WEEK IN REVIEW: Top news
April 14, 2013 - 1:21 pm
Health Plan of Nevada must pay $500 million in punitive damages for its role in the 2008 hepatitis C outbreak, a jury decided Tuesday.
The same jury last week awarded $24 million in compensatory damages to three people, two of whom contracted hepatitis C at a clinic run by Dr. Dipak Desai, the central figure in the outbreak.
The $524 million award is believed to be the largest ever in Nevada for a single case.
Plaintiff lawyer Robert Eglet said the verdict sent a strong message to HPN, its former parent company Sierra Health Services and every health insurance company in the United States.
Eglet asked for $2.49 billion in punitive damages, or about 15 percent of HPN’s and Sierra Health’s profits over a 10-year period.
HPN said in a statement that it had a compelling case for appeal and that the $500 million award “has no grounding whatsoever in reality — it represents fantasy damages, not punitive damages.”
Monday
Headed to the Hall
What was known a couple days earlier became official when legendary UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian was announced as an inductee to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
“It’s a real exciting time for me,” Tarkanian said at the announcement in Atlanta. “I think it validates everything I’ve done.”
The ceremony is Sept. 8 in Springfield, Mass.
Tuesday
Site gets ‘hot’ delivery
The Department of Energy is preparing to ship containers of highly radioactive, bomb-usable nuclear material for burial in a landfill at the Nevada National Security Site, 65 miles from Las Vegas, a plan being weighed by state officials but declared troubling by some outside experts.
The material is not as “hot” as the high-level spent nuclear fuel once destined for a planned repository at Yucca Mountain, at the edge of the national security site.
The Obama administration quashed that project, opting to explore a new course for nuclear waste disposal.
Wednesday
Record gaming haul
A calendar shift that moved the lucrative Chinese New Year holiday into February sent Nevada gaming revenues soaring, contributing to the largest single-month total ever for the Strip.
Nevada casinos collected $1.073 billion in gaming revenues during February, 15.1 percent more than the same month a year ago. On the Strip, gaming revenues hit a record $696.1 million, a 31.2 percent increase.
Thursday
Cops won’t be charged
District Attorney Steve Wolfson announced that no criminal charges would be brought against Las Vegas police officers involved in the death of an unarmed, mentally ill Gulf War veteran.
The 43-year-old died on Dec. 12, 2011, when officer Jesus Arevalo fired seven shots from his AR-15 rifle into Stanley Gibson’s Cadillac during a standoff that began with a mistaken report of an attempted burglary at a northwest valley apartment.
Friday
Red Flag black flagged
The sequester budget ax fell heavily at Nellis Air Force Base with confirmation that July’s Red Flag air combat exercise and the next graduate-level Weapons School for pilots have been canceled, an unprecedented move in the 66-year history of the Air Force.
The advanced training school was canceled with a decision earlier in the week by Air Force leaders at the Pentagon and Air Combat Command to cut 45,000 flight hours for 12 U.S.-based fighter and bomber squadrons — one-third of the active-duty force — to save $300 million in fuel and flight operations through Oct. 1.
NUMBERS
$2.49 billion
The amount in punitive damages sought against insurer Health Plan of Nevada in connection with the 2008 hepatitis C outbreak.
$524 million
What jurors ultimately awarded the three plaintiffs in the lawsuit against HPN. It is believed to be the largest judgment ever for a single case in Nevada.
2 minutes
How close fourth-grader and contest winner Kayla Marshall came to predicting exactly when Mojave Max the tortoise would awaken from his winter sleep.
6.29 million
How many people visited Lake Mead National Recreation Area last year, fifth most in the National Park System and far more than the Grand Canyon or Yosemite.
QUOTES
"I thought it might happen years ago, but I didn’t sit around waiting for the telephone to ring. But I am very happy. It’s a little overwhelming."
Jerry Tarkanian, in Atlanta for Monday’s official announcement that he was selected for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"Our message to Las Vegas: What flows into UT, stays in UT."
Gary Herbert, a Twitter post from the governor of Utah explaining his decision not to sign an agreement with Nevada over how to divide water in a valley split by the state line and targeted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
"USNS Carson City"
The name of a new $185 million transport ship, known as a Joint High-Speed Vessel, due to enter service for the U.S. Navy later this month. The last warship to carry the name of Nevada’s capital was a World War II-era patrol frigate.
"This is nasty stuff. It’s safeguarded material that you watch over with lots of guns and make sure it is in a place you could safely say would be safe and people won’t be able to get to it."
A federal official describing some highly radioactive, bomb-usable nuclear material destined for burial in a landfill at the Nevada National Security Site, about 65 miles from Las Vegas.
"Our graduation rate is no longer about a number — it’s about individual students."
Pat Skorkowsky, interim superintendent, when asked Wednesday about the Clark County School District’s inaccurate portrayal of its graduation rate.