Study says, Hospital Patients at Major Risk from Staph Infections

In the most comprehensive survey of its kind, researchers have found that as many as 1.2 million patients are infected with drug-resistant staph infections each year.

The figure is more than 10 times that of previous estimates.

The study also found that between 48,000 to 119,000 more patients may be dying of infections each year than previously estimated. The study was conducted by the Association for Processionals in Infection & Epidemiology. Judith Graham, Chicago Tribune 06/25/2007 Read Article: Chicago Tribune

The Rule of Law: Fact or Fiction? Inns of Court and The Federalist Society

When I began this piece, I wasn’t sure how much could be reasonably presented in a concise statement of the nature of the problem: is the rule of law fact or fiction?

For sure, America prides itself as a nation that lives by “the rule of law.” Law exist everywhere: statutes, ordinances, and judicial decisions. If there's a problem with the “rule of law,” the problem must arise where laws are made. Right?

Since most, if not all, forms of American government (local, state, and national) reflect a “divisions of power,” legislatures must be the source of the problem. But that's not the case. Legislatures merely reflect the biases of the generation in power. Rarely are the laws of a previous generation abrogated to make way for the laws of the new generation. Often, opposing principles are left standing without regard for the contradiction.

Where else then? The courts?

For sure, whoever controls the courts will control the interpretation of the law. But, legal hermeneutics originates elsewhere. It starts long before the appointment or election of judges. It begins with lawyers. Then it must be in our law schools. Wrong! Law schools rarely, if ever, educate in legal theory. No, it takes place in think tanks that, for the most part, go unnoticed because they're obscure. Let’s look at two.

Inns of Court

The Inns of Court began in England as a professional association to one of which every English barrister must belong. The English Inns of Court have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. Beginning in the late 1970s, U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger led a movement to create U.S. Inns of Court. Burger, a Republican, was an Eisenhower appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court and an elitist.

Today, U.S. Inns of Court flourish. In many instances U.S. Inns of Court have denigrated into a place where judges and lawyers forge friendships that often reflect an underlying bias against “the rule of law.” It's the place where the young lawyer and would-be judge learns how to "think." There are literally dozens of such U.S. Inns of Court where membership is by invitation only.

The Federalist Society

The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies was founded in the early 1980s as a "conservative legal fellowship" attempting to mold judicial practice in the U.S. Notable members of The Federalist Society are Robert H. Bork, Orrin G. Hatch, Donald Paul Hodel, Edwin Meese, John Stewart Bryan,III, Chairman, President/C.E.O. Media General Cable, Joseph Cannon, C.E.O./Chairman, Geneva Steel, R. Crosby Kemper, III, President, United Missouri Bank, John G. Medlin, Jr., Chairman, Wachovia Corporation, Nicholas John Stathis, Vice President, Orpheon, Inc., Paul S. Stevens, General Counsel, Investment Company Institute, Robert L. Strickland, Chairman, Lowe's Companies, Inc., Kenneth Starr, U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. The purpose of The Federalist Society is to proselytize, indoctrinate, and groom lawyers to become judges who “think right.”

Friends in high places: Conservative Republican Supreme Court protects corporate greed.

Several recent decisions from the conservative Republican Supreme Court have accomplished what slick Dick Cheney and lobbyist Jack Abramoff were unable to do.

Dominated by the Far-Fetched Four, i.e. Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia, the conservative Republican Supreme Court has handed down decision after decision that hurt working families who try to protect themselves against corporation greed.

The Far-Fetched Four and their conservative compatriots have undermined public safety and have protected and promoted corporate greed by throwing out verdicts against tobacco companies and automakers and shielded various industries from various forms of liability.

How can anyone justify being "conservative" with justice?

David G. Savage, LA Times 06/21/2007 Read Article: LA Times

Conservative press says, Insurance Cost-Shifting by Allstate, Nationwide and State Farm must stop!

Well it’s about time. Liberals have been saying this for decades. Now, conservative media, which usually turn a blind-eye to corporate greed, are starting to take notice.

Recently, New Orleans CityBusiness criticized Allstate, Nationwide and State Farm for selling as much as 95% of all federal flood insurance policies. Allstate, Nationwide and State Farm Considering are "raking in unearned profits at the expense of taxpayers" by shifting wind damage costs to the federal government.

CityBusiness argues, the “Multiple Peril Insurance Act” will lift the burden from property owners who now have to hire lawyers, engineers and adjusters to prove to insurers that wind, not water, caused damage. CityBusiness acknowledges that the proposal isn’t a complete fix to the problem, but it should make it harder for insurers to rip off or scam taxpayers.

