I have written in the past about whether a plaintiff in a legal malpractice action arising out of the alleged mishandling of the plaintiff’s underlying case should have to prove not only that the firm committed malpractice and that damages would have been awarded if malpractice had not occurred but…
Day on Torts
Rhode Island Hospital Cannot Get It Right
You know that patient safety is not a priority in a hospital when your state regulatory agency orders that cameras be installed in your operating rooms. Rhode Island Hospital has had five wrong-site surgeries since 2007. Here is how the AP described the last incident: The latest incident last month…
Nashville Annual Review For Civil Trial Practioners Only Two Weeks Away
Penny White, Joe Riley and I are on the road again this Fall for the 2009 Justice Programs seminars. This two-day, 15-hour is designed for Tennessee lawyers who do civil litigation and who are looking for substantive continuing legal education that will help them better serve their clients. We will…
Upcoming AAJ Seminar
Focus groups are invaluable tools for exploring key issues in your case before taking it into the courtroom. Register for Case Plus: The Next Step in Developing and Testing Your Trial Story to benefit from not one, but three focus groups—now with extended focus group time spent on your case.…
Commercial Appeal Writes About Medical Malpractice Litigation
The Commercial Appeal wrote an interesting story on medical malpractice litigation in today’s paper. Read it here. An excerpt: Nationwide, the number of payments physicians made for malpractice claims fell to 11,037 last year — the lowest figure since the National Practitioner Data Bank began tracking data in 1990. Adjusted…
Lawsuit Against Pharmacists For Filling Prescriptions for Known Drug Abuser
On the afternoon of June 4, 2004, a woman named Patricia Copening driving a SUV ran into a delivery-van driver who had pulled over to repair a flat tire on the highway’s shoulder, killing him at the scene. She also hit another man, causing a head and other injuries. A…
Thinking About the Lack of a Duty to Rescue
I participated in a panel discussion at a local high school a week or so ago. The attendees were high school students and their parents. The other participants on the panel included a local juvenile court judge, a police officer, and an assistant district attorney. Some of the questions included…
Death of John O’Quinn
Houston trial lawyer John O’Quinn died in a motor vehicle wreck earlier today. This article provides a lot of information about this very interesting man.
Another Sanction for Misconduct
The Star-Tribune from Minneapolis – St. Paul reports that a state court judge in Minnesota imposed a $4 million sanction against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for engaging in a "staggering" pattern of misconduct aimed at covering up its role in the deaths of four young people whose car collided with…
Putting Medical Malpractice Insurance Costs in Perspective
An article by Robert Heath in Monday’s Washington Post gives us some of the financial details of the practice of Dr. Robert Hardi, a D.C. gastroenterologist. Dr. Hardi has about 4500 patient visits per year and performs about 1150 procedures. He works about 47 weeks per year. Thus, Dr. Hardi has about 5650 patient…