Search continues for three missing in Gulf of Mexico
TAMPA, Fla. — Private boats and planes searched Wednesday for two NFL players and a third man missing for four days since their boat capsized on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, according to family members.
The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who owned the boat, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley. But their families appealed for help to keep hunting.
Two or three charters left in the late morning from a St. Petersburg marina and at least one had friends of the families of the missing men aboard, said Don Beggs, who owns one of the local docks. Three private planes were also used in the search, according to Cooper’s father, Bruce Cooper.
A fourth man on the fishing trip, Nick Schuyler, was rescued Monday after crews found him clinging to the boat. His doctor said it’s a “miracle” Schuyler survived in the cold water for nearly two days after the boat carrying the men overturned in rough seas off the Florida coast Saturday.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said the 24-year-old is in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler was in 63-degree water for around 46 hours and probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours if he wasn’t rescued, Rumbak said.
Supreme Court denies limits on suits opposing drugmakers
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court rejected calls Wednesday to limit consumer lawsuits against drug makers, upholding a $6.7 million jury award to a musician who lost her arm to gangrene following a Phenergan injection.
The decision is the second this term to reject business groups’ arguments that federal regulation effectively pre-empts consumer complaints under state law.
Diana Levine of Vermont once played the guitar and piano professionally. Her right arm was amputated after she was injected with Phenergan, an anti-nausea medicine made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, using a method that brings rapid relief, but poses grievous risks if improperly administered.
In a 6-3 decision, the court turned away Wyeth’s claim that federal approval of Phenergan and its warning label should have shielded the company from lawsuits like Levine’s.
“Next to getting my hand back, it’s the best they could do and the least they could have done,” Levine said. She now plays with one hand.
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