The Growing Place, a Louisville day care, has had its license suspended. See the item below. For the latest details, see http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/NEWS01/802280423. If you're wondering how the facility is responding to this crisis, The Courier-Journal article reports: "The day care center's owner, Loxi Foree, has not returned several phone calls seeking comment."
Based on the many on-line comments about The Growing Place, it's probably safe to say that Foree's oversight of the day care was no better than her ability to respond to a business crisis. Repeating my recommendation from yesterday: If you are responsible for an organization dealing with children -- day cares, schools, residential facilities -- you better have a well-crafted crisis plan. At a minimum, your plan should identify crises that could have a negative impact on your facility, then describe key audiences that must be informed, the essence of messages you would deliver to each, and a statement to give reporters.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Day Care Faces Crisis and Criticism for Hiring Sex Offender
It doesn't matter if you're part of a megasized, multinational corporation or the owner of a day care in Louisville, Kentucky. One thing is sure: If you are unprepared to deal with a crisis, you stand to lose a great deal of money and your reputation. Today's case in point: The Growing Place here in Louisville. It's a day care that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, during a routine license inspection, found conflicting background checks of a 36-year-old male employee. Upon scrutiny, he was a registered sex offender. Hiring Gibson violates a Kentucky law that prohibits child-care centers from employing anyone who has been convicted of a violent or sex crime in a position that involves supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or direct contact with a minor. The daycare was informed yesterday morning and fired the employee. For the full story, see http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS01/802271128.
But that's not the end of the story. Seems a lot of people have some pretty strong opinions when it comes to protecting their children -- all the more reason why such facilities need crisis plans. Follow the link above to The Courier-Journal article and read the comments. People have written such things as:
"Gross-negligence. That place should be shut down! This guy was like a kid in a candy store.... This is one time I would like to see a class-action lawsuit."
"On the news last night the owner stated that everyone deserves a second chance. Bullcrap! Not at any child's expense they don't.... These parents need to get together and file a huge lawsuit."
"We sent our child to this childcare for a little while. The director/owner is never there. Only the head teacher knows how to reach her and does not do it.... The employees hate working there. The only thing they did that we were told was part of the childcare was collect the check from us and cash it. We found another child care asap and were happy to leave there! No surprises when we saw this article. None at all."
"The registry of sex offenders is available to anyone and everyone ------ ONLINE, no less. If the owners of the day care couldn't bother to investigate who they were hiring, I hope they go out of business due to lack of customers! ... Silly me, I thought people who opened day cares cared about kids!"
There's more, but you get the idea. There's a long lambasting of The Growing Place on the Rip-off Report web site dated last week, before the latest story broke.(http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/311/RipOff0311272.htm). The day care clearly had a smoldering crisis that went unaddressed before the news broke these past two days.
It's likely The Growing Place will go out of business given the the widespread negativity and lack of remorse or any plan of action. ("Here's how it happened, here's what we are doing to regain your trust and ensure this can never happen again.") How many of you parents would send your kids there? Just Google the facility's name and you'll find all this horrible criticism as I did.
I'm not making judgments about The Growing Place and how much of all this is true. But even if it is true, a change in policies, requesting outside oversight and verification of practices, an open house and meeting for parents (with the news media invited), testimonials from satisfied customers (assuming there are any), a public apology, and some sort of restitution for those parents who stick with the day care. That might save this business if it's not already too late. Doing nothing will almost certainly cost this owner her investment. If only she had had a crisis plan that would have spelled out actions to take if an undesirable employee was discovered on the payroll. You child care providers out there: Learn from this woman's crisis and write a plan. Better yet, hire an experienced expert to create the plan for you or at least review what you write. This is too important to put off or do poorly.
But that's not the end of the story. Seems a lot of people have some pretty strong opinions when it comes to protecting their children -- all the more reason why such facilities need crisis plans. Follow the link above to The Courier-Journal article and read the comments. People have written such things as:
"Gross-negligence. That place should be shut down! This guy was like a kid in a candy store.... This is one time I would like to see a class-action lawsuit."
