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El Paso County says it’s not liable for damages sought in lawsuit by Sheriff’s Office employees

Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from gazette.com

El Paso County says it sought to protect Sheriff’s Office employees when allegations surfaced of hostile behavior by former Sheriff Terry Maketa and former Undersheriff Paula Presley and it should not have to pay damages sought by five employees who have filed a lawsuit.

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The federal lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver. It was brought by Lt. Cheryl Peck, Sgt. Rob Stone and three commanders who were put on administrative leave by Maketa hours after they filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in May 2014. Cmdrs. Rodney Gehrett and Rob King and now-Chief Mitch Lincoln had alleged that Maketa was a hostile boss who ran an office rampant with sexual favoritism and discrimination.

-Employees seek damages for ‘evil,’ ‘outrageous’ behavior by former El Paso County sheriff Terry Maketa-

The El Paso County Commission also was named as a defendant in the suit and by law is required to defend Maketa and Presley for actions related to their positions as county employees.

It does not have to defend them in their individual capacity, a separate claim in the lawsuit seeking damages because they engaged in “extreme and outrageous conduct recklessly or with the intent of causing the plaintiffs’ severe emotional distress,” the suit says.

In their official capacities, as employees of the county, the two are accused of stealing an Internal Affairs file on Sheriff Bill Elder, then a contender for the…

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Laurel woman, 35, sues in Rams Head Tavern video peeping case

Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.baltimoresun.com

A 35-year-old Laurel woman filed a lawsuit Monday against the president of the Rams Head Group and the company’s Savage restaurant, where Howard County police say he secretly videotaped women who were using the restroom.

The lawsuit, filed in Howard County Circuit Court, names Kyle C. Muehlhauser and the Rams Head Tavern in Savage as defendants. The woman’s attorney is seeking class-action status, saying there are many more women in a similar situation.

Rams Head Tavern owner charged with videotaping women's bathroom

Muehlhauser was charged last month in Howard County with “peeping Tom” violations and counts of video surveillance with prurient intent, after police said they found a digital camera that contained videos of six women using the toilet at the restaurant. Officers started an investigation in May, when a woman in the restroom said the device fell onto the floor next to her.

Kyle Muehlhauser

Police have said none of the women in the videos was identifiable. But the woman who filed the lawsuit, Michelle Mia Castle, visited the restaurant at least a dozen times in the month leading up to the day the camera was discovered, said her attorney, Clarke F. Ahlers. She also used the restroom there that day and is “reasonably certain” she was taped, he said.

“She’s very disgusted that somebody would do this to her — or to any woman,” Ahlers said. “She’s a strong woman and, as you can imagine, just shocked that someone gave [himself] license to do this to another human being.”

Castle is named in the lawsuit…

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Beneful dry ‘kibble’ dog food targeted by lawsuit claiming the brand is killing pets

Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.thedenverchannel.com

CINCINNATI – A recent lawsuit claims Purina’s popular Beneful brand is hurting and killing pets.

More than 3,000 online complaints have been filed by dog-owners claiming Purina Petcare Beneful’s dry “kibble” variety is killing and hurting dogs, according to the class action lawsuit filed Feb. 5 in federal court in California.

The brand is still on store shelves.

This class action suit concerns “kibble” dry food, which includes “Purina Beneful Health Weight”; “Purina Beneful Original”; “Purina Beneful Incredibites,” and “Purina Beneful Healthy Growth for Puppies”, “Purina Beneful Healthy Smile”, “Purina Beneful Health Fiesta”, “Purina Beneful Healthy Raidance”, and “Purina Beneful Playful Life” varieties. The packaging used for these foods make the following claims, the suit claims:

  • “Satisfaction Guaranteed. If you’re not happy, we’re not happy. Complete satisfaction or your money back…”
  • “At Purina, we’re unconditionally devoted to pets. We’ve dedicated over 80 years to developing the high-quality products that satisfy the needs of dogs and cats.”
  • “100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition”
  • Yes, dogs can have it all — and should! How? A special blend of wholesome ingredients, including grains, real beef, and accents of vitamin-rich veggies!…

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New lawsuit alleges sexual abuse in Fort Worth Catholic Diocese

Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH

A man who lives near Spokane, Wash., is suing the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese saying he was sexually assaulted in the 1990s by a priest who was his seventh-grade history teacher at a Catholic school in Wichita Falls.

