on the Increase.

Dozens of plant workers who claim their health was damaged by exposure to a chemical used to give a buttery flavor to microwave popcorn have filed lawsuits in Cincinnati against makers of the flavoring.

At least 43 workers filed lawsuits claiming their lungs were irreversibly damaged by inhaling fumes from the chemical diacetyl, which provides the buttery taste. Some work at a local plant of Cincinnati-based Givaudan Flavors Corp. Many others are from a plant in Marion owned by Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods.

Givaudan supplies flavorings to food manufacturers, including popcorn makers. ConAgra and other leading makers of microwave popcorn removed the flavoring chemical from their products after it was linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease often referred to as “popcorn lung.”

April 22, 2009

Man Sues Debt Collector’s Lawyers And Wins Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A man with a disabling brain injury and no money told debt collector lawyers that the time limit for seeking payment had expired and that a suit had been dismissed before. But a North Dakota law firm sued him anyway, trying to collect a credit card debt on behalf of the creditor.

This time Timothy McCollough got mad. He hired a lawyer, got the suit dismissed and then sued the North Dakota law firm for violating debt collection laws.

April 21, 2009

Nuclear Power Plant Settles Lawsuit With Residents

by Dr. Shezad Malik

People who live near a former nuclear fuel plant will get $52.5 million to settle their 14-year-old lawsuit against Babcock & Wilcox Co.

The settlement, which was approved by a federal judge in Pittsburgh, ends the final claim brought by 365 people who live in the Apollo area, about 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The same group last year got $27.5 million to settle claims against Atlantic Richfield Co. that plant emissions and groundwater pollution caused an unusually high cancer rate, other illnesses and property damage.

April 20, 2009

Woman Run Over by Bus Is Awarded $27.5 M

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Manhattan jury awarded $27.5 M to a woman who lost her left leg after a New York City Transit bus ran over her while it was turning a corner two blocks from her apartment in 2005.

The woman, Gloria Aguilar, 45, who had to have her leg amputated and has worn a prosthetic leg ever since, cried when the verdict was announced.

April 19, 2009

All Minn. Bridge Victims Accept Settlements

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The state of Minnesota closed a chapter on the Interstate 35W bridge collapse by reaching final settlements with all 179 eligible victims of the disaster in downtown Minneapolis two years ago.

The settlements ranged from $4,500 to each of five survivors to more than $2.2 million for a woman who required extensive therapy for brain damage. Five other settlements were worth over $1 million.

Susan Holden, the attorney who led the court-appointed panel administering the state’s $36.6 million compensation fund, said the settlements covered both survivors of the collapse and family members of those killed.

April 18, 2009

Kaiser Permanente to Settle Kidney Transplant Claims For $1 M

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $1 million to settle claims on behalf of five patients alleging that the HMO mishandled its kidney transplant program, endangering lives and causing deaths.

The arbitration claims were filed in 2006, found that Kaiser’s Northern California kidney transplant program jeopardized hundreds of patients by forcing them into a new program unprepared to handle an enormous caseload.

April 17, 2009

King County to Pay $3.5 M to Injured Bicyclist

by Dr. Shezad Malik

King County has agreed to pay $3.5 million to a Seattle man and his wife after the man suffered a permanent brain injury when he was thrown from his bicycle.

Lawyers for Jeffrey Totten and his wife Danielle Leavell said the county was at fault because it promoted Novelty Hill Road as a bike route but failed to maintain it in a safe condition.

Totten, an endurance athlete, was thrown from his bike when it struck a depression around a survey “monument” in the roadway Sept. 4, 2006. He was 31.

He has been in a hospital, a rehabilitation center and now a group home in Mount Vernon since the accident, which left him in a coma for seven months. The settlement will allow funds for round-the-clock care for the rest of his life, his attorneys said.

April 16, 2009

Healthcare Firm Accused of Punishing Spanish-Speakers Settles Suit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Latino workers in California and Texas allegedly punished for speaking Spanish in their workplaces will be granted up to $450,000, free English classes and other relief under a consent decree approved this week in a class-action lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit alleged that Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. and affiliated firms, based in Orange County with facilities in six Western and Southern states, enforced an English-only rule against Latinos but not other ethnic groups speaking Tagalog and other languages.

April 15, 2009

Texas Medical Board Subjected to Hearing

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A bill that was the subject of a 5½-hour hearing would sharply curtail the powers of the Texas Medical Board if it becomes law.

Backers argued that it would bring much-needed transparency and provide greater fairness to doctors whom, some say, the board is persecuting. They especially raised concerns about practitioners of alternative medicine and those who treat conditions such as autism.

April 14, 2009

Reglan Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Reglan side effects have been associated with the development of tardive dyskinesia, a syndrome that causes involuntary movements in the body extremities, particularly the lower face. In February 2009, the FDA required that a “black box” warning about the tardive dyskinesia problems be added to Reglan and other gastrointestinal drugs containing metoclopramide.

REGLAN LAWSUIT STATUS: Lawyers are reviewing potential claims for individuals who may be entitled to compensation through a Reglan lawsuit as a result of developing tardive dyskinesia.