November 30th, 2007
Personal Injury Law Round-Up #38 is up at Perlmutter & Schuelke. So while the ABA chooses to ignore the field of personal injury law, Brooks Schuelke shows that it’s blawgosphere is as vibrant as any other, with an ever-expanding array of law, policy and links.
November 21st, 2007
As readers know, I stopped doing the personal injury law round-ups because it was too much to sustain for one person on a weekly basis if I also wanted to write about other stuff (and have a law practice).
So thanks to Brooks Schuelke, who has picked up the ball to run with it. In this abbreviated week, he did a great job right out of the box and also introduced me to blogs I’ve never seen.
So head over to Personal Injury Law Round-Up #37. And please, if you have your own blog, let your own readers know with a link. Those links are a small thank you for the time that was put in creating the round-up.
If others would like to take a turn spinning around the PI blogosphere one week, or be part of a weekly rotation, please let me know. You can email me at Blog [at] Turkewitzlaw.com
November 16th, 2007
The New York Personal Injury Law Blog presents the final edition of the Personal Injury Law Round-Up, as a couple of changes are being made as I hit my first year anniversary…
We’ll start with the issue of tort “reform”:
In a resounding victory for patients, an Illinois court found that a tort “reform” damages cap is an unconstitutional violation of due process and equal protection by artificially limiting what medical malpractice victims can receive for their pain and suffering. Mark McKenna has more with a link to the decision; And Justinian Lane at TortDeform explains that the failure of this “reform” made no difference for an insurer’s decision to stay in the state;
[Edit – 11/19/07: In an email to me, Robert Peck of the Center for Constitutional Litigation, who argued the case, alerted me that the decision was ruled unconstitutional based solely on separation of powers issues. It was therefore unnecessary to reach the other issues.]
John Day gives some statistics from Tennessee on medical malpractice suits, settlements and more, in the context of why further tort “reform” is not necessary;
Ron Miller discusses how non-economic damage caps may be considered discriminatory toward women;
Justinian Lane at TortDeform follows the Texas story of tort “reform,” to find out who benefited, and who didn’t;
At TortsProf, guest blogger Chris Robinette discusses the efforts in Arizona to kill off as many emergency room negligence cases as they can by raising the standard of proof to “clear and convincing evidence;”
Kanye West’s mother died during cosmetic surgery in California, and Hans Poppe wants to know if he would be able to find a medical malpractice lawyer to investigate if he wanted to because, you guessed it, tort “reform” that caps damages;
Also at TortsProf, Robinette finds a notebook from a student of William Prosser (Prosser on Torts) has surfaced, with some of the legendary professor’s thoughts.
And into litigation:
Not in suit yet, but…Nine children were hospitalized after eating Aqua Dots that used a toxic glue, according to The Consumerist. The product came from China, naturally.
John Day and on the discoverability of insurance policy limits (which is standard disclosure in New York);
Bill Childs on a suit against the KKK for the beating of a man, with the announced purpose of putting the Klan out of business;
Bill Marler discusses the lame excuses Cargill is giving for distributing contaminated beef;
From the land of settlements: Drug and Device Law has more on the Vioxx settlement and expands upon a subject I mentioned in my marathon Blawg Review #134 (discussed just after the 21 mile point), that being the impact of those that choose not to settle, which are likely to be the more substantial cases. And as Ed Silverman points out at Pharmalot, the settlement is only for U.S. claimants. Ted Frank has a good round up of analysis on the potential problems spots at Point of Law; And Howard Erichson reports on a plaintiffs-only conference to discuss the settlement;
From the miscellaneous category: New York State practitioners should take note of a reversal in Raffellini v. State Farm regarding the issue of whether a “serious injury” threshold applies to supplemental insurance. No Fault Paradise has the scoop;
And finally:
(Eric Turkewitz is a personal injury attorney in New York)
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turkewitz rounds up tort “reform”
eric turkewitz’s weekly round-up on ny personal injury law blog includes the latest on tort “reform” on the web. check it out. browse the links to the other blog posts–they’re worth it–as i’m certain you’ve already read and thoroughly …posted by Kia Franklin @ November 16, 2007 12:03 PM
November 2nd, 2007
The New York Personal Injury Law Blog brings you the week that was:
We start with pre-litigation issues:
I’ve covered Texas with some frequency recently (see: Texas Tort “Reform” and the New York Times, Round-Up #31, Round-Up #33). And so, following up, a Houston Chronicle article discusses a lot of doctors angry at the state’s medical board for its aggressive investigations, which started when Texas also granted some immunity for negligent conduct with its tort “reform” (via Kevin, M.D.). The number of disciplinary actions brought against physicians has nearly tripled since 2001.
