New Legal News

Allianz Life Insurance Co.has decided to settle a lawsuit that claims the organization  locked up seniors moneys for 15 years using annuities.

The suit was brought by the Minnesota Attorney General and says that the seniors were not told they couldn’t cash in the policy without paying very large penalties. With the settlement 7000 seniors will get their money back.

Refunds will be about 325 million dollars and the company also must pay 500,000 in attorney fees.

Modern toy chest’s seem to contain more fear of lead poisoning than the old lead based painted toys ever did previously.

Mattel announced earlier this week that their “Sarge line of die cast cars, that were brought in from China may contain lead levels too high for consumption in the states, and parents should consult with the Mattel site for more details.

A company has recalled  their canned chili, stews and meats because there is a possibility it may contain  Botulism.

Castleberry Foods has called for a  product recall after quite a few individuals got sick after consuming their hot dog chili.

In the interest of safety  they opened the recall up to other products, just in case. those products include  chili, beef stew and other canned meat products, and further includes 4 pet food products.

The pet food products are sold under the Natural Balance label. The company has shut  down their US plant, no word on its reopening has been said.

Botulism is one of the most powerful toxins in the known world and works by blocking nerves, you would become paralyzed, and eventually your lungs will cease to function

5.7 million was awarded to a  very sick man who wasnt diagnosed as having skin cancer  by his doctor. The trial was 4 weeks long and the victim required hospitilzation even during the trial. Poor guy .

The doctor failed to remove the cysts on the plaintiffs right shoulder, which over time metasized into cancer. the cancer is life  threatening for the plaintiff.

The plaintiff’s counsel felt pleased by the juries award, as it was sizable enough that she felt it may offset the distress caused by the misdiagnosis.

The plaintiff, Mr, Reilly, went through numerous surgeries to removes the tissue causing the cancer. His wife was by his side through the strenuous ordeal, and solely cares for him when hes at home.

“When you see pictures of the cysts, they are football-sized and deep in the tissue,” Asher said. Reilly went through a series of surgeries to remove the cancerous tissue. His wife, Karen Reilly, served as his nurse during the multiple surgeries and radiation treatments.

Reilly is bound to his home with 24 hour medical care.

The makers of OxyContin and the compnay that markets it had their day in court recently. Seems they messed up. They plead guilty to criminal charges against them, admitting they misled people, including the doctors, the government officials, and of course the patients themselves. They lied about how addictive the drug was/is. OxyContin is a potent, painkilling narcotic.

OxyContin was touted as being safer than other painkiller such as Vicodin or Percocet because OxyContin is “time released”. This ploy was to get medical doctors with little knowledge of pain management practices to subscribe the drug to even lesser informed patients.

The plan was effective and bt 1996 the sales hit one billion. Of course, the success meant that may were showing signs of addiction…

A jury in Roanoke has awarded the parents of Justin Simmons 2,000,000. The settlement was against a lawnmower manufacturer, MTD.

The 4 year old was killed in 2004 by a riding lawnmower. The man who ran the boy over was named Orville Reedy. He accidentally reversed over the small boy. Reedy was dropped from the case when the Simmons found out that he had only 100,000 in insurance coverage. So they set their sights on the big money, the maker of a tool. MTD.

The simmons claimed its not money but accountability, stating that the manufacturer should have enabled a saftey device that is common on our riding mowers, one that turns off the blades upon reversing… fine, but if they did their homework, the lawn mower in question was 16 years old, and that wasnt an option in that time. Thus!! shouldnt the liable party be the person controling the mower?

Naturally MTD plans to appeal and I wish them luck

A wrongful death claim in the District of Columbia has netted the parents of 2 deceased children 1.2 million dollars. A man killed them via vehicle while fleeing police in 2004.

Police attempted to use undercover deceit to catch a suspected drug dealer, when they botched the sting, the dealer panicked and fled.

DC officials deny responsibility, claiming that they broke off pursuit prior to the incident.

The parents maintain that there was no reason to pursue the suspect, and even state one officer refused to give up the chase when ordered.

The real tragedy is this, those children were struck in a CROSSWALK, in arms reach of their father, the children were thrown 140 feet through the air, and died in their fathers sight! This disturbs me because as a father, my greatest fear is something liek this or, that i will lose my family to a drunken driver. The words to describe this feeling escapes me, but its a terrible and horrrendous thing to ponder.

When the police screwed up the bust and realized they werent getting him they shoudl have left it alone. Period. Be professional or go back to bed. Drugs? Hey drug dealers wouldnt exist if people didnt WANT the drugs. Go stop terrorism or soemthing!

A Florida jury has awarded several million dollars to a man who received brain injuries in a two car collision. 6,500,000 to be precise.

According to the local newspaper, the victim did not seek medical treatment immediately for his brain injuries simply because he did not realize the depth of them at that time. The brain injury changed the mans capability to earn income and his personal behavior.Also, the man recieved a back injury that will require many operations and physical therapy for life.

Things like this break my heart, I wonder how a person with diminished capability finds a way to carry on, and some even do so in a happy and cheerful way. My hats off to them.

A Federal Jury  has given  a man $10 million dollars by deciding his employer’s insurance carrier acted in bad faith when they turned down his claim for benefits from a  back injury.

The jury is debating  to also award the man with  compensation for punitive damages in additional to the 10 million.

The worker was a computer tech at Norwest Financial at the time he injured his back while  picking up papers that had dropped to the floor. He was diagnosed in severe pain, but his workers compensation claim had been rejected.

The adjusters say he had  two prior surgeries on his back. They claim the injury worsened an existing condition.

The 10 million dollar verdict was to assuage his mental and emotional pain after being denied medical assistance based on a bad faith ruling.

An insurance company has brought a suit against minister from Denver accusing fraud saying he filed life insurance claims on the congregation fraudulently.

AIG Life Insurance Company states the preacher and other co-defendants obtained a group life insurance policy on behalf of 315 people and doctored up paperwork to make certain that any claim payments would go directly to the defendants, and not the family of those covered by the group policy.

The company paid over 600,000 more than half of that was recieved by the pastor. Back in Novemeber the insurance agency terminated their policy.