A fitness instructor who was injured in a ship and fall accident while aboard an NCL cruise ship was awarded $9.5 million by a Miami jury. The accident rendered the victim incontinent and impotent from back injuries he sustained in the fall. The verdict included damages for pain and suffering, economic loses and medical expenses. (12/30) Miami Herald

A Kentucky jury awarded $7.1 million to the family of a passenger who died in the fiery Comair crash of August, 2006. The plane crashed after taking off from the wrong runway, one that was too short for commercial jets. The family contended that Comair failed to properly train the pilot, was negligent in hiring the co-pilot and had not followed the recommendations of the FAA to have a written policy requiring pilots to check their location before takeoff. (12/8) Louisville Courier-Journal

A government proposal would require new some 2014 cars and trucks to have larger, stronger side airbags to prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected from vehicles during rollover crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that the improved airbags, combined with new anti-rollover technology, would help to reduce deaths in the 10,000-plus rollover accidents every year. (12/1) AP

The family of a 97-year-old man has filed suit against Everett Care and Rehabilitation, in Everett WA, claiming the the staff at the facility left a wound on the man untreated for months. The wound was cancerous and apparently was a cause of death. The lawsuit contends that while staff members reported the man’s condition several times to managers at the home, there was no action taken to address the man’s deteriorating physical condition. The attorney for the family said the lawsuit is aimed at holding the center, and similar facilities, accountable for failing to protect the elderly. (10/16) Seatle-Post Intelligencer

Jurors awarded $13.5 million to the family of a 7 year-old boy who was killed in 2005 after a faulty fan motor ignited a blaze as the boy slept in his bedroom. Lasko Products, Inc., the largest manufacturer of fans in the United States, manufactured the defective fan. The company discovered a defect in their made-in-China portable fans in 1999 and later developed technology to correct the defect but failed to recall the fans or report the problem to the Consumer Product Safety Commission until after the boy died in the fire. (10/15) Philadelphia Daily News

Target Corporation has agreed to pay $7 million to an 80-year-old woman who was knocked to the ground and struck repeatedly by a door that malfunctioned at a Target store. As a result of the incident, the woman suffered brain injuries, had to move into a nursing home and is unable to care for her 59-year-old daughter who has special needs. Lawyers for the injured woman claimed that Target failed to properly maintain and inspect the doors and that the door manufacurer failed to provide for a way to disable the system. (10/6) Chicago Tribune

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) issued a report, based on government data, that concludes West Virginia and North Dakota have the nation’s highest rates of motor carrier company violations of federal safety requirements. Violations may include brake or tire defects, overloaded trucks, and drivers who are untrained or have drug or alcohol problems. (8/30) AP Search for violating companies in your state at AAJ.

After a crash that killed 2 scientists in 2006, Utah passed a new law that penalizes a driver who causes a fatality while texting, a law that is as harsh as one that punishes a drunken driver who kills someone. The law was passed after a 19 year-old college student crossed over the yellow line  on a two lane highway, killing the scientists,  after he sent and received 11 text messages from his girlfriend within 30 minutes prior to the crash. Studies show that texting while driving is twice as dangerous as driving with a .08 alcohol blood level, generally the standard for drunk driving, or as dangerous as talking on a cell phone while driving. (8/28) NY Times

Researchers working with the World Health Organization released results of a recent study that ranked tanning booths/beds as carcinogenic to humans as mustard gas and tobacco. The results of the study were released as young people are increasingly being diagnosed with multiple forms of skin cancer, melanomas and some forms of cancer of the eye due excessive use of tanning beds. A spokesman for an association of dermatologists faulted the tanning industry and called for more self-regulation from an industry that encourages people to over do it. (7/29) Tampa Tribune

In an op-ed, Les Weisbrod, president of the American Association for Justice, writes that the Obama administration’s healthcare reform must not limit the legal rights of patients injured because of medical errors. Obama’s plan seeks to lower healthcare costs while improving the quality of care and providing coverage for the uninsured. According to Weisbrod, changing the legal system will not solve these issues, but make it more difficult for those injured by medical negligence to pursue legal recourse. Patient safety should take precedence over focusing on the legal system. Each year approximately 98,000 people die as a result of medical mistakes. (6/22) USA Today