Some of you read a recent article in the Tennessee Bar Journal about a project that I am working on concerning board certification for lawyers. Unfortunately, the title of the article, “Changes would allow litigators with fewer jury trials to be certified ‘civil trial specialist,” has caused concern for those…
An appellate court in California reversed a jury verdict because of a trial court’s refusal to instruct the jury pursuant to the federal standard of care requiring “extreme care” as opposed to the reasonable care standard. The appellate court held that this was prejudicial error requiring a remand for a…
Plaintiff filed a medical negligence lawsuit. She enjoyed an occasional joint, before and after her injury. At trial, the defendant called four witnesses to say that the use of pot could affect a doctor’s treatment of her. None testified that it did affect treatment. The jury returned a verdict for…
There is no decision yet in the Calloway case. Until there is, it may be wise to assume that the three-year statute of repose in medical negligence cases trumps the rights of minors. I will let you know as soon as I hear something on this important case.
Washington voters this week rejected two competing measures related to medical malpractice. The first, supported by doctors, hospitals, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, would have capped awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases, and also would have stated that doctors can refuse to serve patients if they do not…
Tort cases are a rare commodity in the SCOTUS (Thank God) but one was argued earlier this week. A woman tripped on packages and other matters left on her porch (rather than in her mailbox) by the Post Office and and brought suit under the FTCA. The issue is “whether…
Today I am off to Chattanooga for two days of a seminar sponsored by Justice Programs. The 15-credit hour seminar (which includes 3 E & P hours) is designed for lawyers who practice civil litigation. The seminar will also be held in Knoxville on November 17 and 18 and in…
It is 1 to 1 and we now move to federal court for round 3 in the Vioxx wars. The first federal trial is in Houston, where Jere Beasley from Alabama will serve as lead counsel for the plaintiffs and Phil Beck from Chicago will serve as lead counsel for…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has granted a Rule 11 application in Johnson v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Ins. Co. With this case, the Tennessee Supreme Court will decide whether the tort of “bad faith” exists is Tennessee. Judge Inman’s decision in this case renders the tort virtually meaningless. It requires almost…
Plaintiff’s lawyers don’t really do legal research, do they? Only the plaintiff’s lawyers who want to win. If you don’t know the law it is difficult to make intelligent case selection decisions. There is nothing wrong with pushing the envelope, but you need to know you are pushing the envelope…