June 2009 Archives

Nearly two out of three bankruptcies stem from medical bills, and even people with health insurance face financial disaster if they experience a serious illness, a new study shows.

The study released last week and published online by The American Journal of Medicine, may even underplay the dire reality since the data were collected before the current economic crisis. In 2007, medical problems contributed to 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by about 50 percent.

Mattel Inc. and its Fisher-Price subsidiary will pay a $2.3 million civil penalty in an agreement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for selling Chinese-made toys with hazardous levels of lead.

The fine, the commission's largest for a toymaker, involves 95 toy models, from Barbie accessories to "Sarge" cars, the commission announced last week. Mattel, based in El Segundo, California, imported as many as 900,000 toys from September 2006 to August 2007 that violated rules on lead levels, the commission said. Fisher-Price, based in East Aurora, New York, imported as many as 1.1 million such toys, including Go Diego Go Rescue Boats and the Bongo Band, according to the commission.

A ruling on Wednesday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver could pave the way for a Utah couple to reach a settlement in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Robert and Paea Olah allege their daughter suffered brain damage during delivery because of negligence by osteopathic physician Ronald Baird, who denies the allegation and who refuses to grant permission to his insurer to settle the claim out of court.