Day on Torts

Here is an interesting article published in a Memphis newspaper.

It’s toy time in Tennessee – and all around the nation. This report is the 20th Annual Toy Survey that advises us about toys that present a risk to children. Here is the Executive Summary. And here is summary list of the toys that present a potential hazard.

Next week is the last seminar of the year offered by Justice Programs, a creation of former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White, former Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joy Riley and yours truly. We will be in downtown Memphis at the Doubletree Hotel on December 1 and 2. We…

Here is what purports to be talking points concerning tort reform for Republicans. A sampling: “America has far too many frivolous lawsuits, absurd jury awards and outrageous plaintiffs’ lawyers. They wreck small businesses, damage the economy, punish consumers, deprive Americans of essential healthcare and cost all of us a lot…

Fresh off the heels of a recent loss, Chris Seeger and his team are gearing up for more Vioxx cases state court in New Jersey. The judge has decided that one of seven cases will be tried starting January 30, 2006. Each of the cases are on behalf of a…

Kaiser Permanente is advancing the cause of patient safety by using a “Preoperative Safety Briefing” similar in concept to preflight checklists used in the airline industry. A one-page checklist was developed and used for the project. In a six-month trial project wrong site surgeries were eliminated (there had been three…

The New Jersey Supreme Court has held that a plaintiff is entitled to a res ipsa instruction in an case in which an automatic door unexpectantly closed and caused injury. Because of that determination, the plaintiff was entitled to get by a summary judgment motion and have a jury decide…

I was speaking at a seminar in Knoxville Friday and someone asked me that question. I was a little taken aback, and then remembered that Evan Schaeffer of Legal Underground faced the same issue recently. The answer is an unambigious “Yes” but I guess some explanation is necessary. I have…

The Court of Appeals of Washington has ordered a new trial in a criminal case in which the State admited into evidence computer-generated simulation evidence using Version 6.2 of a program called PC-CRASH to prove that defendant had been the driver of the vehicle involved in the wreck. The Court…

Regular readers will remember that several weeks ago I wrote about the opinion by Judge Jack in a group of silicosis cases pending in Texas. At the time I wrote “this story will not and should not die.” Well, it has not died. The business community has grabbed this bull…