Total Injury

While advances in genetic testing have allowed people to get a better picture of their health by catching and treating health conditions sooner rather than later, it also comes as no surprise that insurance companies have used genetic testing as a means to deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions. Thanks to legislation which recently passed the U.S. Senate, health care discrimination based on genetic testing would be banned, leaving insurance companies to find another way to save a buck at the expense of the public's health:

● Congressional Bill Prevents Health Care Discrimination based on Genetic Testing.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Al Reyes was the latest victim of a police Tasering, after officers intervened to stop a fight between him and another patron of the Hyde Park Cafe in Tampa.  The other patron punched Reyes in the face after the two exchanged words, after which Reyes began spitting blood and swinging his arms wildly, according to the ESPN news report.

When Reyes would not settle down and continued spitting blood, police used a Taser to knock the 230-pound pitcher to the ground, then shocked him again when he disobeyed commands to remain on the ground.

Student safety should obviously be a top concern of schools, especially in this day and age when schools may not seem as safe as they once were. With that said, a Tampa elementary school seems to have taken the issue a bit far after a young girl with knee problems was denied using her crutches due to a "communications" miscommunication involving a school policy about having a doctor's note for such devices.

The result of the school being too overcautious: the girl's knee was damaged even more significantly and her family has notified the school of its intention to sue:

• School Nurse Takes Crutches from Injured Student.  

In what is one of the more disturbing stories that I've come across the Web in a long time, the parents of a North Carolina high school student have had to file a personal injury lawsuit against their son's bullies.

It seems that these bullies have been harassing the high school student at great lengths, from mugging and robbing him to even going as far as to create a Facebook page to incite further bullying. Check out the story below and let me know if you're wondering what the heck is wrong with the school in question and the parents of the bullies:

•Personal Injury Lawsuit Is Last Resort Against Bullies!

From a local Arkansas paper, the news of an officer suspending for Tasing a cow.

To test out a Taser that he thought was malfunctioning, a Rogers, Arkansas police officer tried to stun the cow with the Taser while friends videotaped the incident.  The officer accidentally shocked himself first when he missed the cow, to the apparent hilarity of the group.

Now he faces a two-week suspension and the department has planned to better account for its Taser cartridges.

My only thought on this is: it's a potential misdemeanor (which won't be charged because of a one-year statute of limitations) for using a Taser on a cow, but perfectly legitimate to use a Taser on a person?  Wouldn't it be a far more worthwhile investigation to redefine standards for Taser use on humans?

A Los Angeles woman received a winning verdict of $9 million after an arbitration judge decided against Health Net, her insurance provider.  Most of that award ($8.4 million, to be exact) came in the form of punitive damages, and you'll see why he came to that stinging amount if you consider the case.

The woman was diagnosed with breast cancer and had started chemotherapy treatment to remove the tumor that doctors had found.  However, doctors stopped her treatments and notified her that her bills were going unpaid by the insurance company.

And hers wasn't the only patient's bills that were being unpaid.  Health Net stopped paying on around 1,600 patients, according to the Associated Press, whose accounts were frozen while a third-party review board was initiated to review the cases.

This halt to payment was deemed illegal under California law.  Health Net was also sued by a Los Angeles county attorney for this practice.   Also, Health Net received flak after it was learned several years ago that they were giving bonuses to adjusters who could reject the most number of claims, a policy which Health Net officials claim was reviewed and ended.

And now, they have 9 million reasons why they should review their health coverage practices once again.  Ouch.

New claims against Eli Lilly Co. over harmful side effects of the defective drug Zyprexa have now brought the total number of drug settlements to over 25,000.

900 new cases, including 5 that were set to go to trial in February, were settled recently, leaving the total number of unsettled cases at 1,100.

You can read all the details about the new Zyprexa claims at Total Injury!  Also, don't forget to check out our Articles section for more on defective drug cases and other class action settlements!

As David Cross's character Tobias in the Fox cult TV favorite "Arrested Development" found out, the Blue Man Group is not a support group for sad men.

Just ask James Srodon of California, who filed a lawsuit with the Cook County Circuit Court, indicating that he was not a "willing" participant with the Blue Man Group during one of their infamous audience participation bits.

The Blue Men used Srodon for a bit in which they used an "esophagus cam" in Srodon's throat and projected footage of the inside of someone's stomach on the stage screen.  Srodon alleges that he did not want to participate, and the Blue Men forced the tube with the camera down his throat, and that the tube was covered in food and other disgusting debris from the theater floor, as well as blue paint from Blue Man hands.

The lawsuit seeks $50,000 for battery, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.  Srodon claimed in the suit that the camera injured his mouth, throat and dental work.

For the latest in injury verdicts from outrageous cases such as these, visit Total Injury's injury verdict page!

A man from Arizona has filed a patent with the US Patent Office for an "energy weapon protection device," which from the diagram he provided with his application, consists of a jacket made of non-conductive material that won't allow the taser (or, tazer, as it's often misspelled) attacks to jolt the wearer.  I.e., we've got Taser-proof clothing.

No word yet on whether or not people who wear this crazy outfit can be cited for "excited delirium" before they get tased.  In fact, the fashion police might be more appalled by this set of threads than any law enforcement agency.

If you're interested in reading more about tasers and police brutality, check out the Taser page at Total Injury!

If you did any shopping at the mall or other retail store over Christmas, you probably experienced the headache of shoppers jawing away on their cell phones in store aisles, in line for the cashier and generally all over the place.  It can get quite uncomfortable when an oblivious cell-phone-talker starts airing personal business over the phone while ignoring those in his or her physical presence.

Common courtesy (and probably common sense) dictates that if you have to take or make a cell phone call, you should move to a more private location than a bustling retail store.  But in this day and age, don't be surprised if a bit of common courtesy confuses the heck out of people. 

Take the case of Elizabeth Beeland, a holiday shopper who stepped out of a Best Buy to talk on her cell phone, forgetting her credit card at the cashier's desk.  The ever-vigilant Best Buy clerk, surprised by Beeland's beeline for the door, suspected she was fleeing the scene after using a stolen credit card, and called over a police officer to confront her.

According to the police report that officer Claudia Wright filed, when Wright confronted Beeland outside the store, Beeland was "verbally profane, abusive, loud and irate."  After warning her to calm down or face arrest, Wright shocked Beeland with a Taser.  Security video of the incident shows Beeland backing away and trying to avoid the officer, then falling to the ground as the Taser strikes.

Officer Wright was not disciplined for using the Taser on Beeland.  The Chief of Police defended Wright, saying that Beeland was disobeying an officer's orders and that the Taser was a better alternative to another weapon.

Beeland has reportedly hired a lawyer and is looking into the possibility of a lawsuit, since she was not behaving violently or attempting to flee from the officer when she was shocked.

For more unbelievable police brutality, excessive force and Taser shock weapon news stories, visit the personal injury articles page at Total Injury!