Maybe so, but insurance companies own the legislature and will likely tighten their grip on government if the both houses of the legislature become Republican. In time, they’ll beat the system

Editors, New Orleans CityBusiness, 06/18/2007

Good Guys Win. Federal Judge Orders FEMA to Stop Abrupt Cutoff of Rental Aid

The Bush administration doesn’t care about the Katrina-Rita Diasporas; that much is painfully clear. But, U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan apparently does.

Berrigan, who was a Clinton appointee, ordered FEMA to stop cutting off low-income rental assistance to Katrina-Rita hurricane victims without giving them advance written notice and letting them know they have a right to a hearing.

In her ruling, Berrigan states that FEMA appears to treat plaintiffs as "gnats to be brushed away." The ruling also states, "FEMA has been created by Congress and the President to serve the needs of citizens at their darkest hours, which for some citizens are being now measured in terms of years." Susan Finch, New Orleans Times-Picayune 06/16/2007Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune

Hiss! Health Officials Withheld Cancer Evidence

How nasty can you get.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Minnesota Health Department withheld information about asbestos-related cancers that killed 35 miners. The Star uncovered documents that exposed the nasty behavior.

The recovered documents showed that Minnesota Health Department officials had known for over a year that mesothelioma caused the deaths of more miners than previously suspected but failed to disclose the information despite urging by scientists.

Health officials have defended the silence saying they did not want to raise alarm without concrete evidence.

Yeah... right!

David Shaffer, Minneapolis Star Tribune 06/16/2007 Read Article: Minneapolis Star Tribune

Habeas corpus is AWOL. Habeas corpus, phone home.

It was called the “Great Writ.” The English jurist, Sir William Blackstone, dates the “Great Writ” to 1305, when brutal Longshanks, Edward I, ruled England. If you haven’t read the book but have seen the movie, Longshanks is the guy who threw his son’s lover out of a castle tower. You remember…Braveheart…Mel Gibson…William Wallace, the Scottish freedom fighter.

Anyway, the “Great Writ” has been around for 700 years. Back then it was called habeas corpus ad subjiciendum. Today it’s simply called habeas corpus. As the eminent Blackstone explained, it was a command, mind you, in the name of the King, to explain why a person’s liberty was restrained, wherever and whenever that restraint occurred.

In Western legal tradition, the writ of habeas corpus is pre-eminent, as every freedom loving American knows. Heck, it prevents the U.S. government from being arbitrary. You know, simply holding a person without due process. Right? After all, it’s enshrined right there in the Suspension Clause of the U. S. Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 9, Clause 2, which reads:

“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public safety may require it.”

Yet, on October 17, 2006, the writ of habeas corpus itself went missing. That’s right, habeas corpus is AWOL. That’s the day a Republican Congress and the Bush administration signed the Military Commissions Act into law. Now the U. S. government can hold anyone without due process, even without a preceding rebellion or invasion!Wow…now that’s radical.

Recently, Habeas Corpus briefly surfaced in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Taking the Suspension Clause of the U. S. Constitution seriously, the 4th Circuit ordered the Pentagon to either charge Ali al-Marri in the civilian court system, deport him, hold him as a material witness or release him.

But alas, soon thereafter, habeas corpus went AWOL again.

Habeas corpus, phone home.

Star Chamber - State Farm Insurance Compnay

In England, the Star Chamber (Camera stellata) reigned from 1487 to 1641 when it was abloished. It wasn’t a tribunal of justice. Rather, it was political and not unlike many courts of today.

I’ve litigated against insurance companies for 30 years. The fraud and deceit that goes on daily in civil courtrooms across America is appalling. Until recently, most judges were on the side of working folks; they actually looked out for workingmen and workingwomen.

Not so any more. Thing have changed.

The federal courts make it expensive and difficult for workingmen and workingwomen to find justice there. For all practical purposes, federal courts purposely skew the rules in favor of insurance companies and big corporations. Judges in the federal system are appointed for life, so there’s no way to get them out.

Insurance companies and big corporations are slowly dominating the state courts. Like their federal counterparts, state courts are a sanctuary for bad faith corporate and insurance practices.

From time to time my Star Chamber segment will show case the abuses that stem from “pocketbook justice,” where money rather than justice reigns.

This posting of Star Chamber looks at State Farm Insurance Company.

