Collins Avenue was blocked to traffic from Ninth to 11th Street while police investigated the crash.

It appeared that the woman had been carrying a green grocery shopping bag and wearing a straw hat. Both were found at the scene. Police said the woman appeared to be in her sixties.

A large group of registered nurses held a rally and marched near the Florida Capitol Wednesday in support of the introduction of what they call a patient protection bill.

The proposed bill would institute nurse-to-patient ratios for various types of hospital care. The nurses cite research in support of their contention that improving the ratios will save lives and be more cost effective than many alternative safety procedures.

The bill would also offer job protection for nurses who refuse certain assignments for safety patient reasons or file complaints against a hospital or clinic for violating patient safety.

The National Nurses Organizing Committee, an association and union sponsored the rally.

The Lawyers at our firm who regularly advocate for patient safety and against medical malpractice enthusiastically support these nurses in their attempt to make positive changes to a system that permits thousands of patients in the US to suffer injury or death each year as a result of preventable medical negligence.

Miami-Dade Police Department's homicide investigators were initially told that four men riding in a gray Nissan Maxima or Altima fired the fatal shots.

Police said The shooting occurred just after 6:45 p.m. when Nissan arrived at the Annie Coleman apartment complex located at 2135 NW 52nd Street. According to detectives, the car pulled into the courtyard and several shots were fired from what is believed to be an AK -47 assault rifle, leaving a young girl dead and three others wounded.

The identity of the girl who died at the scene is not yet known. The others who were wounded in the shooting were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

Witnesses said the girl was shot in the head while playing outside with friends.

The shootings come about a year after an incident a short distance away on Jan. 24, 2009, in which a gunman armed with an AK-47 assault rifle shot into a crowd killing two and wounding seven others.

``It's a process. It's a cycle -- a vicious cycle,'' said neighborhood activist Renita Holmes. ``There's no respect for life.''

Neighbors, who spoke on condition on anonymity for fear of their lives, said the shooting was gang-related. A police spokesperson said that it was too early to tell whether that was the case.

Det. Rebeca Perez urged anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Speaking of the teenage victim, Perez lamented, ``What could she have possibly done to deserve this?''

The shooting occurred in the parking lot of the People's Storage located at 200 NW 79th St. at about 11:30 a.m. when two men approached her.

Kenia Reyes, a Miami police spokeswoman said ``It appears it was an intent to rob her and she was shot.'' The woman died outside the Peoples Storage facility .

One witness present at the business, Lazaro Garcia, who owns a car dealership, said the woman had gone out to her car because she was short of money to pay for the storage of her furniture.

While this robbery gone bad is still under investigation, it is likely that the victim would still be alive today had the business or people who control the parking lot implemented adequate security measures. Reasonable security measures often deter crime since robbery, and many other violent crimes are crimes of opportunity. Violent crimes are usually committed in places where the criminals believe they can avoid being seen or caught.

Business and land owners in Florida have a legal duty to use reasonable means to protect their customers and guests from foreseeable violent crime. When they fail to do that, they may be liable to pay the crime victims compensation.

The Miami-Dade County Health Department has reported at least three other cases involving guests at the Epic Hotel who developed Legionnaire’s Disease including. One involved a fatality. According to published reports, it appears that the Epic Hotel installed a water filtration system that allowed waterborne bacteria, including the legionella bacteria to grow. Legionnaires' Disease is usually contracted through exposure to contaminated water vapor from hot showers, Jacuzzis and hot tubs.

It appears that the CDC and other governmental entities have not confirmed the source of the Legionnaire’s Disease, which resulted in at least one death. However, they have reported that this fatal strain of the disease may be linked to a source other than the Epic Hotel.

One family tragically lost a loved one, Tore Myhra, who not only stayed at the Epic Hotel but had also been on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship during the relevant period. It is believed that more than one person on that cruise ship contracted Legionnaires' Disease. Accordingly, any investigation regarding the source of illness during the pertinent period of time must explore both the culpability of the Epic Hotel and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

The fatal shooting occurred Saturday evening when two men who were outside an apartment complex on Avondale Drive were approached by one or more persons. Shots were fired and the victims were transported to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach where injuries to one of them proved to be fatal.

The shooting is being investigated by BSO homicide detectives. They asked anyone with information to call BSO Homicide Det. Frank Ilarraza at 954-321-4210 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477, or online to www.browardcrimestoppers.org.

Many violent crimes are "crimes of opportunity", meaning they are committed in the place which affords the perpetrator the best opportunity to avoid being seen or caught. Very often that place turns out to be a commercial property like an apartment complex, night club, bank or automated teller machine (ATM) where safety and security have been neglected.

The case is still pending against two other defendants, Dey and Warrick Pharmaceuticals.

