Posted on July 10, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Tragedies often end in lawsuits. In November of 2010 a 2-year-old boy fell from a third-floor luxury box at the Staples Center and died. The luxury box is like a balcony overlooking the arena. A glass safety partition provides a barrier between spectators and the ledge. The toddler and his family had attended a Los… read more

Posted on June 25, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

Who knows how something like this could happen, but some 44 people have filed a lawsuit against Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire for causing a hepatitis C outbreak. There outbreak, which started on May 10, is believed to have originated in the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab. The group of patients is seeking class-action status. Though… read more

Posted on June 18, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Portlanders love to go out for breakfast, but there is a small group of breakfast eaters who aren’t in love with the eggs benedict served at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in NE Portland. A year ago a group of county commissioners gathered for a nationwide meeting. A handful of the attendees ate eggs benedict at… read more

Posted on May 17, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

It’s never pleasant when medical equipment fails, but if the failure directly affects your livelihood, it just adds insult to injury (no pun intended). That’s what happened to professional football player Jason Peters of the Philadelphia Eagles. Peters tore his Achilles tendon during training in the spring. He underwent surgery to repair it in early… read more

Posted on May 12, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

You’ve all probably seen those “duck tours” in various cities that give tours on those large amphibious vehicles that look like boats on wheels. The tourists sit high up off the ground while the tour guide drives and provides commentary. They might sound like fun, but a number of these tour vehicles have been in… read more

Posted on May 11, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

When is $3 million not enough? When it’s fraud. Families of miners killed in an explosion in West Virginia in 2010 filed a lawsuit against the mining company, claiming they were fraudulently coerced into accepting wrongful-death settlements. The suit claims that Massey Energy deliberately withheld information pertinent to making settlement decisions. In April 2010 29… read more

Posted on May 8, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

The makers of an epilepsy drug that was later marketed as a treatment for schizophrenia as well as dementia-related agitation must pay $1.5 billion to settle a mass of lawsuits. The claims allege that Abbott Laboratories, producers of Depakote, pushed for sales of the drug to treat schizophrenia and dementia-related agitation, even though the drug… read more

Posted on March 14, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Portland has always been a pretty safe city. When I was younger I felt perfectly safe being out and about late at night pretty much anywhere in town. Now, though, I am much more cautious and do not feel so comfortable being out by myself at night. That may also be the case for Daniel… read more

Posted on March 9, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

There is no real happy ending for anyone involved in this case. Deborah and Ariel Levy sued Legacy Health System for “wrongful birth,” and today a jury sided with the couple, awarding them almost $3 million. When Deborah Levy was pregnant with a third child, she underwent prenatal tests to make sure there were no… read more

Posted on February 27, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

I don’t think anyone would disagree that it is never a good idea to leave anything in an unattended vehicle, especially not anything of value, and especially not something of value to hundreds of thousands of people. Well, that is just what happened in 2006 when an employee of Providence Health Services drove a hospital… read more