"On the news last night the owner stated that everyone deserves a second chance. Bullcrap! Not at any child's expense they don't.... These parents need to get together and file a huge lawsuit."
"We sent our child to this childcare for a little while. The director/owner is never there. Only the head teacher knows how to reach her and does not do it.... The employees hate working there. The only thing they did that we were told was part of the childcare was collect the check from us and cash it. We found another child care asap and were happy to leave there! No surprises when we saw this article. None at all."
"The registry of sex offenders is available to anyone and everyone ------ ONLINE, no less. If the owners of the day care couldn't bother to investigate who they were hiring, I hope they go out of business due to lack of customers! ... Silly me, I thought people who opened day cares cared about kids!"
There's more, but you get the idea. There's a long lambasting of The Growing Place on the Rip-off Report web site dated last week, before the latest story broke.(http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/311/RipOff0311272.htm). The day care clearly had a smoldering crisis that went unaddressed before the news broke these past two days.
It's likely The Growing Place will go out of business given the the widespread negativity and lack of remorse or any plan of action. ("Here's how it happened, here's what we are doing to regain your trust and ensure this can never happen again.") How many of you parents would send your kids there? Just Google the facility's name and you'll find all this horrible criticism as I did.
I'm not making judgments about The Growing Place and how much of all this is true. But even if it is true, a change in policies, requesting outside oversight and verification of practices, an open house and meeting for parents (with the news media invited), testimonials from satisfied customers (assuming there are any), a public apology, and some sort of restitution for those parents who stick with the day care. That might save this business if it's not already too late. Doing nothing will almost certainly cost this owner her investment. If only she had had a crisis plan that would have spelled out actions to take if an undesirable employee was discovered on the payroll. You child care providers out there: Learn from this woman's crisis and write a plan. Better yet, hire an experienced expert to create the plan for you or at least review what you write. This is too important to put off or do poorly.
Handling Ethanol Fires Presents Unique Hazards
I was visiting my hometown of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, in October 2006 when a train across the river in New Brighton derailed. Of the 86 cars, 23 were off the tracks, some falling or dangling from a bridge. The cars were carrying ethanol from a western refinery to a New Jersey port. There was an enormous explosion and fireball. The cars burned for several days. Ethanol poured into the Beaver River and onto the ground in a park. Hundreds of residents living within a mile were evacuated. (My sister, who lives up the hill from the spot, wasn't evacuated but could watch the flames from her house.)
An AP story yesterday described the hazards of hauling ethanol and pointed out that many communities are unprepared to deal with serious accidents involving large quantities of this fuel additive. (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hkfJr7eBlUGNeJW2UuEctWBVfhQQD8V28S580)
"The problem," Reporter Chris Blank's story claims, "is that water doesn't put out ethanol fires, and the foam that has been used since the 1960s to smother ordinary gasoline blazes doesn't work well against the grain-alcohol fuel."
According to Ed Plaugher, director of national programs for the International Association of Fire Chiefs, "It is not unusual to find a fire department that is still just prepared to deal with traditional flammable liquids."
Ordinary cars and trucks aren't such a concern because they Carry comparatively small amounts of ethanol diluted by gasoline. But tanker trucks and rail cars carrying tens of thousands of gallons of 85-95% pure ethanol present a risk. During my 17 years of community relations work in the chemical industry, I regularly pointed out to our plant neighbors that we weren't the only hazards game in town. Yes, we had accidents at the plant. But we also had emergency responders, spill and fire vehicles on site, experts who knew the characteristics of our hazardous materials, an outside fire department trained to work with company responders, and a county hazmat capability as good as any community's in the country. My home, I pointed out, is less than a fireball away from a busy rail line. That's the source of risk to my home and it's a greater source of risk to yours, residential neighbor, than our chemical plant is.
My question to you: Have you taken into account the possibilities of outside problems beyond your control in your crisis plan? Does your plan account for hazardous spills and fires on the roads and highways outside the fenceline? Are train tracks nearby? You need to be ready to talk to your key audiences if you're forced to evacuate or shelter in place for a significant time. The folks in New Brighton know that now.
