The first tobacco case in the original class action lawsuit against Philip Morris has ended with an $8 million verdict being awarded in a wrongful death case. The class action jury award in 2006 of $185 billion was thrown out by the Supreme Court, but individuals were allowed to file suit. There are about 8,000 individual lawsuits with similar accusations against the tobacco company.To view the full story, please click here.

Social networking is a double edged sword - it exposes us and our families to new technologies, information and brands, but at the same time, it puts our personal information and safety at risk if it is not used intelligently and carefully. Too frequently, we hear about young children being victims of sexual offenders and predators - many times through online venues. Whether it is through a chat room, message board or MySpace, it increasingly easy for our  children to become victims.

Last week, it was released that MySpace has removed and canceled the accounts of more than 90,000 registered sex offenders. MySpace has identified these users over the past two years and has taken proactive steps in keeping these convicted offenders off the popular social networking site - a source of concern for many parents.

For more information about MySpace’s actions please visit www.pcworld.com. For information on consumer fraud, personal injury and resources for keeping your children safe online, please visit our website at www.balkanpatterson.com. The personal injury attorneys of Balkan & Patterson are experienced in cases dealing with child and sexual abuse.