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Consumer Alerts: Public Interest and Environment Archives 2008
Sick Nuclear Worker's Cases Being Delayed
July 21, 2008
"The Americans who built the nation's nuclear weapons are still fighting a cold war. Tens of thousands of sick nuclear arms workers - or their survivors - from every state in the nation have applied for compensation that Congress established for them in 2000. But most have never seen a dime." SOURCE: Rocky Mountain News
DuPont Files Appeal of $400M Case in W.Va
June 24, 2008
"DuPont said Tuesday it has filed an appeal of a verdict that awarded nearly $400 million to people who live near a former zinc-smelting plant in West Virginia.
The Wilmington, Del., company contends the Harrison County trial last fall was unfair due to numerous errors by Harrison County Circuit Judge Thomas Bedell." SOURCE: AP- Forbes
Medical Care's State of Denial
June 23, 2008
"Doctors are supposed to prescribe tests and treatments that are medically necessary for their patients. Health insurers are expected to cover that care, while keeping inappropriate expenses in check." SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle
CPSC Warns Toddler Drownings Happen Quickly and Silently
Agency Premiers New Pool Safety Public Service Announcement
May 24, 2008
"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports there are about 260 drowning deaths of children younger than 5 each year in swimming pools, and an estimated 2,725 children are treated annually in hospital emergency rooms for pool submersion injuries - mostly in residential pools. CPSC strongly advises that parents use layers of protection around the pool to prevent their children from becoming a drowning victim." SOURCE: Consumer Product Safety Commission
FDA Food Recalls Follow Lengthy Process
June 14, 2008
"Last week, federal officials were bombarded with questions about an outbreak of potentially deadly salmonella poisoning from tomatoes.
How many people are affected? Where were these tomatoes grown? When will it be safe to eat them again?" SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
May 31, 2008
"As if driving on the nation's highways weren't harrowing enough already, now comes a new study warning of gaping flaws in drug and alcohol testing programs for commercial truck drivers and in the federal agencies charged with oversight.
An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found widespread refusal by trucking companies to conduct mandatory testing. Nine percent of the nation's carriers have no drug testing program at all in glaring defiance of requirements that all drivers be tested." SOURCE: The Register-Guard
Program to Emphasize Safety for Kids Riding ATVs
May 30, 2008
"Carlos Hill doesn't own an all-terrain vehicle, but he's spent far too much time with kids who ride them.
Hill is a flight paramedic from Breese, and he's transported an increasing number of children on the Air Evac helicopter after they've crashed ATVs." SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Report: Truckers Still Driving After Flunking Drug Tests
May 21, 2008
"Tens of thousands of truckers who flunk drug tests may still be driving big rigs in violation of federal regulations, a new government investigation has found.
In a 74-page report scheduled for release today, the Government Accountability Office described a flawed oversight system that allows truckers to fail a drug test and yet move on to driving for another company." SOURCE: Dallas Morning News
Florida Court Reaffirms Allstate Suspension
May 14, 2008
"A Florida court Wednesday reaffirmed the state's ban on Allstate Corp (nyse: ALL - news - people ) issuing new insurance policies in the state, and denied the insurer a rehearing in the case.
Florida's insurance commissioner said the First District Court of Appeal lifted a stay on the suspension of the license that had been in effect while Allstate appealed the state regulator's actions." SOURCE: Forbes
Court Deal May Not Benefit Widower
May 6, 2008
"Wilmot 'Bill' Lewis has been trying for a year and a half to make someone pay for the tragic death of his wife, Ethel, who was struck and killed by a minivan as she retrieved the morning newspaper from a box across the street from her Buxton home." SOURCE: Portland Press Herald
Supreme Court Weighs Insurer's Conflict of Interest in Claims Denials
April 28, 2008
"The Supreme Court struggled last week with how much weight to give an insurance company's potential conflict of interest when it denies an employee's health or disability benefits claim.
The lawyer representing the Ohio woman who sued MetLife Inc. over a disability claim argued that insurance companies have a financial incentive to deny claims. That conflict of interest should weigh heavily in employees' favor when they challenge benefit claims in court, Joshua Rosenkranz said in court papers." SOURCE: Insurance Journal
Faked Logs, Violoations Stall Scofflaw Truckers
April 18, 2008
"Oregon State Police cited a 63-year-old trucker Thursday for doing the impossible: driving 500 miles in five hours through three states in an 18-wheeler refrigerator truck full of meat." SOURCE: The Oregonian
Plastics Chemical Spurs Concern
April 16, 2008
"A new draft report by the government links a chemical used in such common products as plastic baby bottles to potential long-term risks of breast and prostate cancer.
