Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation has settled the rest of the gender discrimination claims that were brought against it by thousands of its current and former female employees.  The company has agreed to pay more than $152 million to workers who were employed by company between 2002 and 2007.

Of the settlement, $60 million is meant to cover back pay.  Besides the $152 million, Novartis will also have to pay an additional $22.5 million for company programs aimed at eliminating discrimination in the workplace.

That announcement came just a few months after a jury in May awarded a punitive damages verdict against Novartis of $250 million.  The jury had found that the company had discriminated heavily against its female employees.  This discrimination took the form of giving female employees lower pay than male employees, and discriminatory practices during promotions.  It was the largest gender discrimination award in US history against any company.  This new settlement replaces the punitive damages.  In May, a New York court also awarded 17 named plaintiffs and nine testifying witnesses, compensatory damages of $3.4 million.  That is part of the settlement of $152 million announced this week.

As part of the settlement, Novartis has also agreed to undertake a series of measures as part of a three-year program aimed at the treatment of female employees equally with male employees.  These programs will include revising the company’s sexual harassment policies and bringing in external specialists to identify gender discrimination in the company, and to correct it.

The settlement has not yet been approved, and it will go before a federal judge in Manhattan soon.  As the largest punitive damages verdict against any company in a gender bias lawsuit, the Novartis discrimination class-action will set a standard for other gender discrimination claims to follow.  The case had been heavily followed by Los Angeles employment law lawyers and corporations across the country.  It also came after a court ruled that a massive gender discrimination class action against Wal-Mart could proceed.

Los Angeles car accident lawyers wouldn’t have believed that the Toyota saga, complete with a whistleblower’s accounts of shady practices, and a teary chief executive, could possibly get messier.

It just did.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that, according to confidential sources, driver error had been found to be a major factor in most of the acceleration-related accidents being investigated by the National Traffic Safety Administration.  As the WSJ might have expected, everyone went ballistic over that article, which clearly implied that driver error and not floor mats or sticky gas pedals, were to blame for the sudden and unintended acceleration problem.  The federal agency shot back with a representative informing a popular auto blog that the WSJ article was actually planted by Toyota. The Wall Street Journal has showed a sympathetic side towards Toyota, ever since the company’s image began to receive a beating more than months ago.

According to the NHTSA representative, it is all part of the Toyota PR machine at work, trying to build a case that points to driver error as a factor in these accidents that are currently under investigation.

This week, Toyota retaliated, strongly denying any claims that it had planted the WSJ story.  According to the automaker, any reports that it had manipulated the publication of a story in the WSJ in order to prove that driver error was a big factor in these accidents, were patently false.  There have been several more updates to the murky plot.  The NHTSA has since confirmed that it has not shared any investigation data, but could not confirm that Toyota had not accessed confidential records from the agency. The pressure is on WSJ to reveal its confidential sources, and the agency to prove that the automaker did not gain access to its records.

In this entire mess of finger pointing and intrigue, it’s important to remember that the focus needs to be an investigation into the exact causes of the problem.

By now, almost everyone knows the pool safety drill – never leave the children unsupervised in the water, install 4-feet high pool fencing and make sure that all doors that lead to the pool are latched. However, if you own a property with a swimming pool, there are other things you can do to make sure that your pool is drown-resistant.

It’s important for property owners to make sure that there is a special pool safety first aid kit available right at the poolside. This kit must be available and accessible in case of an emergency. Pool safety experts and California premises liability lawyers also suggest waterproof telephones if you need to call for emergency medical help.

Property owners can also consider pool alarms. There are new and sophisticated models available these days. You can buy different kinds of alarms depending on the kind of pool you have. There are separate alarms for in ground pools and above ground pools. For instance, one alarm device detects waves in the water when an object, like a child, falls in, and will sound an alarm both inside and outside the house. Have alarms on all doors that lead to the pool.

There are other gadgets you can buy to drown proof your pool. For example, all in ground pools need a pool cover. It’s not merely enough to have a cover that’s meant simply to protect the pool from dirt and debris. It’s important to have a pool cover that meets industry standards. Your pool cover should be able to support the weight of a person walking on it.  It’s also important to make sure that your hot tubs are covered and locked when not in use.

