Author Archive

In Charlton MA, A Case for Suing Your Current Employer?

July 9th, 2010. By Hunter West

In 2003 Curt Meskus had a long-standing commitment to the Charlton Fire Department as a call firefighter. At any time of the day or night he could be called in to help fight a fire, or help manage some other emergency the fire department might respond to. He would be paid an hourly rate by the fire department, a service provided by the municipality.

Then, seven years ago, Meskus was hired as the Building Commissioner for that same municipality. The latter would be a full-time job v. the on-call, as-needed structure of his fire department gig that he intended to keep.

Why not do both? Months could go by without a whiff of smoke. If he was, indeed called out during regular hours of his building commissioner job, he could always make up the lost time after hours.

Some may say Meskus has initiative. Others might call him greedy—you know, double-dipping*. But no one could argue Meskus’ status as an honest citizen who is completely above-board. When he was hired by the municipal selectmen for the building commissioner job in 2003, Meskus was up-front about his firefighting responsibilities, which he had no intention of abandoning. In fact, Meskus was the assistant call fire chief.

The municipality didn’t appear to have a problem. In fact, Meskus has been re-appointed to the position of Building Commissioner every year since by the municipal selectmen in Charlton, MA, without hesitation or debate.

Then someone complained. Another municipal employee questioned if the arrangement Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Charlton MA, Curt Meskus, Employment, FLSA
Posted in Emerging Issues, Employment | 4 Comments »

Need a Job? What about Full-Time Plaintiff? Cha-ching!

July 6th, 2010. By Hunter West

Today, I am embarking on a career change: 

FULL-TIME PLAINTIFF.

I may not be around as much, as I will always be in court—and my name will be in the news a lot, so at least you’ll know what I’m up to. I won’t have to blog as frequently, to keep you apprised of life in the Hunter household. 

You will salivate at the size of my bank account, even after legal fees are deducted. Of course, the strategy is to sue for legal fees, too. 

What set me on this course to dramatically improve my fortune? 

Look north, to Canada, and you will see what opened my eyes. 

Last week, two sets of parents sued the Greater Toronto Hockey League, one of its clubs and four coaches for $25,000 each for the heinous act of cutting their sons from a midget junior ‘A’ team during tryouts in April. 

“Their direct actions have caused irreparable psychological damage to [plaintiff’s] self esteem as an impressionable teenager and demoralized [plaintiff] as an athlete and team hockey player with his peers,” one claim reads. “The conduct by all defendants destroyed the dignity of my son, whom in good conscience gave his team nothing but his best efforts.” 

Statement of claim 2: “When [plaintiff] was advised of his termination by my wife and I, he vowed never to play the game he loved since childhood. And, moreover, his misguided group of defendants demoralized my wife and I, whom had gone well beyond the call of duty as parents in support of the [defendant] for two seasons.” 

That was the clincher, dear friends—although I’ve been giving this career change serious thought for some time…ever since I heard of the Canadian lawsuit back in the winter by a woman who is suing her mobile phone service provider for ruining her life. How? Well, due to a billing change by the service provider, the plaintiff’s husband Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Defective Product, Lawsuit, Lex Levity
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Lex Levity | No Comments »

80% of Approved US Drug Trials Done Outside US – What?!?

July 1st, 2010. By Hunter West

 

“As sponsors increase the number of foreign clinical trials in support of FDA marketing applications, the agency’s current method of using inspections to ensure human subject protections and data validity is becoming increasingly strained.”

– Daniel R. Levinson

A recent report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services reveals just how much pharmaceutical drug testing is going on in the shadow of foreign shores… 

Eighty percent, according to Daniel R. Levinson. That’s 80 percent for trials of all drugs approved for sale in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2008. 

Wow. 

What’s more, 78 percent of all subjects who participated in clinical trials were enrolled in foreign sites for drugs given the nod that year. 

For some time now, there has been concern about the quality of drugs manufactured offshore. China comes to mind. Look at the heparin debacle of a few years ago. While there is massive incentive for drug companies to manufacture on foreign soil for the cost savings (and the better bottom line that goes along with it), the downside is that often you don’t know what you’re getting. 

And now, the revelation that most drug testing is going on somewhere else. 

That’s troubling, because in both cases—manufacturing and testing—the FDA lacks both the financial and staff resources to properly monitor things. 

Check out some of the numbers contained in Levinson’s report, released towards the end of June and summarized in The New York Times. The FDA inspected fewer foreign clinical trial sites, than Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Clinical Trials, Drug Approvals, FDA
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Flip Side of Bad Faith Insurance: Gravy Train Claims

June 17th, 2010. By Hunter West

Everybody likes to beat up on insurance companies for denying legitimate claims. And they should be taken to task for such behavior. Americans buy insurance policies in an effort to do the right thing, so as not to leave their families vulnerable in the event they are injured or incapacitated in some way. They pay their premiums faithfully, according to the tenets outlined in the policy. 

When they get hurt, it is their right by law and contract to receive what they have paid for. Shame on any insurer that attempts to pull the rug out from under honest, law-abiding policyholders. Unum, notably, has in the past been accused of grievous examples of bad faith practices—allegations that in some cases have borne out to become fact. 

But it goes the other way too, ya know. There are those who attempt to take the insurance companies to the cleaners. While a wary eye cast for the n’er-do-well should not result in ill treatment of legitimate claimants, you would be amazed at what some people will do to pull a fast one on the insurers, rather than the other way around. 

Take the case of Wanda Podgurski aka Wanda Lee Ann Plager of Manhattan Beach, California. According to an investigation carried out by the California Department of Insurance (CDI), Podgurski took out no fewer than six insurance policies with six different carriers. 

Long-term care polices were purchased from Prudential Group Insurance, Kanawha Insurance, Unum Life Insurance Co. and Metropolitan Insurance Co. 

She didn’t stop there. Podgurski also took out disability income policies with Balboa Insurance Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Balboa, Kanawha, Metropolitan Insurance, Prudential, Reassure America Life Insurance, Unum
Posted in Emerging Issues, Insurance | 2 Comments »

Hey BP, Catch a Clue from Letterman

June 10th, 2010. By Hunter West

The BP oil spill has galvanized public opinion on not only the concept of drilling for a non-renewable resource in the midst of another non-renewable resource (water), but the responsibilities of those charged with the drilling process. 

Now the public is asking another question: why are BP, and their federal partners in the effort to contain the spill, being so allegedly secretive? 

The New York Times yesterday went public with a number of examples of attempted censorship of the news media trying to cover the spill. The oil spill, and the efforts to contain it, is easily the biggest news story of the year and one of the biggest environmental disasters of all time. 

Naturally, the media wants to cover it. America is hungry for details. Americans—especially those living in, or near the affected area, want to know just how bad things are. The rest of the world and anyone around the globe with any sensitivity to the environment and eco systems are also galvanized by this story. 

And yet, there appears to be an effort to control what goes out. As The New York Times details, various media outlets have been stymied from filming from the air, or from the ground, in various instances. BP denies this—as do the various agencies that have set up command centers in BP-owned buildings (isn’t THAT convenient…). Last month Southern Seaplane out of Louisiana wanted to take a photographer from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans up over the Gulf for a photo shoot. 

Southern Seaplane reports they were questioned intensively, and then denied. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was apparently also part of that decision—and the agency has Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment »