The Center for Justice and Democracy sends some must-read “fanmail” to the American Tort “Reform” Association, based on its “dishonest” Judicial Hellholes “report,” which essentially surveyed its own big business membership to find out which jurisdictions were least likely to afford immunity for negligent conduct (via TortDeform);

Legal Literacy hosts Blawg Review #139;

Law, risk and insurance meet up at the Cavalcade of Risk, hosted by American Consumer News;

David Harlow hosts the Health Wonk Review at HealthBlawg;

CIGNA Insurance waffles on a liver transplant for a girl, and she dies. (The Consumerist);

The Vioxx setlment is showing cracks, as some of the plaintiff’s with better cases are opting out (Pharmalot) and the lawyers face the predicted ethical issues of recommending settlements (Ted Frank at Point of Law rounded up the posts on November 13th, at the 9th bullet point);

NYT–Study Shows Marathons Aren’t Likely to Kill You (whew).

Random Notes is for subjects I want to blog about or rebroadcast, but just don’t have the time to do well:

A doctor is accused of sexual assault on his patient, and in order to get the benefit of his insurance coverage, claims it was treatment. The insurance carrier is not amused. (New York Legal Update);

A judge pays off bet with beer (Sentencing Law and Policy);

Blawg Review #139 celebrates Human Rights Day at De Novo;

Health Wonk Review is up at HealthBlawg;

In Massachusetts, the duty of a doctor has now been extended beyond the patient, to those the patient might injure while on the drugs prescribed by the doctor (TortsProf);

Hospital systems should be designed to anticipate human error (NY Emergency Medicine);

The Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial gets analyzed by the Ninth Circuit (Deliberations)

There’s a new kid on the block…a brand, spanking new blog from the defense side: Medical Devices: Law, Trends and Oddities

Random Notes is for subjects I want to blog about or rebroadcast, but just don’t have the time to do well. They will appear on a, you guessed it, random basis:

New York AG unveils Project Sunlight, exposing the lobbyists, pork and money flows in Albany in a very user-friendly website (via NYT-CityRoom);

New York AG also confirms having no sense of humor when it comes to lawyer advertising, a fact I pointed out in March (New York Responds to Lawsuit Challenging New Attorney Advertising Rules — By Banning Humor). Now they’ve filed an appellate brief with the Second Circuit to confirm it (pp. 16-21 of brief);

The Cavalcade of Risk is up at Managed Care Matters – a round-up of insurance blogs and risky stuff;

A fountain of information on the Dickie Scruggs indictment can be found at Overlawyered and at the Insurance Coverage Law Blog;

Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice fame is interviewed at Kevin O’Keefe’s Real Lawyers Have Blogs and reveals an essential truth about blogging: The harder people try to promote themselves, the more their blogs suck. Except he said it nicer. “Nobody wants to read posts about what a wonderful lawyer you are or how brilliant you are. If you’re brilliant, show it by posting substantive pieces.” Naturally, Greenfield has a slightly different take on the interview.

Legal Antics resuscitates a 1990-1 Yale Law Journal article on why you shouldn’t go to law school (with a tip to Susan Cartier Liebel of the Build a Solo Practice)

Evan Schaeffer on how to stop coaching at depositions with the “speaking objection.”

Random notes will be for subjects that I want to blog about or things that need a bit more broadcast, but I just don’t have the time for a separate post. They will appear on a, you guessed it, random basis:

• Why is health care so expensive? Might bill padding be involved? (Dr. Wes)

• There is a follow-up to this post from August: Wrong Site Brain Surgery — Three Times in Six Years at RI Hospital. They’ve now been fined $50,000;

• Blawg Review #136 is up from down under at Freedom to Differ;

• Blawg Review #135 was a two-parter co-hosted at Transgender Workplace Diversity and the Rainbow Law Center;

• The Impact of Race and Poverty on American Tort Awards (Ron Miller)

• Malpractice awards cap would harm victims (Newsday Op-Ed by Jeffrey Kimmel)

• New York Doctors Claims of Medical Liability Crisis is Deja vu All Over Again (TortDeform)

• NY Lawyers Code of Professional Responsibility Updated Regarding Lawyer Advertising (Sui Generis)

• Did Rudy Giuliani steal 400K from indigent defense fund to pay for dalliances with his mistress? (Simple Justice). And did he commit an Alan Hevesi type felony? (TalkLeft)

• Virtual Hip Replacement Surgery. A very cool interactive tutorial on how it is done (via Kevin, M.D.), and if you want the real thing instead of virtual, go here.

And as a follow-up to the marathon Blawg Review, one last video: