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College hazing still leads to injuries – despite being officially banned
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Officially, almost all colleges and universities,
fraternities, sororities and sports teams have prohibited students from
engaging in hazing activities. In addition, some 44 states have enacted
anti-hazing laws.
But despite all this, each year there are reports of numerous injuries and deaths from initiation rites gone awry.
The official bans are a good thing, of course. But
the sad fact is that many universities don’t back them up with
aggressive anti-hazing measures – until a tragedy occurs and a lawsuit
is filed.
Utah State University is facing a wrongful death
lawsuit filed by the parents of Michael Starks, an 18-year-old freshman
who died of alcohol poisoning during a hazing ritual in November 2008.
Starks was “captured” by sorority and fraternity
members during rush week at Utah State and taken to an off-campus house
where he was encouraged to drink straight vodka. Even though his hands
were bound with duct tape and he was clearly drunk, fraternity brothers
continued to hold a bottle of vodka to his mouth.
He was taken back to the fraternity house, thrown
into a shower and then taken to a room where he was left on the floor
to die.
City police records show the USU frat house had a
long history of alcohol- and drug-fueled troubles, including arson,
explosives, thefts, burglary, disorderly conduct, property damage and
an alcohol-induced suicide.
Other college hazing lawsuits have been filed
recently in Kentucky and North Carolina. The Kentucky case was brought
by Brent Whiteside, a student at Eastern Kentucky University, against
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
Whiteside claims he was repeatedly
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beaten by local chapter members who used
hands, fists, feet, paddles and canes during a months-long hazing in
2008. Whiteside was later hospitalized with kidney failure.
In North Carolina, the parents of Harrison Kowiak, a
19-year-old sophomore, are suing Lenoir-Rhyne University, Theta Chi
fraternity, the fraternity’s faculty adviser, the associate dean of
students, and 21 fraternity members.
Kowiak died during a violent hazing ritual known as
“bulldogging” in November 2008. He and another pledge were taken to a
farm where they were told to fetch rocks at the end of a field.
The pledges, who were dressed in white, were
repeatedly tackled by fraternity members who wore dark clothing and
sprang out at them from behind hay bales.
When Kowiak collapsed and was unable to get up,
several of the fraternity brothers put him in a car and drove him to a
local hospital. They told hospital personnel that Kowiak had been
injured during a tag football game.
An autopsy revealed he died of a subdural brain hemorrhage.
Hopefully, the growing number of lawsuits will
persuade other colleges and universities to take stronger preventive
action against hazing.
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More than 500,000 kids a year have bad drug reactions
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Each year more than half a million children in the
U.S. have bad reactions or side effects from widely used medicines that
require medical treatment and sometimes hospitalization, new research
shows.
Children younger than five are most commonly
affected. Penicillin and other prescription antibiotics are among the
drugs causing the most problems, including rashes, stomach aches and
diarrhea.
Parents should pay close attention when their
children are started on medicines for the first time, because
first-time exposures may reveal an allergic reaction, the study noted.
For small children, one of the biggest problems
involves liquid doses. Some dosages are measured in drops, some in
teaspoons, and some in milliliters. It can
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be easy for parents to mix these up and inadvertently give a child the wrong dosage, the study suggested.
The study, funded by the National Library of
Medicine and the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, was based on national statistics on patients’ visits to
clinics and emergency rooms between 1995 and 2005.
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Recall might not end Toyota acceleration crashes
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Even though Toyota began a massive safety recall
recently, it might not spell the end of accidents involving sudden,
unexplained acceleration.
Toyota is recalling at least 3.8 million Toyota and
Lexus vehicles to fix a potential safety problem caused by removable
floor mats jamming the accelerators.
The announcement followed a crash in August that killed four people riding in a Lexus ES 350 in San Diego.
Mark Saylor, an off-duty California highway
patrolman, and his wife were killed in the accident, along with their
13-year-old daughter and brother-in-law Chris Lastrella.
The crash occurred after they reported to a 911
operator that they couldn’t stop their 2009 Lexus as it careened down a
highway. In a tape of the call released in September, Lastrella told
the operator that the car had no brakes. It plunged over an embankment
and burst into flames.
