Friday, December 15, 2017

Navajo Nation Sues Wells Fargo for 'Predatory' Banking

Last year, news broke that Wells Fargo salespeople had been setting up fraudulent accounts for customers for years in order to meet sales quotas, and charging customers fees on those accounts as well. The victims included small businesses as well as individuals, and employees even sued the bank over the fraud.

On top of that, a new lawsuit claims that Wells Fargo used "predatory and unlawful practices" to defraud members of the Navajo Nation, to the tune of $50 million. "Under intense pressure from superiors to grow sales figures," the suit claims, "Wells Fargo employees lied to Navajo consumers, telling elderly Navajo citizens who did not speak English that in order to have their checks cashed they needed to sign up for savings accounts they neither needed nor understood."

Illegal Targeting

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in New Mexico, also claims that "former Wells Fargo employees have stated in sworn statements that they were told to target Native Americans," opening unnecessary accounts, setting up debit or credit cards without consent, and collecting unauthorized fees. According to the suit, former Wells Fargo senior executive in Arizona Pam Conboy "drove Arizona from last place to first in regional sales performance within two years of taking her position by employing intense sales pressure and a very heavy emphasis on rankings and sales performance."

"Over the past year," Wells Fargo said in a statement, "we have taken significant steps to make things right for our customers, including members of the Navajo Nation, who may have been affected by unacceptable retail sales practices." The suit claims otherwise, and is seeking $50 million in damages.

False Accounts

Elder financial abuse like that alleged in the complaint is, as the Navajo Nation's attorney general Ethel Branch put it, "despicable." But elders weren't the only demographic targeted by the bank:

Wells Fargo representatives stalked local events like basketball games and flea markets to sign up consumers for unnecessary accounts en masse, especially targeting Navajo women who sold native crafts and products. They opened accounts for underage Navajo citizens, going so far as to falsify birth dates to avoid obtaining necessary parental consent.

But targeting elders can be a federal crime. The Elder Justice Act prohibits any "fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or improper act . . . that uses the resources of an elder for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain, or that results in depriving an elder the rightful access to, or use of, benefits, resources, belongings, or assets."

If you think a bank or other financial institution is defrauding an elder loved one, contact a local elder law attorney.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/navajo-nation-sues-wells-fargo-for-predatory-banking.html
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Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Ohio Bill Would Bar Undocumented Immigrants From Workers' Comp Benefits

If you have a job, chances are you have workers' compensation insurance. While state workers' comp laws can vary concerning who is covered, those distinctions are normally based on the kind of job you have, not your immigration status.

But a couple states have passed laws saying undocumented immigrants are not entitled to workers' compensation benefits. The Ohio House recently passed a bill barring workers' comp benefits for "illegal aliens," though the bill has a long way to go before becoming law.

Benefits of the Bill?

The choice of inflammatory verbiage in the bill was apparently purposeful. Although many have objected to the use of "illegal" to refer to undocumented immigrants, the bill's sponsor, Republican Representative Bill Seitz, said using the term "undocumented immigrant" instead is "sort of like calling drug dealers undocumented pharmacists."

And both sides disagree about the incentives the bill would create. Its supporters contend that current law incentivizes Ohio businesses to hire undocumented workers, because any medical costs arising from injury claims would fall on the state's workers' comp system. Opponents contend the opposite -- workers' comp costs (paid by employers) are based on the total number of claims, which would fall if employers hire more undocumented workers who can't file claims in the event of an on-the-job injury. And the medical costs would then fall on emergency rooms, health-care plans, and taxpayers.

The actual impact is unknown as well. The Daily Record Reports Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation doesn't keep data on benefits payments to undocumented workers, making it impossible to estimate how much the bill would reduce benefit payments.

Benefits Coverage

There are many other states, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, that have statutory protections allowing undocumented immigrants to receive workers' comp benefits. And many others don't specifically bar undocumented workers from filing injury claims. Ohio's bill would allow injured workers to sue employers who hired them knowing they were undocumented, but many are skeptical they would turn to the courts for relief when their immigration status is so precarious.

It should also be noted that it is against federal and Ohio law to knowingly hire undocumented workers. If this bill passes, perhaps as these workers' comp claims are denied based on the employee's immigration status, those employers would be opening themselves up for liability.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/ohio-bill-would-bar-undocumented-immigrants-from-workers-comp-benefits.html
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Monday, December 11, 2017

$28M Xarelto Verdict Goes Against J&J, Bayer

Xarelto, the brand name of blood thinning medication rivaroxaban, can help treat and prevent dangerous blood clots in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgeries. An unfortunate side effect of Xarelto is an increased risk of internal or external bleeding.

