Big business prepares for a less friendly Washington

November 7, 2008

After years of playing offense, big business is getting ready for the less familiar role of playing defense following President-elect Barack Obama’s victory and legislative gains by other Democrats.

 

Corporate America enjoyed favorable treatment under the Bush administration for almost eight years and for most of the era of Republican control of Congress from 1995 to 2007.

Now unions may gain a stronger hand, and business is bracing for greater financial regulation, worker-friendly policies and an emphasis on social spending.

 

From a guarded view on trade to expanded collective-bargaining rights, there’s a new wind blowing through the Capitol and big business groups are bracing for a storm.

One reason they’re sure to find a less sympathetic ear is that members of groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent big bucks trying to defeat Democrats in congressional races.

 

Read Article: Miami Herald

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Woman, hospital settle lawsuit

A Bountiful woman who lost three limbs to flesh-eating bacteria has settled a malpractice suit that alleged medical personnel mismanaged the near-fatal infection.
    The details of the part of the settlement Lisa Speckman reached with LDS Hospital and her insurer, Intermountain Health Care Health Plans, are confidential.

    The University of Utah, a taxpayer-supported institution that trained medical staff who treated her, also was sued and was part of the settlement. Lawyers would not immediately provide the amount it paid, but The Salt Lake Tribune has requested that information under the state’s Government Records Access and Management Act.

   Speckman, 46, says she contracted a “flesh-eating disease” that led to the amputation of both her legs above the knees and her right arm above the elbow. In addition, her reproductive organs, gall bladder and much of her large intestine were removed.

 

Read Article: Salt Lake Tribune

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Jury: Gas company must pay workers $12.3m

A jury Thursday awarded $12.3 million to two Visalia men injured in an explosion three years ago when they tried to ignite a water-heater pilot light. The men say they didn’t smell gas and that their attempt to purge the line of air flooded a small water-heater closet with gas. Matt Niño, 39, and Sean Huitt, 37, suffered second-degree burns and were out of work for months.

 

Denise King, spokeswoman for the defendant, Southern California Gas Co., said the jury’s award was not supported by the facts. “We are deeply sorry these plumbers were injured on the job,” she said. “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and intend to appeal.”

 

The suit stemmed from the absence of natural-gas odor prior to the November 2005 explosion at Porterville Adult School. Liquid odorant is put into natural gas so its presence can be detected, but the odor fades in new steel pipes such as those used in the adult school’s construction, plaintiffs’ attorney Ken Fitzgerald said.

 

Read Article: Visalia Times-Delta

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Denver may fork over $850,000 in cookbook firing

Denver is on the verge of paying $850,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing the city of age discrimination in a case involving a firefighter who claimed he was wrongly terminated.

Bill Cadorna, who had been a firefighter for nearly 30 years, was fired over a dispute involving a missing Junior League of Denver cookbook.

He was falsely accused of shoplifting the cookbook in 2002. Later, it was revealed that a clerk gave him permission to borrow the cookbook until the one he had misplaced in the store was found.

The criminal charges were dropped, but the city of Denver refused to give him his job back because it claimed a state law says a firefighter who is over 50 and is declared eligible for disability retirement may not be re-examined for service.

 

Read Article: Denver Post

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Pa. settles lawsuit over boy’s shooting for $12.5M

Pennsylvania will pay $12.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the father of a 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by troopers after he hopped out of a stolen vehicle.

A federal jury in Pittsburgh had awarded the boy’s father, Michael Hickenbottom, more than $28 million, including $24 million in punitive damages.

Police attorneys appealed, arguing the punitive damages were excessive. The case was settled late Wednesday, according to online court records. The state admits no wrongdoing.

The boy, Michael Ellerbe, was unarmed when he was shot during the chase on Christmas Eve 2002 in Uniontown, about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh. The jury didn’t believe two state troopers’ claims that only one of them shot Ellerbe — and then only because the officer believed his partner had been shot by Ellerbe.

 

Read Article: Chicago Tribune

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

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