An AP story yesterday described the hazards of hauling ethanol and pointed out that many communities are unprepared to deal with serious accidents involving large quantities of this fuel additive. (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hkfJr7eBlUGNeJW2UuEctWBVfhQQD8V28S580)
"The problem," Reporter Chris Blank's story claims, "is that water doesn't put out ethanol fires, and the foam that has been used since the 1960s to smother ordinary gasoline blazes doesn't work well against the grain-alcohol fuel."
According to Ed Plaugher, director of national programs for the International Association of Fire Chiefs, "It is not unusual to find a fire department that is still just prepared to deal with traditional flammable liquids."
Ordinary cars and trucks aren't such a concern because they Carry comparatively small amounts of ethanol diluted by gasoline. But tanker trucks and rail cars carrying tens of thousands of gallons of 85-95% pure ethanol present a risk. During my 17 years of community relations work in the chemical industry, I regularly pointed out to our plant neighbors that we weren't the only hazards game in town. Yes, we had accidents at the plant. But we also had emergency responders, spill and fire vehicles on site, experts who knew the characteristics of our hazardous materials, an outside fire department trained to work with company responders, and a county hazmat capability as good as any community's in the country. My home, I pointed out, is less than a fireball away from a busy rail line. That's the source of risk to my home and it's a greater source of risk to yours, residential neighbor, than our chemical plant is.
My question to you: Have you taken into account the possibilities of outside problems beyond your control in your crisis plan? Does your plan account for hazardous spills and fires on the roads and highways outside the fenceline? Are train tracks nearby? You need to be ready to talk to your key audiences if you're forced to evacuate or shelter in place for a significant time. The folks in New Brighton know that now.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lessons Learned in Louisville School Lockdown
Fern Creek High School in Louisville, Kentucky, was locked down Wednesday, February 20, after a student reported seeing someone in the building brandishing what looked like a gun. The “someone” was a student from another school who the police knew all too well. The juvenile was arrested later with two others in a stolen vehicle, police said. (See http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/NEWS01/802210406 to learn more.)
By analyzing the frightening events of the day at Fern Creek High, we can learn some lessons that might help us. I like studying this kind of crisis because no shots were fired and no one got hurt. I have yet to hear confirmation of whether this kid even had a gun. Let’s look at how students, parents, and school employees responded.
Students – Our technology and speed of communication are wonderful. But not always. One girl texted her mother to say, "Two gunshots fired on the first floor. But I'm ok." Another student called her grandfather in tears that a gun had been found in the building. In cases where a crime scene or potential crime scene has been sealed off, cell phones, Blackberries, e-mails…. They all still work just fine. Those responsible for communications need to keep in mind that rumors fly quickly and easily. The information you provide to key audiences must do the same.
Remember that students locked in classrooms are a key audience. According to The Courier-Journal, “Several students said it was almost an hour after the lockdown began before they were told by school officials what had happened. Many said they learned what was going on by watching media reports and logging onto the Internet while they sat in their classrooms with lights off and doors locked.”
School staff – Lauren Roberts, school district spokeswoman, (and a very good one, I might add) said Fern Creek High School officials responded exactly as they are supposed to during a crisis. “Our No. 1 priority is to make sure that the kids are safe and that the school is secure," she said. “Once the building was secure and the students were safe, we gave them additional information.”
Certainly the safety of the kids was the priority. But even stating what you know at the moment might have helped alleviate fears. Immediately tell the kids, “We had a report of an outsider in the school who may have had a gun. We don’t know if that is true and we don’t know if this person has left. We are locking down the building as a precaution to keep you safe. When we know more, we will tell you immediately what to do so no one will get hurt.” A person who doesn’t deal directly with the physical crisis itself should be identified in your plans and trained to deliver a calming, immediate message to those in some peril. Waiting for a spokesperson to arrive and be briefed takes too long.
Parents – Family members calling the school office were told the incident was a safety drill. Be sure your communications include those people who answer the phone during a crisis so they can relay accurate information.