A serious of lawsuits (some 20,000 in all) have been filed against the makers of Xarelto -- Johnson and Johnson and Bayer AG -- claiming the companies failed to warn consumers of the bleeding risks. And in the first verdict to go against J&J and Bayer in those cases, a Philadelphia jury awarded a woman $28 million in damages.

One Harmful Drug

Lynn Hartman needed four blood transfusions after being hospitalized in 2014 with gastrointestinal bleeding. Her lawsuit also claims she had been taking Xarelto for more than a year before her hospitalization and that when switched to another blood thinner, the side effects ceased.

The case was tried in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, which was recently dubbed a "Judicial Hellhole" where civil lawsuits are allegedly handled unfairly against big businesses. The jury, which heard testimony from a former head of the Food and Drug Administration regarding the drug's inadequate warning labels, ultimately awarded Hartman $1.8 million in compensatory damages and another $26 million in punitive damages.

Billions in Sales, Hundreds of Deaths, Thousands of Lawsuits

Bloomberg reports that Xarelto is Bayer's top-selling product and J&J's third-largest seller, garnering those companies $3.2 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively, in 2016 alone. But the FDA has also linked the drug to thousands of adverse events and 370 deaths.

J&J and Bayer had won three previous Xarelto lawsuits, in federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi. Those cases were intended to be "bellweather" trials, to give parties on both sides an idea about how future trials would shake out, in the hopes that parties would be more likely to settle. "

"The plaintiffs needed to put a win on the board to keep these other cases alive," said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told Bloomberg. "Otherwise, the rest of the cases may have been seen as having little value." Whether Hartman's award will affect the thousands of remaining Xarelto claims remains to be seen.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/28m-xarelto-verdict-goes-against-jj-bayer.html
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Friday, December 8, 2017

Can California Homeowners Sue for Wildfire Damage?

The fires that ravaging Northern California were barely snuffed out when Southern California was set ablaze last week. Wildfires in Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Diego Counties have burned over 150,000 acres, along with countless homes, and President Trump just approved a California disaster declaration and put the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of disaster relief efforts in the state.

But what are homeowners left to do if their homes have been damaged by the wildfires? Here's a look.

When to Sue for Loss or Damages From Wildfire

Before filing a lawsuit over fire damage to your home, check your homeowner's insurance policy first. While most insurance policies say they will covers fire damage, that may only apply to accidental house fires, and wildfires are an entirely different animal. Especially if you live in certain areas of California or other regions prone to wildfires, insurance carriers may have different provisions for wildfire damage.

On top of that, wildfire destruction is generally far more extensive than your average house fire, claiming trees, vehicles, and other structures on your property. So even if your policy covers wildfire damage, it may not be enough to pay for everything you lost in a wildfire. So check your insurance policy first, and if it doesn't cover all or any of the damage from a wildfire, consider a lawsuit.

Recovering Damages After Wildfires

There may be multiple options for whom to file a lawsuit against, depending on the cause of the fire, the damage, and the response from the insurance company. If a fire is found to be started by human causes, either on purpose or through negligence, you may be able to sue the person or business responsible, seeking recovery for physical or emotional injury as well as for property damage.

And if an insurance company doesn't completely cover the damage incurred from a wildfire, you may be able to sue the insurance company. Before worrying about any lawsuits, though, make sure you and your loved ones are safe; then contact an experienced attorney to discuss your options.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/can-california-homeowners-sue-for-wildfire-damage.html
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Thursday, December 7, 2017

Exploding Rifle Injures Dozens, Possibly Hundreds of Hunters

Lawsuits can be one way of holding companies responsible for making defective products. But settlements of those lawsuits have a way of hiding the true extent of injuries caused by a poorly designed or malfunctioning device.

Take, for example, Savage Arms' stainless steel 10 ML-II muzzleloader rifle. The company is facing another lawsuit over the rifle's tendency to explode, and while it has settled a few previous lawsuits, the actual number of hunters injured by the rifle ranges from a few dozen to possibly hundreds of victims.

How Many Hurt Hunters?

The Associated Press has the story of Ronald Hansen, who lost hearing in his right ear as well as pieces of two fingers on his right hand after his 10 ML-II muzzleloader exploded in 2014. Hansen is suing Savage Arms, and its parent company Vista Outdoor, claiming the manufacturers knew the rifle was dangerous and kept it on the market.

The AP also reports that Hansen's is just one of several claiming the company recklessly kept the guns on the market, at least three of which have been settled since last year. One of those settlements involved Trent Procter, who claims Savage Arms blamed him for improperly loading his 10 ML-II that "just blew apart" during a hunting trip in 2009.

