Medical professionals often feel they have a reputation to protect, and the best strategy for achieving that goal is adherence to accepted medical standards and treating patients with the respect they deserve. But the recently settled case of a New York bariatric surgeon suggests that sometimes patients' best interests are not the foremost goal, when eliminating a colleague who dissents about medical practices seems more expedient. Dr. Neelu Pal lost her position at New York University's Medical Center in 2006 after she informed several patients scheduled for weight-loss ...

On March 15, 2008, a 22-story crane collapsed on East 51st Street in Manhattan, killing seven people. A little over two months later, a second crane collapsed at an Upper East Side construction site, leaving two dead, including the 30-year-old crane operator. These two crane accidents have been at the center of multiple investigations, civil lawsuits and criminal charges against those believed to be responsible for the catastrophes. Rigging contractor William Rapetti was one of the individuals facing criminal charges for his role in the East 51st Street collapse. ...

A recent Pennsylvania appellate court decision involved a rarely implemented defense in a DUI/DAI case. In Commonwealth v. Clouser, the Pennsylvania Superior Court considered whether a driver was justified in fleeing danger in his vehicle even though he was intoxicated. While the trial court had denied the defendant's request to argue justification, the Superior Court held that he should have been allowed to present this defense. Appellant Michael Allan Clouser was out at a Franklin County tavern in June of 2009 with his girlfriend. Clouser admitted at trial that he ...

In Pennsylvania, an officer often conducts field sobriety testing prior to asking a driver to submit to a roadside breath test and making an arrest, whether the driver is suspected of intoxication during a traffic stop, sobriety checkpoint or saturation patrol. In October 2008, Pennsylvania began the Checkpoint Strikeforce Initiative, which requires each of the 15 regional state police troops to conduct random sobriety tests of drivers on most weekends. The State Police Commissioner noted that the program contributed to a record number of DUI arrests that year. Standardized ...

Any person accused of a crime in the United States has the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him." It is one of the fundamental protections of the U.S. Constitution, written into the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment and guaranteed since the Bill of Rights took effect in 1791. However, our understanding of this right has evolved with time. Last year in the case of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the protections of the Confrontation Clause with regard to the introduction of forensic evidence in a trial. Prior ...

Medical Whistleblowers and the Sovereign Immunity Roadblock The heroic actions of two individuals recently brought the little town of Kermit, Texas, into the limelight. Two nurses at Winkler County Memorial Hospital found themselves in an astonishing situation after reporting suspected ethical violations of a doctor. Not only were they fired but also indicted on felony charges. Both nurses beat the indictments and later settled a civil lawsuit against the hospital, but the unexpected scenario has sparked public debate about laws protecting medical whistleblowers. Anne ...

Worried parents and law enforcement officials are driving an increase in child pornography cases across the U.S. Sentences for viewing child porn range from probation to 20 years in prison, but judges are leaning toward lower sentences. The Wall Street Journal analyzed four years of data and found a significant reduction in jail time. In 2006, about 20 percent of child porn possession and distribution cases brought sentences that fell below federal guidelines. By 2009, more than 40 percent of sentences brought such sentences, according to the Journal. In the same period, ...

When a worker is injured on the job, the workers' compensation system is intended to ensure that the worker receives the medical treatment necessary to recover and financial support for the resulting time away from work. However, this compensation is ultimately provided by an insurance company -- and insurance companies generally seek to avoid paying out claims when possible. Accordingly, these companies rely on a number of common, well-established defenses to avoid paying claims. Workers' compensation claims fall into two categories: accidental-injury claims and occupational-disease ...

Debenhams has become the first retailer on the British high street to launch a national window campaign featuring a disabled model in all of its 160 stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The ground breaking imagery features disabled model Shannon Murray, along with additional photography, mannequins and products in a display to launch the Debenhams autumn winter womenswear. The innovative display follows an approach by Nikki Fox and Natasha Wood, both disability campaigners and presenters of the hit TV show, How to Look Good Naked, which led to a trial using ...

npower is celebrating after being presented with 'The Consumer Supplier of the Year' award at the first ever Energy Event Awards. The award recognises the supplier that has excelled in providing industrial and commercial consumers with an outstanding service, product or innovation. The awards are a new addition to the annual Energy Event, which took place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on 8-9th September 2010. The awards recognise and reward achievements in the energy industry, celebrating the suppliers and businesses that are bringing new ideas and ...

Door2Tour.com has launched its range of popular events for 2011 with a selection of breaks available, incorporating flower shows, sporting events, concerts and exhibitions. The latest programme now includes trips to over 30 events throughout the UK alone, offering traditional events like the Edinburgh Tattoo, Chelsea Flower Show and Wimbledon among newcomers like the NBA Basketball, National Brass Band Championships, Cirque du Soleil and Barry Manilow in concert. Fresh from a hugely successful year for events where sales were up 37% on 2009, and with sales for events ...

Stena Line has announced the launch of a new menu by Annabel Karmel MBE, one of the world's most successful writers on children's food and nutrition. Annabel has sold over 4 million books worldwide and has become the expert in getting children, no matter how fussy, to follow a healthier diet. A selection of little people's favourite dishes including Fruity Chicken Curry, Fish Pie, Spaghetti Bolognaise with hidden vegetables, Chilli Con Carne, Macaroni Cheese and Chocolate Sponge with chocolate sauce will initially be sold in all food outlets onboard Stena Line's routes ...

npower has revealed that Tuesday 14 September is officially the day of The Big Turn On; when the majority of Brits awaken their heating from its summer slumber. Statistics from npower hometeam, which installs, services and repairs boilers, show that Tuesday 14 September is the day when boilers across the country will whir back into action. It's easy to forget about boilers during the Great British Summer in all its varied and inconsistent glory, but as Brits make the move and flick that switch, npower hometeam reveals that it experienced a significant increase in ...