Inflatable pools are a major drowning risk in children below the age of five. These are very popular because they’re easy to install, and work out cheaper than in-ground pools. However, these pools can hold thousands of gallons of water, and offer very little protection against drowning. Parents must know that all that open, easily accessible water makes the pool a drowning magnet.

In honor of Tire Safety Week, tire makers and Las Vegas personal injury lawyers are drawing attention to the need to maintain your tires properly to prevent accidents. Tires are the only part of your car that are constantly in contact with the road, and therefore, must be kept in optimum condition. However, tire safety is often overlooked, resulting in adverse incidents like blowouts etc.

The most important thing you can do to ensure your tires are in optimum shape is to make sure these are inflated properly. Tires must be inflated according to the vehicle’s specifications. Tire pressure must be checked at least once a month.

Get wheel alignment checked at least one every year.

Get your tires rotated every 5,000 miles.

The most common problems that frequently result in accidents are poor tire tread. Check the tire tread frequently. Your tire should optimally have a 2/32 inch of tread.

Check the grooves of the tire frequently to make sure that they’re clean and free from debris, like stones, pebbles and other foreign objects.

Make sure that there are no cuts on your tires, or bulges.

It’s the right time to bring attention to tire safety. The past two years have been tainted with tire safety scandals, including one in which a TV channel exposed the fact that several tire companies were pushing old and outdated tires into the market. Tires are like any other product, and have a shelf life of a few years.  When they are past their prime, they are in danger of a blowout and accidents.

Since the scandal broke, a bill has been introduced that will require manufacturers to hand over documents at the time of sale indicating the date of manufacture of the tire. Not surprisingly, tire manufacturers have not exactly been enthusiastic about this idea.

Tread separation is one of the most common causes of tire defect-related accidents. A sudden tread separation at high speeds can cause a motorist to lose control of his vehicle, contributing to a rollover accident. This week, it’s time for more attention on the need for frequent checkups of tires.

Consistent and chronic headaches are one of the complaints most often reported by people who live with a Traumatic Brain Injury. New research seems to indicate that these painful headaches can be eliminated using special eyeglasses lenses that contain prisms.

The study was conducted by physicians at the University of Michigan Medical School. The results of the studies seem to indicate that the severity of headaches, dizziness and anxiety reported by patients who suffered a brain injury, can be lessened to some extent by using these lenses. According to the researchers, this is a brand-new approach to the treatment of post-concussive symptoms.

Researchers have known for long that traumatic brain injury can result in vision problems. Now however, they believe that the vision problems that result from TBI are also responsible for post-concussive symptoms, like headaches and dizziness. Up to 25% of patients suffering from TBI continue to suffer from post concussive symptoms for about a year after suffering the injury.

The brain injury causes a condition known as vertical heterophoria, or visual image misalignment. In order to cope with this misalignment, the eye muscles are forced back into proper alignment. This leads to strain on the eye muscles, and can result in post concussive symptoms like dizziness, anxiety, neck pain and headaches. When the researchers used eyeglasses with prisms to realign the images, it led to a reduction in the strain on the eye muscles. The eye muscles were now less fatigued and stressed, and therefore, there was a massive reduction in the severity of the person’s postconcussive symptoms. In fact, the researchers found that the symptoms were reduced by as much as 71%.

Traumatic Brain Injury is one of the most common conditions afflicting veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. These also occur frequently in auto, truck and motorcycle accidents, falls and assaults. Considering that up to 6 million people in the United States suffer from a Traumatic Brain Injury, and that many of these people suffer from postconcussive symptoms, these findings are very encouraging to Los Angeles brain injury lawyers.

The classic image of a bicyclist pedaling away with dogs at his heels is likely to be seen more and more in California as the summer progresses. Bicycling season is here, and there’ll be more numbers of persons enjoying the warm California weather on two wheels. Unfortunately, there will also be unwanted canine friends huffing and puffing away for the ride.

It’s hard to understand why one dog will chase a cyclist, while another will ignore one. Some dogs may simply be trying to protect their territory.  Many dogs chasing bicyclists are harmless, and just want to play. Other dogs may actually be aggressive, and want to harm you. It’s not always easy to tell what kind of dog is following you as you ride.