Court documents in Hansen's case indicate the rifle manufacturer received 45 legal claims alleging the gun barrel exploded, burst, split, or cracked, since 2004. On top of that, Hansen's lawyers claim Savage Arms created an internal "muzzleloader return team" that received hundreds of warranty and service claims.

Less-Than-Total Recall

So why wasn't the malfunctioning firearm recalled? While the Consumer Product Safety Commission has to power to mandate recalls for thousands of other consumer goods, a 1976 law explicitly denied the CPSC authority over firearms and ammunition. Therefore, it's up to gun manufacturers whether to issue a recall for potentially dangerous weapons.

"It's an example of an industry that can essentially do whatever they want," Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center in Washington D.C. told the AP, "and there's no consequences other than being held accountable in a civil liability context." That's where defective product lawsuits come in, even if confidential settlements may mask the true scope of the damage done.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/exploding-rifle-injures-dozens-possibly-hundreds-of-hunters.html
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Monday, December 4, 2017

Amazon: Our Exploding Drones Will Be Safer for You. Really

Drones; when they're not helping us break out of prison or roasting our Thanksgiving turkeys with a flamethrower, they're falling on our heads. Lucky for us, mega-retailer Amazon has come up with a solution to falling drones: exploding drones.

Yes, in anticipation of the company rolling out delivery drones to your rooftop like Isaac Asimov's version of Santa Claus, Amazon has been granted a patent on technology that will allow its drones to self-destruct in mid-air in an effort to preserve life on the ground. So, like Santa, the drone will disappear, leaving your presents falling blissfully to the earth.

Like an Explosion, but Nicer

Rather than use the potentially incendiary term "explode" in the patent, Amazon goes for the more calming and reassuring phrase "directed fragmentation":

The flight controller determines a flight path and controls a flight operation of the UAV. During the flight operation, the fragmentation controller develops a fragmentation sequence for one or more of the components based on the flight path, the flight conditions, and terrain topology information, among other factors. The fragmentation controller can also detect a disruption in the flight operation of the UAV and, in response, direct fragmentation of one or more of the components apart from the UAV. In that way, a controlled, directed fragmentation of the UAV can be accomplished upon any disruption to the flight operation of the UAV.

So if it looks like a drone is going down, it will explode into smaller, lighter pieces that are hopefully less harmful to the human bystanders beneath.

Best Sellers, Sans Delivery

There are two FAA regulations keeping drone delivery grounded at the moment: drones may not operate beyond the line of sight of a human pilot or observer, and they may not be flown over people. So while Amazon may not be able to drop 17 books, an Echo Dot, and some Crocs onto your doorstep just yet, the company is clearly anticipating possible injuries (and injury lawsuits) should that day come.

If you've been injured by a drone -- delivery or otherwise -- contact a local personal injury attorney.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/amazon-our-exploding-drones-will-be-safer-for-you-really.html
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Friday, December 1, 2017

Top 3 Tips to Deal With Elder, Nursing Home Abuse

After the appalling accusations levied at elder care facilities in Florida and California in the face of natural disasters, people are justifiably a little more worried about how their elder relatives are being cared for. What constitutes elder abuse? How do we know when it's happening? And how can we deal with elder or nursing home abuse when it happens?

Here are three legal tips when it comes to identifying and responding to elder abuse, from our archives:

1. Types of Nursing Home Abuse

Elder abuse generally and nursing home abuse specifically can take on several forms, from physical neglect and abandonment and sexual abuse to financial exploitation and emotional abuse. And, sadly, that abuse can come from relatives and strangers alike. Knowing the types of elder abuse can be the first step in identifying the signs of that abuse or neglect.

2. How to Spot Nursing Home Abuse

Yes, there are the obvious signs of physical abuse, trauma, or neglect, including bruising, weight loss, dehydration, and unclean clothing or living areas. But physical harm is not the only kind of elder abuse. You should also watch out for depression, withdrawal, or an unwillingness to talk, anxiety or fearfulness of caregivers, unusual or unexplained behavior, difficulty sleeping or eating, and any suspicious changes in legal and financial arrangements.

3. Disrespecting Our Elders: Who to Call for Elder Abuse

Finding out an elderly relative is being neglected or abused can may you feel helpless, but there are legal and professional resources available. If you feel that an elder is in immediate danger, contact the police or other law enforcement agency. If you want to report a nursing home or hospice facility for abuse or neglect, reach out to the state department of health and human services or the National Adult Protective Services Association.

And if you're considering a lawsuit against an abuser, nursing home, or elder facility, discuss your options with a local attorney.

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from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2017/12/top-3-tips-to-deal-with-elder-nursing-home-abuse.html
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