The settlement comes in response to allegations that Roxane set and reported false, inflated prices for medicines dispensed by pharmacies and others, which were then reimbursed by the Florida Medicaid program. Medicaid sets reimbursement rates based on prices reported by drug companies.

Roxane's fraudulent actions induced Florida's Medicaid program to millions of dollars in inflated pharmacy reimbursements.

The whistle-blower that first reported the fraudulent claims was Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys. The attorney general is currently litigating against six other drug companies for price-reporting fraud.

The settlement money from the Whistle-blower case will be divided with approximately $4.4 million going to the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which administers the Medicaid program. Over $1.69 million will be put into the state's general accounts, and approximately $188,000 will be deposited into the legal affairs revolving trust fund, which is used to reward whistle-blowers, people who report and provide information about Medicaid fraud.

Tipsters can call the Hannon & Boyers fraud hot line at 1-800-545-9100 to report medicaid or medicare fraud or any other fraud on the State of Florida or on the government of the United States of America.

The dangers of unsafe toys and child products are a major cause for concern, especially during the holiday season. Just prior to the start of the 2009 holiday shopping season, a California-based consumer advocacy organization reported that it had commissioned scientific testing which discovered unsafe levels of lead which exceeded federal limits in popular Disney and Barbie toys, including the Tinkerbell Water Lily Necklace, Dora the Explorer Activity Tote and Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit.

As a result of this finding, the California Attorney General sent letters to Target, Wal-Mart and other retailers, warning them that the toys should be immediately pulled from store shelves.

These new findings of excessive lead in popular toys from some of America’s most trusted brands come approximately one year after the passage of a sweeping product safety law that set strict limits on the amounts of lead and chemicals that are allowed in products for children under 12. The law was enacted after a number of recalls for lead-tainted toys were issued in 2007, including several for Mattel that accounted for in excess of two million toys.

It’s important for parents to be aware that dangerous toys, whether tainted with lead and other harmful chemicals or defective in design are still making their way into the hands of U.S. consumers every day.

Blumenthal said that investigators from the AG's office found expired over-the-counter medications as well as certain expired food and beverage items on sale in multiple CVS Pharmacy stores in Connecticut during an investigation which took place in 2008 and 2009.

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection cooperated with the AG's office in filing the lawsuit.

In a statement released by the Connecticut AG's office, Mr. Blumenthal said that "Basic business law and ethics give consumers a right to unspoiled food and safe and effective medicine." He also pledged to "...fight for significant penalties against CVS, sending a powerful message that expiration dates must be respected. Any item past its expiration date should be off shelves, out of stores."

Just last month, CVS agreed to pay penalties and fees totaling approximately $875,000 to end an investigation by the New York Attorney General focusing on the sale of expired products in its New York stores.

CVS agreed to implement training for it's employees and to commit to policies and procedures designed to prevent expired products from being stocked on its shelves.

New York Attorney General Cuomo reached a similar agreement with Rite Aid Corporation which resulted in the company agreeing to pay $1.3 million and to adopt new internal policies procedures.

A CVS spokeswoman had this to say in response to the allegations in Connecticut: "[t]he health and safety of our customers is our top priority, and CVS Pharmacy has a clear product removal policy in place at all of its stores to help ensure that items are removed from store shelves before they reach their expiration dates," the spokeswoman said. "Any unintentional deviations from this policy that are brought to the company's attention are quickly rectified for customers. The company is fully committed to maintaining inventory management practices to prevent expired products from being sold to customers."

Forty-four year old Connie Hamblin and her passenger 22 year old Felicia Hatmaker of Tennessee were both ejected from the car and killed according to Fort Lauderdale Police. Another occupant of the Toyota, Eddie Hamblin, also of Tennessee, was transported to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach in critical condition.

This railroad crossing lies between two very busy intersections -- Powerline Road to the west and the southbound I-95 ramps to the east.

Traffic often backs up onto the crossing in both directions when the traffic lights at those intersections turn red.

At least two attempts to address this hazard either were unsuccessful or were never fully implemented.

The Florida Department of Transportation in 2000 tested a concept called a ``European X'' -- a box about the size of a car with an X painted on the roadway just beyond the crossing in each traffic lane. The idea was that if drivers could see the X as they approached the crossing, they would be able to safely cross.

The X markings are no longer on the pavement there and the Miami Herald reported that no one at the FDOT could recall the results of that experiment.

The DOT had also announced plans to install cameras at that crossing and at crossings at McNab Road, Cypress Creek Road, Powerline Road and Prospect Road.

The cameras were designed to send an instant signal to the train operator to slow down if a motorist is stalled. But train operators balked presumably at the idea of cameras preserving evidence of their own negligence.

There have been seven railroad accidents involving automobiles at the Commercial Boulevard Tri-Rail crossing since Tri-Rail began service in 1989. Those accidents resulted in three fatalities and two serious injuries.

All of those accidents involved Tri-Rail trains but one involved an Amtrak train.