Farmers tied to listeria outbreak to plead guilty
Headline Legal News
Two Colorado cantaloupe farmers are expected to plead guilty under a deal with federal prosecutors in the 2011 listeria outbreak that killed 33 people.
Eric and Ryan Jensen have a change-of-plea hearing scheduled in federal court in Denver on Tuesday. They were charged last month with introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. At the time, the Food and Drug Administration said the rare move was meant to send a message to food producers.
Criminal charges are rare in food-borne illnesses, but the FDA under President Barack Obama has been more aggressive in pursuing farmers and food processors for alleged lapses.
The brothers filed documents last week notifying the court that they would plead guilty to unspecified charges under their agreements.
Related listings
-
Wenatchee lawyer picked for federal judgeship
Headline Legal News 09/23/2013The White House has nominated Wenatchee lawyer Stanley Bastian to become Eastern Washington's newest federal judge. If approved by the Senate, he would replace Judge Edward Shea on the bench in Richland. Bastian is a 1983 University of Washington Law...
-
Committee OKs school spending report for WA court
Headline Legal News 08/28/2013A committee overseeing progress on paying the full cost of basic education for kids in public school voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a draft of its latest progress report to the state Supreme Court. In its decision on a lawsuit brought by a coal...
-
Court: Legal status can't be used in civil cases
Headline Legal News 07/17/2013A person's legal status in the country can't be used in civil cases by attorneys to intimidate or coerce under a new rule approved by the Washington Supreme Court last week. Since 2007, advocates have been working to make the change to the Rules of P...
What Is Meant by ‘No-Fault’ Workers’ Compensation in Illinois?
If you were injured in a work-related accident and have been researching workers’ compensation, you may have seen it described as a “no-fault” system. One of the most important things to understand about the workers’ compensation system in Illinois is that it is based on a “no-fault” system. What does this mean, exactly?
Most employers in Illinois are required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance. And the workers' compensation in Illinois is a “no-fault” system, which means that any worker who has been hurt on the job is entitled to workers' compensation benefits. If you have been hurt on the job, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits no matter whose fault the accident was.
A no-fault insurance system, such as workers’ comp, works by paying claims regardless of who is to blame for an accident. This provides an important layer of protection for injured workers, sparing them from having to through additional litigation and the through the additional burden of proving who was at fault before receiving benefits.
In Illinois, even though you don’t have to prove that your injury was your employer’s fault, you do have to prove that your injury happened at work or as a result of work. If you would like help to file your workers' compensation claim, Krol, Bongiorno, & Given’s experienced workers' comp lawyers are here to help. With over 60 years of combined legal experience, the KBG law firm is a leader in the field of workers’ compensation law and we have earned the reputation as aggressive advocates for injured workers before the IWCC.