Perhaps the biggest communications problem came when police sent some of the parents to gather at a nearby church. Others stayed outside school grounds. No one told Roberts that her audience had been split up. Metro Police Chief Robert White was at the church in 20 minutes, but Roberts and the district didn’t know what the police had done and it took them an hour to arrive. That’s unfortunate and needs to be resolved between the police and the school district for future events like this. This is also where joint training drills can be helpful.
“I think they should have given us some more information to calm the parents down because they were getting kind of upset – and I can agree,” one mother said. “They did not give us enough information. We didn't know anything.”
You can’t tell parents what you don’t know. But at the least you could say, “No shots have been fired. We don’t even know if there was really a gun. All your kids are safe. No one is hurt. And we are doing everything to make sure it stays that way.”
By analyzing the frightening events of the day at Fern Creek High, we can learn some lessons that might help us. I like studying this kind of crisis because no shots were fired and no one got hurt. I have yet to hear confirmation of whether this kid even had a gun. Let’s look at how students, parents, and school employees responded.
Students – Our technology and speed of communication are wonderful. But not always. One girl texted her mother to say, "Two gunshots fired on the first floor. But I'm ok." Another student called her grandfather in tears that a gun had been found in the building. In cases where a crime scene or potential crime scene has been sealed off, cell phones, Blackberries, e-mails…. They all still work just fine. Those responsible for communications need to keep in mind that rumors fly quickly and easily. The information you provide to key audiences must do the same.
Remember that students locked in classrooms are a key audience. According to The Courier-Journal, “Several students said it was almost an hour after the lockdown began before they were told by school officials what had happened. Many said they learned what was going on by watching media reports and logging onto the Internet while they sat in their classrooms with lights off and doors locked.”
School staff – Lauren Roberts, school district spokeswoman, (and a very good one, I might add) said Fern Creek High School officials responded exactly as they are supposed to during a crisis. “Our No. 1 priority is to make sure that the kids are safe and that the school is secure," she said. “Once the building was secure and the students were safe, we gave them additional information.”
Certainly the safety of the kids was the priority. But even stating what you know at the moment might have helped alleviate fears. Immediately tell the kids, “We had a report of an outsider in the school who may have had a gun. We don’t know if that is true and we don’t know if this person has left. We are locking down the building as a precaution to keep you safe. When we know more, we will tell you immediately what to do so no one will get hurt.” A person who doesn’t deal directly with the physical crisis itself should be identified in your plans and trained to deliver a calming, immediate message to those in some peril. Waiting for a spokesperson to arrive and be briefed takes too long.
Parents – Family members calling the school office were told the incident was a safety drill. Be sure your communications include those people who answer the phone during a crisis so they can relay accurate information.
Perhaps the biggest communications problem came when police sent some of the parents to gather at a nearby church. Others stayed outside school grounds. No one told Roberts that her audience had been split up. Metro Police Chief Robert White was at the church in 20 minutes, but Roberts and the district didn’t know what the police had done and it took them an hour to arrive. That’s unfortunate and needs to be resolved between the police and the school district for future events like this. This is also where joint training drills can be helpful.
“I think they should have given us some more information to calm the parents down because they were getting kind of upset – and I can agree,” one mother said. “They did not give us enough information. We didn't know anything.”
You can’t tell parents what you don’t know. But at the least you could say, “No shots have been fired. We don’t even know if there was really a gun. All your kids are safe. No one is hurt. And we are doing everything to make sure it stays that way.”
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
My friend and fellow sports fan in New Jersey read my blog and told me he was surprised he didn’t find any sports references anywhere on my site. Certainly the sports world has more than its share of crises. So, Walt, this blog’s for you.
