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Food safety has become a major issue and subject of public concern recently, with widespread foodborne illness outbreaks hitting the headlines on a regular basis. In its final warning letter of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has issued a warning to Edo Sushi Express, a seafood processing company, claiming that it found “serious violations” of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (“HACCP”) standards applicable to seafood.

HACCP is a system designed to ensure food safety is addressed throughout the food production chain. It requires the analysis and control of certain physical, chemical, and biological hazards associated with turning raw materials into final products intended for human consumption. When it comes to seafood, pathogens and parasites present particular risks.

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On most weekday mornings, yellow school buses carrying kids from kindergarten to high school flood the streets of Illinois. At the same time, drivers rushing to work are looking for ways to shorten their commute and make it to the office on time. This combination can be a recipe for disaster, especially in winter weather and icy road conditions.

Of course, all drivers know that the flashing red lights on a school bus mean “stop.” But many drivers think they are smarter than the lights and can squeeze past a bus in time to avoid any sort of accident. Equally egregious is the fact that buses are poorly equipped to keep children safe. Lax federal regulations allow bus companies to bypass upgrades that can prevent injuries and even save lives.

In Illinois, all drivers must take reasonable care when driving a motor vehicle. This means they have to drive at safe speeds, avoid known distractions like texting behind the wheel, and not drive while intoxicated, which includes the side effects of prescription medications. If a driver fails to take any of these precautions, they may be held liable for their negligence by anyone injured as a result.

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En casi todas las mañanas entre semana, los autobuses escolares amarillos que transportan niños desde preescolar hasta la escuela secundaria inundan las calles de Illinois. Al mismo tiempo, los conductores que corren al trabajo están buscando formas de acortar su viaje y llegar a la oficina a tiempo. Esta combinación puede ser una receta para el desastre, especialmente en tiempo de invierno y hielo en las carreteras.

Por supuesto, todos los conductores saben que las luces rojas intermitentes en un autobús escolar significa “parar”. Pero muchos conductores piensan que son más inteligentes que las luces y se pueden rebasar a un autobús para evitar cualquier tipo de accidente. Igualmente notorio es el hecho de que los autobuses están mal equipados para proteger a los niños. Regulaciones federales leves permiten a las empresas de autobuses que eviten reformas que pueden prevenir lesiones e incluso salvar vidas.

En Illinois, todos los conductores deben tener un cuidado razonable cuando se conduce un vehículo de motor. Esto significa que tienen que conducir a velocidades seguras, evitar distracciones conocidas como textiar y manejar, y no conducir en estado de ebriedad, que incluye los efectos secundarios de los medicamentos recetados. Si un conductor no toma ninguna de estas precauciones, pueden ser declarados responsables de su negligencia por cualquier persona lesionada como resultado. Continue reading →

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The U.S. House of Representatives is set to consider a piece of legislation that is designed to reform the existing federal class action litigation standards by requiring that class actions divide proposed classes into class members who have been injured and class members who have not been injured. The two groups would be maintained in separate class action lawsuits. Called the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015 (H.R. 1927), the text of the proposed bill states:

“No federal court shall certify any proposed class unless the party seeking to maintain a class action affirmatively demonstrates through admissible evidentiary proof that each proposed class member suffered an injury of the same type and extent as the injury of the named class representative or representatives.”

The bill defines the term “injury” as the damages alleged in the lawsuit. If the legislation is enacted, class action plaintiffs will need to demonstrate that the class members have experienced a similar type and scope of damages as the representative of the lawsuit. Also, when certifying a class action, federal judges will need to include an analysis and description of whether the plaintiff has satisfied this requirement and whether each class member shares a similar type of injury.

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For some vacationers, a Caribbean cruise is the epitome of relaxation. They envision sunsets on the deck, drinks by the pool, unlimited food, and duty-free shopping. For others, it is Disney on the high seas, with Snow White, Cinderella, or Aladdin leading daily activities to keep the kids occupied and amused.

