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Monster energy drink lawsuit | Celebrity News

Are Energy Drinks Killing Our Kids? You Need to Know About These Lawsuits Against Monster

Dustin Hood, Lawsuits, Legal, Monster Energy, Trending

Before you crack open another can of energy drink, you might want to read this.

Energy drinks like Monster market themselves as a fun way to boost and maintain your energy levels, but plaintiff in lawsuits are claiming these high-powered energy drinks can cause heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure and even death.

We’ve all seen these products in the store–they’re sold right alongside caffeinated soda, and people often drink them in the same quantities — more than one per day. But Monster energy drinks are very different from soda.

19-year-old Dustin Hood was a healthy Georgia teen when he died suddenly in 2015. He drank 3.5 24-oz. cans of Monster (the equivalent of 14 12-oz .cans of Coke) in less than 24 hours, and then passed away after collapsing on a basketball court.

According to a lawsuit filed in January of 2017 by Hood’s father, the healthy teen died of cardiac arrhythmia (otherwise known as an irregular heartbeat) allegedly brought on by consumption of the beverage — his family believes Monster didn’t do enough to warn their son.

“The warnings were insufficient to alert Dustin Hood of the significant risk, scope, duration and severity of adverse events and/or reactions, including adverse cardiac events, associated with consuming Monster Energy Drinks,” the complaint reads.

Meanwhile, Hood isn’t the only teen who has allegedly died after drinking Monster. In 2011, 14-year-old Anais Fournier of Maryland passed away after drinking 2 cans of the beverage in 24 hours — an autopsy showed that the cause of death was also cardiac arrhythmia, and was caffeine-related.

And 19-year-old Alex Morris of California, who drank 3 cans of Monster a day for the last three years of his life, allegedly died of cardiac arrhythmia as well.

Meanwhile, Robert Grim of Arizona is reportedly on dialysis awaiting a kidney transplant after he claims his 10-year, four-cans-per-day Monster habit caused his kidneys to stop functioning while he was in his 20s.

As the Hood lawsuit makes clear the bottom line is that Monster isn’t doing enough to inform consumers about the risks associated with its product. The complaint alleges, “Monster has continually ignored or otherwise rejected the overwhelming and growing body of scientific and medical literature describing the harmful consequences associated with energy drink consumption.” If you would like to read the full complaint, please click here.

And not only that — the Hood lawsuit says that Monster markets to children and teens — whose bodies process caffeine differently than adults.

So before you or a loved one downs another one of those high-caf drinks, you might want to ask yourself if it’s worth the risk.

5 of the Most Horrific On Set Accidents

Celebrity Lawsuits, Celebrity News, Entertainment Industry, Lawsuits, Negligence Lawsuits, Workers' Compensation

Just as with any workplace, injuries occur on movie sets. Sometimes things go very, very wrong there and serious injury or even death of an actor or crew member results. When injuries occur on set, the cast or crew member may be able to pursue a claim–whether it’s a third party claim based on someone else’s negligence or a workers comp claim in which fault is not a factor. Josh Turim, a leading workers’ compensation lawyer, has made this point very clear: “A film’s cast and crew are entitled to the same kind of protections employees from all industries are entitled to if injured on the job. The only difference is that, if injured, they might make national news while that is seldom the case with other on the job injuries”

To further illustrate entertainment industry perils, we’re going through five of the biggest on set accidents of all time.

One of the most controversial on set accidents in recent years occurred on February 20, 2014, the first day of filming “Midnight Rider.” The crew was on an active railroad trestle bridge in Wayne County, Georgia. A second camera assistant, Sarah Jones, was killed when she was struck by a CSX freight train. Seven other crew members were also hurt, one of them seriously.

This situation was so egregious that the producer, Randall Miller, the writer Jody Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish, and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz were charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass, as well as being cited by OSHA for “serious” and “willful” safety violations (OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration and is part of the US Department of Labor. As a government agency, OSHA’s job is to assure safe and healthful working conditions for workers). On March 9, 2015, Miller pled guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing; he was sentenced to 10 years (He is only expected to serve two years. This is not because he is a famous Hollywood person but rather because this is fairly typical in this type of situation). Sedrish also pled guilty and was convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing. He was sentenced to ten years of probation. The charges against Savin, who is married to Miller, were dropped as part of the plea agreement with her husband. Very interesting deal Miller and Savin’s lawyers worked out. It should also be noted that the victim’s family reached a settlement on the civil suit with Miller, Savin, and Sedrish, among others.