I grew up in a time when baseball was king. My dad took me to Forbes Field and later, Three Rivers, where I idolized Roberto Clemente. He not only was a gifted player, he was a showman – with his basket catches in right field, his cannon of an arm, the way he flipped the ball underhanded back to the infield after a catch, the way he ran, the way he hit. And most of all, with the way he lived his life. Even 36 years after his tragic death while trying to help earthquake victims, I got a bit misty-eyed last week when I went to a special exhibit about Clemente at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville. So it is with great sadness that I watch the game of my greatest sports hero spiral into a decline of lying and cheating. Baseball has endured its share of scandals over the past century and a quarter. But this steroids crisis casts a shadow over baseball records, championships, and hall of fame candiates. Could Barry Bonds have set the single-season home run record or the career home run record without a little help from his friend? What could Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth have accomplished if they had injected the same advantage into their veins? What about the the credibility of Roger Clemmons? Two pitchers who I greatly respect on and off the field – Andy Pettitte and Louisville-native Paul Byrd – have confessed to using human growth hormone to help them recover from injuries. Some players' abuse seems to have been innocent naiveté. Some has been to gain an unfair advantage. Who has used, who hasn’t used? What about the integrity of the game? My goodness, what about the change in physique for Bonds between the time he left the Pirates and the time he set home run records with the Giants? Bud Selig, didn't you notice? Good heavens, look at the pictures!
Baseball is America’s pastime. And mine. It’s as if I’ve lost a friend. I know I’ll continue to watch baseball because summer wouldn’t be summer without the game. But I’m bitter that Major League Baseball seems to have ignored and denied this smoldering crisis for years. The players’ union resisted any suggestion that its members be subjected to drug testing, and MLB failed to push the issue. Do you remember when observers only questioned whether the baseballs were “juiced” during years of heavy hitting and weak pitching? Now we wonder whether it was the players all along who were “juiced.” The integrity of the game is highly suspect. And it all could have been prevented if MLB and the union together had taken a stand before the smoldering crisis became a Capitol Hill circus.
Oh, Roberto, where has your kind gone?
I grew up in a time when baseball was king. My dad took me to Forbes Field and later, Three Rivers, where I idolized Roberto Clemente. He not only was a gifted player, he was a showman – with his basket catches in right field, his cannon of an arm, the way he flipped the ball underhanded back to the infield after a catch, the way he ran, the way he hit. And most of all, with the way he lived his life. Even 36 years after his tragic death while trying to help earthquake victims, I got a bit misty-eyed last week when I went to a special exhibit about Clemente at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville. So it is with great sadness that I watch the game of my greatest sports hero spiral into a decline of lying and cheating. Baseball has endured its share of scandals over the past century and a quarter. But this steroids crisis casts a shadow over baseball records, championships, and hall of fame candiates. Could Barry Bonds have set the single-season home run record or the career home run record without a little help from his friend? What could Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth have accomplished if they had injected the same advantage into their veins? What about the the credibility of Roger Clemmons? Two pitchers who I greatly respect on and off the field – Andy Pettitte and Louisville-native Paul Byrd – have confessed to using human growth hormone to help them recover from injuries. Some players' abuse seems to have been innocent naiveté. Some has been to gain an unfair advantage. Who has used, who hasn’t used? What about the integrity of the game? My goodness, what about the change in physique for Bonds between the time he left the Pirates and the time he set home run records with the Giants? Bud Selig, didn't you notice? Good heavens, look at the pictures!
Baseball is America’s pastime. And mine. It’s as if I’ve lost a friend. I know I’ll continue to watch baseball because summer wouldn’t be summer without the game. But I’m bitter that Major League Baseball seems to have ignored and denied this smoldering crisis for years. The players’ union resisted any suggestion that its members be subjected to drug testing, and MLB failed to push the issue. Do you remember when observers only questioned whether the baseballs were “juiced” during years of heavy hitting and weak pitching? Now we wonder whether it was the players all along who were “juiced.” The integrity of the game is highly suspect. And it all could have been prevented if MLB and the union together had taken a stand before the smoldering crisis became a Capitol Hill circus.
Oh, Roberto, where has your kind gone?
Indiana University Needs a New Knight in Shining Armor
Speaking of sports crises, let me add another. Indiana University’s basketball program is no stranger to crises after all those years with Bobby Knight on the bench. Love him or hate him, Knight ran a clean program and stressed education among his players. But the latest episode with Kelvin Sampson, accused of making unallowed phone calls to recruits and then lying about it to the NCAA, has again thrust a traditionally great program on the court to a traditionally embarrassing crisis off the court.
