Do you have a smoking gun not covered by a protective order? The folks at Slate want it. Read about it here.
E-Filing In Our Appellate Courts?
The Tennessee appellate courts have a proposed rule about electronic filing that has been released for public comment. Read about it here.
Plaintiff Loses Retrial of Federal Court Vioxx Trial
The jury returned a verdict for the defendant today in the retrial of the first federal court Vioxx trial.
A mistrial was declared the first time the case was tried. This time a New Orleans jury went for the defendant.
The lawyer for the plaintiff said that “the biggest problem was Judge Eldon Fallon’s ruling, shortly before the trial, that two of their experts — a cardiologist and a pathologist — could not testify that Vioxx was to blame for Irvin’s heart attack. They were experts in their fields, but not about Vioxx, the judge ruled.”
Legal Malpractice Claims Increasing
What we think is happening is happening: there is an increase in the number of cases filed against lawyers. Read this article from the Chicago Tribune to learn more.
Admissibililty of Hearsay from Consulting Doctor
Can a defendant doctor testify about what he was told by a consulting doctor? No, according to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
The court held that the statement of the consultant (who received his information about the patient over the telephone from the defendant) was hearsay and that it did not meet the requirements of the 803(4) exception because it did not have “circumstantial guarntees of trustworthiness.” The court explained it this way: “We believe there to be a fundamental difference between statements describing a patient’s condition, symptoms, or history made for the purpose of fostering treatment, and statements made by a consulting physician with no personal knowledge of the patient’s condition or history. Although made for the purposes of medical diagnosis and treatment, such latter statements lack the guarantees of trustworthiness inherent in the former.”
Read the entire opinion here.
Tort Reform in Georgia
Here is the full text of a press release from AARP in Georgia:
“ATLANTA – A full year after Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law some of the nation’s most severe changes to the state’s court system – stripping average Georgia families of their Constitutional right to access the justice system – liability insurance rates for the state’s physicians continue to climb.
According to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, five medical malpractice insurance companies filed requests to increase physicians’ premiums over the past 12 months. In fact, First Professionals Insurance moved to hike physician’s premiums just two days after Governor Perdue’s bill signing ceremony at Northside Hospital. Other companies include G.E. Medical Protective, State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company, Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi and Medical Mutual Insurance Company of North Carolina.
Georgia Supreme Court Court Declares Medical Malpractice Venue Statute Unconstitutional
The Georgia Supreme Court eliminated a key portion of an act passed by the Georgia Legislature in 2003 that changed the law of venue in medical malpractice cases.
The Georgia Constitution includes a provision about venue in multi-torfeasor cases; the Court found that a portion of the tort reform statute violated that provision. Read the opinion here.
Hospital and Doctor Assault on Patient Rights Starts Today
Today the health care industry in Tennessee launches its assault on the rights of malpractice victims. More tomorrow.
Sunday Spoof onTuesday – Cheney Given Award by NAW
The National Association of Wrongdoers (“NAW”) gave Vice President Cheney its “Sharpshooter Award” last night at its annual convention. The theme of the meeting, held at the Ritz Carlton in Bermuda, was “Invest in America.”
The Sharpshooter Award is given as appropriate to the American citizen who best demonstrates the characteristics of Aaron Burr.
Charles Winthrop Hamilton VI, President of NAW and CEO,COO,CFO and President of American International Metals, Inc., LLC (“AIM”) commented that the Vice President had achieved great success in American politics and was viewed as a “hawk” by the world despite the fact that he refused to serve in the military himself. “This is a real stroke of genuis,” Mr. Hamilton remarked. “If the Vice President had brought these skills to Madison Avenue rather than Pennsylvania Avenue we would all be drinking New Coke. A man who can successfully attack the patriotism of John Kerry and Max Cleland while bearing more student deferments than Abby Hoffman has got a real gift.”
Cheap Shot
The manufacturers and others supporting a federal asbestos bill want it bad – so bad that they think it is appropriate to engage in conduct like this.
The sponsors of this site obviously do not let truth get in the way of their position. For example, they make this point in talking about opponents to the federal legislation: “Patrick Leahy (Vermont) $704,854 received from lawyers and lobbyists in the last election cycle. The lawyers and lobbyists were his largest contributors.”
Senator Leahy supports the legislation.