SAVAR, Bangladesh — Inside the single room he shares with his wife and young child, Hasan Mahmud Forkan does not sleep easily. Some nights he hears the screams of the garment workers he tried to rescue from the wreckage of the Rana Plaza factory building. Or he dreams the bed itself is collapsing, sucking him down into a bottomless void.

A few miles away, at a rehabilitation center for the disabled, Rehana Khatun is learning to walk again. She lost both legs in the Rana Plaza collapse and worries that she is not improving because her prosthetic replacements are bulky and uncomfortable. She is only 20 and once hoped to save money so she could return to her village and pay for her own wedding.

“No, I don’t have that dream anymore,” she said, with a cold pragmatism more than self-pity. “How can I take care of a family?”

Eight months ago, the collapse of Rana Plaza became the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry, and many of the survivors still face an uncertain future. The shoddily constructed building pancaked down onto workers stitching clothes for global brands like Children’s Place, Benetton, C & A, Primark and many others. Workers earning as little as $38 a month were crushed under tons of falling concrete and steel. More than 1,100 people died and many others were injured or maimed.

But while the Rana Plaza disaster stirred an international outcry — and shamed many international clothing companies…

The use of robotic surgical systems is expanding rapidly, but hospitals, patients and regulators may not be getting enough information to determine whether the high tech approach is worth its cost.

Problems resulting from surgery using robotic equipment—including deaths—have been reported late, inaccurately or not at all to the Food and Drug Administration, according to one study.

The study, published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality earlier this year, focused on incidents involving Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci Robotic Surgical System over nearly 12 years, scrubbing through several data bases to find troubled outcomes. Researchers found 245 incidents reported to the FDA, including 71 deaths and 174 nonfatal injuries. But they also found eight cases in which reporting fell short, including five cases in which no FDA report was filed at all.

The FDA assesses and approves products based on reported device-related complications. If a medical device malfunctions, hospitals are required to report the incident to the manufacturer, which then reports it to the agency. The FDA, in turn, creates a report for its Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database.

The use of surgical robots has grown rapidly since it was first approved for laparoscopic surgery (a type of surgery that uses smaller incisions than in traditional surgery) by the FDA in 2000. Between 2007 and 2011 the number of da Vinci systems installed increased by 75 percent in the United…

Originally published: November 21, 2013 6:27 PM
Updated: November 21, 2013 7:13 PM
By JOE RYAN  joe.ryan@newsday.com

Greg Snow attempts to clear debris from superstorm…

Photo credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara | Greg Snow attempts to clear debris from superstorm Sandy from his yard on Atlantic Street in Lindenhurst. (Nov. 1, 2012)

The National Flood Insurance Program Thursday rejected requests from Sen. Charles Schumer and others to extend the deadline for homeowners to file lawsuits arguing for more money to cover damage from superstorm Sandy.

The government insurer, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, issued a memo to private companies that administer flood policies, saying the 12-month statute of limitations is dictated by federal law and cannot be moved.

“FEMA lacks the authority to extend the time limit to file a lawsuit established by statute,” wrote James Sadler, director of claims for the flood insurance program.

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According to FEMA, homeowners must sue within one year of having any portion of their flood insurance claim denied in writing.

Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) and others have argued that the deadline doesn’t give Sandy victims enough time. They asked…

Condé Nast has decided to discontinue its internship program following a class-action lawsuit filed by two former interns saying that they were paid less than $1 dollar an hour, Women’s Wear Daily reported on Wednesday.

Condé Nast, which houses magazine powerhouses like Vanity Fair, GQ and Vogue, was sued in June by former W Magazine intern Lauren Ballinger and former New Yorker intern Matthew Leib, both who claimed their employers had violated federal labor laws.

Interns currently employed with Condé Nast will not be affected by the decision and are allowed to keep their internships until the previously determined date, Women’s Wear Daily also reported.

The decision for Condé Nast to end their internship program comes while the lawsuit against them is still pending. However, this is not the first case of media interns taking legal action against their employers. The same law firm handling the Condé Nast case is also representing an intern with Harper’s Bazaar who sued Hearst Corporation in 2012 for being made to work up to 55 hours per week with no pay. In June, intern Eric Glatt won his lawsuit against Fox Searchlight Pictures for using unpaid interns in the production of the 2010 film, “Black Swan.”

Also on HuffPost:

BreathableSack wearable blanket for infants

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO)

Recall Summary

Name of Product:  BreathableSack wearable blanket for infants

Hazard: The zipper pull tabs and sliders can detach posing a choking hazard to infants.

Remedy:  Replace

Consumer Contact:  BreathableBaby toll-free at (877) 827-4442 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday or online at www.breathablebaby.com and click on Recall Information.

Photos are available at
http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/BreathableBaby-Recalls-Wearable-Blanket

Recall Details

Units: About 15,000

Description:  The BreathableBaby BreathableSacks are sleeveless, wearable blankets. They come in two sizes: small (10-18 pounds) and medium (16-24 pounds) and come in three colors: kiwi Whoo, pink Hip, and blue Splash. There is one animal stitched on the left chest of each blanket of an owl, hippo or elephant. Only BreathableSacks from Lot No. 124 with a manufacture date of 04/17/2012 are included in the recall.  A tag sewn inside the recalled units where the infant’s right foot would be located states the “Date of Manufacture: 04/17/2012, Lot No. 124,” along with the washing instructions on the back of the tag.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Remedy: …