Author: Gary Logsdon Law

Setting Up And Modifying Spousal Support In Kentucky

Around the country, there is considerable hand-wringing about the purpose of alimony. Some believe that these support payment should be a mechanism that permanently equalizes the standard of living between the divorcing spouses while others see alimony as a means to an end. The Kentucky alimony law basically strikes a balance between these two extremes, because it allows for permanent payments as long as the obligee spouse can prove a financial or other hardship.

Modification can be a rather undertain proposition, since it can be based on objective income and expense data or on a more subjective relationship change.

Risperdal Plaintiff Demands New Trial

Dean Hibbs asked a Pennsylvania judge to reinstate his Risperdal lawsuit against drug maker Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. after a rather bizzare episode led to a mistrial declaration.

As one of the plaintiff’s medical experts was testifying in court, a juror had an emergency medical episode and the doctor stopped his testimony to help the stricken juror. Judge Kenneth Powell ruled that the jurors could not consider the expert’s testimony in an unbiased manner and ordered it stricken from the record. Without this testimony, Janssen’s lawyers argued, Mr. Hibbs failed to meet his burden of proof as a matter of law, and so Judge Powell threw out the case. In his response, Mr. Hibbs argued that he had presented sufficient evidence for a reasonable juror to conclude that there was a Risperdal/gynecomastia link, and that in any case, the mistrial was improper because the judge ordered it “without conducting voir dire of the jury to determine whether they were in fact prejudiced.”

Complex Injury Car Crash In Nelson County

A serious car wreck in Nelsonville drew first responders from two counties to the scene of a two-vehicle collision.

The wreck happened near the intersection of the Bluegrass Parkway and Nelsonville Road, right around a sharp curve in the road. The vehicle owner from  Campbellsville, told investigators that she allowed her friend to drive her Chevrolet Impala; and that the Impala’s tires were bald and she had earlier hydroplaned over a wet spot on the road. As the Impala rounded the curve, it slid over some liquid on the road’s surface, which police believe may have been fuel or oil. The Impala driver lost control and smashed into the passenger side door of a Honda Accord that was traveling in the opposite direction. Two people were transported to nearby hospitals with serious car wreck injuries.

Renovation Plans? Proceed With Caution

Many people in Kentucky are proud of their older homes. If you’re one of them and you plan on doing any do-it-yourself remodeling this spring, watch out for dangerous asbestos.

Any dwelling constructed prior to 1970 probably contains asbestos in the floor tiles and pipes, because back then, asbestos was a cheap, reliable, and plentiful mineral that was essentially fireproof and had excellent heat retention properties. But beginning in the 1950s, researchers started looking into the connection between dangerous asbestos and certain types of lung disease, such as mesothelioma (lung cancer) and asbestosis (permanent scar tissue). If your project involves any tile or plumbing work, it’s probably best to contact a professional asbestos removal firm and at least have the company on standby.

One Killed And Three Hurt In Freeway Crash

A pickup truck failed to slow down for stacked-up rush hour traffic and slammed into a passenger car, causing an auto accident that killed one person and seriously injured three others.

Major traffic slowdowns are not really an everyday occurrence in many parts of Jeffersontown and Louisville, and that is probably one reason a pickup truck driver did not slow down on Interstate 64 between Hurstbourne and Blankenbaker as traffic piled up in front of him. The pickup truck rear-ended a passenger car at what Police Chief Ken Hatmaker called a high rate of speed, trapping all four occupants inside. One person, who was apparently not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene, and the other three were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

The tortfeasor (negligent driver) will probably not face any charges stemming from this auto accident, and none of the names were released.

Supreme Court Opens The Door For Ignition Switch Liability Cases

General Motors now faces up to $10 billion in additional defective ignition switch claims, because the Supreme Court rejected the automaker’s final appeal.

Previously, GM lawyers tried to convince a federal appeals court that because of the company’s 2009 bankruptcy filing, the “new GM” is not liable for the negligent acts of the “old GM,” which included installing defective ignition switches into millions of vehicles. Furthermore, they claimed, the automaker recalled 2.6 million vehicles and set up a $600 million victims compensation fund, which should have sufficiently put the matter to rest. However, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals was unpersuaded, ruling that the “new GM” should have known about the issue long before the company went public with the defect, and so in this instance, bankruptcy did not absolve the company of liability.

Defective ignition switches on GM vehicles have been associated with more than 120 fatalities.

Automaker Recalls Pickups With Bad Transmissions

Citing a manufacturing defect, Ford recalled over 52,000 Kentucky-built vehicles because they might roll uncontrollably when parked.

All affected vehicles were built between October 2015 and March 2017. Evidently, due a damaged park rod actuating plate that disengages the pin, the transmission does not go into Park even if the gear select is on P. When the pin doesn’t lock, the transmission stays in Neutral, so the vehicle may move even if it is on a flat surface. To cure the manufacturing defect, dealer mechanics will inspect and replace the park rod actuating plate.

No injuries have been reported.

Nursing Home Owner Faces Multiple Charges

The owner of Legacy Health Systems, which once operated twenty-seven nursing care facilities in Kentucky and two other states, appeared in a St. Louis courtroom to answer charges that he stole over $650,000 in Medicaid funds.

The 52-year-old Nursing Home owner faces up to 37 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of health care fraud. According to court documents, the owner repeatedly siphoned funds from the chain of nursing care facilities. Among other items, he allegedly spent $185,000 at strip clubs, wrote $439,000 in checks to himself, and transferred $153,000 to a relative. As the owner stole money, things got so bad at one of the company’s nursing care facilities that the state of Missouri closed one nursing home and moved its 60 residents to other locations.

Careless Driver Plus Careless Bureaucrats Equals Two Deaths

Two more people died after yet another fatal car crash on a dangerous stretch of Waymans Branch Road near Scott High School in Covington.

According to police and residents, many people use this road as a shortcut between the school and Madison Pike. The driver evidently lost control of her vehicle on the slick road; her car then skidded into a nearby creek. Both she and her grandson, 16-year-old victim, died at the scene. A third person — a high school student whose name was not released — was injured in the fatal car crash. Covington Assistant Police Chief Brian Steffen said the area is known for “frequent collisions [and] frequent crashes, especially when it starts raining.” Local resident Lisa Frieman added that “the city or county could do something to make the road safer,” such as lowering the speed limit, adding warning signs, or erecting guardrails.

Distracted Driving Crash Seriously Injures Two

Although a woman insisted that she only “momentarily” looked at her cell phone, that was enough time for her car to drift over the center line and cause a vehicle wreck.

The crash happened in Graves County, near the intersection of State Route 464 and Willie Trail. According to sheriff’s deputies, the 22 year-old driver, used her cell phone as she was eastbound on 464. While she was distracted, her vehicle crossed over to the westbound side, where it collided with the 56-year-old other driver. Both parties were  airlifted to an Evansville hospital with serious injuries.

Doctors expect both vehicle wreck victims to survive.

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