Access To Justice

News developments that we’ll be watching at Sokolove Law:

The Boy Scouts of America – in what may be a record award against the youth organization – must pay $18.5 million in punitive damages to a man sexually abused by a former assistant scoutmaster more than 20 years ago, according to the Associated Press. The AP writes that the verdict marks the second time the Oregon jury found for plaintiff Kerry Lewis in the case; on April 13 the jury awarded him $1.4 million in compensatory damages in the trial’s first phase after determining the Scouts were negligent in allowing the scoutmaster to have contact with scouts, including Lewis, after he told a Scouting official he had molested other boys. The case is the first of a string of six sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Scouts in the same Oregon court.

Millions of credit card holders remain vulnerable to the threat of  “forced arbitration,” according to a new report from the non-profit National Consumer Law Center.  The report says creditors and debt collectors use mandatory predispute arbitration clauses to deny consumers their rights, win nine out of 10 arbitration cases, and take shortcuts to garnishment of wages and attachment of bank accounts. The practice, common in the credit card industry and others, has come under scrutiny after the exposure of secret financial ties between National Arbitration Forum, a leading “impartial” arbitrator, and Mann Bracken, a major debt collector, according the report.

Covidien is voluntarily recalling some of its tracheostomy tubes, which are used to help patients on ventilators keep breathing. The company says it is recalling certain cuffed ShileyTM tracheostomy tubes and Custom/Specialty tracheostomy tubes because their cuffs were not holding air as a result of leaks in the pilot balloon inflation assembly. This could result in a sudden decrease in the amount of oxygen in the blood or a sudden increase in the amount of carbon dioxide.

Keep those you love protected from harm.  At Sokolove Law, we’re here to help.