Many Americans are frustrated by the our health care system but quickly declare it to be the best in the world. A new study challenges that belief, pointing out that "the U.S. spends twice per capita what other major industrialized countries spend on health care, and costs continue to rise…
Day on Torts
When the Defendant Admits Liability
Smart defense counsel admit liability in cases where liability cannot seriously be questioned. What will defense counsel do to hold the damages number down? Read about the strategy of one defense lawyer in this article – Defending the Damages-Only Case. The article is published in the Winter 2008 edition of Federation…
Ohio Supreme Court Addresses Damages Issue in Legal Malpractice Cases
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a plaintiff in a legal malpractice case must prove the collectibility of damages in "the case within the case" to recover them from a negligent lawyer. In doing so, it specifically rejected the notion that the defendant lawyer must prove the lack of…
Fascinating Opinion out of Kentucky
The Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled that a product manufacturer "should be estopped as a matter of law from relying on the statute of limitations by virtue of its fraudulent concealment of defects associated with its product." Plaintiffs claimed that they were injured by a defective voltage meter. The…
Off Topic – White House Error
This post has nothing to do with torts. How is it possible that the White House, which has direct access to and hopefully control over the State Department, the Defense Department, the CIA, the NSA, and host of other agencies, possibly rely on a Web site called Encyclopedia of World Biography…
“The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America”
AAJ has released a report titled "The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America." Read it here. The list: 1. Allstate 2. Unum 3. AIG 4. State Farm 5. Conseco 6. Wellpoint 7. Farmers 8. United Health 9. Torchmark 10. Liberty Mutual
Back to Music City
I spent the last week at Rosemary Beach, Florida with my family. I took a week off from blogging and virtually everything else and did nothing. Let the blogging begin! Here is a Tort Law Tibit from June of 2005: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is available, free…
SVMIC Files 2007 Annual Report
State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company , the doctor-owned medical malpractice insurance carrier, continues to enjoy profitability, according to my review of its 2007 Annual Report that was recently filed with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. A few highlights: * Surplus, the insurance industry equivalent of net worth, increased…
Tort Law Tibit – Negligence Per Se
What is the name of the case that tells us that violation of a statute is negligence per se? Cook By and Through Uithoven v. Spinnaker’s of Rivergate, 878 S.W.2d 934, 937 (Tenn. 1994). What about the violation of a regulation? Long by Cotton v. Brookside Manor, 885 S.W.2d 70,…
Tennessee Ranked #1 – Business Litigation Climate
Tortsprof Blog has been kind enough to let us know that Directorship has released its second annual Boardroom Guide to State Litigation Climates. According to the Guide: Directorship’s Best and Worst States for Business The 10 Best 1. Tennessee 2. Utah 3. Indiana 4. Ohio 5. North Dakota 6. North…