Whistleblower to reap $96M reward

A former employee who blew the whistle on GlaxoSmithKline will get a $96 million reward for exposing the company's sales of contaminated products. Cheryl Eckard was once Glaxo's quality manager, but she was fired after warning superiors of problems with various products. Eckard filed a whistleblower suit in 2004 against Glaxo, accusing the drug firm of selling tainted products under false

Lackawanna birth injury verdict upheld

Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld one of the largest medical malpractice awards ever in Northeast Pennsylvania. The $20.5 million verdict against a Lackawanna County obstetrician and OB/GYN Consultants Ltd. dated back to a 2001 birth injury case. Daniel and Laura White, of Jermyn, PA, filed suit after their son suffered cerebral palsy and near blindness caused by medical mistakes. Before

Slip and fall mishap nets settlement for city worker

A simple slip and fall accident resulted in years of pain and struggle for a civilian employee of the Coral Springs Police Department. Lisa Freed suffered a severe back injury when she slipped while hosing down equipment in 2006. She was diagnosed with a lumbar injury and doctors recommended physical therapy. But that course of treatment failed and Freed eventually was forced to undergo surgery,

Accident victim sues government, wins $4.25M settlement

After a Seattle-area woman was struck by a car and seriously injured, she did what few car accident victims even think to do -- she sued the government, specifically the state Department of Corrections. That was because Kathie Larson was struck by a stolen car driven by a convicted criminal who was supposed to have been monitored by state correctional officials. The 52-year-old Larson suffered

More Roman Shades recalled due to strangulation hazard

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:Oxmoor House, Home Improvement Books (incorrectly install or repair electrical wiring, posing an electrical shock or fire hazard - 540,000) Eastern America Trio Products Inc., Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (fire hazard - 124,000) Fire-Lite Alarms of Northford, Fire Alarm

Secondary asbestos exposure verdict upheld

A New Jersey appeals court has upheld a $7 million verdict in a case of secondary exposure to asbestos. The verdict went to a woman who claimed she contracted mesothelioma from washing her husband's asbestos-laden clothing when he returned from work at an Exxon Mobil facility. The appellate court upheld the award for Bonnie Anderson, of Berkeley Heights. According to a news report of the case,

Fisher Price announces recall of millions of products

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products: Fisher-Price Inc., Fisher Price Trikes and Tough Trikes toddler tricycles child can strike, sit or fall on the protruding plastic ignition key resulting in serious injury, including genital bleeding. (risk of serious injury from striking, falling or sitting on ignition key