Author: completebodyneeds

A sophisticated scam targeting Spanish-speaking injured workers is ongoing in Oregon, authorities are warning. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services is warning people the scam targeting Spanish-speaking injured workers in Oregon and around the country involves workers being contacted by phone, email, social media apps or video calls. Scammers attempt to convince workers to appear at an online workers’ compensation hearing, which at times results in an official-appearing order in their favor. Workers are then told they must pay money to receive the workers’ comp benefits or settlement money. These communications can appear official, and hearings may include…

A Delaware judge ordered data analytics firm Verisk to try completing its planned $2.35 billion acquisition of roofing software maker AccuLynx, with the order coming more than seven months after Verisk said it pulled the plug on the deal. Here are details: Bonnie David, a Delaware Chancery Court judge, said Verisk’s termination of the deal was invalid “because its willful conduct caused the failure of a condition to closing.” In late December, Verisk had said its decision to terminate the deal followed a notification from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that the agency had not completed its review of the…

Montana State Auditor James Brown suspended the insurance producer license of a bail bondsman accused of exploiting people under his supervision, including trading services for sex and allegedly taking possession of vehicle titles without proper documentation, authorization or timely return of titles after bond obligations were satisfied. Brown received a referral from the Montana Department of Justice alleging Laine Kendall Callahan was abusing his authority as a surety bail bond producer. The Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance regulates bail bondsman as licensed insurance producers, and Brown opened an investigation. The investigation showed Callahan allegedly compelled a witness…

A man has been charged with negligently causing the death of a five-month-old infant and a 27-year-old woman, after the tour boat he was piloting with them aboard capsized in New York Harbor on August 8. Federal officials allege that Manuel Hernandez ignored federal regulations and maritime safety protocols in transporting paying customers on a commercial vessel without appropriate licenses, overcrowded the 10-person vessel with 14 people, and had no infant life vests onboard. Hernandez, of Manville, New Jersey, was charged with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, each of which carries a…

One farm worker died from heat exposure in 2020, resulting in a fine and citation from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Two years later, the employer failed to follow its remedial safety guidelines for heat exposure, failed to have a supervisor in the field, failed to have a buddy system in place for scorching hot days, and failed to provide relief to workers before another worker suffered debilitating injury from heat stroke. Yet that was not enough to overcome the exclusive remedy of North Carolina’s workers’ compensation statute, the state’s Court of Appeals decided in a case that…

A federal appeals court signaled that it might not allow a lawsuit brought by fishing industry businesses and trade groups against a California aquarium to proceed because of the case’s potential impact on free speech. The New England-based plaintiffs sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium for defamation after the aquarium’s Seafood Watch conservation program placed American and Canadian lobster on its do-not-eat “red list” in 2022. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether the lawsuit can go forward. One of the appellate judges, Judge Seth Aframe, said during oral arguments on July 27 that it doesn’t strike…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday took steps to increase oversight of food additives as part of the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have worked to enact some priorities of the MAHA movement that supported Kennedy’s 2024 presidential bid and later helped elect Trump, like curbing recommendations for some childhood vaccines. The FDA on Monday issued a proposed rule that would require food manufacturers to notify the agency when they deem a food additive to be “Generally Recognized as Safe,” or GRAS, according…

A U.S. appeals court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to move forward against Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, ByteDance’s TikTok, and other social media companies over claims they designed their products to be addictive to young users. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies’ bid to reverse a lower court’s ruling forcing them to face more than 3,000 lawsuits over the claims filed in federal court, concluding that the appeal came too early in the litigation. The defendants, which also include Snap Inc’s Snapchat, had argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of…

A federal judge in Texas last week struck down a 1930s law that imposed regulations on firearm suppressors and guns that are considered the most dangerous, more than a year after President Donald Trump signed a bill eliminating taxes on those items. The ruling could allow firearm owners to purchase firearm suppressors — known as silencers — short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and other certain firearms without registration, while also removing a layer of background checks. Last year, Republicans eliminated a $200 tax on those devices under Trump’s massive tax and spending cut bill. The regulations are required under the National…

The remains of 56 people were found improperly stored and decomposing Thursday at a Chicago funeral home run by a couple who previously operated a crematory that was similarly shut down because of mishandled remains, authorities said. Illinois state officials, meanwhile, suspended the license of one of the funeral home’s directors, alleging bodies were being kept in an unrefrigerated area in “deplorable conditions.” The discovery came months after neighborhood residents began noticing a “stench” emanating from the funeral home, which led some to complain to the city. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said it was notified by state and…