IU, after years of excuses, finally and appropriately issued an ultimatum to Knight to stay out of trouble. He didn’t, and IU did the right thing when it finally fired the man who was to become the all-time wins leader in college basketball. The integrity of the program and the university itself was more important than wins.
IU finds itself in a similar situation. I was stunned when Sampson was hired, given the controversy and disciplinary actions against him at Oklahoma. IU hired him anyway and he allegedly commits the same stupid violations he committed at Oklahoma. If Indiana fires Sampson, as most in the media expect, I hope this time the university will have the sense to hire someone with a clean record who despises cheating and embraces education for his players. Dare I say it? IU needs to hire another Bobby Knight. Ouch. It hurt me to write that. I’m from the Joe Paterno School of Coaching that values behaving like a gentleman at all times. Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Whatever business you are in, purge your organization of cheaters before you find yourself in a costly crisis that could have been prevented.
IU, after years of excuses, finally and appropriately issued an ultimatum to Knight to stay out of trouble. He didn’t, and IU did the right thing when it finally fired the man who was to become the all-time wins leader in college basketball. The integrity of the program and the university itself was more important than wins.
IU finds itself in a similar situation. I was stunned when Sampson was hired, given the controversy and disciplinary actions against him at Oklahoma. IU hired him anyway and he allegedly commits the same stupid violations he committed at Oklahoma. If Indiana fires Sampson, as most in the media expect, I hope this time the university will have the sense to hire someone with a clean record who despises cheating and embraces education for his players. Dare I say it? IU needs to hire another Bobby Knight. Ouch. It hurt me to write that. I’m from the Joe Paterno School of Coaching that values behaving like a gentleman at all times. Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Whatever business you are in, purge your organization of cheaters before you find yourself in a costly crisis that could have been prevented.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Sierra Pre-Filled Is Closed Indefinitely
I have been mystified that no reporter -- particularly local reporters in and near Angier, North Carolina -- has followed up on the Sierra Pre-Filled story. Frank Vinluan of the Triangle Business Journal has at last broken the silence. But I guess there's only so much you can write when the company president won't return phone calls, the web site has disappeared from cyberspace, and the facility's doors remain locked.
The article I refer to can be found at http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/02/11/story5.html?b=1202706000%5E1588627. It says that Sierra-Pre-Filled, whose bacteria-tainted syringes made sick people even sicker, has a sign on the door announcing, "Company closed until further notice." That's the most informative quote out of the company since the syringe problem came to light in December. I won't go into all the details of the recall and law suits that followed. I've done that in other entries on this blog, and the referenced article contains background. It also says, "Calls to Sierra's Angier facility went unanswered.... Dushyant Patel, the company's president, could not be reached for comment. The company has not yet filed a response to the Illinois lawsuits." My, oh, my!
I want to reiterate how crucial it is for your business -- for-profit, nonprofit, privately held, publicly traded -- to develop and then practice a crisis plan. Sierra Pre-Filled is the new poster child for what can happen if you aren't prepared. This company has locked its doors and gone into hiding, which is never a successful tactic in managing a crisis. Imagine how different this story would be if Patel, as president and owner, had quickly issued an apolgy to those who his company had made violently ill. He could have immediately launched his own investigation, along with FDA, into how the syringes became contaminated. He could have shown up personally in Chicago (where he apparently lives) and other problem spots and met with hospital officials who distributed his company's syringes. He could have offered restitution to victims who had to be hospitalized. Then, once he and investigators had determined the cause of the contamination, the company could have made the necessary corrections and, with the blessing of FDA, started production again. Patel could have saved his company if only he had had a crisis communications plan and followed it. It's likely the company will never recover from its trashed reputation, lost production time, and civil suits. Patel and his company don't stand a chance with any jury after making cancer victims ill and then pulling a public disappearing act.
How's the health of your crisis plan?