State Farm Insurance Companies is being pounded in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and rightly so. State Farm’s been accused of hiring an engineering firm that “fixed” its reports to support State Farm’s defense. See: Documents That Suggest Fraud by Insurance Companies in the Handling of Katrina Wind and Water Claims

Now, it’s inconceivable that courts in America let State Farm get away with this type of unfair and unjust behavior, but they do. Does America have an independent judiciary or a star chamber?

Federal Judge Attacks Middle-Class Rights to live healthy.

MONEY...MONEY...MONEY! In what can only be described as an attack on middle-class rights, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel rejected class certification because the plaintiffs’ lawyers told the plaintiffs what their rights were. That’s right – a federal judge refused to let plaintiffs file as a group because the plaintiffs lawyer told them that they had rights.

The shame of Judge Patel’s decision is that, everyday in boardrooms across America, insurance and corporate lawyers advise corporate cartels of their rights and conservative federal judges let it pass. Here, Judge Patel’s decision is insidious for two reasons:

First, Oreck Direct LLC, a Louisiana profiteer, makes questionable air purifiers that affect health of 70,000 Californians. In effect, the Judge said that the only way that the plaintiffs’ lawyer could represent 70,000 members of the class was if 70,000 people called the lawyers’ office to seek representation.

Secondly, the Federal Judge objected to the plaintiffs’ lawyer telling anyone that Oreck air purifiers didn’t work. This theory has devastating implication for consumers. The fake corporate science that dominates the boardrooms of America will reign until someone dies or becomes ill.

The message is now clear: If there's a defective product in America, lawyers can’t tell the public about it! Thanks, Judge Patel, the middle-class really needs that kind of protection.

And, unless members of a class individually contact the lawyer, he can’t represent them. Westrup Klick LLP, the plaintiffs' lawyer, should appeal Judge Patel's draconian decision and help restore the rights of the middle class to live a healthy life.

State Farm’s hard-nose practices are catching up with the insurer.

It’s not uncommon for insurers like State Farm to be unreasonable with small claims. The tactic is simple: Resist the small claim as much as possible. Because of the amount of money involved, most lawyers will decline representation. In the end, the insured will have no recourse but to go away. More often than not, the tactic works. However, it failed recently in a Palm Beach County Courthouse.

Charles Turner Sr. lost two sons as a result of an auto accident. The accident was caused by the negligence of one of his sons. Rather than pay Mr. Turner the $10,000, which was State Farm's policy limits, State Farm forced Mr. Turner to go to trial and to endure the humiliation of arguing that one of his son's caused the death of the other son.

Mr. Turner's attorney, Harry Shevin, argued that State Farm was in bad faith by forcing Mr. Turner to file suit to recover money for the loss of one of his sons. After 20 minutes of deliberation, a Palm Beach County jury agreed and entered a $10 million judgment against State Farm.

This type tactic is not uncommon among insurers like State Farm and Allstate, both of whom have a rich history of dirty trial tactics. Only punitive damages will cause insurers to stop these bad faith practices. Read: Trial looms over millions in teen's death

Diamond Jim Donelon where are you? Insurers are Milking the System.

Diamond Jim Donelon’s asleep at the wheel.

Recently, Mississippi attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs told members of the Louisiana Association for Justice that insurance companies are ripping off the National Flood Insurance Program by altering engineering reports to falsely conclude that rising water, not wind, caused damages from Hurricane Katrina.

That’s right: RIPPING OFF!

Scruggs explained, "They instructed the adjusters to max out the flood (insurance)." Scruggs warned, "Given what we know now about State Farm, it would in inconceivable if it weren't going on in Louisiana, too."

Diamond Jim’s supposed to be looking out for Louisiana policyholders. But, he hasn’t heard the warning.

As Louisiana’s Insurance Commissioner, why hasn’t Diamond Jim investigated State Farm and other Louisiana insurers to determine if they’ve altered engineering reports to falsely conclude that rising water, not wind, caused damages from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?

Well, I apologize for such a naïve question. We know why Diamond Jim hasn't done anything. Don’t we?

Diamond Jim’s playing “Mickey the Dunce.” Insurance companies are substantial contributors to the Republican Party. Republican heavy-hitters have told Diamond Jim that insurance companies are off limits.

Here’s how it’s done in other states. In 2003 it was discovered that 21st Century Insurance Group secretly contributed $950,000 to the California Republican Party and 15 county committees just before the 2002 general election.

