The President’s daughter Jenna has written a book that she "very, very modestly" hopes will have the influence of Anne Frank’s The Diary of Anne Frank. Like Jenna, I too find myself tightly bound by humility. Her willingness to reveal her hopes despite her extreme modesty compel me to reveal one of my…
Day on Torts
A Telling Comment
Here is an article that talks about the negotiations concerning the med mal legislation currently pending in the General Assembly. This excerpt tells it all: ""Basically [the potential compromise] was done between the legislators themselves representing probably both sides of the interests," Miller [VP of the TMA] said. "One of…
SVMIC 2006 Annual Report Filed
State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company , the doctor-owned medical malpractice insurance carrier, continues to enjoy profitability, according to my review of its 2006 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 $33,000,000…
Vioxx Status
Vioxx is back in the news. Merck won one and lost one in New Jersey and is on trial in Illinois. In New Jersey, the jury condemned the pre- April 2002 label but approved the label issued that month. The verdict was under New Jersey’s consumer law fraud, which has…
Op- Ed Piece
The Tennessean published an op-ed piece I wrote today. Read it here.
As the Med Mal Bill Comes Up – A Reminder
The bill to limit health care provider’s responsibility for their errors comes up in Senate Judiciary tomorrow afternoon. Here is a list of some recent posts on the issue: "The Great Medical Malpractice Hoax" Another Aspect of the Big Lie Top Ten Medical Malpractice Verdicts – 2000-2005 More on the…
Rules of Civil Procedure Amended
The Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure have been amended. The amendments are effective on July 1, 2007. See the amendments here. The two most significant changes are to Rule 15 and Rule 56. Rule 15.01 has been amended to add the following language: "For amendments adding defendants pursuant to Tenn.…
Attorney Liability For Distribution of Monies
This South Carolina case reminds us of our responsibilities when receive money on behalf of a client and are aware that a portion of the proceeds have been assigned to a third party. The Court found that the lawyer was aware of the assignment and went on to say as…
A Way to Reduce The Number of Lawsuits?
Texas has a rule that permits presuit depositions to be taken, not just be preserve testimony but also to do discovery to determine the merits of a claim before filing suit. Professor Lonny Hoffman has written about the subject. Here is an abstract of the article: "What is the relationship…
Evaluating Cases Against ERs
Part of the case evaluation process is a review of appropriate literature. A literature review is not enough – you still need as expert to testify that the protocols set forth in any given piece of literature represent the standard of care. But the existence of literature on point can…