The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops concluded its spring meeting in Baltimore by passing three major policies, each of which is designed to address their own accountability in sex abuse cases. While the bishops celebrated the new policies as a major achievement, many within the Catholic Church believe these rules don’t go far enough because …
A woman suffering from mesothelioma has been awarded $325 million in punitive and compensatory damages by a New York jury. The woman charged that her mesothelioma, an aggressive form of asbestos-related cancer, is the result of decades of daily use of two Johnson & Johnson products, Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. The jury rejected Johnson …
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently called on lawmakers to either extend or eliminate the statute of limitations on sex crimes in the state. He also urged legislators to strengthen sexual assault laws applied to people in power positions over their victims. The Governor’s comments came in the wake of Ohio State University’s report on the sexual abuse …
The maker of Pam cooking spray, Conagra Brands, is being sued by eight burn victims, all of whom were severely injured when cans of the cooking spray exploded in their kitchens. In one case, a victim said the fire produced by the exploding can was so intense that it melted her contact lens onto her …
Putting a loved one in a nursing home can be one of the most gut-wrenching decisions a family can ever make. And once that decision is made, what do you do if you suspect there may be a problem with the level of care the nursing home is providing to your loved one? Recognizing how …
Nursing homes around the country have received new ratings from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency which administers Medicare and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid. Last month, CMS changed its inspection process and the Five-Star Quality Rating System for nursing homes nationwide. The revisions, which now provide …
Amid mounting pressures, the Boy Scouts of America has hinted that the organization may consider bankruptcy to protect it from a flood of lawsuits. The suits come in the wake of recent research which shows that as many as 12,200 current and former Scouts have been abused by 7,819 troop leaders and other volunteers. Shockingly, even …
For years, we’ve been hearing about the link between smoking and lung cancer. But the sad truth is that lung cancer in non-smokers is much more common than people realize. In fact, lung cancer in those who have never smoked is now the sixth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. According to …
An Oakland, California jury has awarded $2 billion in punitive damages to Alva and Alberta Pilliod after concluding that continued exposure to Roundup weed killer was responsible for the couple’s cancer. The jury also ruled that the couple should receive an additional $55 million for pain and suffering, and to cover their medical expenses. As residential …
African-American, Native American, and Alaska Native women are nearly three times more likely to die from health issues arising before or immediately after pregnancy than white women, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study also shows that 60% of all pregnancy-related deaths can be prevented with better …
Newborn babies are at a much higher risk of developing meningitis than any other age group. This is primarily because infants’ immune systems are not fully developed and are more prone to viruses and illnesses. Since the bacteria that causes meningitis can be transferred from mother to baby, prenatal care and virus screening for the …
Abusing and exploiting the elderly and individuals with developmental disabilities happens more than any of us would like to think. Unfortunately, because these people tend to be viewed as weak, vulnerable, and less likely to report such instances, they are often regarded as easy targets. Three separate incidents that took place at residential care facilities …
Each year, more than one million hernia repair surgeries are performed in the U.S. alone. And for many of those operations, surgical mesh is the medical device doctors use to strengthen the repair, shorten recovery time, and reduce the chances of the hernia returning. Unfortunately, hernia mesh is not without its drawbacks. As with any …
Expert testimony by a researcher who has been working with the Boy Scouts of America reveals that there may have been as many as 7,819 sexually abusive troop leaders and volunteers in the organization since the 1940s. According to newly released court documents, expert testimony delivered by Dr. Janet Warren – a child sex abuse researcher hired by …
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered two manufacturers to immediately stop selling a type of surgical mesh used to repair pelvic collapse in women. The order comes on the heels of tens of thousands of lawsuits – including numerous cases brought by clients of Pintas & Mullins – charging that the mesh …
The Los Angeles Times recently won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for its series of stories on a former gynecologist at the University of Southern California (USC) accused of sexually abusing hundreds of students at a campus clinic over nearly three decades. While the newspaper articles recognize an extraordinary piece of journalism, they also shed …
While Bayer – the manufacturer of Roundup weed killer – has stated publicly that it has no intention of settling thousands of lawsuits charging that its product causes cancer, the company is now being forced to try. After canceling a trial scheduled for May 20, 2019, that would have followed a recent $80 million verdict against …
Pope Francis has issued a new decree which requires Vatican City officials or diplomats around the world to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse by priests or others, or face possible jail time. The Pope’s edict comes on the heels of an international summit of church leaders held in February to address abuse of minors …
In the summer of 2018, Krystal Kim, a 53-year-old African-American woman, was one of the plaintiffs in a successful lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The jury in that trial awarded $4.69 billion to Kim and 21 others – all of whom are suffering from ovarian cancer or mesothelioma which they believe was …
When Mary (name changed for confidentiality) moved into a nursing home following a stroke, she didn’t know that two of her fellow residents were registered sex offenders. That’s because most states don’t have a law that requires background checks to be completed or notice to be given to nursing home residents and staff. According to …
More than 6,000 Americans die from asbestos-related lung cancer every year. Medical researchers first made the connection between asbestos exposure and lung cancer in 1935. Since then, study after study has shown the same link, which typically occurs when a person breathes in asbestos fibers, some of which become lodged in the individual’s lungs. Over …
In New York, the family of a merchant marine who died of malignant mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos has won the right to sue Chevron. In New Jersey, a man suffering malignant mesothelioma is suing Johnson & Johnson for failing to keep their talc-based baby powder – which he regularly used – from being …
A San Francisco jury has ruled that Roundup, the world’s most widely used weed killer, was likely responsible for causing 70-year-old Edwin Hardeman’s cancer. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health organization, in 2015. The suit …
Every year, doctors across the U.S. perform more than a million hernia repair surgeries. And since the 1990s, the use of a surgical mesh to strengthen a repair and prevent the hernia from recurring has become the standard of care. Unfortunately, while use of a hernia mesh may have benefits, it also has the potential …
News that Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 had crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people, had barely begun to sink in when stories started to emerge that the crash was eerily similar to a Lion Air disaster that occurred last October in Indonesia. The planes in both crashes were Boeing’s brand new 737 Max jets. Pilots, engineers, …