The cause of the accident is still under
investigation. But some experts believe that similar crashes have
actually been caused by a defective engine throttle control system –
not floor mats interfering with gas pedals. If this is true, removing
floor mats won’t stop those accidents.
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Safety Research Strategies, a Massachusetts
consulting firm, says initial investigations indicate that Toyota’s
electronic throttle control system is a factor in some similar
accidents. It says the problem appears to have increased beginning with
the 2002 Camry, when Toyota installed a new throttle control for a
redesigned model. Since then, problems have been reported in the Camry,
Camry Solara, Lexus ES 300 and ES 330s, Sienna, Tacoma and RAV4
vehicles, covering model years 2002 and later.
Bulent Ezal filed a lawsuit last year in California
after his 2005 Camry sped off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean when he
tried to park it at a restaurant. Ezal was seriously injured and his
wife Anne was killed in the accident.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
says it has received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator
may have become stuck in Toyota vehicles, but it is unclear how many of
the incidents led to crashes.
The recall affects the following vehicles: 2007-10
Toyota Camry, 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Toyota Prius, 2005-10
Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES 350 and 2006-10
Lexus IS 250 and IS 350.
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Bill in Congress could help protect cruise ship passengers
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A bill currently navigating its way through Congress could help protect passengers on cruise ships.
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, H.R. 1485
and S. 588, requires new safety equipment onboard; technology on new
ships to detect passengers who fall overboard; reporting of crimes,
missing individuals and sexual harassment; video monitoring to reduce
crime; and training of crew members in crime scene investigation and
preserving evidence.
The bill is a good idea, but unfortunately it does
little to help passengers who are injured by a cruise line’s negligence
and want to pursue a remedy in court.
Many passengers who try to sue a cruise line find
that the fine print in their contracts creates legal loopholes that
limit their ability to get fair compensation. For instance, cruise
contracts often
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require that lawsuits must be brought in
inconvenient places, that they must be brought within strict time
limits, and that the amount a passenger can recover is limited.
A growing number of lawsuits are being brought by
passengers who sign up for local excursions while off the cruise
vessel, such as diving, horseback riding or sailing. It’s not always
clear what rules apply to these lawsuits.
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Yaz birth control pills linked to heart problems
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Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the
manufacturer of the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, alleging that
the company concealed health risks associated with the pills – such as
an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and blood clots – and lied
about their effectiveness.
Yaz and Yasmin are “fourth generation” birth control
pills that contain a new ingredient – drospirenone – and combine
estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy.
The suits allege that drospirenone, a diuretic, causes an increase in potassium
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which can lead to “hyperkalemia” – an unsafe
level of potassium that disrupts heart rhythms and slows the flow of
blood, leading to clotting.
In addition to the lawsuits, the drugs remain under scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration.
The manufacturer, Bayer, has been warned repeatedly
about advertising for Yaz and Yasmin. Bayer has been cautioned that its
ads may overstate the products’ safety and inaccurately tout their
effectiveness in treating acne and premenstrual syndrome.
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Jury finds birth defects were caused by Paxil
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A Philadelphia jury has ordered GlaxoSmithKline to
pay $2.5 million to a woman whose son was born with serious heart
defects after she took the antidepressant drug Paxil during her
pregnancy.
This was the first such case to go to trial. About
600 similar cases are pending across the country, all of which blame
Paxil for heart problems and other birth defects.
The jury found GlaxoSmithKline liable for negligence. The company vowed to appeal.
Paxil was first introduced in 1992. The
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Food and Drug Administration began warning in
September 2005 that the drug may be associated with birth defects, and
strengthened the warning four months later.
The Philadelphia case was brought by Michelle David,
who gave birth to her son Lyam in October 2005. Lyam was diagnosed with
heart defects two months later and spent five months in a hospital,
undergoing surgery to repair two holes in his heart. He also has a
third, separate heart defect and will need at least one more surgery as
he grows.
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This newsletter is designed to keep you up-to-date with changes in the
law. For help with these or any other legal issues, please call our
firm today.
The information in this newsletter is intended solely for your
information. It does not constitute legal advice, and it should not be
relied on without a discussion of your specific situation with an
attorney.
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