People in Louisiana are still hurting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita! So what does Diamond Jim propose? A corporate welfare scheme. He wants to pay insurance companies to do business here! Hey, Diamond Jim, don't pay insurance companies a penny! Do your job and investigate them!

Appeals court restores UCI liver transplant patient's medical negligence lawsuit

A lawsuit against a University of California hospital was reinstated after an appeals court ruled that the plaintiff's argument "demonstrated good cause to restore the case." The palintiff accepted and then later refused a $50,000 settlement for her lawsuit, opting instead to restore her case. The Associated Press, San Diego Union Tribune 04/17/2007 Read Article: San Diego Union Tribune

Our Soldiers Need Good Lawyers

Few among the American public know that members of the U.S. military are barred from suing for medical malpractice and negligence by the government. That’s hard to believe isn’t it. So, let me repeat it: Members of the U.S. military are barred from suing for medical malpractice and negligence by the government.

"Whether it is a military doctor cutting off the wrong leg or a military gasoline station cutting a brake line, military personnel are not allowed to seek legal relief as other citizens can."

A series of rulings by the Supreme Court in 1950—known as the Feres Doctrine—created the loss of legal protections for members of the military even in peacetime.

Congress needs to amend the Federal Tort Claims Act to end this "disastrous" Feres Doctrine. Jonathan Turley, USA Today 04/12/2007 Read Article: USA Today

Johnson & Johnson Recall Children's Listerine

Four million bottles of plaque-detecting Listerine for children were recalled after Johnson & Johnson discovered the mouthwash was contaminated by bacteria. Preservatives in the rinse did not kill four types of bacteria, which could pose a risk to consumers with weak immune systems.

The bacteria found included a strain that can cause urinary tract infections, blood poisoning and respiratory infections. Yuck!

Bloomberg News , The Dallas Morning News 04/12/2007 Read Article: The Dallas Morning News

Ford Escape SUVs Recalled Because of Engine Fires

More than 500,000 Ford Escape vehicles are being recalled after 50 reports of engine fires. The company is notifying dealers and owners that the fires are being caused by corroded brake parts. Owners will not be charged if the anti-lock braking system component requires replacement. Bloomberg News , The New York Times 04/12/2007 Read Article: The New York Times

FDA Aware of E. Coli Threats But Does Nothing

The FDA knew of the contamination risks at the Georgia peanut butter plant and Calif. spinach farms that were involved in recent E. coli outbreaks. According to agency documents, officials only took limited steps to address the problems. The incidents show that the FDA is "incapable of adequately protecting the safety of the food supply." Elizabeth Williamson, Kansas City Star 04/23/2007 Read Article: Kansas City Star

No Evacuation Plan for Hospitals: Negligence or Malpractice?

The Louisiana Supreme Court is considering a question that could shift hundreds of Katrina-related claims against hospitals away from the courts and redirect them to a state malpractice panel. Plaintiff attorney Laurence Best of New Orleans represents two men whose mother died at Methodist Memorial Hospital in the days following Hurricane Katrina. This case is the first of several hundred similar claims. Houma Courier,Associated Press, 04/12/2007

Allstate Hurricane Trial: Policyholders Got Conflicting Information

Policyholder Robert Weiss, who sued Allstate Insurance Co. after his home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, pointed out that because hurricanes are wind and water, to exclude coverage of either one of those causes of damage is "ridiculous." One issue the trial explores is whether an engineering report produced by a consulting firm was altered to favor the insurers' position. Associated Press, New Orleans Times-Picayune 04/11/2007 Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune

Donelon Unware Dept. Approved Controversial Insurance Risk Model

Corporate Welfare - Gov't Cover-Up: Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said he was not aware that the controversial RMS 60 hurricane computer model had been approved for use in Louisiana. Donelon ordered insurers to temporarily stop using the RMS model that is known to allow insurers to show cause for higher rates. Donelon said he asked insurers that have had rate increases approved but not yet implemented to hold off using the storm model until Florida completes its review of the RMS product. Rebecca Mowbray, New Orleans Times-Picayune 04/20/2007 Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune

Legality of Donelon's Insurance Program Questioned

Corporate Welfare: The House Insurance Committee grilled state and insurance officials over whether a proposed grant of $100 million in state funds can legally be given to insurance companies. The plan, announced by Gov. Blanco and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, would provide up to $100 million in matching grants to insurers that would write new homeowners' business in Louisiana. Ed Anderson, New Orleans Times-Picayune 04/19/2007 Read Article: New Orleans Times-Picayune