Attorney Andrew Strenio Discusses Team Effort to Release Cuban Doctor from Prison

April 26th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Washington DC attorney Andrew Strenio of Sidley Austin…

Attorney Andrew Strenio: “When you…work with this kind of an individual you don’t begrudge a second that you spend on it”

Had it not been for the efforts of a group of American lawyers, Cuban human rights activist, Dr. Oscar Biscet might have continued to languish in a jail on the outskirts of Havana. But in March 2011, after eight years in prison, Biscet was released. It had taken six years and likely thousands of pro bono hours involving delicate negotiations by a determined and skilled group of lawyers to achieve freedom for Biscet.

Attorney Andrew Strenio of Sidley Austin

“It was just phenomenal news,” says Andrew Strenio from the Sidley Austin firm in Washington DC.

“We were a proud partner in the effort, but it was really a collaborative effort,” says Strenio. “There really were so many people involved including Jeremy Zucker from Hogan Lovells here in DC.” 

Since the 1980s, Biscet, a medical doctor, has been a fearless advocate for basic civil liberties in Cuba. His pro democracy position came with considerable risk to his safety and well-being. 

In 2002, Biscet was arrested, charged and sentenced to 25 years in prison as an enemy of the state. Known and respected internationally for his opposition to the Cuban government, Biscet has been likened to Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel and others who have risked their lives in David and Goliath human rights struggles. 

In fact, Biscet was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in February, just weeks before his release from prison. 

If Biscet had been willing to accept exile as the price for freedom he might have been released sooner according to Strenio. “Oscar made it clear he would stay in prison no matter how long it took in order to be able to remain in Cuba, which shows his love of his country,” says Strenio. 

“He was also subjected to horrific conditions during his imprisonment which were certainly barbaric,” says Strenio. “Despite all that, he had this immense personal and moral courage in refusing to accept exile to another country as the price of release.” 

Strenio won’t discuss how the group managed to negotiate Biscet’s release, but it is fair to say they talked to anyone that they believed might have influence with the Cubans. 

“Any attorney knows it is a challenge to achieve a result in your home district and the farther away you go from home the more complicated it becomes,” says Strenio. 

“Dealing with the situation in Cuba is extraordinarily complicated both because of the dictatorial nature of the regime and because of the distance and because of Dr. Biscet’s plight of being imprisoned unjustly for such a long period of time,” he adds. 

How many hours he and other lawyers involved spent working on the Biscet case is impossible to know. 

“It added up to a considerable amount,” says Strenio. “But I don’t think any of us involved in the process stopped to count. When you do this kind of work with this kind of an individual you don’t begrudge a second that you spend working on it. In fact you feel quite honored to be able to help to such a person.” 

Andrew Strenio is a partner in the firm of Sidley Austin. Considered a top-flight full-service international firm, Sidley Austin has 1,600 lawyers working in 17 cities in the US and around the world. Strenio’s practice focuses on domestic and international anti-trust law. He is also a former Federal Trade Commissioner.

Think your Company-Sponsored Life Insurance has your back? Think again

April 26th, 2011. By Kristine B

In the realm of people being ripped off, there are a few stories that are often the most heart breaking. Seniors losing their life savings to Ponzi schemes, seniors suffering financial elder abuse at the hands of their own families and people being denied necessary medical treatment because of bad faith insurance practices.

But there’s another story that’s been emerging that is also heart wrenching—stories of how insurance companies have denied and/or delayed legitimate accidental death claims by alleging the death was not an accident at all. These situations leave the surviving family members to deal with mountains of paperwork and facing the death of their loved ones over and over again while ERISA laws reportedly help insurance companies get away it. 

The situation was first reported by David Evans at Bloomberg (02/28/11). A man died in a car accident after a long battle with cancer. A medical examiner and a sheriff determined that the car crash was an accident—meaning the victim’s death was accidental. But the insurance company refused to pay, saying that the victim committed suicide. 

In other words, the insurance company knew more than the medical examiner and the sheriff. Now, consider that for a moment. By claiming the man committed suicide, the insurance company allegedly aimed to get out of paying out the accidental death policy. But there’s more to it than that. Because the insurance company claimed to know the mind of the victim better than his own family and better than the investigators who looked into the accident. 

The good news is that the victim’s wife sued and received the full life insurance policy. The bad news is that the insurer still denied wrongdoing—apparently, it’s not wrong to allege someone committed suicide—and didn’t pay any interest or penalties for holding the money. 

Why? Because ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) protects insurers. It says they can keep the survivors’ money while a claim is in court and invest that money, too, keeping the profits. Furthermore, under ERISA, insurance companies don’t have to pay compensatory or punitive damages. In other words, they can hold the money for an extra year or two, make a profit off investing that money and still only have to give the survivor the amount of the policy at the end. They profit while the survivor loses. 

So, once again, insurers are only too happy to receive premiums and benefit if they delay paying out claims. 

And why is ERISA involved in this at all? Because many companies provide life insurance, and company sponsored benefits—such as life insurance—are covered under ERISA. Making matters even worse, because ERISA is a federal law, state insurance departments don’t have the authority to step in on survivors’ behalf. It’s up to survivors to hire lawyers to help them fight any wrongfully denied accidental death claims. 

The end result is that if you have a company-sponsored life insurance policy claim that you feel has been wrongfully denied, don’t rely on the insurance company to tell you what “normal procedure” is. Your best bet is probably to contact an attorney and find out if you can fight the denial. After all, insurance companies apparently have little to lose by denying legitimate claims.

My Baby Died from Hospital Infection

April 22nd, 2011. By janem

Often I am asked if I have children and I almost always answer ‘No’. But that’s not true: I had a son and his name was Jarret.

