Personal Injury Law

Rule Change in State Court - Service of Pleadings and Papers By Electronic Mail

Posted on March 22, 2010
Effective July 1, 2010 a party to a litigation may serve papers in Adobe PDF format via electronic mail to the attorney's email address.  The process is a little more cumbersome than it need be, but it is a step-forward toward increasing the efficiency of law practice and reducing cost...

Georgia Supreme Court Strikes Down Damages Cap in Medical Malpractice Cases

Posted on March 22, 2010
  The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, declaring the cap to be a violation of the right to trial by jury.   The case is Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt,  NO...

"Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter" Statistics - Part 2

Posted on March 18, 2010
As I mentioned in last Tuesday's post, Shannon Ragland of the Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter has graciously agreed to permit me to share some of the information he has gathered concerning jury trials in Tennessee. This multi-part series will discuss some of the data contained in Shannon's 359-page report...

Motions To Strike Insufficient Affirmative Defenses

Posted on March 17, 2010
I have had several lawyers ask me to post our most recent work in the area of filing motions to strike insufficient affirmative defenses in comparative fault cases. I have been filing these motions since 1992.   A defendant has an obligation to follow Rule 8...

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Form Protective Order For Use in Products Liability Case

Posted on March 15, 2010
Tim Edwards of Memphis has kindly shared a protective order in a products liability case.

More Proof that the Big Lie is a Big Lie: Medical Malpractice Payments Continue to Fall

Posted on March 12, 2010
The following comes to us from an article written by Chelsey Ledue, Associate Editor of Healthcare Finance News: Fewer medical malpractice payments were made on behalf of doctors in 2009 than any year on record, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank...

SCOTUS Will Hear Vaccine Case

Posted on March 11, 2010
The United States Supreme Court has decided to hear Bruesewitz v. Wyeth,  a case where the Bruesewitz family says there should be legal recourse beyond the administrative process set up by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.  The minor plaintiff suffered seizures two hours after receiving her six-month DPT vaccine in 1992...

Helpful Checklist for Determining Whether A Person is an Independent Contractor or an Employee

Posted on March 10, 2010
I received an unsolicited (but not unwanted) email from the Baker Donelson law firm titled "20 Ways Your Independent Contractor Might Be an Employee."  The purpose of the email was to warn recipients about ongoing IRS employment tax audits in general and the worker classification issue (are workers employees or independent contractors) in particular...

CA Court Says Witness Interviews Not Privileged Work Product

Posted on March 09, 2010
The March 8, 2010 edition of the Daily Recorder reports that a divided California appellate court has ruled that witness statements recorded or taken in writing by attorneys or their representatives aren't privileged work product and, therefore, are open to discovery...

"Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter" Statistics - Part 1

Posted on March 09, 2010
Shannon Ragdale of the Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter has graciously agreed to permit me to share some of the information he has gathered concerning jury trials in Tennessee. It is fair to say that Shannon has the most comprehensive collection of jury verdict information in the state...

The Rule of Completeness

Posted on March 07, 2010
 http://federalevidence.com/blog/2010/february/partys-burden-invoking-rule-completeness-under-fre-106

Death of Howard Twiggs, Trial Lawyer

Posted on March 06, 2010
Former ATLA President Howard Twiggs has died.   Funeral services are today.  Howard has been a friend for over 25 years and was a leader in the plaintiff's trial bar and his community. I first met Howard at a NCATL seminar in Chapel Hill, NC when I was still a law student...

The Tort Reform Movement - Naked

Posted on March 05, 2010
I read Andrew Cohen's article in the Atlantic (Tort Reform is Anti-Democratic (And Ingeniously Marketed)) and thought I would summarize it for your convenience.  Then I discovered that Philip Thomas had already done so, and quickly determined that he did a better job than I would have done...

Online Accident Reports

Posted on March 04, 2010
Getting motor vehicle accident reports is a hassle, but is appears that it will be getting easier. BuyCrash.com makes accident reports from Georgia, Indiana, and Kentucky  available for purchase over the Internet.  Accident reports from Tennessee will be available in the future...

Younger's 10 Commandments of Cross Examination

Posted on March 03, 2010
Some of you are a little young to remember Irving Younger, the great trial advocacy teacher.  Professor Younger developed the "10 Commandments of Cross Examination" that were taught in trial advocacy programs across the country for many, many years...

Lawyer Speaks Out About Allstate Insurance Company

Posted on March 02, 2010
 Trey Mills is angry at Allstate.  He explains why on his South Carolina Injury Law Journal blog.  

Tips for Managing Witnesses

Posted on March 01, 2010
Winning Trial Advocacy Tips is one of the best blogs for trial lawyers in the entire blogosphere.  Elliott Wilcox repeatedly delivers useful, timely information of interest to those of us who try cases.  I encourage you to add it to your regular reading list...

