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October 2018

How Data & Analytics Are Helping Insurers With Flood-Damaged Vehicles

Initial estimates of the damage caused by Hurricane Florence are expected to total approximately $20 billion, as residents of the Carolinas and Virginia are faced with cleanup and recovery. The Carolinas experienced historic flood levels, according to Moody’s Analytics. Mark Zandi, chief economist for the firm, said the flooding was more extensive than anticipated because it was such a slow-moving system. The analyst firm also said Florence will end up being one of the ten costliest hurricanes America has ever seen. While homes and businesses face their own cleanup from the flooding, personal transportation causes great headaches as well. Early estimates from...

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N.Y. Limo Service Operator Charged in Crash That Killed 20

A limousine service operator was charged Wednesday with criminally negligent homicide in a crash that killed 20 people, while police continued investigating what caused the wreck and whether anyone else will face charges. Nauman Hussain, 28, showed little emotion as he was arraigned Wednesday evening in an Albany-area court, and he ignored shouted questions from reporters as he left after posting $150,000 bond. A judge had entered a not guilty plea for him. Earlier, his lawyer said that Hussain wasn’t guilty and that police were rushing to judgment in investigating Saturday’s stretch limo wreck . But State Police Superintendent George Beach said Hussain hired...

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NJ Transit Will Miss Deadline for Installing Positive Train Control

Lifesaving technology aboard New Jersey Transit trains won’t be in place by a Dec. 31 deadline set by Congress, the agency’s executive director told board members. The operator of the nation’s second-biggest commuter railroad, which leads its peers for accidents and federal safety fines, instead will shoot for a two-year extension for the project known as positive train control from the Federal Railroad Administration, according to a memo to the board by Executive Director Kevin Corbett. “We expect to meet the FRA’s statutory requirements by the end of 2018 and receive federal approval to have PTC fully implemented on our rail system by Dec. 31, 2020,”...

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Jury Awards More Than $242 Million for Seat Defects

A Texas jury has awarded more than $242 million to a Dallas-area family who sued Toyota over what they said were defective front seats in their 2002 Lexus sedan. Attorneys for Benjamin and Kristi Reavis alleged defects in their 2002 Lexus ES 300 caused their front seat backs to collapse backward in a September 2016 rear-end collision on Central Expressway near Downtown Dallas. The Reavises children, 5-year-old Emily and 3-year-old Owen, were in the back seat, in their child safety seats, at the time of the crash. Both children were rushed to the hospital with severe head trauma. "It's a life-long injury," Kristi...

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507 People Sick After Eating McDonald’s Salad

Federal health officials say they've confirmed more than 500 cases of people who became sick with an intestinal illness after eating McDonald's salads. The illnesses reported earlier this year are linked to the cyclospora parasite, which can cause diarrhea, intestinal pain, nausea or fatigue. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that 507 cases have been confirmed in 15 states and New York City. McDonald's stopped the sale of salads at 3,000 restaurants last month until it could find a different supplier. The FDA says it's still investigating the supplier of romaine lettuce and carrots. States with cases include: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,...

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Should Hospitals Limit the Number of Patients Nurses Can Help?

The medical community is divided over a November ballot measure that would make Massachusetts only the second state with such staffing requirements. Voters this fall could make Massachusetts only the second state in the country to limit the number of patients that hospital nurses can help at one time. Question 1 would create legal ratios based on the type of patients that nurses are dealing with. Nurses aiding women during birth and up to two hours after, for instance, would be limited to one patient. If they're working with children, they could see four patients at once. In the psychiatric ward, nurses could...

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Estate Recovers Nothing for Mistaken Brain Surgery

The case of a woman who died after undergoing mistaken brain surgery involves apparent errors by her doctors and her lawyers, according to a Michigan Supreme Court justice who agreed with a decision to overturn the $20 million award. Because the lawyers pursued a negligence cause of action barred by collateral estoppel, the estate of Bimla Nayyar will receive nothing, according to the concurring opinion by Michigan Chief Justice Stephen Markman. Nayyar was supposed to receive treatment for a dislocated jaw, but doctors operated on her brain because of a mix-up involving X-rays. The Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn conceded negligence. “This case...

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New Law Defines Negligence in Workers’ Compensation Cases

Personal injury cases often turn on whether one party was negligent. However, at law, negligence can have several different meanings. In some personal injury cases, the specific issue in the case comes down to whether the defendant was “grossly negligent,” or merely just “negligent.” One such situation is presented in a recent Florida court of appeals case, Villalta v. Cornn International, LLC. In the case, Villalta was working for a sub-contractor on a larger project. Because it was a large project, there were several other sub-contractors working alongside the company Villalta worked for. One day while on the job, Villalta fell...

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Father Lost Infant Son to Drunk Driver Change Could Save Countless Lives

Marcus Kowal, a former mixed martial arts fighter, is co-founder of the Liam’s Life Foundation. Sept. 12 marks two years since the funeral of my 15-month-old son, Liam. He had been in a stroller, being pushed through a pedestrian crosswalk in suburban Los Angeles by my sister-in-law, who was 15 years old at the time. She had done everything right: pressed the button, waited for the lights to change and then started walking. Other cars stopped, but one didn’t. Police later estimated that the car was going 35 to 40 mph as it smashed into Liam and my sister-in-law. The car was driven...

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Ride Sharing vs. Traditional Taxis: How do Injury Insurance Claims Compare?

Ridesharing companies like Lyft and Uber are aggressively expanding to new marketsthroughout the United States. These companies are directly competing with traditional taxi companies. The taxi companies, however, are fighting back with a strong public relations campaign painting the ride-sharing companies as a danger to the community as a whole, and the passenger in particular. Incredibly, the taxi companies claim that a passenger injured in a Lyft or Uber car during a car accident may very well find himself or herself without insurance coverage to pay medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. This claim is usually accompanied by a stern “buyer...

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