The death of Brandon Lee is perhaps the most famous on set death of an actor of all time. On March 31, 1993, Lee, who was the son of the famous martial artist Bruce Lee, was shooting the movie “The Crow,” in Wilmington, North Carolina. In one of the last scenes, Lee’s character was to be shot and killed. Unbeknownst to anyone on set, a real bullet, was lodged in the barrel of the gun being used in the scene. When the blank cartridge was loaded, the real bullet remained so that when the blank was fired, the real bullet came out as well. While filming the scene, Lee was shot in the abdomen and died from his injuries.

Probably the most brutal onset death is one that took place back in the ‘80s on the set of “The Twilight Zone” movie. The film called for an explosion to occur under a helicopter that was flying. The helicopter, however, did not fly high enough to get out of reach of the explosion and was affected by it. The helicopter spun out of control, decapitating two people and crushing another. Two children (Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen) died , as did one adult (Vic Morrow). After this shocking incident, much of Hollywood avoided using helicopters for stunts until CGI (computer generated imagery) came around.

Another on set death death occurred during the filming of the movie “Jumper” back in 2007. To create exterior set pieces, the crew used a mixture of sand, dirt and ice. Sadly, when set designer, David Ritchie was removing part of the set, a large piece of the mixture fell on him. He was crushed instantly.

Given all the magic on the sets of the “Harry Potter” franchise, there were relatively few injuries.. One of the worst accidents, however, took place during filming of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1.” Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double, David Holmes, was filming a scene in which he was thrown against a wall. The stunt did not go as planned and Holmes was thrown too hard. He fractured his neck and suffered other serious injuries that led him to be paralyzed from the neck down.

All of these onset accidents make it clear that a Hollywood workplace is not different from any other workplace–real injuries can and do occur. Even the experts in Tinseltown are not immune from major mistakes with major consequences.

Trump Lawsuit | Celebrity News | PROOF with Jill Stanley

Trump U Lawsuit Settles for $25M, But Not Everyone is Happy With the Deal

Donald Trump, Lawsuits, Politicians, Settlements, Trump Class Action

President Donald Trump officially settled a lawsuit brought by thousands of students of his Trump University real estate training program for $25 million, but at least one former student does not want to accept it.

Students joined together and sued after they claim they paid for real estate courses that didn’t deliver. They allege they were promised insider information but what they were taught could be found with a simple internet search.

Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel (who made headlines during the presidential campaign when Trump said he wasn’t capable of being impartial because he is Mexican-American) signed off on the deal in late March, finalizing it despite at least one student, Sherri B. Simpson, who wasn’t happy. Simpson of Florida has objected to the terms of the settlement and has asked Judge Curiel to release her from the class and allow her to sue the president on her own. She wanted Trump prosecuted for racketeering, and also wanted an apology. Curiel moved forward with signing off on the deal. Simpson can still appeal.

The terms of settlement allow for about 4,000 students to recoup about 90 cents on the dollar of what they paid for the alleged scam classes. Apparently many of the plaintiffs are elderly and desperately need the funds. The lawyers for the plaintiffs said they would waive their fees, and lawyer Jason Forge told the The New York Times, “Once in a long while, this profession yields some good feelings. This is one of those times.” We at PROOF agree with Forge–it is often hard to feel good feelings in the law even when you win. But Forge and the rest of the team “did good” here. They obtained an excellent settlement for the victims, 90 cents on the dollar is solid and the fee waiving means more money in victims’ pockets. Well done, Jason Forge, you earned those good feelings.

And, actually despite what some think about lawyers, doing legal work for free, which is referred to as pro bono, (short for pro bono publico, which in latin means for the public good) is an integral part of being a lawyer. So much so that the American Bar Association (ABA) considers it an obligation for attorneys to engage in pro bono work. Rule 6.1 of the ABA model rules of professional conduct (these are the rules that govern how an attorney should act in his/her legal capacity) states that: Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year.

No doubt, the Trump U team spent well more than 50 hours on the case!

Trump, who, as part of the deal does not have to admit fault, claimed in November that the only reason he was settling was because of his presidential win, tweeting, “The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!”

If Trump hadn’t agreed to the deal, he could have found himself fighting a very public trial while also going through the transition to become president. That’s exactly what seems to upset Sherri Simpson so much. According to the New York Times, she said of the settlement agreement, “For him to go out there and say, well, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’ it’s disgusting. I want an apology.” We understand Simpson’s frustration (boy, do we understand your frustration, Sherri!) but in the bigger picture, with the victims recouping much of their money fairly quickly and the avoidance of public, messy lawsuit, we agree with Judge Curiel and the class’ legal team that settling is the better option at this point. We like a good, fair fight too Sherri and that apology would have felt good as well but with Trump that was never going to come easy–or quickly.

