Civil Justice News For Connecticut Legislators for the Week of August 3rd

Civil Justice News For Connecticut Legislators for the Week of August 3rd

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07/31/2015 // Hartford, CT, USA // cttriallawyers // Neil Ferstand // (press release)

In our continuing effort to inform and educate Connecticut Legislators on the importance and extent to which the civil justice system enters our lives, legislators this week received a variety of news items beginning with a piece from the Consumer Federation of America. In an exhaustive study CFA has found that insurance companies regularly and unfairly vary their product pricing based on marital status. The CFA has called upon all state insurance regulators to look closely at this unfair practice and correct the inequity.


In addition, insurance regulators in Florida are being challenged by medical malpractice insurance carrier; The Doctors Company (TDC). Florida regulators found that TDC’s malpractice insurance rates for doctors were excessive and called for a 15% reduction. An independent actuarial study in Connecticut found a similar pattern of excessive rates and extremely high corporate profits with no visible relief to doctors.
Additional stories shed light on the dangers of stretch limousines, drug side effects not timely reported to the FDA and a close look at the widespread discrimination which gave rise to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

Consumer Federation Asks State Insurance Departments to Examine Marital Pricing in Auto Insurance and Remedy Unfairness.

New CFA Research Shows That Most Major Auto Insurers Vary Prices Considerably Depending on Marital Status; Higher Rates for Widows Than for Married Women, and Other Marital Price Differences, Raise Questions about the Fairness of Auto Insurer Pricing

http://consumerfed.org/news/1106


The Doctors Co. Challenging Florida’s Order to Decrease Med Mal Rates

Florida insurance regulators call TDC’s medical malpractice insurance rates excessive and call for 15% reduction. A recent actuarial study found Connecticut medical malpractice rates to be excessive and the line of insurance in Connecticut to be particularly profitable for insurance companies. While there have been no rate increases in over ten years, doctors have not received the benefits of lower insurance premiums – instead – corporate profits have increased dramatically.  A copy of this actuarial study can be obtained by contacting the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/07/27/376314.htm


A Fatal Crash Shows a Safety Problem With Stretch Limousines

“People getting into limousines assume they are safe, but the stretch limousines in particular do not provide much protection to passengers in a crash. “It’s like playing in the World Cup,” Mr. Arbelaez said, “and leaving the goalie box open.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/nyregion/a-fatal-crash-shows-a-safety-problem-with-stretch-limousines.html?_r=0


Some serious drug side effects not told to FDA within 15 days

Companies fail to report roughly one in 10 serious and unexpected medication side effects to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within a 15-day window specified by federal regulations to protect patient safety, a study finds. Drug manufacturers are also less likely to disclose serious adverse events within this window when patient deaths are involved than when complications aren’t fatal, according to an analysis of 1.6 million side effect reports to the FDA from 2004 to 2014.

http://news.yahoo.com/serious-drug-side-effects-not-told-fda-within-155227790.html
 
Why I wrote the Americans with Disabilities Act

“The ADA was a response to an appalling problem: widespread, systemic, inhumane discrimination against people with disabilities. In 1971, a New York judge described people with disabilities as “the most discriminated [against] minority in our nation.” Large numbers of children with disabilities were systematically excluded from American public schools. In the early 1970s, according to widely quoted estimates, approximately 1 million school-aged individuals with disabilities were totally excluded from public educational programs……..”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/24/why-the-americans-with-disabilities-act-mattered/


FTC probes GM's certified pre-owned sales

http://www.freep.com/story/money/2015/07/23/general-motors-federal-trade-commission-recall/30573665/


In rush to add wireless features, automakers leaving cars open to hackers

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/07/22/in-rush-to-add-wireless-features-automakers-leaving-cars-open-to-hackers/


Government accuses Discover of illegal practices related to student loans

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/07/22/discover-to-student-loan-borrowers-we-might-owe-you-money/
 

Media Information:

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Phone: 860 522-4345
Url: http://ctlablog.org/civil-justice-news-for-connecticut-legislators-for-the-week-of-august-3rd_13452.html

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