The Civil Rules Commission in Tennessee has proposed to change Rule 8 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and require a plaintiff to state an ad damnum. Under current law, a plaintiff probably must state an ad damnum at some point, except in medical negligence cases. Why do I…
When you can’t prove a current injury but can prove that, because of the fault of another, you need to be regularly followed by a health care provider you seek damages for “medical monitoring.” The claim arises is toxic tort and products liability cases. In a case of first impression,…
A spokesman for Merck announced today that its scientists have discovered a link between between recent hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico and the lawyers that are suing the company over its multi-billion dollar drug, Vioxx. “The scientists have Merck have determined that greedy trial lawyers are the cause…
How can some members of the Republican Party take a national disaster and turn it into a windfall for corporate America? No-bid contracts for companies working to clean up the mess caused by Katrina? Of course, but there is more. Eliminate the need to pay the prevailing wage? Sure. How…
A defendant in a product liability case cannot introduce proof of the absence of other claims unless strict guidelines are met, according to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiff’s lawyer “argued that there was no foundation for such testimony because [defendant’s] engineer had admitted in his deposition that…
The NYT has a great article today about the issue of conflicts between physicians and the medical device industry. The information about the cost of medical devices and the disparity between the costs of the devices at different hospitials is shocking.
A recent poll indicates that many Americans think that they are being “overtreated” by their doctors. An article describing the poll results says that “[n]early three-quarters (72%) of U.S. adults think that patients who have medical conditions experience problems because of being overtreated (i.e., getting too many treatments or getting…
Are you one of those people who say that politics doesn’t matter to you or your practice? Do you refuse to get involved in political campaigns? Do you “just say no” to a request for a political contribution? Well, those who want to take away the rights of your clients…
Read this nice article about Chris Seeger, lead trial counsel in the New Jersey Vioxx trial. I have known Chris for 10 years or so – he is a great guy with a passion for what he does. He will give Merck one heck of a fight.
A recent article reports that certain minivans get a failing grade in crash tests designed to check likelihood of neck injuries in rear-end collisions. “Earning poor overall ratings were seven models subjected to a simulated crash: versions of the 2004-2006 model years of the Dodge Grand Caravan and its corporate…