Emerging Issues Archive
Pelvic Exams without Consent: Medical Malpractice Suit?
March 1st, 2010. By janem
Imagine you’re unconscious and several men insert objects into your vagina. Many women would consider this gang rape. At the very least, sexual assault. Guess what, it may have happened to you—without your knowledge!
How would you react if you underwent surgery such as a routine hysterectomy and found out that right after you were anesthetized, a team of medical students performed pelvic exams—without your consent? I believe that is a violation of our basic rights, to say the least. Where’s the respect?
I know what I’d do: file a medical malpractice suit, pronto. As a matter of fact, I’m actually scheduled for routine surgery in a few months—at a university hospital—and that rang my alarm bell. I called my gynecologist and spoke with her receptionist. “Under no circumstances do I want a student poking around my private parts,” I said, or probably yelled. She replied that I had to take that up with my gynecologist, who of course is never available for a phone call.
So does uninformed consent qualify for a medical malpractice suit? Well, not quite, but then again, I haven’t spoken with a medical malpractice attorney…What I did discover online is that “A medical practitioner may also be legally liable if a patient does not give “informed consent” to a medical procedure that results in harm to the patient, even if the procedure is performed properly.” In my opinion, psychological harm fits the bill.
In Canada, you aren’t even asked for consent, unlike the UK and the US—or so Americans and Brits were led to believe. Some ethical medical students have been asked to perform pelvic exams in Canada (and in British and American hospitals) without the patient’s knowledge, and they have refused. And that’s how the public knows about
Week Adjourned: 2.27.10
February 27th, 2010. By LucyC
Top Class Actions
Lacking Phone Smarts at Verizon. For those of us who do not have ’smart phones’ but are getting dinged for data service, you may be interested to know that Verizon got hit with a class action this week over this very issue.
According to the press release on the lawsuit, Verizon charged $1.99 at a time for data service people were not using—or should that be could not use. So the lawsuit is seeking to reimburse folks who got dinged. There’s no doubt about it, at the rate we use our cell phones, $1.99 could certainly add up. But this suit also begs the larger question—do you know if your phone is smart? (mine certainly isn’t!)
Top Settlements
Lawsuit Stops Bouncing Around. A 30-year old man from Chicago who was chronically injured on a mini-trampoline when he was in the eighth grade, has finally received justice in the form of a $14.7 million settlement.
Ryan Murray, who is quadriplegic as a result of the accident, sued the Chicago Board of Education. After several years of wrangling—you can sue a government entity—no you can’t—yes you can if the action that led to the injury was intentional… a decision was finally reached: Yes—he could sue and he would have his day in court.
Fortunately, however, Mr. Murray will actually be able to get on with his life as the whole thing has been settled—out of court. Talk about stalling tactics.
Nothing Like Paying a Premium. Boy, does it pay to have insurance. Remember Moneygram? No? MoneyGram International was the subject of a securities class action in May of last year, over allegations that it committed securities fraud stemming from $1.6 billion in losses it suffered on subprime and other risky asset-backed securities in 2007 and 2008.
I can see how this would have gotten lost in the noise of all the other similar lawsuits last year…Anyway, I digress.
The lawsuit was settled this week for a cool $80 million—$60 million of which will be paid by its insurance company to the shareholders who took the losses. While this is nowhere near the value of the assets lost, the deal certainly puts the importance of insurance in a entirely new light…
Reports in the media state that the three directors of Moneygram who were on the board when everything went sideways, remain in their seats but will not seek re-election. That’s big of them.
I wonder how many of these types of settlements insurance companies can afford to pay out on…
That’s it for this week—see you at the Bar!
You Don’t Look Hollister: You’re Fired
February 26th, 2010. By AbiK
What? The uber-hip, ultra-prep and ubiquitous Abercrombie & Fitch is at the center of an EEOC Complaint re: banning a Muslim employee from wearing her hijab (aka head scarf, for those of you less “hip” to all things diverse). Perish the thought!
Say it isn’t so, but oh, it’s true! Seems the Brand is the Look, and the Look is All-American-prep and so—you know, by that theory of transitivity you learned in prep school—well, the Brand is All-American-prep. Like complete mirror image. And we know brand integrity is Everything. Cap E intended.
Abercrombie & Fitch lost me a number of years ago—they used to be this quiet, reserved, quality outfitter with a store nestled in the upper recesses of Trump Tower on 5th in NYC. But then things changed. With folks like J. Crew eating up market share, well, A & F apparently found themselves in need of a re-image. Repositioning. ReBranding.
Rebrand—and expand with companies like Hollister—they did. Go into a store now and you’ll be greeted by a sea of 20-something oneness and assimiliation set to the backdrop of glaring music. Their black & white ads suggest a more “knowing” (yes, sexually) and somewhat monied and genteel crowd that I imagine the sales side of the biz only wishes it could duplicate on the sales floor. But there’s the rub. It can’t.
See, you can homogenize your ad campaign. Not so your sales staff.
So what happens when brand image isn’t playing out at the stores, or in this particular case on the stockroom floor of A&F subsidiary brand Hollister? If you’re a district manager who clearly didn’t read
Nestle cheating babies again - Gerber babies, that is
February 25th, 2010. By janem
Just about everyone knows that we have to watch our sodium intake. Recent studies report that most North Americans consume twice as much salt as they need and that leads to a host of health problems, such as kidney disease, stroke, heart disease and dementia. But what about baby? Most parents trust baby food like they trust their pediatrician, however, when it comes to Gerber products, baby beware.
According to the Canadian Stroke Network, a Gerber pasta meal—marketed for toddlers—contains the same amount of salt as two orders of McDonald’s fries. So the Stroke Network bestowed upon Gerber the “Salt Lick Award“, which is handed out annually to food items with extremely high levels of sodium. The Lil’ Entrees Chicken & Pasta Wheel Pick Ups meal contains 550 mg of salt—that’s more than half of the 1,000 mg of sodium a toddler needs to consume in one day.
In 2007 Gerber was sold to the Nestle Company for $5.5 billion. It makes more than 190 baby foods, sold in 80 countries. On its website, Gerber says it “doesn’t strain to make money. But it
Cuomo’s Helping Hand to NY for Toyota Recall
February 24th, 2010. By AbiK
This just in…been affected by the Toyota recall mess and live in New York? NY State Attorney General Cuomo’s got your back—at least when it comes to making the process of getting your car repaired a bit easier.
According to nypost.com this morning, Toyota has agreed to guarantee New Yorkers who’ve been thrown into the recall mess the following:
- Pick up of the vehicle at the owner’s home
- Return the vehicle after it’s been repaired
- Pay for out-of-pocket transportation costs
- Offer drivers free rental cars during repairs
That’s good news especially considering the number of emails and comments we’ve received from Toyota drivers who are concerned about driving their cars–even to the dealership–until the repairs are made. Cuomo, himself, gave a nod to this very issue in his prepared statement:
“It is unacceptable that New York consumers should face additional burdens when dealing with a safety problem that is Toyota’s responsibility,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement obtained by the AP before a scheduled noon announcement. “New Yorkers who own recalled vehicles understandably may be reluctant to drive their cars and assume the risk of harm to themselves and others on the road.”
If you’re in NY and you’ve got a recalled Toyota sitting in your drive, there’s also a website that’s been set up to provide further information: nytoyotahelp.com.
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