And since we’re starting with the Lone Star State, you might as well check out Texas medical-blogger GruntDoc writing on one of his favorite topics, “defensive” medicine that is actually good care. The cardiac death of a 33 year old man waiting for hours in the ER without tests tends to put things in sharp focus. Don’t miss the comments;
The Boston Globe ran a piece last Friday on the efforts to curb medical malpractice in Massachusetts;
The New York Times Blog ran a piece on the emotional toll of medical malpractice victims, raising once again the issue of doctors saying they are sorry (via Ben Glass);
As the story of beef tainted with eColi continues to grow, Bill Marler tells us that not only are the Canadians having problems with the same beef, but the left hand of the Canadian government doesn’t know what the right hand is doing (are we exporting bureaucrats in addition to beef?);
From bad beef to bad products, the Consumerist says over 14 million products have been recalled due to lead contamination so far this year;
Two stories from the I’m Sorry Department: Jacob Goldstein at the WSJ Health blog asks, Does Medical Liability Mean Never Saying You’re Sorry? While The Medical Quack reports on the flip side: An actual apology from a hospital for its medical malpractice;
The myth of arbitrary medical malpractice verdicts continues at White Coat Notes (via Kevin, M.D.) despite research that shows juries actually favor doctors and that plaintiffs rarely win a weak case. Nevertheless, even in the face of empirical evidence, we should expect immunity-seekers to continue propagating the myth of frivolous litigation;
Medtronic heart defibrillator leads were in the news last week after a recall (Personal Injury Round-Up #34), and this week again on the front page of the WSJ. Cardiologist-blogger Dr. Wes discusses the ramifications;
And in my own neck of the woods, disbarred New York personal injury attorney Richard Boter pleads guilty in court to stealing $148K from clients, a result that came out of the New York District Attorney’s probe into the use of runners to recruit clients (see previously: New York Personal Injury Attorney Probe Catches Another Ambulance Chaser);
And in to litigation we go:
The family of a 12 year-old New Yorker has filed a $25M Notice of Claim (notice of an intention to sue) against the City of New York for releasing the MRSA (a drug-resistant staph infection) infected boy from the emergency room of a city hospital, who later died. The amount, by the way, is well in excess of anything the judiciary would allow even if awarded by a jury. And 10,000 hand sanitizing pens are about to get distributed to city school kids in a sign of deep worry and possible panic regarding the MRSA infections;
A trial lawyer reflects on being called for jury duty;
An Arizona doctor accused of medical malpractice when three different people died during or after liposuction, has fled, according to Ron Miller;
Returning to Bill Marler, he is less than amused when Nebraska Beef, defending itself for selling eColi contaminated meat, decides to sue a church that served its tainted product;
Jeremy Colby reports on the growing body of law regarding the constitutionality of the Graves Amendment (granting immunity to auto renting and leasing companies from vicarious liability) with a New York lower court ruling that upholds the law;
Newdorf Legal has suggested questions for experts at depositions (rules in your jurisdiction may vary as what is allowed, but a good list to start with);
On Halloween, Proof & Hearsay reports that an entire jury in a lead paint case came in dressed in judicial robes (via Deliberations);
John Day discusses what happens to the verdict when counsel misbehaves in front of the jury;
A disastrous fire that killed 100 people at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island in 2003, set off by fireworks while the band Great White was playing, has resulted in additional settlements, as per TortsProf Bill Childs;
From the Trial Technology Department, Mac users get a quick tutorial on using Keynote to make blow-ups for the jury at The Trial Technologists View (via The Mac Lawyer).
And finally:
Enjoy the weekend.
