Monthly Archives: May 2013

Father Sues Track Team After Son is Excluded

On track for a lawsuit

This lawsuit gives a new meaning to the phrase “Speed kills”. A father in New Jersey has sued his son’s school for kicking him off of the track team. Mawusimensah Mears, who ran track for Sterling Regional High School in Camden County, had reportedly been skipping out on practice after his coaches left him on the bench. The boy’s father, Ervin Mears Jr, goes as far as to claim that his was being ridiculed by his teammates for being faster than them. The younger Mears had also missed practice due to an injury and a death in the family. The father is seeking damages up to $40 million against the school, track coach, and principal, among other parties. Read more

Why MADD Isn’t A Fan Of New BAC Limit Proposal

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Destructive decisions?

Earlier this month the NTSB released a controversial proposal that asked states to lower the legal blood alcohol limit from the current 0.08 percent threshold to 0.05 percent. The NTSB says that the goal of the new rule change is to lower the number of drunk driving deaths in the United States, something the agency estimates would lower fatalities by eight percent.

You would expect that after the announcement, the powerful lobbying group Mothers Against Drunk Driving would stand up and cheer. Far from it. MADD and several other influential lobbying organizations have so far failed to embrace the measure, with MADD issuing a statement saying it was only “neutral” on the NTSB’s proposal.

Florida Court of Appeals Rules That Rear-End Accident Liability Requires Factual Support

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The Sunshine State

Under certain circumstances, Florida law affords the victim of a rear-end car accident the presumption that the other driver is at fault for the crash. Specifically, Florida has adopted a rebuttable presumption that a rear driver’s actions are the sole proximate cause of an accident and any resulting in injuries in the case Clampitt v. D.J. Spencer Sales.

To rebut the presumption of negligence, the rear driver must present evidence that “fairly and reasonably tends to show” that the presumption is misplaced. Evidence that the lead driver stopped suddenly would not be sufficient to rebut the presumption, however, evidence that the lead driver stopped “at a time and place where it could not reasonably be expected by the following driver” would be.

Feds Recommend Drastic Reduction In Legal Alcohol Limit

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Legal limit

In a shocking announcement earlier this week, the National Transportation Safety Board released a proposal arguing that all states, including my home state of Minnesota, should decrease the legal limit for alcohol consumption. The proposal by the federal agency would lead to potentially major changes in what qualifies as legally acceptable social drinking.

The NTSB specifically issued a recommendation that all 50 states drop their hurdle for what qualifies as impaired driving from the current 0.08 percent BAC. This figure is currently the legal limit in all 50 states and also many other countries across the world. The number has long been seen as a fairly accurate barometer for the level at which most drivers are unable to safely operate a motor vehicle.
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The Largest Drug-safety Settlement to Date

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Drug safety

Labeled by the U.S. Government as the largest drug-safety settlement to date with a generic drug manufacturer; Ranbaxy Laboratories has just pled guilty to three felony counts under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic act, and four felony counts of of providing false statements to the United States Food and Drug Administration.

The company failed to conduct proper safety and quality tests of several drugs that were manufactured in the Indian plants. These generic drugs were manufactured in Paonta Sahib, and Dewas India. The major drugs involved in this case were the generic versions of Gabapentin, Sotret, and Ciprofloxacin. This is a great cause for concern because compared to the plants in the United States which are inspected by the F.D.A. once every two years, plants over seas are inspected about once every seven to thirteen years. It has been proven between June and August of 2007, certain batches of medications had tested positive for “unknown impurities” and had unreliable shelf lives. Ranbaxy waited two months until October of that year to report these impurities.