That assessment, which differs from the government's previous position, has prompted Congress to ask the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider whether the chemical, bisphenol A, or BPA, is safe." SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal
Nursing Homes Push Arbitration, Reduce Lawsuits
April 11, 2008
"Nursing homes, stung by some big jury verdicts in the late 1990s, have been pushing residents to waive their rights to sue and arbitrate disputes instead.
Now the average cost per claim against nursing homes is falling, but some critics are suggesting the industry takes it too far in some cases, the WSJ reports." SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
April 6, 2008
"Allstate Corp. on Friday released thousands of documents that have been cited by trial lawyers across the country, including in Kentucky, as a blueprint for fraud. The release came the same day that an appeals court in Florida ruled that the state's insurance regulators can stop Allstate's companies from writing new policies in the state until it complies with subpoenas for documents. Included in those subpoenas were the now-released ‘McKinsey & Co.’ documents, prepared by the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm to help Allstate overhaul the way it handled claims. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation suspended Allstate from writing new policies in January because it did not supply pricing information requested in an earlier subpoena. The state wants documents to determine why Allstate's property insurance rates had not dropped after a state law designed to reduce premiums that rose due to hurricanes in 2004 and 2005." SOURCE: Lexington Herald-Leader
PG&E to Pay $20 Million in Toxic Suit
April 3, 2008
"Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will pay $20 million to settle the last in a series of lawsuits that claimed it was responsible for poisoning water in the Mojave Desert town of Hinkley, as depicted in the movie 'Erin Brockovich.'
The agreement finalized last week in Los Angeles involved claims that 104 people were exposed to water that contained chromium 6, a possible carcinogen." SOURCE: AP- Forbes
April 2, 2008
"Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff yesterday issued waivers for about 60 sections of the U.S.-Mexico border, granting his agency authority to build fences without worrying about environmental lawsuits and putting them on track to meet President Bush's targets for fencing. The waivers cover about 470 miles of the border where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has planned to build pedestrian fences, vehicle barriers and the backup infrastructure such as roads and towers needed to combat illegal entry. 'I employed this authority to ensure that these projects will proceed without unnecessary delays caused by administrative processes or potential litigation. These waivers should cover the remainder of additional fence construction that will be accomplished in 2008,' Mr. Chertoff said. He and congressional supporters of border fencing say environmental restrictions could have further delayed construction, aiding il legal immigration, which they say is often worse for the environment than the barriers themselves."
SOURCE: Washington Times
US Oil Spill Ship Pilot Charged
March 18, 2008
"The pilot of a ship that spilt 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay after crashing into the Bay Bridge has been charged with criminal negligence." SOURCE: BBC News
OSHA Uncovers Slew of Refinery Violations
March 9, 2008
"OSHA inspectors conducting an unprecedented national audit of U.S. refineries have found 146 violations -- many described as potentially life-threatening -- after reviewing just 17 refineries in a dozen states. Even though only 17 of 81 targeted U.S. refineries have been reviewed so far, those preliminary results are disturbing, Rich Fairfax, OSHA's director of enforcement, told the Houston Chronicle. 'Based on the data we're finding and the number of violations, (the) program will continue,' Fairfax said. 'I have no intention of ending it after two years based on what we're finding.' In fact, Fairfax said he wants it expanded to include chemical plants. The nationwide audit was launched last year in response to decades of U.S. refinery deaths, including the massive explosion that killed 15 people and injured 170 others at BP's Texas City refinery in March 2005." SOURCE: Houston Chronicle
March 8, 2008
"When millions of Elmos and Barbies and Thomas the Tank Engines were recalled last year, Americans got a warning about the cost of cheap imported goods and the weakness of this country's regulatory system. Now, Congress and the Bush administration are finally trying to make sure these toys and millions of other imported products are safe for consumers of all ages." SOURCE: Editorial- New York Times
Senate OK's Tougher Toy Inspections
March 7, 2008
"Responding to record recalls of products that sickened children, the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would toughen inspections of toys and other playthings made outside the U.S.
