Vets Continue to Face Long Waits for Caregiver Reimbursement
Veterans, their spouses and their caregivers continue to get the cold shoulder from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the New York Times’ blog The New Old Age reports. The blog publicized the little known Aid and Attendance pension benefit program (known as the A&A) last fall, arguing that the program is so poorly publicized far too few vets can actually benefit from its assistance. Since then, numerous vets and their families have begun efforts to start receiving the benefits and many are facing great difficulty navigating the process, the Times reports. The A&A...
Read MoreGreensboro man who left work to serve in reserves can’t sue to keep his job under USERRA
A man who left his city job to serve his country is not entitled to sue under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, according to a ruling by the United States 4thCircuit Court of Appeals. Oakley Dean Baldwin, a municipal waste manager who served as a chief warrant officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, lost his appeal in his lawsuit against the City of Greensboro, his former employer who he accuses of discriminating against him when he left his position to enter active duty. The USERRA Act is intended to prevent discrimination against people who are currently...
Read MoreTruck Drivers at Increased Risk for Spinal Cord and Traumatic Brain Injuries
Spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury are among the many catastrophic injuries for which American truck drivers are at risk. According to a post by Dr. Michael Choo of Paradigm Outcomes, factors such as fatigue, long hours, highway conditions and difficult-to-maneuver vehicles contribute to truck drivers being at great risk of catastrophic injury on the job. Paradigm reports that such life-altering injuries put truck drivers at greater risk of “major disruptions to income and well-being” than other occupations. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), more...
Read MoreCopeley Johnson & Groninger Celebrates Law Day
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.” So wrote the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King from his cell in a Birmingham, Alabama jail in 1963. Dr. King’s words as well as his dream of equality for all Americans, is at the heart of the American Bar Association’s annual Law Day celebration. Law Day is a day set aside to honor the legal process that contributes to the freedoms all Americans share. Law Day also recognizes the role of courts in the American democracy and the significance of jury service to maintaining the integrity of the court system. This year’s Law Day theme,...
Read MoreFalse Claims Act in the News, Led to $3 billion in Healthcare Fraud Judgments and Settlements in 2012
Over the last several months, US Courts have seen significant activity involving the False Claims Act (FCA), a federal law amended in 1986 to allow individual citizens to sue companies for money damages if they have evidence that the companies have defrauded the taxpayers. If an FCA case is successful, the person who brings it receives a portion of the amount of money that is recovered. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) report “staggering numbers of newly filed and pending FCA cases” as well as a record-setting number of recoveries...
Read MoreNew Book Examines Catholic Church Abuse Scandal
A new book by Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael D’Antonio provides a compelling, if stomach-turning account of the Roman Catholic Church’s long history of covering up reports of sexual abuse. Book reviewers are calling Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and the Era of Catholic Scandal the most comprehensive account of the church’s sexual abuse scandal to date. D’Antonio, a reporter for NewsDay, uses scores of legal documents, personal interviews and secondary sources to examine a culture of secrecy and conspiracy of silence so great that it has forever marred the reputation of the...
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