When you think of big business, you probably think of an industry like banking, but it turns out that one of the bigger businesses out there happens to be prisons — both private and federal. While we already know that financial institutions benefit from others, collecting tens of millions of dollars every year from inmates’ families in fees for basic financial services, the healthcare industry has also found a veritable goldmine by contracting services to prisons and jails across the country. [More]
liability
VTech’s Latest User Agreement Lets Company Skirt Liability For Future Hacks
By 2.9.16
Last year, a data breach of VTech’s Learning Lodge app store exposed personal information for millions of parents and children. While the company claims to have improved its security to prevent future hacks, it also looks like VTech has given itself a way out of liability for anything bad that might happen. [More]
Honda Recalls 1.7M Additional Cars Over Takata Airbag Defect; Reminds Dealers Not To Sell Them
By 2.3.16
Honda warned dealers this week that they could be held liable if they sell a vehicle equipped with unrepaired Takata airbags and it explodes, injuring a passenger or driver in an accident. The warning comes as the carmaker issued a stop-sale for and once again expanded — by 1.7 million — the number of its vehicles affected by the ongoing safety device defect. [More]
OSHA Goes After Sea World For Killer Whale Incident
By 9.20.11
Sea World Orlando faces hearings this week that are connected to the infamous 2010 tragedy in which a killer whale caused the death of a trainer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration contends Sea World Orlando willfully put its employees in danger by failing to take enough safety precautions, including using proper barriers, decking or oxygen supply systems. [More]
G.M. Agrees To Remain Responsible For Shoddy Cars After Bankruptcy
By 6.28.09
General Motors has reached an agreement with the government to let consumers file what are known as product-liability claims after the company escapes from bankruptcy protection. The big win for consumers means that if a manufacturing defect in an old G.M. causes injuries in the future, consumers will still be able to sue G.M. in state court.
Customer Drops Off Car At Dealership For Repairs, Gets Tires And Wheels Stolen Instead
By 5.27.09
Before you drop off your car at your local dealership for any sort of repairs, make sure you’re clear on the chain of liability should anything happen to it—especially right now, when dealerships can barely afford those flappy air things, much less tires. A woman in Charlotte, NC was left with around $1,000 in damages when the tires and wheels were stolen from the 2005 Audi she’d left with the dealership over the weekend.
