Private Unlicensed College Offering Certification Exposed
Toronto Star investigation revealed serious flaws regarding a private college that offered certification for personal support workers. There is also a video that accompanies the article where the reporter finally confronts the owner.
Personal support workers are often used by lawyers in personal injury actions. This type of investigation is yet another reason lawyers on both sides of the tables to ensure they do their homework.
No More Kissing In France Due To H1N1 Virus?
French authorities are warning the public to avoid and reduce unnecessary contact in the wake of the H1N1 virus. How will the French cope?
Deadly Outbreak Of E-Coli In UK
A deadly outbreak of E-Coli at a farm in the UK has caused twin boys to become infected and receive kidney dialysis. Worse, is the alarm that a number of people could also be infected.
The Independent UK has reported that:
Thirty-six cases of the E.Coli O157 bacterial infection have been confirmed linked with the farm, of which 12 are in children, all under 10. The O157 strain, although rare, is one of the nastiest, particularly in young children, causing diarrhoea, vomiting, and in extreme cases kidney failure and death. The outbreak is believed to have started on August 8 and around 2,000 people a day visit the farm, implying tens of thousands may have been put at risk.
The Health Protection Agency became aware of the problem as early as August 27, 2009 but the decision to officially close the farm happened on September 11, 2009. This has left victims and their families very angry.
British Oil Company To Pay Billions For Toxic Waste Dumping
A British oil trading company, Trafigura will pay out billions in compensation in a class action suit brought by over 30,000 people from the Ivory Coast who fell ill in what has been described as the worst pollution incident in decades involving the dumping of toxic waste.
The claimants who endured short term illness that included, diahorrhea, vomiting and breathing difficulties will receive, “several hundred pounds.” However, there still isn’t word yet on those that suffered life threatening effects and death.
The settlement seems to have been provoked by a United Nations report that suggested as reported by the Independent a “strong prima facie evidence that, the reported deaths and adverse health consequences are related to the dumping.”
The dumping was the result of a sub-contractor, Compagnie Tommy who disposed of tonnes of sludge waste inappropriately. The UN report also stated, that Trafigura, “failed to check the ability of its local contractor to deal properly with the waste.
Here is an interesting blog post on the topic.
Tort Reform In The United States
Tort reform in the United States has been a long standing issue. During his second campaign for re-election President Bush spoke frequently of tort reform and the dire consequences of hefty judgements.
In fact, President Bush even favoured a capping on non-economic malpractice damages at $250,000. Malpractice reform was discussed by President Obama in his recent speech on health care reform. There is no indication yet, whether Obama would also support a cap on damages.
Revamping The Food Industry?
Interesting Op-Ed in the New York Times entitled Big Food vs. Big Insurance discussing the enormous cost of taking care of unhealthy people largely caused by poor diet, excessive junk food and lack of exercise. How would the United States begin to tackle the food industry when it can't deal with it's health insurance dilemma?
Junk food
In the alternative, the regulation of the food industry is definitely something that has gained attention in Canada.
The Freedom To Criticize?
In the United States a lawyer who criticized a Judge on his blog was fined. Similar stories are taking place as a result of Facebook and Twitter. The New York Times article can be found here.
All too often, lawyers return from court or discoveries and openly rant about the other lawyer, party or Judge.
Lawyers who blog or use social sites should begin to smarten up based on what has been happening in the United States. The New York Times article cites a legal professor who states, “when you become an officer of the court, you lose the full ability to criticize the court”.
It’s foreseeable that such incidents will rise as it is apparent more lawyers are tech friendly and many between the ages of 25-45 are using blogs and Facebook.
Uranium Poisons Indian Children
The Guardian UK reported that uranium was linked to a high increase in birth defects, physical and mental abnormalities and cancer in local children in the Punjab district. Worse, is that the Indian government has been doing everything possible to ensure the story isn’t leaked.
The story describes that in one case the level of uranium was 60 times greater than the maximum limit. While the Indian authorities did next to nothing to determine the cause the investigation by the paper found the cause of the uranium was likely coal fired power plant stations. Fine fly ash produced when coal is burned contain concentrated levels of uranium. A Russian report cautions that people who live near coal fired plants are at greater risk for radiation hazard.
Water tests conducted near the plants show that the level of uranium around the Punjabi plants were 15 times the World Health Organisation’s maximum safe limits.
You can read the article here. This article is from the Guardian Weekly and unfortunately, there is no HTML version.
Click here.
New Court Of Appeal Case To Keep In Mind For CAT Cases
The Court of Appeal decided in Liu v. 1226071 Ontario Inc., [2009] O.J. No. 3014 the interpretation of the section dealing with catastrophic impairment, section 267.5(3) of the Insurance Act.
At the lower court the Plaintiff was not defined as catastrophic therefore, unable to access the $2,000,000 in additional accident benefits. At the scene of the accident his Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was 3 out of 15. A few moments later it was 8 out of 15 and then within 40 minutes it was 12. Under the Act a reading of 9 or under deems an individual as catastrophically impaired.
The Plaintiff did regain consciousness and suffered a period of amnesia. At the lower court the Judge stated the Plaintiff had also made a good recovery as he was able to make complex decisions including his two trips to China. The Judge did accept the Plaintiff had suffered a brain impairment.
The Court of Appeal stated in Liu that provided there was a brain impairment, all that is required is one GCS score of 9 or less within a reasonable time following the accident. It is a legal definition to be met by a claimant and not a medical test.
Therefore, if the test is administered by a trained individual within a reasonable time following a car accident and the GCS score is under 9 an individual would meet the legal test for a catastrophic impairment as long as the depressed score is related to a brain impairment. The Court of Appeal also indicated that a Plaintiff’s recovery is irrelevant.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day
September 9 is International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day, which presents all Canadians with an opportunity to consider the risks, consequences, and life-long challenges associated with drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term used to describe a range of disabilities that may affect children of mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy. The affected children may experience a range of cognitive, medical, physical, and mental health challenges throughout their lifetimes.