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The family of a Houston woman whose car sped through a stop sign and smashed into a cement wall, killing her on impact a week before Christmas, filed what is likely the third acceleration-related wrongful death lawsuit against Toyota in the nation Monday.
Trina Renee Harris, a 34-year-old mother of two, died on impact when her 2009 Toyota Corolla slammed into an East Hardy Toll Road cement divider at Barry, leaving no skid marks, Houston police reported.
Her husband, Michael Harris, filed a lawsuit Monday against Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., gas pedal maker CTS Corp. and Fred Haas Toyota World, which leased her the car. Lawyers involved in the lawsuit said it's likely the third such case filed in response to acceleration problems that prompted Toyota to recall millions of vehicles and halt some production.
"I want those who were negligent to be held responsible. This problem was there before Dec. 18 when she died," Michael Harris said. The U.S. Navy petty officer first class had recently completed a stint on an aircraft carrier in the Middle East and was in San Diego when he learned of his wife's death. He returned to Houston, where the family opened Christmas gifts Trina Harris had bought.
His wife worked in a school cafeteria so she would be home by the time her teenage girls got there, Harris said. "She was just Mama Trina and everyone knew they had a place to sleep or a meal if they needed it when she was around."
Toyota issued a voluntary recall related to floor mats and the accelerators in some 3.8 million vehicles in November. Last month it recalled 2.3 million cars, including many 2009 Carollas, to fix a mechanical problem with the accelerators.
Harris said the crash didn't make sense to him and he recalled his wife saying the leased car's accelerator sometimes seemed to move on its own.
He went to the accident scene and then called Toyota before the January recall to tell them there was something wrong.
He said he never heard back from Toyota. But when he heard about the latest recall, he sought out the lawyers and sued, asking for $200 million in actual and punitive damages for what he alleged is gross negligence.
"Toyota is building death traps and they know it and they need to stop it," said lawyer Ken Mingledorff.
A Toyota spokeswoman said Monday that the company would not comment on pending litigation. A manager at Fred Haas said they have not yet seen the lawsuit and calls to CST Corp. were not returned.
Other wrongful death lawsuits against Toyota have been filed in Michigan and California.
The California lawsuit seeks compensation for the loss of a state trooper and family members whose August 2009 crash can be heard on tapes of his 911 call saying his Lexus was going 120 mph and he couldn't stop it.
The Michigan lawsuit was filed by the surviving family of a woman whose Camry missed her regular turn and careened at 80 mph down a street while she tried to pump the brakes until the car hit a tree in 2008. Her Camry was not listed among the recalls, however.
Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle 02/01/2010
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Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice caps
By: Mike Colias Feb. 04, 2010
(Crain's) - The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday struck down limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases passed by the Legislature four years ago amid spiking liability costs for medical providers.
The court ruled that the caps on pain and suffering and other non-economic damages - $500,000 per case for doctors and $1 million for hospitals - are unconstitutional.
The court's opinion upholds a 2007 ruling by a Cook County Circuit Court judge determining that the law violated the Illinois Constitution's "separation of powers" clause, essentially finding that lawmakers interfered with the right of juries to determine fair damages.
It's the third time the state's high court has quashed limits on medical malpractice awards, having tossed out similar laws in 1976 and 1997.
The ruling is a blow to physicians, hospitals and malpractice insurers, who successfully argued in 2005 that frivolous lawsuits and runaway jury verdicts were driving up insurance rates and forcing physicians to leave the state.
The court's ruling stems from a malpractice lawsuit filed in 2006 by the family of a girl who suffered brain damage during her delivery at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park. Illinois' trial bar selected the suit as its "test case" to challenge the law.
Liability insurance rates for Illinois doctors generally have held steady or dipped slightly since the caps took effect in August 2005, according to survey data from Medical Liability Monitor, an Oak Park-based trade publication. That's roughly in line with national trends.
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A Jefferson County jury has found Christus St. Mary Hospital negligent in its treatment of a 41-year-old woman who died of a heart attack within hours of an emergency room visit.
In the verdict, filed Jan. 21, the jury found that the Port Arthur hospital along with Dr. Michael Peterson committed "willful or wanton negligence," in their treatment of Stacy Meaux.
