President Obama announced yesterday that the government will set aside $25 million to support state grants for pilot programs to reduce medical malpractice lawsuits. ABC News describes the grant process this way: The Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the process for states to launch and test initiatives…
The Georgia Legislature imposed a cap on noneconomic damages in meritorious medical malpractice cases in 2005. The cap is $350,000. In a case tried in Fulton County several years ago, the jury’s verdict exceeded the cap, and the Georgia Supreme Court is now considering whether the cap is…
The Washington Supreme Court has struck down the filing of a certificate of merit in medical malpractice cases in Washington state. The certificate is required by RCW 7.70.150. The opinion said that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers between the Legislature and the Judiciary and…
Food Safety News is a new publication sponsored by food safety expert Bill Marler and his firm Marler Clark. It contains information on the food safety issues of the day, whether they pertain to foodborne illness outbreaks, recalled products, or food politics. The online newspaper has bureaus in Seattle, Denver, and Washington,…
Florida AP reports that a federal judge declared a mistrial last Friday in a trial over whether Merck & Co.’s former blockbuster osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, causes painful jaw bone destruction. The trial, which is the first of many concerning Fosamax, started Aug. 11 in U.S. District Court for the Southern…
Scheduling orders are wonderful tools that are often overlooked by far too many plaintiff’s lawyers. One of the most important deadlines to put in a scheduling order is a deadline by which the defendant must allege the fault of a person not a party to the action. …
A settlement has been reached in Mohr v. Daimler Chrysler Corp., a products liability case which alleged defects in a 2000 Dodge Caravan. The Court of Appeals affirmed almost $5,000,000 in compensatory damage awards for the death of the driver and front-seat passenger in the case. The court also affirmed…
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 be…
If you don’t understand the title of this post, you will want to log into the seminar that goes by the same name that is sponsored by AAJ. This seminar, exclusively for plaintiff’s lawyers, will analyze the USSC decisions in these important cases and explain how they will impact…
Max Kennerly has done it again. Read this post on the Litigation and Trial bog which looks behind the allegation that the American people support medical malpractice reform. Before you do, read the following: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT: As part of any health care reform plan, Congress needs…