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 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…
The Tennessean published an op-ed piece I wrote today. Read it here.
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
"It’s not personal responsibility I have a problem with. It is the constant threat of litigation that gets to me. And that’s why we need to cap damages in malpractice lawsuits." How many times have you heard some member of the health care industry say that? I guess that the…
SVMIC, the well-managed, physician-owned liability insurance company that insures an estimated 90% of the doctors in the state, publishes a newsletter called "Riskpoints." It is available on their website. The Fall 2006 edition of the newsletter (article in on Page 2 of the newsletter). listed the top ten jury verdicts…