Ford Recalls 15,000 Vehicles with Wiring Problems

Ford Motors has recalled 15,000 trucks and crossovers to fix an electrical problem that can result in fire. The recall covers 2011 models of the F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX models. For more read Article: Kansas City Star

LWCC Pays $22.5 Million Dividend To Businesses While Workers Are Cheated

It’s a daily occurrence at hazardous work sites throughout Louisiana. A worker is injured or killed and must depend upon workers compensation to provide income for medical attention, food, housing, education and clothing. That's how the system is supposed to work, but it is not reality.

In reality, the employer does everything in its power to prevent the worker from recovery. The most devastating weapons in the arsenal of employer assault are the Louisiana Worker's Compensation Corporation (LWCC) and the legal impediments to the worker hiring an attorney.

As originally conceived, the LWCC was a creature of the state, state-funded, state-controlled, favoring employers over workers. To make matters worse, Louisiana law limits the amount of money that an injured worker can pay to an attorney for legal representation. By contrast, employers are allowed to pay their attorney whatever it takes to win the case. A virtual David and Goliath legal battle takes place, but, here, the corporate Goliath always wins.

Recently, LWCC announced it would pay a $22.5 million dividend, to be divided among about 18,000 policyholders. The policyholders or employers! In 2009 LWCC paid a $15 million dividend to policyholders; over the past eight years, the business has paid out nearly $159.3 million in dividends. Meanwhile, workers are cheated.

Here in Louisiana, workers compensation is "checkbook justice" from beginning to end!

BP Caught Red-Handed in Conflict of Interest with Gulf Claims Facility

The Center for Justice & Democracy, a citizens' advocacy group, isn’t about to back down from British Petroleum, the mega-national corporation that devastated the Gulf Coast.

The CJ&D has asked various Gulf Coast attorneys general to launch an immediate investigation into possible conflict of interest between BP and the administration of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility by Kenneth Feinberg.

The CJ&D letter objects to Feinberg serving as claims administrator while BP is paying his law firm $850,000 a month for legal fees! Hum... almost a million dollars a month in attorney fees!

CJ&D’s letter charges that “Mr. Feinberg, employed by BP, has decided on his own authority that all claims recipients must release all companies who caused this disaster from any and all legal responsibility, no matter how grossly negligent they were. This sweeping release, which assigns victims’ claims to BP, benefits only one actor: BP – the company that pays Mr. Feinberg’s salary."

Link to CJ&D’s letter!

Glucose Test Strips Recalled in U.S.

Abbott Diabetes Care announced a recall of 359 lots of blood glucose test strips in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company issued a recall after it was discovered the strips may give falsely low blood glucose results. The false results may cause patients "to try to raise their blood glucose when it is unnecessary and to fail to treat elevated blood glucose due to a falsely low reading," the company said. See, Staff Report, PR Newswire 12/22/2010