Ex-Biopure Executive Falsely Told Court He Had Cancer, US Alleges

September 25, 2008

A former executive of a Cambridge-based biotech company lied to a federal judge when he said he was gravely ill from colon cancer - an attempt to dodge a costly federal lawsuit over problems stemming from an experimental synthetic blood product, federal officials said yesterday.

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Posted by Phoenix Arizona Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers

Hospital Bracelets Face Hurdles as They Fix Hazard

At hospitals, as at Tiffany’s, ruby-colored bracelets are far preferable to amethyst.

New York’s 11 public hospitals are at the forefront of a national movement to standardize color coding of hospital wristbands to designate patient conditions, in which purple — the color of amethyst — means “Do Not Resuscitate.” Red, or ruby, indicates allergies, while yellow — call it amber — marks someone at risk for falling.

The goal is to prevent potentially dangerous mistakes, like giving the wrong food to an allergic child, or allowing a patient with balance problems to walk unescorted down a freshly waxed hallway. The drive was spurred, in part, by a notorious 2005 Pennsylvania case in which a patient nearly died because a nurse used a yellow band thinking it meant “restricted extremity” (don’t draw blood from that arm), as it did at another hospital where the nurse sometimes worked, when at this hospital it meant D.N.R.

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Posted By Phoenix Accident Injury Attorneys </a

Spanish speakers sue insurers

A number of Utah insurance agencies are accused of defrauding Spanish-speaking customers by deliberately not informing them of the availability, cost and purpose of buying uninsured and under-insured motorist protections, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Monday in Utah’s 3rd District Court.

The lawsuit names as defendants Florida-based United Automobile Insurance Company, as well as Utah agencies: El Sol Insurance, Amigos Insurance and Las Americas Insurance. The suit alleges the defendants, who almost exclusively serve Spanish-speaking customers, urge customers to sign an English-language form waiving the uninsured and underinsured motorist protections.

Attorney Jim McConkie, whose firm filed the suit, said the majority of the customers cannot read or interpret the form. “We’ve been made aware in the last couple of years of various practices that we think may defraud the Hispanic populations and benefit, financially, insurance companies,” McConkie said.

“They are supposed to disclose the price and how much it costs,” McConkie said. But he added that the information is “not on the forms we have in our possession.”
He said the add-on coverages are relatively inexpensive. And while some states require drivers to have the extra coverage, Utah does not.

Read Article Salt Lake Tribune

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AZ Supreme Court ruling on energy

AZ Supreme Court is not going to block the energy mandate requiring a certain percentage of energy to be based on alternative sources. The challenger plans to refile in a different court. East Valley Tribune has the story:

Court refuses to block renewable energy mandate

Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

The state’s highest court refused Tuesday to overturn a requirement on utilities to generate at least 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025.

Without comment, the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear arguments by the Goldwater Institute that the Arizona Corporation Commission exceeded its constitutional authority in imposing the mandate. The lawsuit challenged not only the requirement but the legality of the surcharge that utilities are passing along to their customers.

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Posted by Phoenix Personal Injury Attorney