By Lindsay Proskey 

Tort reform legislation requiring Kentuckians to submit medical malpractice claims to a review panel of three physicians before they can file lawsuits was recently struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court for violating the state constitution. 

Tort reform efforts aim to reduce the ability of victims to bring tort litigation or to reduce damages they can receive. Kentucky state Sen. Ralph Alvarado (a practicing physician and lawmaker) has sponsored several pieces of legislation, including the Medical Review Panel Act, to deter plaintiffs from suing healthcare professionals.  

By Tim Tomasik

Recurring technical issues and Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s failure to ground its Boeing 737 MAX led to pilots' battle for control over their jet as it plunged into the Java Sea on October 28, investigators said on Wednesday. Stopping short of saying what exactly caused the plane to crash, investigators cited multiple contributing factors centered on the plane’s anti-stall system, faulty sensors, and Lion Air’s inferior safety culture.  

One day before the crash, pilots flying from Bali to Jakarta experienced similar issues and manually shut down the plane’s anti-stall system to adjust the plane’s pitch, regain control, and land safely. The flight crew immediately reported the occurrence to Lion Air maintenance, who deemed the plane airworthy for the next morning’s flight.  Mechanics certified the Boeing but failed to check sensors that measured whether the nose of the plane pointed up or down.

By Lindsay Proskey

In its third warning since 2017, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told people not to eat romaine lettuce, which is linked to a multi-state E. coli outbreak. Along with the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Canadian officials are investigating the outbreak, which has sickened 50 people across the United States and Canada. No deaths have been reported, but 13 people in the U.S. and six in Canada have been hospitalized. 

Unlike the previous warnings directed at specific brands or growing regions, this blanket warning is directed at any and all types of romaine lettuce, including salad mixes containing romaine. Officials believe that contaminated lettuce is still on the market and need more information about the outbreak’s source before suppliers can be asked for a recall, said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. In the meantime, retailers and restaurants should discontinue supplying romaine lettuce to the public, and everyone should throw away any romaine lettuce at home.  

By Timothy Tomasik

New facts emerged in Wednesday’s hearing about the fatal aviation accident on a Southwest flight in which one passenger was killed after engine debris shattered the window she was nearly sucked through. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released new testimony saying passengers rushed to pull Jennifer Riordan back into the airplane after seeing her head, torso, and arm hanging out of the broken window. Flight attendant Rachel Fernheimer recalled that Jennifer’s seat belt was still fastened as one passenger reached outside of the airplane and grabbed her shoulders to pull her body back in.  

Pilots emergently landed the Boeing 737 in Philadelphia after learning that passengers were injured. Eight passengers suffered injuries, and Jennifer Riordan died tragically. This was the first death on a U.S. airline flight since 2009. 

By Timothy Tomasik

Investigators determined that Boeing’s 737 Max jet, operated by Lion Air jetliner, experienced erroneous AOA readings causing pilots to battle the jet plunging at approximately 600 miles an hour into the Java Sea. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to order airlines to follow Boeing’s Operations Manual Bulletin (OMB), an advisory on how pilots should handle false readings from an AOA (Angle of Attack) sensor. Tragically, this catastrophe took the lives of 189 passengers and crew on October 29, 2018.

The AOA sensor determines whether the airplane, or its wings, are properly angled against oncoming wind in order to maintain lift and prevent the airplane from falling out of the sky. If the sensor malfunctions, however, the airplane’s control system erroneously reacts to an aerodynamic stall – as if the airplane were falling out of the sky – causing the plane to take corrective measures, such as abruptly diving.