Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

November 30, 2008

Texas Family Fights Insurance Company Over Car Wreck

A man was fleeing from Texas police at speeds topping 100 mph, when he crossed into oncoming traffic, ran through stop signs before his pickup smashed into another driver’s car in an intersection.

The 1999 wreck left a 7-year-old boy comatosed for a week, in the hospital for a month and in physical therapy for five years.

The man was later charged with using his truck as a deadly weapon, jumped bail and disappeared. He left behind a $300,000 auto insurance policy, money the family hoped would pay for their son’s medical bills.

But Nationwide Insurance, declined to pay, saying man violated his insurance contract by leading police on a wild chase all but guaranteed to end in a horrific wreck. Two courts have agreed with Nationwide.

Now the Texas Supreme Court will decide who deserves the law’s protection: a family whose car was in the wrong place at the wrong time or an insurance company with a reckless and irresponsible client.

November 29, 2008

Dallas Funeral for Mexican Bridge Crash

by Dr. Shezad Malik

About 500 mourners attended a funeral service for the seven people who died this week in northern Mexico when their vehicle plunged into a river off an unfinished bridge that apparently lacked warning signs or barriers.

The mourners gathered at a west Dallas church, around the seven caskets containing the remains of three adults and four children who died in the accident, which occurred early Thankgiving morning as they drove from Texas to visit relatives.

The family were two miles from their destination, the village of El Mezquite, according to the uncle of one of the victims.

November 28, 2008

Texas Education Agency Whistleblower Fraud Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Two inspectors who were fired from the inspector general’s office at the Texas Education Agency are suing the agency, claiming wrongful termination after they tried to investigate fraud and waste in the TEA, according to officials.

The men want to be reinstated and are seeking unspecified damages. The lawsuit contends that the alleged retaliation against and firings of the two men violated their rights under the state’s whistleblower law and also violated their free speech rights under the Texas Constitution.

According to their lawsuit, they were systematically prevented from investigating fraud, waste and misuse, including allegations of:

— Falsification of student attendance records.

— Contractors who “may have been influenced to overcharge TEA and/or school districts.”

— A “suspect contract” involving the commissioner of education and an education service center.

— Violations of law regarding job openings.

November 27, 2008

Six Flags Settles Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Nearly 1 ½ years after a girl’s feet were severed on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, the amusement park has reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the teenager’s family, who had sued the park for negligence.

The amount of the settlement wasn’t disclosed, but it is noted that the girl’s unpaid medical bills total nearly $500,000 and that Kentucky law allows recovery for future lost income, as well as pain and suffering.

November 26, 2008

Quadriplegic Awarded $11.3M in Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A man who was left quadriplegic when weightlifting equipment at his gym crashed onto his neck was awarded $11 million in a lawsuit stemming from his injury. A U.S. District court awarded the money to the man, who has been awarded a total of $18.6 million following seven years of litigation.

The 39-year-old former Marine was doing squats on a machine at Gold’s Gym in Venice when the horizontal bar of weights bearing a couple hundred pounds of weight fell on his neck. The machine did not have adjustable safety stops installed.

November 25, 2008

Marion VA Medical Center Liable in Wrongful Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A widow who sued the U.S. government over her husband’s death at the Marion VA Medical Center has accepted a settlement of almost $1 million.

The Kentucky man died in the hospital after gallbladder surgery last year. His widow, sued alleging medical negligence and accusing the government of failing to adequately check the background of her husband’s surgeon, before hiring him.

November 24, 2008

Melamine Found in U.S. Infant Formula

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The Food and Drug Administration said that it had discovered the toxic chemical melamine in infant formula made by an American manufacturer.

Agency officials said they had discovered melamine at trace levels in a sample of infant formula. It was also discovered in several samples of dietary supplements that are made by some of the same manufacturers who make formula.

Melamine contamination became a major scandal in China after it was added to milk to disguise test results that measure protein levels. Since it was discovered in infant formula in September, it has sickened more than 50,000 infants and killed 4.

November 23, 2008

Milwaukee Loses Appeal in Lead Paint Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The city of Milwaukee’s appeal to force a former lead paint manufacturer to pay for the cleanup of 11,000 contaminated properties was rejected.

The Court of Appeals ruled that NL Industries Inc. does not have to pay the city costs of cleaning up the inner-city homes. The city sought $52.6 million for the program, which involved replacing old windows.

The Milwaukee County jury ruled last year the widespread presence of lead paint in Milwaukee homes was a public nuisance, but NL Industries did not “intentionally and unreasonably engage in conduct” that caused it and was not negligent.

November 22, 2008

PAGCL and Shoulder Pain Pump Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The use of intra-articular pumps, to deliver medication to the shoulder following arthroscopic shoulder surgery has been linked to the development of a painful and debilitating condition which causes the loss of cartilage in the shoulder.

The medical condition, is known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis, PAGCL, and has no consistently successful treatment and often results in permanent shoulder pain.

STATUS OF SHOULDER PAIN PUMP LITIGATION: Lawsuits are currently pending and potential cases are still being reviewed by Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm.

Motions have been filed to consolidate all Federal shoulder pain pump lawsuits and transfer the cases to one court for pre-trial proceedings.

November 22, 2008

Hospital to pay $1.9M in Whistleblower Suit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Medicare paid a Pennsylanvia hospital $6.15 million in the 2003 to treat some of the Erie hospital’s oldest, sickest patients. Now the hospital will pay $1.9M to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit that claimed the hospital submitted Medicare claims that exceeded its actual costs.

Seven hospitals have reached settlements in connection with the lawsuit, filed in 2005 by an independent hospital consultant from New Jersey. Saint Vincent is the only hospital in this region named in the suit.