(Eric Turkewitz is a personal injury attorney in New York)
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the story of health care reform 2009: ask the nurse—child with …
q. my sister and her 4 year old daughter live with me. the child has synovial sarcoma. she has one more round of chemo to go. during the last hospital stay the nurses and doctors never asked her if she was in pain and they forgot to …posted by Tom @ June 30, 2009 11:31 PM
October 26th, 2007
The New York Personal Injury Law Blog brings you the week that was:
Let’s start with some pre-litigation issues:
The New York Medical Examiner, under the leadership of long time Chief Charles Hirsch, has rejected the September 11 attack as a cause of death for a 34 year-old retired cop that worked long hours on the pile. There is no lawsuit here, just parents that wants their son recognized as victim of the attack;
Dainius A. Drukteinis (M.D. and J.D.) discussed the legal issues presented when a consultant refuses the request of the ER doc, at NY Emergency Medicine;
Tort “reform” took center state at a Republican presidential debate. Overlawyered’s Walter Olson explains how Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson squared off against each other;
And since we’re on the subject, tort “reformers” like to blame lawyers for “defensive medicine” that increases health care costs, and sometimes the media picks up their talking points. But as Grunt Doc explains after Kevin, M.D. appears on a CBS Evening News report, there is often a reason for that “defensive” procedure;
Ed Van Dorn discusses what happened in New Hampshire after the state instituted a medical malpractice screening system. Did it result in an efficient, time and cost saving method of disposing of claims as tort “reformers” argued would happen? Or did it cause delay, delay, delay (as perhaps, they privately hoped);
Florida dismisses a case against a pharmacy from the family of a teen that OD’d on Oxycontin he got from his college roommate. The drugs had been stolen by a friend of the roommate, and the pharmacy had less than adequate security (via Overlawyered);
Beck/Herrmann discuss a law review article by TortsProf Bill Childs, and broach the subject of litigation driven scholarship. Bill adds some more thoughts at his own place;
Judge Richard Posner tackles Should Hosts Be Liable for Serving Liquor to Guests Who Cause Accidents While Driving under the Influence? The response comes from his co-blogger, Prof. Gary Becker;
Cardiologist Dr. Wes has some thoughts on a recall by heart defibrillator maker Medtronics, due to concerns the lead may tear inside the body: As the advertising by attorneys heats up:
The Newark Star-Ledger has a piece on one of my pet issues: Fake medicine, real problem (via Pharmalot). Why is it a pet issue? Y0u can read the counterfeit drug resource page at my firm’s website or click on counterfeit drugs in the sidebar here;
From today’s New York Daily News:
A bogus Brooklyn dentist dumped a 71-year-old woman onto the curb like garbage after she began foaming at the mouth and lost consciousness in his chair, police said Thursday.
Zagat’s is now rating doctors. Can attorneys be far behind?
And in to litigation we go:
From the Celebrity Lawsuit Department: Tennessee Titans Pacman Jones has been sued for a shooting outside Vegas strip club, according to John Day; Is a Kid Rock lawsuit far behind?
Tainted food guru Bill Marler is no doubt exceptionally busy these days with the outbreaks of eColi. But that doesn’t stop him from blogging, in this case regarding the New York Times article on the problems at Topps;
Medical malpractice suits against cruise lines are getting tossed out with some regularity, according to the Wall Street Journal, based on assertions that the cruise ship doctor is not a crew member, but an independent contractor. And since the doctor is not usually American and the malpractice occurred on the high seas, they must be sued in their own country, and often can’t be found leaving the victim without any recourse (W$J, ABA Journal synopsis);
Award winning blogger Matt Lerner at New York Civil Law examines the liability issues of a common carrier in New York, as New York’s high court rules on the subject;
The Maryland high court tossed out a case by a powerlifter that was injured trying to hoist 530 pounds. At issue, Ronald Miller explains, was the relationship between the concept of assumption of risk for sporting activities, and the allegations that the spotters were negligently trained;
A $30M medical malpractice case was tossed out by a 5-1 majority of the Ohio Supreme Court, due to the conduct of “famously obnoxious” attorney Geoffrey Fieger (via TortsProf);
Ted Frank at Point of Law has a piece on jurors in long trials v. short trials. While his synopsis of a recent study probably won’t come as too much of a surprise, it is worth the look;
Settlements are often tricky in personal injury cases, as it is not easy to place a value on an individual’s pain and suffering. A new service, according to Ron Miller and Evan Schaeffer, tries to assist.
And finally: