Cigarette smoker wins product liability verdict

Nearly 18 years after his death, an award for more than $3 million was handed down for the estate of a Florida man who died of cancer caused by smoking cigarettes his entire adult life. John Huish was 64 years old when he died. He had started smoking cigarettes when he was just a teenager -- some 20 years before cigarette packages contained health warning labels. The suit split damages between RJ

Family Dollar Stores recall 67,000 remote-controlled toy tanks due to fire hazard

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:Eco-Story, LED Lamps (fire hazard - 42,000) Vacless Systems Inc., Pool Safety Vacuum Release Systems (entrapment hazard - 1,600) The Metal Ware Corporation, NESCO American Harvest Gardenmaster food dehydrators (smoke and fire hazard - 4,800) IKEA Home Furnishings, RUND clear

Medical error: wrong kidney transplanted

Wrong-site and wrong surgeries continue to be a rare yet persistent form of medical error at hospitals across the United States. A recent case involved a kidney transplant patient getting the wrong kidney. The patient was not injured because, luckily, the kidney was a fairly close match, but the mistake could have been fatal. It led officials at the University of Southern California's University

180,000 White-Rodgers, programmable thermostats recalled due to fire hazard

Among the latest product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the following products:White-Rodgers, programmable thermostats (fire hazard - 180,000)Kid O Products, Baby rattles (choking hazard - 1,500) Calisson, Inc Cool-it Soothers by Vulli. (ingestion hazard - 7,000) Discovery Toys LLC, Toddler Talk Toy Mobile Phones (choking hazard - 2,900)Prairie

Toothache leads to death, medical malpractice settlement

A 41-year-old Colorado man who sought treatment for an abscessed tooth ended up dying after suffering a brain injury during oral surgery. The incident happened in 2008 when Simon Medrano went to the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine complaining of pain and inflammation from his tooth. A doctor at the school tried to extract the tooth but encountered difficulty and transferred

Tragic auto accident spurs proposed safety mandate

A horrible accident appears to have triggered a safety proposal that could afford future protection to pedestrians. It happened in 2002 when a father backing up his car in the family driveway struck and killed his two-year-old son. Now, according a report in Newsday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing that starting in 2014 all new cars be required to have rearview

Whistleblower lawsuit finally won

It took more than a dozen years, but a former Texas deputy constable has finally gotten justice. Armando Gonzales, now 71 years old, was fired from his job after he reported alleged bribery involving his boss and testified against him before a grand jury. After losing his job, Gonzales filed a whistleblower lawsuit. The case dragged on for many years, costing Dallas County an estimated $1.2