Easter isn’t my favorite time of year. Instead, it is the saddest time for me because seventeen years ago this week, my son passed away from a hospital infection. Jarret was only three weeks old when he died so I didn’t even get to know him.

This is the first time I’ve been able to write about him—it has taken this many years to heal. Of course I will never get over his death, but each year does get easier. And his death was the main reason my husband and I fell apart. My husband wanted to sue the hospital for medical malpractice whereas I just wanted the pain to go away.

I don’t remember exactly what happened surrounding his death because it was like I was down a deep, dark hole and couldn’t get out, or maybe I didn’t want to get out. I remember my family doctor coming over to our house and crying with me; he even suggested that we file a malpractice suit against the hospital. In retrospect, maybe this was the right thing to do; maybe it would have decreased the risk of further hospital infections. I can’t help but think if we did file a lawsuit, would stricter hygiene practices have been put into place sooner? Could we have helped prevent another baby from contracting an infection?

Jarret was a pre-term baby so he was more susceptible to developing an infection. But the doctors assured me that he was doing well and I would be able to take him home soon. He never left the hospital. At three weeks, he developed a staphylococcus infection, which is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that is very difficult to treat.

Knowing that most hospital infections are preventable, my husband was furious. And now, all these years later, I am finally able to think rationally and I’m angry too. What if Jarret’s infection was caused by a doctor or nurse who didn’t wash their hands?

The number of healthcare-associated infections and deaths in the US is staggering: a study published in the March-April 2007 journal, Public Health Reports, said the CDC estimates that there are 4.5 hospital infections for every 100 patient admissions and nearly 100,000 deaths from hospital infection. One study in the UK found high levels of the MRSA bacteria on ward doors, in corridors and on patient’s toilets and telephones. A hospital administrator said, “About 30 percent of the population are carriers of MRSA. Controlling infection is a huge priority for us.”

I have finally been able to talk about my son without falling apart. Now I’m going to write a letter to the hospital where my son died. I hope every hospital considers infections like MRSA their top priority.

Asbestos News Roundup: 4.22.11

April 22nd, 2011. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of asbestos hot spots from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: Layman B. Saltz and his wife, Patricia K. Saltz, from Lufkin, Texas, have filed an asbestos suit naming 37 companies as defendants, and alleging that those companies are responsible for Mr. Saltz’s diagnosis of asbestos mesothelioma. He was diagnosed, according to a complaint, on December 29, 2010.

The defendants are being sued upon theories of negligence; contaminated buildings; breach of expressed/implied warranty; strict liability; intentional tort; conspiracy; misrepresentations; and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit.

The 37 companies named as defendants in the suit are: 3M Company, Inc.; A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; American Radiator & Standard Corporation; Certainteed Corporation; Cleaver Brooks, Inc.; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Flowserve FSD Corporation; F.B. Wright Company; Ford Motor Company; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company; Georgia Pacific Corporation; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Goulds Pumps; Honeywell International; IMO Industries, Inc.; Devalco Corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll Rand; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Rapid-American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Superior Boiler Works, Inc.; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Weil-McLain Company; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: William B. DePaoli Jr, from Canonsburg, has filed an asbestos claim alleging that during his employment he was exposed to asbestos which subsequently led to his diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma.

DePaoli Jr. was exposed to asbestos during his employment at various job sites around West Virginia, according to his complaint. The suit alleges that the defendants failed to advise Read the rest of this entry »

The 61.5 Fat-free Wheat Thins Diet (aka the HCG Diet)

April 22nd, 2011. By AbiK

That caught your eye, huh?

And it’s not all that far off, except it is carbs. Not far off, that is, from the much-in-the-media HCG diet. See, along with the so-called weight-loss miracle HCG injections comes a 500-calorie per day, uh, diet. To those of you who’ve picked up a pack of Suzy-Q’s lately (880 calories per pack) that 500 may seem a tad bit miniscule—though it is the equivalent of 61.5 fat-free Wheat Thins. Your average apple weighs in at about 72 calories.

You’re getting the picture—500 calories is paltry. I’m sure if I decided to only ingest 500 calories per day and not even exercise—hell, who’d have the strength?—I’d probably lose a few extra pounds. Enough to have “waif” attached to my name. To put this in further perspective, most references to the average daily caloric intake per capita in the Congo seem to hover in the 1,300 -1,400/day range. Now envision consuming about a third of that. You betcha you’d lose some serious weight—if you could hold yourself back from desperately grabbing the Doritos—or just some plain lettuce!— first.

So what’s the big deal with this HCG diet?

Most folks—paticularly women going through IVF—know HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, as the “trigger shot” administered just before retrieval to stimulate ovulation (aka, the “butt shot”). But HCG has become increasingly popular for weight loss—off label. How’s that happen? An article over at Discovery Health provides some background:

“It was during research in the 1950s when one doctor, A.T.W. Simeons, noticed that boys being treated with hCG for underdeveloped gonads were also able to lose excess weight by eating much less without any accompanying hunger pangs. His interest in hCG soon shifted to its potential as a diet aid, and he published a paper touting its effects, as well as developing a dietary regimen for use of the drug as a weight-loss tool.”

Weight loss? Without hunger pangs? Sounds like a Jenny Craig-Weight Watchers-Lean Cuisine-heading toward gastric bypass addict’s answered prayer, no? And for some, it apparently has been. For a commenter, Toni, at Discovery Health, the HCG diet resulted in this:

“I did the hcg diet with great results. I did it 3 times and I lost 80 lbs. My husband lost 120 Read the rest of this entry »