A Florida jury awarded a couple $21 million for a “wrongful birth.” Daniel and Amara Estrada have two sons, both suffering with a genetic disorder called Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. The Washington Post reported that the Estradas sued doctors at the University of South Florida for misdiagnosing their first child’s disorder.

They argued that if doctors had correctly diagnosed the first child’s disorder, a test would have indicated whether the second child was similarly afflicted and they would have terminated the pregnancy. The Estradas asked the jury to award them sufficient funds to allow them to at least care for the second child.

Now the Estradas enter the political realm. Because the University is an agency of Florida state government, the State Legislature must agree to the award. State law limits awards for negligence claims against government agencies to $200,000. The Legislature could pass a bill allowing payment of the full amount.

A few days ago, I wrote that Cao Wenzhuang, a Chinese drug and food safety department head had been sentenced to death, suspended for two years.  His sentence could have been commuted if he had shown he had reformed.  Reuters reports that, today, the Chinese government executed him. Zheng Xiaoyu (as spelled by the Xinhua new agency) was executed for taking bribes and dereliction of duty, according to the Xinhua. 

Zheng was head of the pharmaceutical registration department, having power to approve pharmaceutical production.  The Reuters report says he accepted bribes from eight companies totaling 6.5 million yuan ($850,000).

The Supreme People’s Court said the sentence was imposed due to “Zheng Xiaoyu’s grave irresponsibility in pharmaceutical safety inspection and failure to conscientiously carry out his duties seriously damaged the interests of the state and people.”

Reuters speculated that the unusually harsh sentence and its prompt enforcement reflect pressure on Beijing from domestic and international alarm about consumer product safety. Several products have recently faced recall in the United States over safety concerns.

Banana plantation workers have filed lawsuits over pesticides they claim have made them sterile. Over 5,000 workers in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have filed five lawsuits against U.S. operators of the plantations. The workers were exposed to the chemical known as DBCP in the 1970s.

The first of the trials is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

According to the Associated Press, the cases raise the issue of whether multinational companies should be held accountable in the country where they are based or the countries where they employ workers. Workers are suing in the United States due to the gap between civil justice in the U.S. and in developing countries.

The lawsuit names Dole Fresh Fruit Co. and Standard Fruit Co. (now part of Dole) as defendants. The plaintiffs allege Dow Chemical Co. and Amvac Chemical Co., manufacturers of DBCP, “actively suppressed information about DBCP’s reproductive toxicity.” The lawsuit claims Dow and Amvac know about DBCP’s toxicity as early as the 1950s, but continue, even today, to market the pesticide outside of the United States.

A former department head of China’s drug regulation agency was sentenced to death for bribery. The same day, United States regulators ordered a recall of three more Chinese-made products.

The safety of Chinese products sold in the United States has recently been in question.

Canada’s Globe and Mail reports that Cao Wenzhuang, a department director in the State Food and Drug Administration, was given a death sentence for accepting bribes and neglecting his official duties. His death sentence was suspended for two years. The Globe and Mail says such penalties are usually commuted to life in prison if the convict is deemed to have reformed.

Cao was head of the pharmaceutical registration department, having power to approve pharmaceutical production. He was charged with accepting $307,000 (U.S.) from two medical companies that seeking approval to sell their products.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced three recalls, covering jewelry that could cause lead poisoning and a magnetic building set and plastic castles with small parts, which it said could choke children. Other toys, such as Thomas the Tank Engine, were recalled due to paint containing lead. All these products were made in China.

The father of a student at the Citadel in South Carolina has sued the Beaufort County coroner for failing to perform a legally required autopsy, claiming the coroner’s failure hurts his wrongful death lawsuit against the Xpress Lane convenience store.

20-year-old Leith Paul Trask III, died in a car crash after purchasing beer at the Xpress Lane convenience store. According to The Sun News, L. Paul Trask, Jr’s lawsuit claims authorities, including Coroner Curt Copeland failed to perform an autopsy for positive identification of the body, that was burned beyond visual recognition, and to take blood samples for toxicology exams.

Copeland then took over the funeral arrangements for the boy. His body was cremated by Copeland’s funeral home. Trask claims Copeland coaxed him to sign a permission form to have the boy’s body cremated and then lied about when it was signed.