Ackley Law Group Represents Two in Nationwide Tattoo Ink Infection Outbreak

Health officials have traced an outbreak of tattoo infections, causing bubbly rashes, not to problems with the needles or equipment sterilization, but to infected ink.  Specifically, the infection is traced to contaminated water used in making the ink.  Read the full CBS News article here.

Ackley Law Group represents two individuals in Washington State with infections caused by tattoo ink.  The culprit bacteria can cause itchy and painful blisters that often require antibiotics with serious side effects, and months of treatment, to clear up.

Both the federal Center for Disease Control and our local Department of Public Health have investigated the outbreak.  

 

The Group Therapy Dilemma

Since filing Oraivej v. CSI this winter, several groups from around the country have contacted me about their advocacy for safe and effective group therapy, including alcohol programs, anger management classes, and drug addiction programs.

The dangers of group therapy revolve around one central issue: the idea of bringing together a group of vulnerable people. They could be emotionally vulnerable, malleable, desperate, or volatile. They could be a danger to other participants or to themselves, or they could be easy prey for others in the group.

While there is a clear potential for chaos in a group therapy setting, many of the dangers of group therapy play out in indirect ways and materialize outside the classroom. Members develop a trust relationship with other vulnerable members, and exploit the relationship in private. This could be in the form of anything from rape to robbery to swindling.

This is not to say that there are not benefits of learning and healing with others, taking comfort in not being alone, and learning from others' mistakes. But, given the potential risks, it's important to have a well-defined standard of care for group therapy providers to provide safe and effective classes. This is what many advocates strive for.

Below are some links to others in the Blogosphere speaking on this issue:

http://nadaytona.org/2011/12/28/alateen-safety-guidelines-g-34/

www.leavingaa.com

www.orange-papers.com

www.stinkin-thinkin.com

www.stop13stepinaa.wordpress.com

Cruise Line Forum Clause

I'm sure you've heard of the cruise ship that sunk off the coast of Italy after the captain ran the ship aground, and then bailed before passengers and had a chance to get on life rafts. The Carnival Corp. owned Costa Cruises (owner of the Costa Concordia cruise liner) offered each uninjured passenger a full refund and $14,400 in cash.

Those who were injured (or lost their lives) and need more than Costa Cruises' cash offer are running into a ship-sized roadblock. Costa Concordia is based in Miami. Ordinarily, this would mean that an injured passenger could file suit against Costa Cruises in Florida. However, the small print on each Costa Concordia ticket includes a "choice of forum" clause, requiring any lawsuits against the company to be brought in Italy. As you would imagine, the cost and practical hurdles of filing suit in Italy deter many legitimate claims.

Though passengers probably did not consider the possibility of town-size ship running aground during their vacation when signing below the small print, the clauses will probably be upheld based on multiple prior Supreme Court decisions. See this Seattle Times article for more.

Linda Byron Investigates Red Flags the KC Sheriff's Office Ignored

$3 Million Settlement for Shooting Unarmed Bystander in the Face

In 2003, Chicago police officer Alvin Weems was late for work. He was not in uniform and did not have his utility bag or belt as he was walking through a Chicago transit station. Nevertheless, he attempted to stop a fight. The incident ended with him shooting an innocent bystander, 23 year old Michael Pleasance, in the face, killing him. Not realizing CTA video caught the shooting, Officer Weems lied in his report about Mr. Pleasance's involvement in the fight.

A $12.5 million dollar verdict was overturned by the Illinois Court of Appeals based on the repeated and supposedly prejudicial use of the term "willful and wanton" to describe the officer's conduct, according to Fox News Chicago. This is puzzling given that excessive force cases typically involve intentional conduct or willful and wanton disregard for safety. In any event, subsequent to the Appeals decision, Chicago has agreed to settle the suit, brought by the victim's family, for $3 million.

The entire incident was caught on video [graphic]:

Harris v. King County full press conference

The full press conference can be viewed here.

Toy Recalls: Poorly Placed Pegs Cause Genital Bleeding

Fisher-Price is recalling more than 11 million tricycles, toys and high chairs. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency in charge of product oversight, the toys have already injured several children. Injuries include laceration and genital bleeding due to poorly placed pegs and protrusions such as a tricycle "key" in the middle of the riding area (see picture to the left). Fisher-Price is also recalling two other toys due to choking hazards. See the Seattle Times article here. Go straight to the source for detailed information from the CPSC here, here, here, and here.

If you want to keep up with recalls without having to look in the news, you can sign up for the CPSC alerts here.