Patient Rights and Health Care Reform

Posted on February 25, 2010
Will the President sacrifice the rights of patients injured by medical malpractice to get Republicans to sign-off on a health care bill? Steven Olsen explains why the President  should not in this article titled "Why Shouldn't Obama Throw Injured Patients Under the Bus to Get Heath Reform?  Ask Steven Olsen...

New Decision on Diversity Jurisdiction

Posted on February 24, 2010
What is the principle place of business for a corporation for purposes of determining whether a federal court has diversity jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1332(c)(1)?   Well, what you thought you knew is no longer the law. The United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the phrase "principal place of business' is best read asreferring to the place where a corporation's officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation's activities...

Secret Settlements Seminar

Posted on February 23, 2010
The American Association for Justice is hosting a teleseminar on March 16, 2010 on the ethics of secrets settlements.   Get more information here.

Hospital Acquired Infections in the News

Posted on February 23, 2010
Two common conditions caused by hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) killed 48,000 people and ramped up health care costs by $8.1 billion in 2006 alone, according to a study released yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Here is an excerpt from a summary of the study as reported at www...

Tennessee Personal Injury Client Advice

Posted on February 22, 2010
The Springfield Injury Law Blog has given us a great post titled "8 Ways to Help Your Personal Injury Lawyer Help Your Case."   Obviously, the post informs personal injury clients how they can help their lawyer obtain a better result in their case...

Federal Rules of Evidence PDF

Posted on February 18, 2010
The Federal Evidence Review has shared a PDF of the current federal rules of evidence.   Only 40 pages in length (20 pages if you print on the front and the back of the page) this PDF is a handy addition to your trial notebook for cases in federal court.

Product Manufacturer Cannot Use Release Against Consumer

Posted on February 15, 2010
This is an interesting decision out of Colorado. Executive Tans operated an upright tanning booth manufactured by Sun Ergoline. Before using the booth, Savannah Boles signed a release form provided by Executive Tans that  said as follows: 'I have read the instructions for proper use of the tanning facilities and do so at my own risk and hereby release the owners, operators, franchiser, or manufacturers, from any damage or harm that I might incur due to use of the facilities...

2009 Medical Malpractice Claims Reports Due March 1, 2010

Posted on February 15, 2010
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance has released the forms for reporting on medical malpractice claims for the 2009 calendar year. The reports are due March 1, 2010. Here are the instructions for filling out forms as a representative of the claimant...

How Much Do ER Patients Pay to Protect Themselves from Malpractice of ER Doctors? You Won't Believe It.

Posted on February 12, 2010
Team Health Holdings, Inc.  is a physician-founded, physician-led outsourced healthcare professionals staffing organizations.  Based in Knoxville, TN, it purports to be "the largest providers of [Emergency Department] staffing and management services in the United States, based upon patient visits and revenue...

Suggested Jury Instructions to Warn Jurors About Accessing the Internet and Social Media

Posted on February 10, 2010
 The Blog of Legal Times advises that the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the United States Judicial Conference has  developed pattern jury  instructions "to address the increasing incidence of juror use of such devices as cellular telephones or computers to conduct research on the Internet or communicate with others about cases,' as explained by  Judge Julie Robinson, committee chair, in a memo to district judges...

Tennessee Jury Trials in Tort Cases by the Numbers

Posted on February 09, 2010
How many tort cases are tried in Tennessee in the last year?   The Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary gives us the answer.   Here is the data for the year ended June 30, 2009: Total jury trials in all tort cases:   260 Total number of medical malpractice trials:  26 Total jury trials in the larger counties: Shelby:   48 Davidson:   65 Knox:    40 Hamilton:   23 Anderson:   8 Rutherford:  8 Sumner:   7 Washington:   6 Sullivan:   6 Hamblen:   6 Coffee:   5 Putnam:  4 Wilson:  4 The discussion of the "vanishing trial" is a reality...

Kentucky Lawyers Sued By Client

Posted on February 08, 2010
A plaintiff in a car accident lawsuit has become a legal malpractice plaintiff. Sharon Langford has sued a law firm with office in Kentucky and Florida and made some very serious allegations.   Basically, she was alleged to seek health care for her injuries from a specific provider and  that there was a business relationship between the provider and the lawyers...

Tennessee Nursing Homes - 5th Worst in United States

Posted on February 04, 2010
Tennessee's nursing homes rank the 5th worst in the United States, according to an analysis done by the Tennessean.    The February 3, 2010 article points out that  [a]bout 15,000 nursing homes nationwide got ratings of one to five stars, with five being the best, from the U...

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