First Responder Distraction a Risk to Other Drivers

March 22nd, 2010. By Hunter West

In the rush to get people to stop texting on their cell phones, playing with their GPS devices or even working the laptop sitting on the passenger seat beside them WHILE DRIVING, a large segment of the driving population has been all but ignored in the debate.

Emergency service workers—the police, firefighters and paramedics who are first responders to an emergency. 

Have you seen inside a modern ambulance lately? Or a police car? It’s a tech heaven.

Computers and keypads, high-end GPS. The list goes on. 

There is little doubt that such rolling technology is having a positive impact on the capacity to respond to an emergency, and to save a life. 

But what has been forgotten—at least until a New York Times article came out on March 11^th drawing attention to the issue—is the potential for distraction by first responders who are multi-tasking behind the wheel and shouldn’t be.

As the article highlighted, drivers are supposed to key in, upload and download information while the vehicle is stopped. Once moving, that task is entrusted to the accompanying paramedic, or police officer. The partner. 

However, there have been instances where the riding paramedic is in the back, attending to the patient. The driver, intent on shuttling a patient in obvious distress to hospital in the quickest time, will not wait for vital information to come before weaving into traffic. Should that data become available while en route— Read the rest of this entry »

Asbestos News Roundup: 3.19.10

March 19th, 2010. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Kansas City, MO: An asbestos lawsuit has been filed by a woman who worked as a judicial administrative assistant at the Jackson County Courthouse, alleging she developed asbestos mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos where she worked. Nancy R. Lopez worked at the courthouse from 1975 until 2007. The suit alleges that there is asbestos dust in and around the heating and air-conditioning systems in the building.

A second lawsuit—a class action—has been filed on behalf of anyone who has worked or spent time in the courthouse on a daily basis since 1983, and who may have been exposed to asbestos dust. The lawsuit seeks damages for to help pay for medical expenses for those people who have suffered illness as a result of exposure to asbestos at this property. (KMBC.com)

Los Angeles, CA: The widow of Merlin Olsen, Susan Olsen will be assuming responsibility with respect to the lawsuit her late husband had filed against his former employer NBC and other media companies over allegations that they exposed him to asbestos. Olsen was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma roughly one year ago. 

Merlin Olsen was a TV sportscaster and actor, and in his suit he reportedly alleges that NBC, NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation improperly exposed him to asbestos during his TV career. This led to his developing asbestos related cancer, and his untimely death at the age of 69, on March 11, 2010. He also alleges that he was exposed to asbestos as a child and later as a drywaller when he worked in construction.

Olsen was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams. He also starred on the NBC television series “Little House on the Prairie” and “Father Murphy.” (Dailybreeze.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Harrisburg, PA: Asbestos fibers have been found in floor tiles recently removed from St. Catherine Laboure School in Derry Township, Dauphin County. According to news reports, workers removed the floor tiles to install new carpeting on March 12, 2010. The school has been closed for the week, and a cleanup is underway. (ABC27 News)

Asbestos Law

St. Louis, MO: Joseph L. Washington, ex-chief of the Northeast fire district, has been sentenced to one year’s probation for his role in the removal of asbestos materials from a fire district building, which resulted in a felony violation of the Clean Air Act.

The charge stemmed from the removal in late 2008 of asbestos-laden tiles from the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District’s administration building in Beverly Hills. (St. Louis today.com)

How to Handle the Co-Worker you can’t Febreeze

March 18th, 2010. By AbiK

Remember the one about the airline passenger that was booted off a Jazz Air flight because he smelled?

Hey, don’t underestimate that ol’ olfactory system. Think I’m kidding? One woman’s sense of smell just netted her a $100,000 settlement. How? As a Detroit city employee, Susan McBride had complained about a co-worker’s perfume and room deodorizer (must’ve been into fragrance layering)—that the smell of them made it difficult for her to breathe. She also complained of migraine headaches, nausea and coughing.

From a report on The Early Show (CBS), it seems McBride’s boss didn’t respond to her complaints, and apparently didn’t tell the co-worker with the love of all things aromatic that there was a teensy little issue that, quite frankly, she stunk and it was unbearable.

So, McBride sued.

Here’s the kicker—Detroit city employees in three buildings (yes, three!) are now being warned not to wear anything that delivers a scent—no top notes of jasmine, no undertones of sandalwood, skip the tea rose-scented potpourri, the eponymous Tim McGraw cologne, the Glade plug-ins, and by all means, leave the Red Door at the door. The Early Show report also mentions folks should leave behind the deodorant, though if you’re flying Jazz Air you may want to pack a travel size somewhere—just in case.

Seems the question here comes down to a question of rights. And, as labor and employment lawyer Joelle Sharman is quoted as saying on The Early Show, “A person doesn’t necessarily have a right to wear perfume, but the person does have a right to be able to breathe in the workplace. So if an employee comes into work and says to his or her boss, “I can’t breathe, this perfume is triggering a condition that is affecting my ability to breathe in the workplace,” and reports to his or her boss, the boss has to reasonably accommodate that person.”

Your First Clue Something’s Wrong with Fosamax

March 18th, 2010. By AbiK

Yup. There’s your very first clue. The website—usually chock-full of bright branding colors (Fosamax green and yellow, the colors of grass, trees and sunshine…ahhh) and salt-of-the-earth salt-and-pepper haired folks enjoying precious moments with the grandkids or out there gardening—all smiles because they’re taking Fosamax and feelin’ fine. No osteoporosis worries there.

Now, no, I can’t say for sure that the “official” Fosamax site has gone to straight black type on white because there are any problems… but I’m guessing the site’s “not currently available” for reasons beyond a pricing analysis going on over in the marketing department.

Yup. A non-existent website. It’s a marketer’s nightmare. A PR person’s problem to manage. And it’s your first clue that maybe, just maybe, something’s amiss…

(psssst—if you haven’t been clued in yet, read on…)

Lia-bil-ity…Easy as 1-2-3

March 17th, 2010. By Kristine B

Often in the media you’ll hear the word ‘liability’ thrown around. In fact, liability is a word that’s used all the time. However, while people may have an idea of what liability is, they may not know all the ins and outs of it. So, this Pleading Ignorance discusses liability and some of the forms of liability. Sound exciting? You bet it is!

Legal liability refers to a party’s legal responsibility for an act or omission. If that party fails to meet its legal obligations, it could be open to a lawsuit for any damages that resulted from a failure to meet those obligations. Hence (to use another fancy word) we say that the party is liable. By the way, it’s a “party” and not a “person” because a company or other entity can be held liable as well—not just a person.

Lawsuits involving liability must prove three things:

• That the defendant had a duty to the plaintiff
• That the defendant failed to fulfill the duty, and
• That the failure to fulfill the duty resulted in damages to the plaintiff.

Fail to prove all three and you’ve failed to prove liability.

For example, Stephen is driving a car and fails to stop at a red light. While in the intersection, he hits the car Sandra is in, which had the right of way. Sandra is injured in the accident. Sandra can argue that…

• Stephen had a duty of care to the other drivers on the road—including to Sandra
• Stephen’s duty of care was breached when he failed to stop at the red light, and
• Because Sandra was injured in the car accident she can prove that Stephen’s failure to meet his duty of care caused her injuries.

All three answered, so it’s sounding like Stephen’s pretty liable.

So you’ve got the gist of legal liability. But recently, there have been mentions in the news of joint and several Read the rest of this entry »