A woman who bought a pair of boots at the Farmingdale Target in January 2007, claims she was seriously injured when she tried on the boots at home.  It is claimed that upon trying on the boots, a nail sticking up in the boot pierced her foot resulting in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.  As a result, the now 45 year old woman has been walking with a cane ever since.  The manufacturer of the boots, ITC Trading Co., has agreed to pay $400,000 of the settlement and Target has agreed to pay the remaining $100,000.  The time is long past due, to re-evaluate our consumer protection laws, especially with regard to quality control. 

Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.

A Supreme Court in Australia has ordered KFC to pay $8.3 million dollars to a 7 year old girl, who allegedly sustained food poisoning after eating a Twister wrap sandwich.  Unfortunately, the young girl suffered from a brain injury known as salmonella encephalopathy.  Her claimed injuries include among other things, severe cognitive impairment, motor skills impairment, speech impairment and quadriplegia.  The judge found that KFC employees were negligent in failing to follow proper preparation rules.   Perhaps the money will help pay for a lifetime of medical care and expenses, but no amount of money will ever bring back the quality of life forever lost by that 7 year old girl.  KFC plans to appeal the decision.

Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.

Let's face it, most people who care enough to form an opinion about Roger Clemens and baseball's steroid era, have already reached their own personal verdict.  So why are our valuable tax dollars being spent to retry Roger Clemens for alleged perjury and obstruction of Congress?  

The first trial came to an abrupt end when U.S. attorneys presented video evidence to the jury, that had previously been ruled inadmissible.  The judge  indicated that this was a mistake a " first year law student" would not have made.  As a result, the U.S Attorney's office was undoubtedly embarrassed and suffered credibility damage.

So perhaps the real reason countless tax dollars are again being spent in this matter, is more about ego and image rehabilitation than anything else.  It appears in today's poor economy, that there are numerous better uses for our tax dollars than the retrial of Roger Clemens.

Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.