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.
Liability insurance companies make money in two major ways. First, they make money on the insurance product – doing good underwriting, setting appropriate rates, and properly managing claims. Second, insurance companies make money holding today’s premiums to pay tomorrow’s claims (and claim expenses). That money is invested, and the investment…
Paul Luvera has another great post on his outstanding blog, Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips. A sample: "Focusing on the bad conduct of the defendant shifts the availability bias and causes the defendant to be the subject to the greater weight of scrutiny instead of plaintiff. Start with defendant’s conduct." Enjoy.
It was almost three years ago, February 26, 2006, that this Sunday Spoof first appeared. In the last three years, I have added another daughter and a few pounds. But the effort of doctors to limit their responsibility for harm caused by their negligence continues, as does the fiction that doctors…
State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company’s Winter 2008-09 quarterly newsletter, Risk Points, has an interesting article discussing the diagnosis of appendicitis. This illness occurs in 250,000 people in the United States every year, and the mortality rate increases 500% if the appendix ruptures. A sample from the article: "Thus clinicians should focus on…
It is not uncommon for wrecks involving tractor-trailer rigs to result in serious injury and death. It is also not uncommon for there to be inadequate insurance coverage or other assets to make whole the victims of the trucker’s negligent acts. Thus, it is not uncommon for lawyers who represent…
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported that automobile accidents for the first 10 months of 2008 are down significantly when compared with the same period in 2007. Fatalities are down 10% to a total of 31,110 deaths in the first 10 months in the year. If these numbers…
CNN reports that Roberto Alomar has been sued in New York by his ex-girlfriend, who alleges that he exposed her to the HIV virus by engaging in unprotected sex with her while he was suffering from HIV/AIDS. She has tested negative for the disease. Here is a copy of the…
From time to time I will see a question posted on the trial lawyers’ listserve asking whether Medicare has a subrogation interest in wrongful death proceeds. The answer is "yes," and this opinion helps explain why. Tennessee wrongful death law permits the recovery of medical expenses incurred between the injury…
Today’s USA TODAY includes an interesting article titled "How much ‘truth’ is too much?" written by Rod Dreher. The article addresses the impact of the Roman Catholic Church’s sex abuse sandal on the life of the author, who investigated and wrote about it. Readers who know me know that our firm filed…