Seeking more celebrity news? Check out other PROOF articles. We cover celebrity news like no one else!

Casey Affleck Sexual Harassment | Celebrity News

Here’s What You Should Know About the Allegations of Sexual Harassment Against Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck, Celebrity Lawsuits, Civil Law, Lawsuits, Manchester by the Sea, Oscars, Sexual Harassment

Casey Affleck’s Oscar nomination and ultimate win has dredged up some history I am sure he hoped was long forgotten. Back in 2010, Affleck was sued in two separate matters by two different women for sexual harassment, among other things.

Producer Amanda White sued Affleck for damages in excess of $2 million and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka sued Affleck for damages in excess of $2.25 million, alleging that Affleck verbally and physically harassed them while making the film “I’m Still Here.” Affleck settled with both women out of court for undisclosed amounts. Interestingly, these suits have gone relatively unnoticed — that is until Affleck started getting praise for his work in Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea. The proverbial can of worms was then open and the media and the entertainment industry were all talking about these cases. Many thought the lawsuits would and should mar his chances at an Oscar. But, as the world watched, Casey Affleck was named Best Actor for the lead role in Manchester By The Sea. Several in attendance at the awards show were not happy about the win. On social media, the disappointment and disgust has been much more apparent.

We at PROOF have reviewed the complaints filed in LA Superior Court against Affleck. From reading those complaints and other documents, here’s what we know about White and Gorka’s lawsuits. White claimed that during filming Affleck constantly discussed his “sexual exploits” and that he even instructed a member of the crew (Antony Langdon, a good friend of Affleck and of Joaquin Phoenix, who, it should be noted, is referenced throughout the complaints as the film, I’m Still Here, is a documentary about Phoenix) to show White his penis. White also alleged that Affleck tried to get her to stay in his hotel room, but when she said no, he “grabbed her in a hostile manner in an effort to intimidate her into complying.”

Gorka relayed a similar story in her suit, describing an incident in which Affleck crawled into bed with her while she was sleeping–he was in his underwear. Gorka claims that the “I’m Still Here” crew was staying at the actor’s apartment after a long night of shooting. (Affleck and Phoenix decided not to put the crew up in a hotel but rather had them stay at Affleck and Phoenix’ apartment.) According to the complaint, Gorka says that Affleck said she could stay in his room while he stayed on the couch, but that she woke up to Affleck “lying in bed next to her” and “he had his arm around her, was caressing her back, his face was within inches of hers and his breath reeked of alcohol.” Gorka says that she asked the Affleck to leave and he got angry. She called her time on the film, “the most traumatizing of her career.”

There is great deal more of detailed allegations in the these complaints and you can read them for yourselves by clicking here and here. They’re pretty shocking.

At the time the suits were filed, Affleck denied all of the allegations and even threatened to file counterclaims against the women. He did not do so in either matter. Instead he settled them both for undisclosed amounts. As we have previously discussed on PROOF there are many reasons people choose to settle cases and they hold true for Affleck as well. It could be that he did what was alleged, felt remorse and wanted to compensate the women for it or it could be that he didn’t want the stress of the lawsuits, was worried about the effect on his career, or it could be any number of things. We do know that it was clearly in Affleck’s best interest to keep these cases as quiet as possible. Settling them for undisclosed sums (and likely a requirement that the victims not speak publicly about them) served that interest pretty well.

What is frustrating in this Trump era is that another man seems to be rewarded despite engaging in bad behavior. Yes, there is a distinguishing factor here in that these allegations are in no way related to his work on Manchester by the Sea. There are no allegations of offensive behavior on that set or, for that matter, any recent allegations against Affleck for sexual harassment. Maybe these lawsuits served as a wakeup call to him and caused him to change his treatment of women. Certainly, that is a possibility. Still though, there is something that just doesn’t feel, right, just or fair that Hollywood is rewarding a male actor who has this in his not-so-distant past and that it occurred in an environment related to his work as an actor.

Another aspect of this matter disappointing us at PROOF? When Affleck was asked about the allegations, his response was to say that the claims were baseless attacks on his family and that he does not feel a responsibility for what happened, and that “it was settled to the satisfaction of all. I was hurt and upset — I am sure all were — but I am over it.”

Affleck may be over it, as well as the members of the Academy, but women, especially those in the industry certainly are not.

Seeking more celebrity news? Check out other PROOF articles. We cover celebrity news like no one else!