A newsletter roundup of recent stories including a $22.4 million judgment for the family of a motorcyclist killed in a traffic collision, a $21.6 million verdict for a women injured while riding her moped, and updates on the ongoing Takata airbag recall.

1. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 5/11/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
1. L.A. is liable in 2013 traffic death
Adapted from L.A. Times, 5/3/16
On May 2, a jury awarded $22.4 million to the family of a motorcyclist who was killed in a motor
vehicle collision in 2013. The jury found the city of Los Angeles 95% liable for the death of 59-year-old
Thomas Guilmette. Guilmette’s motorcycle hit a car that had inched into traffic. The incident occurred
at a blind corner at West Summerland and North Cabrillo avenues, which forced drivers waiting to turn
left onto Summerland to inch forward into oncoming traffic in order to see. Attorneys for Guilmette’s
family said residents had complained for years about the blind corner, and that city officials had
planned in 2001 and 2009 to make changes to improve visibility. Attorney Don Liddy of Liddy Law Firm
said officials failed to follow their own plan until after Guilmette’s death. After the 2013 collision, the
city added a stop sign on Summerland and restricted street parking to improve visibility.
2. Jury awards British fitness model $21.6M
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 5/4/16
On May 2, an L.A. jury awarded U.K. citizen Danielle Sinclair-Laws $21.6 million in damages after
finding the dentist who hit her moped was negligent. Andrew Chen struck Sinclair-Laws less than a
week after Safeco Insurance Co. dropped her. Police found Chen was at fault for the accident, according
to Sinclair-Laws’s attorney Nicholas Rowley. Chen’s insurance company denied liability, refusing to
cover Sinclair-Laws’s medical bills. Her injuries included a broken face, femur and wrists. At the time,
she had no health insurance. Sinclair-Laws also sued Safeco Insurance Co. and its agent Auto Insurance
Specialists LLC for dropping her insurance coverage. Safeco said the reason for the cancellation was
Sinclair-Laws’s lack of a California driver’s license, which Rowley argued was not allowed under
California’s insurance code. When she purchased the coverage, Sinclair-Laws presented a U.K. license,
which Safeco initially accepted. That case was dropped after SafeCo agreed cancelling Sinclair-Laws’s
policy was a breach of contract, said Rowley.
3. U.S. Department of Transportation expands and accelerates Takata air bag inflator recall to protect
American drivers and passengers
Adapted from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5/4/2016
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered Takata Corp. to expand and
accelerate the ongoing recall of airbag inflators. The problematic airbags can explode with too much
force, spraying the passenger compartment with shrapnel. On top of the 28.8 million inflators that had
already been recalled, the agency extended the recall order to an additional 35-40 million inflators. The
expansion will occur in phases between May 2016 and December 2019. All Takata airbag inflators with
an ammonium nitrate-based propellant that do not incorporate a chemical drying agent will be recalled.
In the U.S., exploding airbags have been linked to 10 fatalities and hundreds of injuries.

2. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 5/11/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
4. Aliso Canyon gas leak costs hit $665 million
Adapted from L.A. Times, 5/5/16
On May 4, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) announced its costs related to the Aliso Canyon gas
leak have risen to an estimated $665 million. SoCalGas told the Securities and Exchange Commission
that it had at least four kinds of insurance policies that it believed would cover many costs from the
leak. The policies have a combined available limit “in excess of $1 billion.” The leak forced thousands of
people, some of whom remain in temporary accommodations, from their homes. Some legal experts
contend $1 billion will not be nearly enough to cover the utility’s full costs from the leak. The utility
could also face fines for violating state and federal regulations regarding natural gas transmission and
distribution.
5. Dirty scopes suspected in three deaths
Adapted from L.A. Times, 5/5/16
An outbreak likely caused by contaminated medical scopes at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena killed
three patients in 2015, according to a recently discovered regulatory report. The medical facility
informed device manufacturer Olympus Corp. of the deaths, Olympus disclosed in a report to federal
regulators. Huntington Hospital did not inform the public of the deaths, saying it believed patient
privacy laws prevented them from doing so. The scope suspected of causing the outbreak has a
different design than the scope Olympus recalled in January. This potentially means more patients than
previously believed could have been exposed to contaminated duodenoscopes. Peter Kaufman of
Panish Shea & Boyle indicated he had filed lawsuits on behalf of three patients, including two who died,
who were treated with the contaminated scope at Huntington.
6. Errors in hospitals can kill, and often do
Adapted from L.A. Times, 5/4/16
Medical errors are likely the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease and cancer,
according to a report in the May 3 issue of the British Medical Journal. The report estimated medical
mistakes cause at least 250,000 deaths per year, which would place it third on the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) list of the leading causes of death. The researchers noted that
number is probably too low, because they only counted errors that could be documented in health
records and only included patient deaths that occurred in hospitals. The CDC currently does not have a
good way to track deaths from medical errors because the codes listed on death certificates do not
include a code for deaths caused by medical mistakes, researchers noted.
7. J&J Appeals $127 Million in Awards in Talc Cancer Cases
Adapted from Wall Street Journal, 5/4/16
In a move that should take no one by surprise, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has appealed two jury
verdicts totaling $127 million. The cases involve two women who allege talc in the company’s baby
powder caused their ovarian cancer. In a statement, J&J condemned the verdicts, saying they contradict
30 years’ worth of studies supporting the safety of talc. Research has been mixed, with some studies

3. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 5/11/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
showing talc increased the risk of ovarian cancer while other studies did not find a link. J&J indicated it
was facing 1,400 lawsuits over talc in its baby powder. The suits allege the company failed to warn
consumers about talc’s link to ovarian cancer.
8. Police Convictions on Rise
Adapted from Wall Street Journal, 5/2/16
More police officers are being found guilty in shooting incidents, aided by prosecutors’ willingness to
bring cases and the rising number of police encounters caught on video. Thus far in 2016, four officers
have been convicted in state courts over on-duty shooting, compared with an annual average of fewer
than 2 officers over the past 11 years, found Philip Stinson, associate professor of criminal justice at
Green State University in Ohio. Over the last two years, police have come under increased public
scrutiny. Since 2005, 69 officers have been charged over on-duty shootings, with twenty-three
convictions, Stinson noted. Twenty of the cases are still pending.