Every once in a while, however, Disney turns into disaster, and would-be vacationers end up nursing serious wounds in a local hospital, far from the paradise they hoped to discover. In some cases, vacationers even die due to the errors of their entrusted carriers, and loved ones who pictured their family members sunning themselves on a distant beach are forced to unexpectedly begin the mourning process.

These are, of course, dreaded vacation scenarios. Not many cruise ship passengers expect disaster when their beautiful luxury liner departs for sunnier skies and warmer waters. But when tragedy does occur, the law can provide relief to injured passengers and grieving family members.

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Medical devices are among the most commonly litigated items in product liability lawsuits. To recover damages in a defective medical device lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that the device in question is unreasonably dangerous or that the device the plaintiff received suffers from a manufacturing defect that renders it unreasonably dangerous.

In one of its first actions for the new year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued two orders increasing the regulation of transvaginal surgical mesh products used to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP). The first order reclassifies transvaginal mesh used in POP procedures as a Class III device. Class II devices are those that generally involve moderate risks, while Class III devices are high-risk devices.

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In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court decided that a railway owned and operated by the government of Austria cannot be sued in the United States for an accident that occurred at one of the railway’s stations in Austria. The plaintiff in the case, a resident of California, sued the state-owned railway for injuries she suffered after falling onto the tracks while boarding a train at the railway’s Innsbruck, Austria station. When she fell, the train ran over her legs, requiring that both legs be amputated above the knee.

Under federal law, foreign governments cannot be sued for damages in U.S. courts except under limited circumstances. This protection is known as sovereign immunity, and it was codified by Congress in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act includes several limited exceptions, one of which permits a lawsuit against a foreign government when an injury is based upon commercial activity conducted in the United States. In her lawsuit, the injured American alleged that this exception applied in her case — and thus that her suit for damages should proceed — because her injuries were based upon the purchase of a train pass that occurred in the United States.

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Contracting a foodborne illness is an absolute nightmare, and it can often lead to debilitating illnesses and even hospitalization. Since there are so many individuals involved in the food preparation chain, a wide variety of persons or businesses may be liable for your injuries. To make things even more complicated, each potential defendant may be liable under a different theory of recovery, including product liability, negligence, or strict liability.

To recover damages in a food contamination case, the plaintiff must typically prove that the defendant grew or sold the contaminated food, that the plaintiff consumed the food and suffered an illness, and that the defendant caused the contamination or failed to exercise reasonable care in preventing the contamination.

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Drivers today are faced with too many distractions. Not so long ago, pay phones were more common than cell phones, and billboards were bland and often went unnoticed. Cars had a stereo, but it was usually limited to a radio and single CD player.

These days, cell phones are essentially portable computers, and some drivers not only talk on the phone while driving, but they also text and email as if they aren’t even behind the wheel of a car. In addition, billboards are full of eye-catching innuendoes and pictures, often flashing from one image to another. One minute they tell drivers which suspects are most wanted by the FBI, the next which airline offers the cheapest seats to pictured Caribbean beaches.

Of course, not all drivers are distracted by these factors while driving. In fact, many make a point of not talking or texting at all while they drive, or they will only communicate with a hands-free device. But with so many drivers rushing between work and home to meet all of their obligations, even the most cautious of drivers, at some point or another, gets distracted while driving. When this happens, and an accident results, the driver may be liable for negligence.

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When it comes to owning and operating a vehicle, one of the biggest nightmares you can experience is a recall, which indicates that something is wrong with a significant number of a manufacturer’s vehicles. In 2014 alone, there were over 500 vehicle recalls that encompassed over 50 million automobiles. This is an overwhelming amount of information and can seem daunting to many vehicle owners.

Although some recalls are relatively harmless, in many cases these recalls can affect critical components of a vehicle, including the brakes, steering wheel, and engine components. Earlier this year, Japanese auto parts maker Takata found itself in hot water when major defects were discovered in its air bag devices, leading to a massive recall. While some recalls are minor and can be fixed easily at a local car dealer, others are far more extensive and can lead to severe injuries or even death.

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