The victim, identified in court documents as John Doe 117, also named Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson in the suit filed this week in Tarrant County district court.

The victim is seeking over $1 million in damages for emotional anguish, medical expenses and diminished earning capacity because of what is described in the suit as a “sadistic ritual of sexual abuse” by the late priest John Sutton.

Sutton, who died in 2004, told the student that if he told anyone of their encounters that “I have the power to ruin your life,” according to the suit.

In a emailed statement to the Star-Telegram, Fort Worth diocese spokesman Pat Svacina wrote that there is an ongoing investigation of the victim’s claims of abuse.

“Bishop Michael F. Olson personally knows John Doe and his family. The bishop traveled to Washington state in order to provide pastoral care to the former student and family members and to learn more about the allegations,” according to the statement.

The suit alleges that when the victim was in seventh grade at Notre Dame Middle-High School in Wichita Falls, Sutton was his history teacher and a school chaplain. Olson was a seminarian at a Wichita Falls church near the school and knew Sutton, the…

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Lawsuit accuses Comcast, Al Sharpton of discriminating against black-owned media

Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.washingtonpost.com

A lawsuit against Comcast, Time Warner Cable Inc., Rev. Al Sharpton and the NAACP alleges that the media companies discriminated against black-owned businesses and paid activists like Sharpton to “whitewash” its practices. The complaint alleges that Comcast gave large donations to Sharpton, the NAACP and other civil rights groups to make it appear that the cable company was promoting diversity, even while it was failing to follow through on a promise to do so.

The lawsuit, seeking $20 billion, was filed in Los Angeles federal court Friday by Entertainment Studios, a television company founded by black producer and comedian Byron Allen and the National Association of African-American Owned Media (NAAAOM). The complaint, which comes as regulators mull a $45-billion merger between Comcast and TWC, alleges that Comcast has refused to do business with Allen and other black media executives.

“Comcast has engaged in, and is engaging in, pernicious, intentional racial discrimination in contracting,” it reads. Whether or not it gets anywhere is another question. Anyone can file a lawsuit alleging anything and claiming any amount of money.

Both Sharpton and Comcast dismissed the allegations Monday. In an interview with Variety, Sharpton called the lawsuit a “bogus statement from a person who has no credibility” and he told the Hollywood Reporter that he will be bringing…

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Nurse Case Managers, aka Nurse Ratched

By: James R. Burn, Jr.

Often times when an injured worker’s compensation claim is accepted on a permanent or temporary basis, they are lead to believe by the insurance company that a “friendly nurse” will be assigned to the case to help them through their injury and the difficult times that lie ahead.

This nurse was once referred to in a movie as “Nurse Ratched.”

Nurse Ratched is not your friend. Nurse Ratched is there to get you back to work as soon as possible. Nurse Ratched is paid by the insurance company, not by you. Nurse Ratched will attempt to go to your doctor visits and once you leave, will attempt to strong arm your doctor into giving an opinion that may not necessarily be accurate or consistent with your real diagnosis. Nurse Ratched will come to your house and spend time with you, asking how you are doing, smiling the whole time.

Nurse Ratched is a hired gun from an entity that does not want to pay you a dime. Nurse Ratched is a minion of the insurance carrier that does not have your best interests in mind at any point during her assignment to your case.

If your claim has been accepted on a permanent or temporary basis and Nurse Ratched has attempted to or entered your life, please call us.

TALK WITH AN ATTORNEY TODAY!

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