The United States Supreme Court denied cert in Flax v. DaimlerChrysler Corporation, the products liability, punitive damages, and negligent infliction of the emotional distress case decided by the Tennessee Supreme Court last year. Here is my post from last July on the decision by the Tennessee court.
Day on Torts
Unusual Incident Reporting in Tennessee
Last year I wrote about the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance’s 2008 Medical Malpractice Claims Report. The report revealed data from medical malpractice cases settled and tried in Tennessee in calendar year 2007. The numbers: Total judgments for plaintiffs 2007 7 Total settlements 2007 492 Cases Dismissed With No Payment 2007 2238 …
Helping Your Clients Understand Ad Damnum Provisions
"I’ve got a $1,000,000 lawsuit." No – you have a lawsuit with a $1,000,000 ad damnum. There is a huge difference between the two. Tennessee law requires an ad damnum in all cases except medical malpractice cases. An ad damnum must be stated in the initial complaint only in products liability…
“Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Pulmonary Embolism”
On Tuesday I posted David B. Troxel, MD’s article in The Doctor’s Advocate about VTE. Today, I include another article by the same doctor – this one about diagnosis and treatment of PE. Here it is.
Are iPhones the Standard of Care?
To be precise, I am not talking about iPhones. I am talking about the apps for iPhones. There are hundreds and hundreds of iPhone apps for health care providers that permit one to help formulate a differential diagnosis, check for drug-drug interactions, or identify medications. So, does the standard of…
“Venous Thromboembolism–Risk Factors, Prevention, and Diagnosis”
David B. Troxel, MD of the Doctors Company has written a great article about VTE inThe Doctor’s Advocate.. The article reviews the risk factors for VTE, the prevention of VTE, and the diagnosis of DVT and includes a reference to the American College of Chest Physicians’ guidelines. Read here –…
Counting Blessings
Last night at about 10:45 EDT I had to occasion to start counting blessings. My advancing age means I do this more and more, and it also causes me to realize that I should have counted those blessings more frequently in years past . I will tell you what gave rise to the time for reflection in…
Federal Rule of Evidence 502
On September 28, 2008 FRE 502 become applicable in federal court. The rule provides that under certain circumstances the disclosure of attorney-client material and work product material does not constitute a waiver. Read the full rule here. Federal Evidence Review is a great resource for infromation about this rule. Click…
Tort Cases From the Past – Palsgraf
Last Monday I referred to the Palsgraf opinion and took the opportunity to re-read it. I suggest you do the same. The dispute between Justice Cardozo and Justice Andrews lives on. Read this and tell me who could have written the exact same words almost 100 years later: The proposition…
Sanctions for Spoliation in Federal Court
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled that federal law applies to determination what sanctions should be available for relief of spoiled evidence in federal question cases. The en banc decision reversed precedent and brought the circuit in line with other appellate courts. An excerpt: …