The bill calls for a public database of consumer complaints, bolsters the Consumer Products Safety Commission to help it certify the safety of overseas products, bans lead in children's goods and sets new standards for safe toys." SOURCE: AP: USA Today
BP Sets Aside $2.13 Billion to Settle Texas Refinery Accident Claims
March 4, 2008
"BP PLC said Tuesday it has set aside $2.13 billion to settle claims arising from a fatal Texas refinery accident in 2005, much higher than a previously disclosed $1.6 billion provision. The information was published in the United Kingdom oil giant's annual report published on its Web site Tuesday. In addition, BP said it was still in talks with the U.S.'s Chemical Safety Board on the final recommendations to be drawn from the accident, which killed 15 workers. 'BP and the CSB continue to discuss BP's responses with the objective of the CSB agreeing to close-out its recommendations,' BP said. BP also said it had settled U.S. derivative shareholders' lawsuits against the company and its directors arising from incidents at its Texas refinery and at its Alaska Prudhoe Bay field. It didn't specify any figure. Meanwhile, BP's new chief executive, Tony Hayward, has received a show of confidence from his board with a dramatic boost t o his 2007 bonus, which was much higher than the award granted to his predecessor in 2006." SOURCE: Wall Street Journal- Subscription Required
Senate Votes to Strengthen Product Safety Laws
March 7, 2008
"Responding to a wave of defective toys and other goods, the Senate approved a measure on Thursday to overhaul the country's consumer product laws and strengthen the beleaguered safety agency that oversees the marketplace." SOURCE: New York Times
Truckers Avoid Weigh Stations By 'Dodging the Scales'
February 20, 2008
"Hundreds of thousands of truckers are on Texas roads with you every day. One of the ways our state helps ensure your safety is by mandating stops at weigh stations.
KXAN Austin News has uncovered a legal loophole, allowing some drivers to skate through under the radar. In trucker lingo, it's called 'dodging the scales'." SOURCE: KXAN Austin News
February 15, 2008
"Truckers keep on truckin' -- and getting into accidents.
In a new report, the state Department of Transportation says total truck miles in Oregon increased by 8 percent between 2001 and 2006. But the rate of truck crashes in which the truck driver was at fault climbed by 22 percent in the same six-year span."
Oregon Trucker Trends
Changes between 2001 and 2006
Total truck miles traveled: 1.76 billion to 1.91 billion (8 percent increase)
Truck crashes: 1,053 to 1,402 (33 percent increase)
Trucker-at-fault crashes: 568 to 751 (32 percent increase)
Truck crash rate: o.60 to 0.74 per million miles traveled (23 percent increase)
Truck Crashes in Oregon in 2006
Total: 1,402
Trucker-at-fault: 705
Other driver at fault: 582
Truck mechanical failure: 46
Injuries: 647
Fatalities: 63
SOURCE: Register-Guard
February 6, 2008
"American consumers endured a nerve-racking 2007. Companies recalled millions of toys containing lead paint or tiny magnets. Regulators were forced to order the recall of one million cribs after three babies strangled because of defective side rails. The slow-moving Consumer Product Safety Commission is part of the problem; it failed to warn consumers about the cribs for over two years after the first baby had died -- until a newspaper reporter in Chicago began investigating. Congress is also culpable. The Bush administration, despite its hostility toward aggressive regulation, has made modest efforts to tighten safety rules. Yet the agency remains underfinanced and understaffed, and only Congress can provide the necessary muscle." SOURCE: New York Times
OR - Court Upholds Smoker's Award
February 1, 2008
"The Oregon Supreme Court for a third time has allowed a $79.5 million punitive-damages judgment against Philip Morris, an award twice struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which suggested it was excessive. The money was for the family of a longtime Marlboro smoker, Jesse Williams, who started smoking during his 1950s Army hitch and died of lung cancer in 1997. The Oregon court's decision on Thursday did not take issue with the U.S. Supreme Court's latest ruling, which said that when juries assess punitive damages, they can punish a defendant only for the harm done to the people suing. But the Oregon court said jury instructions proposed by Philip Morris at the trial had other defects, so a judge's decision not to allow them was correct. The instructions about punitive damages have been at the center of the legal battle over the suit brought by Williams' widow, Mayola. A Portland jury made the award in 1999." SOURCE: AP- Seattle Times
Group Deplores Delays in Notice on Unsafe Products