The jury awarded a combined $1.3 million in damages to Meaux; her mother, Mary Ann, Licatino; and her two children.
Limitations on the amount of money that can be awarded for mental anguish pain and medical malpractice will limit this to $250,000 per defendant.
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/community-%20news/mcc/local/St_Marys_found_negligent_in_death.html
According to the Institute of Medicine, 98000 people die every year from PREVENTABLE medical errors, such as the one described above. That number does not reflect the number of people seriously injured. Preventable medical errors are the sixth leading cause of death in the US, the equivalent of two 737s crashing every day.
Rather than putting limitations on the amount of money that can be sought from the families of these victims of those errors, which 30 states have done, would it not be more beneficial for everyone to reduce the number of medical malpractice lawsuit cases by reducing the number of medical errors? We need to be making strides in patient safety, not limiting the rights of patients who have been injured through no fault of their own. Tort law changes clearly won't fix health care.
Please visit http://www.98000reasons.org/ for information on how you too can stand up for patient rights.
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Missouri regulators have moved to shut down more than a dozen companies that promise health plans but have allegedly left consumers with thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills.
The consumer affairs division of the Missouri Department of Insurance demanded that 14 companies and 12 individuals respond to charges that they defrauded Missouri consumers, according to an order from the department filed Monday.
The companies have been ordered to appear at a hearing Feb. 17 to respond to the charges and could face cease-and-desist orders and a $250,000 fine.
The department has received complaints from nearly 150 consumers that paid these companies for services that were advertised as insurance, using phrases like "PPO," "Group Health Plan" and "dependent coverage."
Many of the companies send faxes promising low-cost health insurance.
Now the companies face fines and closure, state regulators said.
The state initiated administrative enforcement proceedings against Affinity Group Benefits Association Inc.; American Trade Association; Americans for Affordable Healthcare Inc.; Beema-Pakistan Assurance Ltd. a/k/a Beema-Pakistan Co. Ltd.; Key Benefits Administrators Inc.; National Alliance of Associations; National Trade Business Alliance of America; Peak Membership Alliance; Professional Benefits Consultants a/k/a PBC Direct a/k/a Professional Benefit Consultants of Del. Inc.; Real Benefits Association; Serve America Assurance Ltd. a/k/a Serve America Assurance Ltd. Co. a/k/a Serve America Assurance; Smart Data Solutions LLC; Spencer & Associates LLC; Christopher Ashiotes; Richard Bachman; Earnest Beall; David Clark; James Doyle; Obed Kirkpatrick; Bart Posey Sr.; Thomas Sullivan; William Worthy; and Colin Youell.
"State law provides severe punishment for any company selling unauthorized health plans in Missouri," said John Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration, in a statement. "Many Missourians found out the hard way that these plans are not the comprehensive insurance they signed up for. Instead, some of them are left with massive unpaid medical bills."
One consumer faced an unpaid medical bill of more than $60,000 after getting treatment in Hannibal, Huff said. Another southwest Missouri consumer paid nearly $2,000 for membership, then found out it didn't even cover flu shots. Others told state regulators that they couldn't get refunds after canceling their coverage.
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/02/01/daily19.html
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The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Thursday put a dent in the state budget by rejecting the state's claim to $110 million in surplus from a fund that underwrites medical malpractice insurance.
In a 3-2 decision, the court upheld policyholders' claim they had a constitutionally protected contractual right to the money. The court said the state could not change its law to apply retrospectively to contracts with policyholders.
"I applaud the Supreme Court for making the right decision," said House Republican Leader Sherman Packard of Londonderry. "I am not surprised that they affirmed the fact that state government shouldn't be raiding private accounts to balance out of control budgets."
An elated Kevin Fitzgerald, the policyholders' lawyer, said the next step will be determining if money should be distributed to policyholders as dividends or held in reserve.
The state said the surplus is from premiums, investment income, efficient operations and good claims management. It said the surplus also grew partly because the association did not pay state taxes or assessments charged private companies to cover the state Insurance Department's operating costs.
Associated Press Writer Kathy McCormack contributed to this report from Concord, N.H.
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