The article I refer to can be found at http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/02/11/story5.html?b=1202706000%5E1588627. It says that Sierra-Pre-Filled, whose bacteria-tainted syringes made sick people even sicker, has a sign on the door announcing, "Company closed until further notice." That's the most informative quote out of the company since the syringe problem came to light in December. I won't go into all the details of the recall and law suits that followed. I've done that in other entries on this blog, and the referenced article contains background. It also says, "Calls to Sierra's Angier facility went unanswered.... Dushyant Patel, the company's president, could not be reached for comment. The company has not yet filed a response to the Illinois lawsuits." My, oh, my!
I want to reiterate how crucial it is for your business -- for-profit, nonprofit, privately held, publicly traded -- to develop and then practice a crisis plan. Sierra Pre-Filled is the new poster child for what can happen if you aren't prepared. This company has locked its doors and gone into hiding, which is never a successful tactic in managing a crisis. Imagine how different this story would be if Patel, as president and owner, had quickly issued an apolgy to those who his company had made violently ill. He could have immediately launched his own investigation, along with FDA, into how the syringes became contaminated. He could have shown up personally in Chicago (where he apparently lives) and other problem spots and met with hospital officials who distributed his company's syringes. He could have offered restitution to victims who had to be hospitalized. Then, once he and investigators had determined the cause of the contamination, the company could have made the necessary corrections and, with the blessing of FDA, started production again. Patel could have saved his company if only he had had a crisis communications plan and followed it. It's likely the company will never recover from its trashed reputation, lost production time, and civil suits. Patel and his company don't stand a chance with any jury after making cancer victims ill and then pulling a public disappearing act.
How's the health of your crisis plan?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
More Fun and Games in the West Virginia Supreme Court
Here's an update. Remember the West Virginia Supreme Court chief justice who was photographed recreating in Monaco with a CEO? If not, look at my January 23 item. Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard was part of a 3-2 majority in November that overturned a multi-million-dollar judgment in favor of Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. Maynard refused to recuse himself until those pictures of him and Blankenship surfaced.
In a 5-0 decision in late January, the Supreme Court wisely decided to reconsider its reversal of the $76.3 million judgment against Massey Energy. (See the Wall Street Journal Law Blog at http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/01/24/west-virginia-supremes-to-rehear-massey-case/) On March 12, with a county circuit judge sitting in for Maynard on the bench, the state Supreme Court will once again hear Massey Energy's appeal.
What's more, the state legislature is getting into the act. A bipartisan bill would amend the state constitution to create a Judicial Recusal Commission whose job it would be to decide when judges and justices should be disqualified from cases. Court rules currently allow judges to decide for themselves if they have a conflict of interest.
That's an amendment apparently very much needed in West Virginia. Before the controversy with Maynard erupted, attorneys tried to persuade Justice Brent Benjamin, who also voted in favor of Massey Energy, to excuse himself from the case. It seems Blankenship donated $3 million in 2004 to help defeat Benjamin's opponent. I guess no one has turned up any pictures of Benjamin and Blankenship together at the beach.
In a 5-0 decision in late January, the Supreme Court wisely decided to reconsider its reversal of the $76.3 million judgment against Massey Energy. (See the Wall Street Journal Law Blog at http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/01/24/west-virginia-supremes-to-rehear-massey-case/) On March 12, with a county circuit judge sitting in for Maynard on the bench, the state Supreme Court will once again hear Massey Energy's appeal.
What's more, the state legislature is getting into the act. A bipartisan bill would amend the state constitution to create a Judicial Recusal Commission whose job it would be to decide when judges and justices should be disqualified from cases. Court rules currently allow judges to decide for themselves if they have a conflict of interest.
That's an amendment apparently very much needed in West Virginia. Before the controversy with Maynard erupted, attorneys tried to persuade Justice Brent Benjamin, who also voted in favor of Massey Energy, to excuse himself from the case. It seems Blankenship donated $3 million in 2004 to help defeat Benjamin's opponent. I guess no one has turned up any pictures of Benjamin and Blankenship together at the beach.
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