As of Thursday Sept. 16, Jesse Willms has helped 135 children facing poverty in third-world countries through the renowned World Vision charitable organization. Perhaps, even more importantly, Willms says he's not done yet - and hopes to have sponsored 200 or more children by the end of the year. "I am proud to be able to partner with World Vision and do my small part in helping them in their goal to make poverty a thing of the past for children whose lives are endangered every day by their economic conditions," Willms said. World Vision is an international ...

Jacksonville's Real Estate Investor Association (JaxREIA) is holding their 11th Annual Trade Show, Thursday, October 7 from 4 - 8:30 P.M. This event is FREE to the public. Ever been interested in flipping houses? Have you caught yourself watching a home improvement show and thinking, "I could do that?" Wondering how to get the money to get started in real estate investing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then come out to their 11th Annual Trade Show and meet investor-friendly vendors showing off their products and services, ready to answer all of your ...

ProfitKey International LLC, a leader in providing ERP and MES solutions to discrete manufacturing businesses for over 30 years, announced today that Hobson and Motzer, Inc., a precision metal stamping company servicing the medical, consumer, aerospace and automotive industries with quality critical tooling has selected ProfitKey's Rapid Response Manufacturing (RRM) enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. Started in 1912, Hobson and Motzer is a mature company that has seen its business grow exponentially over the years. Their current need for a new ERP system led ...

On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. (the orthopedic division of Johnson & Johnson) issued a recall of its ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement and ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems. The DePuy hip recall comes after numerous complaints and lawsuits have been filed against the company since 2007 alleging they manufactured a defective product, were responsible for design and manufacture negligence, and failed to warn doctors and their patients about the inherent dangers of the DePuy ASR Hip Replacement System. A study completed in the United Kingdom showed a large number ...

SalesFUSION, the maker of SalesFUSION 360, an integrated sales and marketing demand generation platform, today announced that it has expanded its marketing automation platform by releasing the newest version of SocialFUSION to include IttyBitty URL shortener and other enhanced sharing and publishing tools. Details of the solution can be found at http://www.salesfusion.com/Solutions/SocialMediaTracking/tabid/533/Default.aspx. "SalesFUSION today has put a stake in the social media ground and created truly meaningful and trackable solutions for b2b marketers, relative to ...

With the AVS Video Converter 7.0 release, Online Media Technologies Ltd. starts a new generation of the Windows program that includes so many formats and video presets that it caused the need to divide the interface into several tabs. You open the Devices tab and you see a long row of icons for a list of worldwide popular devices and gadgets such as Sony PSP, Nintedo, Blackberry, iPhone, iPod, devices with Android OS, Palm, Sandisc, etc. Each icon, in its turn, hides a row of presets that combine video formats, video quality requirements, aspect ratio, etc. for various ...

Are you in the market to buy or refinance a house? TodayMortgageRates.net is the place to go. TodayMortgageRates.net is an online mortgage information resource that will make it easier for you to find the best mortgage rates in the market. TodayMortgageRates.net will also help you connect with mortgage lenders in your area. Here is some important information for you to consider when shopping around for the best mortgage rates: 1. Don't take the first offer as the final offer. What you should do is take the first offer and take it to another lender. Most chances ...

According to a recent survey of legal and financial advisors conducted by Merrill DataSite, in cooperation with mergermarket and DebtWire, transatlantic restructuring activity is expected to increase over the next 12 months due to the financial stress put on companies in recent years More than half of the respondents (54 percent) indicated that most restructuring strategies would hinge on the sale of non-core assets. Given the economic climate and the number of companies filing for bankruptcy, it comes as no surprise that the majority of survey respondents cited the ...

Bruegger's Enterprises Inc. will join thousands of restaurants this month in a fight against childhood hunger during Share Our Strength's annual Great American Dine Out, a week-long national restaurant event in cities across the United States. Scheduled from September 19-25, 2010, the event raises funds for No Kid Hungry, Share Our Strength's national campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 and help connect kids to the food they need to live healthy, active lives. Bruegger's is asking its guests to join in this important cause. Beginning September 19, guests ...

Penny Auction Solutions, Inc. (PAS) is pleased to announce that it has signed an investment agreement with Kodiak Capital Group, LLC of New York City (Kodiak) for a $10 million equity line of credit. PAS plans to use the funding to establish operations and begin offering services in early 2011. Their strategic approach is tailored to capitalize on the online Penny Auction entertainment-shopping arena. One key advantage is their ability to penetrate the global marketplace with the top 291 Internet domains and .mobi's. PAS is preparing an S-1 Registration Statement ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – New research suggests that old age may not play a role in why older people become forgetful. According to a study published in the September 15, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the same brain lesions that are associated with dementia are responsible for mild memory loss in old age. "It appears these brain lesions have a much greater impact on memory function in old age than we previously thought," said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "Our ...

BENIN (16 September 2010)—Farmers and crop scientists worldwide are engaged in an ambitious new effort to add 3,000 yam samples to international genebanks with the aim of saving the diversity of a crop that is consumed by 60 million people on a daily basis in Africa alone, according to an announcement today from the Global Crop Diversity Trust. In almost all the countries of the African yam belt, a large number of potentially important yam varieties are preserved only in fields, where they are in danger of being picked off by pests or diseases as well as more common disasters ...