I write a quarterly column on tort law for the Tennessee Bar Journal. The column for the May edition of the publication discusses Tennessee’s recreational use statute, Tenn. Code Ann. §70-7-101 et seq, An excerpt: The Tennessee Supreme Court has interpreted the recreational use statute as one that gives rise to…
CNA has issued a white paper titled "Slip and Fall Control Techniques for Commercial Real Estate Owners." The report indicates that more than one million people are injured each year in slip or trip and fall incidents and 16,000 people die from falls. CNA adds this: With the aging baby boomer generation,…
The Doctors Company, a medical malpractice insurer, has published this article about keeping medical records. An excerpt: The following entries should appear in the office or hospital records of each patient: Results of a patient’s physical examination, specifically noting the absence of abnormality. Patient history, a list of all medications…
The May 2009 edition of the Tennessee Trial Law Report should be arriving in the mailboxes of our subscribers on Monday May 4. The Tennessee Trial Law Report is the only newsletter in Tennessee written to meet the complete needs of the tort law practitioner. This edition includes a summary…
If you are breathing and can read, you know that Chrysler has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. I am not a bankruptcy lawyer. I am not a corporate lawyer. But the filing has some immediate consequences readily apparent to the reasonably prudent tort lawyer. 1. Pending Cases. All tort…
A Virginia trial judge refused to allow a podiatrist to give causation testimony in a FELA case where a railroad worker alleged his foot problems were caused by conditions in the workplace. The Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Here is the wording of the assignment of error that…
A heartfelt thanks to Lexmonitor, a daily review of law blogs and journals, for these kind words about my post discussing testimony by podiatrists. Tennessee injury lawyer John Day has been blogging for years, and his posts display a keen knowledge of what makes a blog consistently readable and valuable to…
Economists in personal injury cases and wrongful death cases often consider work life expectancy tables in calculating future economic losses. As explained on this website, "[m]any laypersons (and some experts) assume that [worklife expectancy] is the number of years until the person turns 65, the historic age for full social security…
The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued an opinion upholding the admissibility of an medical doctor’s opinion on causation based on application of traditional differential diagnosis theory. In Best v. Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc., (No. 08-5924) , _ F.3d _ (6th Cir. April 16, 2009) the court reversed…
According to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the Chamber of Commerce is going to start running short films before feature films in movie theaters in the Washington, D.C,area. The films "tell a story of supposed “Lawsuit Abuse” — cases in which people were allegedly dragged into the legal system…