A Texas jury has ordered a college student to pay over $21 million in damages after finding him grossly negligent for texting while driving and causing a fatal crash. The unanimous verdict is one of the largest to be obtained in a texting-while-driving case.

“This verdict sends a message loud and clear that the people of Texas will not tolerate this conduct,” said the lawyer in Houston who represented the plaintiffs. He added that the family of the victim hopes to use the verdict and publicity about the case to urge the state legislature to make texting while driving illegal in Texas.

In 2007, Jason Reed Vestal was driving his pickup truck down Highway 6 near Calvert, Texas, when he crossed the center-line and hit an oncoming car head-on. The crash killed the other driver, 21-year-old Megan Small, a student at Baylor University. It also injured Small’s friend Laura Gleffe, who was driving behind her and was run off the road by Vestal’s truck. The Small family turned to civil court after Vestal managed to evade all criminal charges.

A grand jury “no-billed” Vestal and the attorney general did not conduct an investigation into the cause of the crash. Vestal wasn’t drunk at the time, he wasn’t tired, and no witness reported seeing any obstruction in the road that would have made him swerve. So what caused the accident?”

The lawyer for the Small family said he became suspicious when he deposed Vestal, who insisted that he did not have his phone with him when he was driving. But subpoenaed phone records showed that Vestal had made 7 phone calls and sent 15 text messages during the 45 minutes he was on the road. Some of the messages were sent and received moments before the crash.

The Small’s attorney pointed out that Highway 6 is a notoriously busy and dangerous road even at the best of times. “It’s a very treacherous stretch, where there is not much margin of error,” he said. “So it was especially dangerous to be that distracted while driving there.”

Vestal, who is a graduate student at Texas A&M, declared bankruptcy at the start of the trial, thus the verdict was largely symbolic. The Small family announced that it would share any compensation they collect with Laura Gleffe.

“They will get some money from the insurance company,” said the Small’s attorney. “But of course it isn’t about the money. It never was. It’s about sending a message, and memorializing Megan.” (4/15) Excerpted from Trial Magazine

In response to declining cigarette use and a rise in smoke-free air laws, at least two tobacco companies are test-marketing dissolvable tobacco products: one resembles Tic Tac breath mints but contains finely ground tobacco with mint and cinnamon flavors added. A recent study states that these products lure youths into using tobacco, thus creating a whole new generation of tobacco users to replace those users who have died off. The potential for these products to poison children is very much a concern since these products look like candy. Only one “candy” pellet caused a child to become ill. The tobacco industry denies they are developing new methods of addicting children and adolescents and claim they are merely providing options to adult smokers. (4/18) NY Times

Mine company operators are avoiding more stringent enforcement of safety and health related measures by vigorously challenging citations in a federal appeals court process. Currently, 32 mine have contested 46,822 violations, which could mean as much as $93 million in fines for mine operators. Massey Energy, the operator of the mine in West Virginia where 25 miners were killed last week, has been cited for violations at a rate 11 times above the national average for mines. Yet the mine continues to operate as the logjam in the appeals process delays resolution: penalties cannot be imposed while health and safety issues continue to mount. (4/10) Washington Post

The nation’s food supply is anything but safe. Between 2004-2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected fewer than half of the facilities that it regulates. Some government officials claim that inadequate staffing and lack of modern technology and tools is the reason for the FDA’s lax enforcement. (4/7) Washington Post

While the FDA struggles with limited resources to prevent food contamination, food fraud is becoming more widespread and could affect up to 7% of the nation’s food supply. Food suppliers and manufacturers are selling products to companies and consumers that are not what the products say they are on the labels. Food fraud involves items such as oil, spices, wine and spirits, even maple syrup, but bogus seafood products pose the greatest risk to consumers. (3/30) Washington Post

