The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a homeowner "owed a duty of reasonable care to the plaintiff relative to the storage of firearms kept in her home, to which a mentally unstable and violent person was given unsupervised access." Accordindly, the Court reversed a grant of summary judgment…
The Tennessean reports that the new federal courthouse in Nashville will be named for Senator Frist. The same Senator Frist who has repeated tried to keep medical malpractice victims from being able to access to the civil justice system. The same Senator Frist who, after diagnosising Terry Schaivo via videotape,…
You knew it would happen sooner or later. A same-sex couple in Connecticut has filed a loss of consortium claim in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Connecticut has a civil union statute that gives same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples. Given the state of the law in Tennessee it…
A jury in Texas has returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the first Duragesic pain patch case to go to trial. Plaintiffs alleged that Michaelynn Thompson "died because the Duragesic patch released too much fentanyl, a strong pain reliever, into her body." This article reports that there are 100…
It just makes sense for hospitals and doctors to try to resolve problems with patients before lawyers get involved, and it looks like they are starting to do it. This article from www.law.com explains how facilities are starting to aggressively deal with potential claims and avoid litigation. Look at what…
Here is a great case out of Illinois that reminds us of the importance of asking each fact witness about whether they have made any personal notes concerning the event at issue. In Cangelosi v. Capasso, No. 03–L–392, (Ill. Ct. App, 2nd Dis. June 30, 2006), plaintiff asked that a…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that the three-year statute of limitation applies for emotional distess claims arising out of injury to property "inspired by fraud, malice or like motives." The Trial Court and Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of the claim for emotional injuries because the lawsuit was not…
This was another interesting day at the ATLA Convention. This morning I went to a breakfast featuring Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR). He gave a good talk, not particularly dynamic but very informative and given with obvious conviction. Senator Smith’s remarks included telling us about the relatively recent suicide of his son, a…
I am in Seattle at the ATLA Convention. I arrived here last Thursday. I spent Friday and Saturday doing board work for the National Board of Trial Advocacy and Sunday morning meeting with a group of lawyers on a case that we are working on together. I finally got the…
Here is a list of those starting with the letter "A": AAMA American Architectural Manufacturers Association AAMA American Apparel Manufacturers Association AAMI Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation AAMVA American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators AASHTO American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials AATCC American Association of Textile Chemists…