A dog bite attorney in Los Angeles recommends the following steps to help you get that pesky animal off your heels:

• Try shouting at the dog. Loud noise may frighten it.
• Yelling serves another important purpose. If the owner of the dog is around, he may hear you, and come to your help.
• If the dog is a small animal and doesn’t look too harmless, stop the bicycle. Once the bicycle is stopped, the dog will lose all interest in following you, and go back to whatever it was doing.
• Get off your bicycle or walk home. The animal may decide to follow you for some distance, but will ultimately lose interest.
• If you’re handy with a bicycle and have a water bottle, squirt water into the dog’s face. Obviously it will take some acrobatic bicycling to accomplish this feat, but it could help get the dog off your back. In fact, some bicyclists prefer to carry water mixed with some vinegar in a water bottle, just for this very purpose. The vinegar will irritate the dog’s eyes just enough to stop it from following you.
• If the dog is getting really aggressive and may harm you, pepper spray will help. Every girl’s best friend also works for man’s best friend. Don’t spray around you, or blindly into the air.
• Of course, none of these tactics may help if it’s a pack of dogs that’s chasing you. This is a dangerous situation, and you must not stop or get off your bike at any point. In a situation like this, the best idea for you may be to pedal as fast as you can.

The month of May has been dedicated to motorcycle and bicycle safety across California. The campaign coincides with summer, and the fact that higher numbers of bicyclists and motorcyclists will be on California roads. The California Department Of Motor Vehicles has brought out a new safety video that aims at educating motorists about motorcyclist and bicyclist safety.

The video is titled Sharing the Road with Motorcycles and Bicycles, and runs for approximately 5 1/2 minutes. It features a series of safety tips and information for motorists. Some of these tips that seem to be lost on many of California’s motorists are:

• Pay attention to motorcyclists and bicyclists while you’re driving
• Look for motorcyclists and bicyclists, especially at crowded intersections
• Check your mirrors before leaving lanes
• Check your mirrors before merging

To these tips, Los Angeles personal injury lawyers would add their own advice:

• Give bicyclists a space of at least 3 feet as you pass them by. Don’t drive too close to a bicycle.
• Don’t yell at bicyclists.
• It’s not fun to drive close to a bicyclist and blow your horn. It not only scares the cyclist, but could also cause him to fall off his bicycle with serious consequences.

The number of bicyclists on California’s streets has always been huge, and these will increase now that summer is here. Bicycle safety has been a thorny issue in California, and there have been certain high-profile incidents recently that involved aggressive driving by motorists.

California has seen a massive increase in the number of registered motorcycles to up to 800,000 in January 2010. There is no excuse for motorists to ignore motorcyclists’ rights when there are these many motorcycles on the roads. Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorneys have long been concerned about high motorcycle accident rates in the state. In 2009, there was a drop in fatalities, but that could be attributed to the effects of an economic recession.

With the month of May being dedicated to these serious safety issues, it’s the right time for law enforcement agencies in California to take up these concerns more seriously.

The month of May will see more numbers of Californians, adults and children alike, take to the streets on their bikes. It’s the ideal month to kick off a national campaign for bicycle safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is partnering with League of American Bicyclists to declare the month of May as National Bike Safety Month.

The League of American Bicyclists is inviting California bicyclists, bike safety advocates and anyone who’s interested in making the state and country safe for bikers, to join in their awareness efforts. The group has brought out a special step-by-step guide to anyone who’s interested in promoting bike safety campaigns in their community. The guide takes users through the entire gamut of steps necessary to conduct and promote a successful campaign. You have all the advice you need, from writing a promotion campaign plan, locating the funds for it, building strategic partnerships with other community groups for massive success, and finding volunteers for the campaign. You also have all the information you need on promoting your bike safety campaign.

Some California cities, that have traditionally been bicycle friendly, are gearing up for more numbers of bikers in May. The city of San Francisco for example, typically promotes bicycle safety by having, what it calls, Energizer Stations. Bicyclists can drop by the centers for refreshment, and to paste on reflective leg bands.

There are other suggestions that the League of American Bicyclists has that California bicycle accident lawyers find very promising:

• Have an all-commuter race in your town, including passenger vehicles, motorists and motorcyclists.
• Have a Bike to School Day in your town.
• Establish a bicyclist mentor program in which experienced bicyclists train novice bikers.
• Encourage establishments to have a single Bike to Work Day every week for their employees.
• Get high ranking law enforcement officials, the town mayor and other high-ranking authorities involved in your campaign.

