Those in positions of power and wealth fear one thing more than parting with their precious money: they fear that someone will find out what they did. Thus, we see repeated requests of courts to hide the the conduct of wrongdoers. Early in a case, these efforts manifests themselves in…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have issued proposed rules to address the issue of how Medicare beneficiaries will protect Medicare’s interest when future medical care is claimed or the settlement or judgment released (or has the effect of releasing) claims for future medical care. Here are the proposed…
Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham has authored an article in the News Democrat Leader about lawyers who take their own lives. Called "Broken Hearted Idealists," it does a fine job exposing a problem in our profession and some interesting thoughts about why it happens.
Three professors have conducted a study to see if legal restrictions on patient rates have had an impact on the supply of physicians. The result? The researches found no evidence that the legal changes increased the supply of primary care physicians or specialists. But then again, they relied on facts. The…
The Utah Supreme Court has called-out a lawyer who repeatedly violated court orderson a several motions in limine. In Barrientos v. Jones, 2012 UT 33 (June 8, 2012), the trial court granted several motions in limine and held that certain alleged conduct or speculation about the conduct of the decedent…
Eric Turkewitz, a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer in New York, wrote about it first. He told us about a plaintiff’s lawyer in New York who sought $30,000,000 for damages to a child who lost part of his ear lobe after a dog bite. Eric was upset because this "courtroom bulldog…
The $900,000 pain and suffering verdict (which equaled the amount sued for) in a case brought by a woman who contracted herpes after consensual sex with a dentist brings to mind one of best legal articles I ever read about obtaining large verdicts. First, the facts. According to an article…
How often are sponges, towels, pads and other foreign objects left in surgical patients? The Doctor’s Company, a medical malpractice insurer, has shared some information that helps us get an idea of the scope of the problem. The insurer reports that from 2002 through 2011, there were 3,273 surgical claims…
Tennessee personal injury lawyers know that the Tennessee General Assembly is a far different place than it used to be. The Legislature is determined to change the rules of tort litigation for the benefit of defendants and those who would be defendants. What follows is a second list of legislation enacted…
Rarely have so many resources been spent defending a claim that has a maximum value of $300,000, the cap on damages under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act. This case already wound its way to the Supreme Court in 2009, with the Court reaching a critical holding on duty…