The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that a minor can sue to recover medical expenses paid to treat injuries received by the minor as a result of the negligence of another. Although most of us (at least those of us who represent plaintiffs) have thought this was probably the…
Almost everyone knows that Millberg, Weiss, at one time the country’s leading class action law firm, has been indicted. The allegation is that the firm paid plaintiffs be serve as class representatives. I have followed the story for several years but this article in Fortune (and posted on money.cnn.com) caught my…
Chris Nearn correctly pointed out that my post Saturday had incorrect dates for programs in Memphis and Nashville. I don’t know how I messed that up. Thanks Chris. Here is a corrected post. Thursday and Friday I was in Chattanooga for the first Justice Programs seminar of the year. We…
The Georgia Supreme Court was confronted with this question: "In what circumstances, if any, is evidence of a nurse’s failure to pass a licensing examination admissible in a medical malpractice action against the employing physician?" Plaintiffs’ son Luke was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis resulting in brain damage and quadriplegia. Plaintiffs claimed…
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion yesterday in the Abbott v. Blount County, Tennessee case. In an opinion by now retired Justice Al Birch, the Court made it crystal clear that an insurance company could not require a plaintiff to get approval of plaintiff’s health insurance company before settling a personal…
Well, I was wrong about the identity of the person who sent me the t-shirt. It turns out it was a lawyer from Tennessee, a regular reader who is an ND fan (but not an ND grad). Thanks again.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected the notion of a locality rule for lawyers in legal malpractice cases. In Chapman v. Bearfield, No. E2004-02596-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. S. C., November 6, 2006), the Court said that "a single, statewide professional standard of care exists for attorneys practicing in Tennessee and that expert…
The Florida Supreme Court has released an important decision on testimony by expert witnesses. Plaintiff’s counsel sought an order prohibiting a defendant’s expert from testifying that he relied on consultations with colleagues or other experts in forming his opinions. The Florida high court said "that such testimony is inadmissible because…
No, I’m not dead, just a little tired. I have been in Cincinnati the last two days, preparing a witness one day and attending his deposition on the second day. I did not get home until 8:15 last night and am feeling the effects of spending two long days on the…
Here is another blog on tort reform. The introduction: "Tort reform” has become a staple of Republican politics. Limits on lawsuits are offered as a solution to everything from the health care crisis and economic stagnation to America’s moral decline. Americans overwhelmingly believe that the nation is awash in frivolous…