Day on Torts

The American College of Emergency Physicians has released a new clinical policy called  "Clinical Policy: Neuroimaging and Decisionmaking in Adult Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the Acute Setting." 

I grew up in Spencer, Wisconsin, a village of about 1000 (less in the 1960 census, more in the 1970 census) in North Central Wisconsin.  The closest city was Marshfield, at eight miles to the south on Highway 13,  which at the time had about 15,000 people, a J.C. Penny store,  a mail order-only Sears…

I admit it:  I am a fan of the Wall Street Journal.  I have read it almost every week day since I was 19, and actually got chill bumps when they started a Saturday edition a couple of years ago.  The editorial page makes me mad as hell every morning, but quite…

I heard a rumor that the appeal in Hill v. NHC Healthcare/Nashville,LLC, M2005-01818-COA-R30-CV, (Tenn. Ct. App. April 30, 2008) (Rule 11 granted Aug. 25, 2008) has been dismissed. This important opinion held that the defendant nursing home’s arbitration clause was unconscionable as a matter of law.  The hope was that this…

How do you impeach by contradiction? The Federal Evidence Review Blog has a fine summary of a recent case from the Third Circuit that provides a “textbook example” of how one sets up an impeachment by contradiction and how the impeachment evidence comes before the jury even though it is not…

The American Bar Association has a nice paper titled "The Top Ten Malpractice Traps and How to Avoid Them."  The paper is excerpted from  "Desk Guide Legal Malpractice."  Not all of the "traps" are applicable to those who do tort work on a full-time basis, but there is a lot…

Evan Schaeffer from St. Louis has two blogs, The Legal Underground and The Trial Practice Tips Weblog.  He has written three posts on the latter titled "15 Ways to Ruin a Deposition."  Here is his latest and last post (Part 3) on the subject.   Here is a link to Part 1…

Here is a list of the peanut and peanut butter products that have been recalled.

The February 18, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about fires in the operating room, which happen approximately 650 times per year in the United States.  A sample:  "Because each member of the [surgical]  team may be focusing on his own role in a procedure,…

Tort lawyers have been carefully watching the tobacco lawsuit against Phillip Morris which arose out of the death of 55-year old Stuart Hess.  The Florida jury imposed liability several days ago and earlier today awarded $3M in compensatory damages and $5M in punitive damages.  Read more here.