February 1, 2008
"An advocacy group criticized the Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday for sometimes taking six months or more to notify the public about dangerous products, and complained that it took some companies nearly three years to report hazards to the agency. The District-based consumer group Public Citizen analyzed 46 cases from 2002 to 2007, all of which resulted in recalls and involved companies that were penalized for late reports. In one case, the agency did not alert the public about an all-terrain vehicle with a faulty oil line that caused 42 fires and injured 18 people for more than two years after getting a report from the manufacturer." SOURCE: Washington Post
Jury's Verdict in Katrina Case Favors Insurance Company
January 28, 2008
"A federal judge refused to let jurors consider punitive damages against an insurance company after they handed down a verdict Monday that favored the insurer in a dispute with policyholders over Hurricane Katrina damage. At the end of a 10-day trial, an eight-member jury ordered San Antonio-based USAA Casualty Insurance Co. to pay an additional $64,000 to policyholders David and Marilyn Aiken for wind damage to their Pass Christian home and its contents during the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane. But that amount was only a fraction of the maximum $427,087 that jurors could have awarded to the Aikens for wind coverage under their USAA homeowner policy. After the jury's unanimous verdict, U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr., ruled that jurors can't consider punitive damages in the case because 'there is no substantial evidence that USAA was acting in bad faith' when it denied most of the Aikens' claim." SOURCE: AP- Houston Chronicle
Grace Bets on Winning Asbestos Lawsuits
January 28, 2008
"A century-and-a-half-old chemical company in Columbia is betting its future on an unusual legal strategy that might be called Grace's Last Stand. Over the years, industrial companies have agreed to pay tens of billions of dollars to resolve asbestos lawsuits filed on behalf of workers who said they used products that caused cancer or lung damage. W.R. Grace followed the same tack for a while. But pushed into bankruptcy, it now is trying the novel approach of asking a bankruptcy judge to declare many of the roughly 100,000 claims it faces to be invalid. The company is making the request as part of its effort to emerge from bankruptcy. In order for Grace to exit bankruptcy, the judge must rule on what liabilities the company faces, and that means deciding how many of the claims are valid and what they might total. The judge's decision does not resolve the individual claims, but it could set a standard for further litigation." SOURCE: Washington Post
Suit Accuses IBM of Toxic Discharges that Caused Illnesses
January 4, 2008
"In the latest chapter of a long-running environmental dispute, more than 90 plaintiffs sued International Business Machines Corp., alleging it discharged toxic chemicals and caused birth defects and other health problems for residents in and around Endicott, N.Y., where the company was founded. The suit, filed yesterday in a state court in Binghamton, N.Y., revolves around an Endicott manufacturing plant IBM operated from 1924 until 2002. The suit says the company used industrial solvents there through the years and 'wrongfully, wantonly and recklessly' discharged them, contaminating local air, soil and groundwater." SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
Public Interest
Sick Nuclear Worker's Cases Being Delayed
DuPont Files Appeal of $400M Case in W.Va
Medical Care's State of Denial
CPSC Warns Toddler Drownings Happen Quickly and Silently
FDA Food Recalls Follow Lengthy Process
Program to Emphasize Safety for Kids Riding ATVs
Report: Truckers Still Driving After Flunking Drug Tests
Florida Court Reaffirms Allstate Suspension
Court Deal May Not Benefit Widower
Supreme Court Weighs Insurer's Conflict of Interest in Claims Denials
Faked Logs, Violations Stall Scofflaw Truckers
Plastics Chemical Spurs Concern
Nursing Homes Push Arbitration, Reduce Lawsuits
PG&E to Pay $20 Million in Toxic Suit
US Oil Spill Ship Pilot Charged
OSHA Uncovers Slew of Refinery Violations
Senate OK's Tougher Toy Inspections
BP Sets Aside 2.13 Billion to Settle Refinery Accident Claims
Senate Votes to Strengthen Product Safety Laws
Truckers Avoid Weigh Stations By 'Dodging the Scales'
3 Companies Indicted in Pet Food Case
OR - Court Upholds Smoker's Award
Group Deplores Delays in Notice on Unsafe Products
Jury's Verdict in Katrina Case Favors Insurance Company
Grace Bets on Winning Asbestos Lawsuits
Suit Accuses IBM of Toxic Discharges that Caused Illnesses
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