Brianna Smith is a freelance writer and editor in Southwest Michigan. A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Brianna has a passion for politics, social issues, education, science, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys the simple life with her husband, daughter, and son.
Recently, Hon. Lucy Koh, a judge of the U.S. District Court, gave her stamp of approval to a global settlement filed against the County of Monterey and California Forensic Medical Group. The suit settled for $825,000 and ends a wrongful death lawsuit originally filed by the “surviving children of a woman who died while in police custody on December 19, 2015.” The $825,000 will be split 50/50.
Blenheim Facility Management (BFM) and the City of San Juan Capistrano recently agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the Orange County Coastkeeper regarding the “Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park at San Juan Capistrano.” The lawsuit was filed back in July 2017 in the U.S. District Court and argues that the riding park, which is owned by San Juan Capistrano, “contributed to pollution in San Juan Creek.” According to the suit, the “BFM is the operator of the park.”
A trial involving Galilee Memorial Gardens, a cemetery in Tennessee, is set to begin. According to a class action lawsuit filed against the cemetery, Galilee Memorial Gardens mishandled an untold number of caskets, allowing them to be crushed and stacked. As a result, many bodies and remains were lost. Since the dispute was filed, the cemetery gates have remained closed, though opening statements in the trial began earlier this week. In total, relatives of nearly 1,200 dead people joined the suit against the “licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to Galilee for three years after the cemetery’s registration expired in December 2010.”
When is the last time you had to undergo surgery? Chances are, it went off without a hitch and you were eventually sent home without any major complications or medical tools accidentally left floating around your insides. One Tennessee man wasn’t so lucky. In May 2017, 73-year-old John Burns Johnson was admitted to Tristar Centennial hospital in Nashville to undergo an open heart surgery. However, a month after the procedure, he died. According to a lawsuit filed by Johnson’s family, the surgeon who performed his open heart surgery left a needle inside of him, resulting in his death.
Discrimination is never pretty, especially when it’s directed towards pregnant women. As any pregnant woman or previously pregnant woman will tell you, they have enough on their plate without having to worry about being discriminated against in the workplace. Unfortunately, workplace discrimination against moms-to-be happens often and sometimes even results in the pregnant woman losing her job. One woman, Sarah Alicea, learned first hand what pregnancy discrimination looks like, and filed a lawsuit as a result. Fortunately for her, her case recently reached a settlement in her favor.
If you’re planning a kitchen renovation or update in the near future, you may want to check the label on some of the products you plan to use. Earlier this week, Rust-Oleum issued a recall of it’s “black satin-colored countertop coating due to excess levels of lead.” According to the recall notice, only the “one-quart (32 fluid ounce) containers of Rust-Oleum black satin countertop coating with product number 263209 and batch code P7612D” are affected. Concerned consumers can find the product number and batch code printed on the bottom of the cans.
Do you enjoy chicken sandwiches or the occasional chunks of chicken on your salads? If so, this latest recall is for you. Earlier this week, Wayne Farms, LLC issued a recall of “approximately 438,960 pounds of frozen, fully cooked chicken products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal pieces,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The company is based in Decatur, Alabama.
Late last month, Buffalo Wild Wings agreed to settle a federal class-action lawsuit for $1.55 million. The suit itself was filed by two former employees, Zachary Barton and Ethan Forness, who worked at a Buffalo Wild Wings location in Athens, Ohio. Both of the employees worked as servers and bartenders and alleged in their suit that Lancaster Wings, Inc., “which owns seven BWWs in Ohio and three in Arizona, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act in at least four ways, largely related to tipped employees allegedly performing ‘non-tipped’ work and being underpaid for that work.”
When most people visit an urgent care clinic for treatment, there’s an expectation that they will receive whatever care they need. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Last year on August 31, 2017, Trenton Twidwell visited an urgent care clinic in Overland Park for a wound on his left foot. At the time, the wound was small, according to a lawsuit filed in Johnson County Court. However, two weeks after visiting the clinic, Twidwell’s leg was “gangrenous and dying and had to be amputated.”
A lawsuit was recently filed on behalf of a Kentucky couple after they and their “240 wedding guests were exposed to hepatitis A during an August reception at the banquet hall.” Kentucky attorney Donald L. Nageleisen filed the suit against the Newport Syndicate on behalf of Jeff and Kameron Slavey, “their wedding guests and two other couples who hosted weddings at the Syndicate between July 25 and Aug. 11” after an employee fell ill with hepatitis A.