As federal officials pore over tens of thousands of documents related to safety issues at Toyota, the company is faced with a dilemma: should it accept and pay a record $16.4 million that might look like an admission of guilt, or should it fight the government and risk more bad publicity. The documents, uncovered by U.S. officials, show that Toyota knew about the defects in September 2009 when it issued recalls in Europe and Canada for sticky gas pedals and problems related to sudden acceleration, but did not issue recalls in the U.S. until January 2010. Nearly 100 injury and death cases as well as many class action lawsuits have been filed nationwide against Toyota. (4/6) Detroit News, AP

Each year millions of people vacation aboard cruise ships, some carrying thousands of passengers and crew members. These ships are small, floating cities that offer many options for food and entertainment. However, just as in life ashore, passengers can be exposed to dangerous situations involving food-borne illnesses, crimes such as rape or assault, negligence and medical errors. In addition, cruise ship operators have the obligation to protect all passengers from injuries and death, i.e. burns or slip and fall accidents, stemming from maintenance deficiencies on board the ship.

Before you book a cruise, take time to do some research about the sanitation scores of  cruise ships. You will find information on this topic and learn tips about how to stay healthy and safe while you enjoy your cruise vacation. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/

If you become ill or are injured while aboard a cruise ship or land excursion, know that cruise ship operators must provide you with a “reasonable standard of care”, care that is comparable to what another patient would receive in a similar medical situation. To learn more about the standards for medical care, staff and facilities, visit: http://www2.cruising.org/industry/medical_facilities.cfm

Although, cruise ships have the duty to protect the physical safety of each passenger, they may fail to do so. This places passengers at risk for becoming victims of crime. The FBI has released some crime statistics for cruise ships: http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress07/hernandez032707.htm

Cruise ship passengers who are victims of injuries, crime or medical error may sue to recover damages, including loss of wages, pain and suffering and medical expenses. Family members may sue the cruise ship line for the wrongful death of their loved one who died while aboard ship.

Following a broad warning from the Consumer Product Safety Commission earlier this month regarding sling-style baby carriers, more than one million baby slings produced by Infantino were recalled this week. The slings were sold from 2003-2010 under the names “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” at Target, Babies R Us and Burlington Coat Factory. The deaths of three infants have been linked to the recalled slings that are made from a fabric that can cut off the supply of air,  block an infant’s breathing and  suffocate the baby within a a few minutes. ( 3/24) Wall Street  Journal

Two weeks after awarding $1 million in compensatory damages to the widow of a man who died from bedsores, a Philadelphia jury leveled  $5 million in punitive damages against the same nursing home and hospital because they failed to diagnose and properly treat a urinary tract infection, leaving the man vulnerable to developing bedsores. Workers at both the hospital and nursing home allowed the bedsores to fester and their patient to become malnourished. Two years later the man died from the bedsores. The case is unusual since it may be the first nursing home verdict that awarded punitive damages. In order for a jury to award such damages, the jurors must determine that a facility engaged in “outrageous and reckless conduct.” (3/18) Philadelphia Inquirer

To date, Toyota has issued 10 million recall notices for vehicles located on three continents. However, the car maker faces new reports of sudden acceleration problems dating back to at least 2002 in Camrys and some Lexus models that have not been recalled. Data also shows complaints of sudden acceleration fatalities involving a Scion tC and a 2005 Highlander: neither model has been recalled. In a fatal 2004 crash involving a 2003 Camry, the paramedics found the deceased driver with both feet on the brake pedal. A complaint filed shortly after the crash said “throttle stuck-engine surged.” An official at the Center for Auto Safety sadly predicted that the number of sudden acceleration fatalities in Toyota-produced vehicles will without a doubt top 100. (2/15) LA Times

The Law Offices of Henry Hanflik, P.C. have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of James Franklin, Jr., an Alzheimer patient who died after he crawled out of a window at Clare Bridge in May of 2008. The lawsuit states that Clare Bridge was negligent because its staff members did not call police in a timely manner, nor did the facility properly ensure that patients would not walk away. Franklin was the second patient to climb out of a window at the facility. Franklin’s body was found a short distance from Clare Bridge, two months after he walked away. Flint Journal