More awareness of bicyclists leads to fewer bicycle accidents, and greater safety for all. Hopefully, these 31 days of May will lead to some change in the attitude towards bicyclists in California.

For years, motorcyclists in California have been engaged in lane splitting or lane sharing. California is the only state where this practice is considered legal. With an increase in motorcycle accident fatality rates across California and the rest of the country, there is renewed debate about whether lane spitting is safe, and whether it should be encouraged in other states as a means of reducing motorcycle fatality numbers.

Lane splitting is the practice in which a motorcyclist rides between lanes of traffic. This practice has been widely used in California for several years now. Not all motorists have been happy with it, however. To be honest, it can be frightening to a motorist to have a motorcyclist dart out from the side. Motorists aren’t expecting a motorcyclist to do this, and hence being the anxiety at such practices. Supporters of the practice believe that it actually helps motorcyclists squeeze through California’s congested traffic, thereby alleviating congestion. It also helps motorcyclists avoid deadly rear-end accidents.

More support for lane sharing is coming in from other parts of the country. The state of Arizona has declared that it will test drive lane sharing for a period of one year in Maricopa County.

There’s no doubt that motorcyclists have a higher risk of being rear-ended by a passenger vehicle, or even worse a truck, while riding in congested bumper to bumper traffic. Allowing lane sharing facilitates easier movement through traffic, ensures motorcyclist safety from rear ender accidents, and is especially suited to California’s crowded roads.

However, the practice is not without its dangers. The risk of an accident increases if a motorist suddenly decides to switch lanes. This is not an uncommon occurrence, especially in California where motorists are less likely to take motorcyclists’ riding concerns into account while driving.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has a noncommittal approach to lane sharing. While it supports lane splitting, it does want more research conducted into whether lane sharing can reduce the risk of fatalities. It is also a practice that California motorcycle accident lawyers know must be attempted only by those who have enough experience and skills riding a motorcycle. An inexperienced motorcyclist can look like he’s trying out stunts in between lanes, and may end up seriously injured in the process.



Recall season at Toyota is still going strong. The company has now announced new recalls that include its new Lexus for electronic stability control issues, as well as Siena minivans for potential corrosion problems.

The Lexus recall is linked to a damning report by the influential Consumer Reports magazine, which last week cautioned buyers against purchasing the new Toyota Lexus 2010 GX 460. According to Consumer Reports, it found there were issues with the SUV that caused it to slide sideways when the driver removed his foot from the gas pedal. The electronic stability control system which, should have immediately gone into effect to prevent such sliding, was slow to be activated. The result was that the vehicle, in such situations, would slide sideways almost completely. According to Consumer Reports, such a situation could increase the risk of a rollover.

Typically, sport-utility vehicles, pickup trucks and other vehicles with a higher center of gravity have a greater risk for rollovers. There was definitely a concern at Consumer Reports that this high center of gravity, coupled with the slow activation of Toyota’s electronic stability control system, could cause a rollover with serious consequences. The magazine immediately issued a cautionary “Don’t Buy” alert, warning consumers not to buy the SUV until the problem was fixed.

Fortunately, Toyota reacted immediately. The company seems to have learned its lessons from the disastrous public relations efforts it has mounted over the past few months. The more Toyota tried to deny problems involving unintended acceleration in its vehicles, the more it found itself backed into a corner. This time around however, the company immediately began retesting the new Lexus vehicles, and found that the Consumer Reports findings had been accurate. It has announced that it will recall 9,000 Lexus 460 GX vehicles, and will update the software in this model to correct the problem.

The second Toyota recall last week involved more than 4,000 Toyota Sienna minivans. According to the automaker, minivans that were used in states where colder climes require the sprinkling of rock salt on highways, may be more prone to corrosion. The corrosion can cause the cable securing the spare tire to break or snap off. This could cause the tire to fall on the road, possibly rolling into other vehicles nearby, and posing a potentially deadly roadway hazard. The Sienna recall doesn’t include vehicles sold in California, however.

At the rate at which the automaker is announcing new recalls every day, it looks like Las Vegas auto defect lawyers will be kept busy tracking Toyota recalls for a while.