Consumer Law

U.S. Civil Justice in Free Fall

Posted on October 14, 2010
The 30-year mission of corporate America to weaken the U.S. civil justice system - with ?tort reform? like contingency fee limits, mandatory binding arbitration and other proposals to force people into alterative compensation systems (which we have criticized specifically for...

Struggling Underground in New York City

Posted on October 13, 2010
David Letterman once said, ?Everyone has this sense of togetherness right now. For example, one guy on the subway today, he wanted to share my pants.? If you are a New York City subway rider, you know that sometimes after...

State Attorneys General Come Out Swingin?

Posted on October 12, 2010
Super duper shout out today to the New York Times and their knockout front page business section story called (in the print edition, at least), The States vs. Wall St. It?s all about how state Attorneys General, like Ohio?s Richard...

Supreme Court Hears Case About Vaccine Court and its Failures

Posted on October 12, 2010
In the early 1980s, parents across the nation began filing lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers and health care providers after their children suffered harmful side effects from the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine. Pharmaceutical companies responded with a threat ? they...

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Medical Malpractice in Illinois: Is the Chicago Tribune On a New Path?

Posted on October 08, 2010
When it comes to the Chicago Tribune?s historical take on patients? legal rights, it?s been like sitting through ad nauseam versions of the 1999 flick 10 Things I Hate About You. Their editorials over several years have repeatedly endorsed draconian....

Where Fred Phelps Belongs

Posted on October 07, 2010
You may have heard about the very serious case argued yesterday before the U.S. Supreme Court. It stems from a jury verdict won by Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq, against the hateful loon Fred Phelps...

Justice Brennan and Tort Reform?

Posted on October 05, 2010
There?s a new book out about the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, called Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion. It was written by former Wall Street Journal reporter Stephen Wermiel and Seth Stern. The story behind the publishing of the...

Feinberg on 60 Minutes ? Confusing BP With 9/11

Posted on October 04, 2010
Last night, 60 Minutes profiled Ken Feinberg, who was hired by BP to administer the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). As the piece tried to point out, despite promises of a quick, fair and generous process, Feinberg?s system has been...

Not a Banner Week for Poor, Sick Children

Posted on October 01, 2010
First of all, a child nutrition bill, which was a ?pet project of first lady Michelle Obama? has been punted to after the November midterm elections. Politico reports, ?At the root of the impasse: a proposed $2.2 billion cut in...

The 9/11 Political Football Makes a Field Goal

Posted on September 30, 2010
But no touchdown yet. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed a bill to aid sick 9/11 clean up workers who selflessly devoted days, weeks and months on the pile at Ground Zero ? and are dying for it....

Suing for Justice in Schools

Posted on September 29, 2010
At the PopTort, we love finding fissures in the conservative movement and its generally disparaging views about the civil justice system. For example, we did a blog recently called ?Conservatives Who Sue? and we are beyond impressed with some very...

Suing Newspapers

Posted on September 28, 2010
Ya know, celebrities aren?t the only ones who sue newspapers. I know it might seem that way if you follow the news. For example, you might have heard (since it was all over the press yesterday) that David Beckham just...

Avandia?s Legal Settlement Saves Lives

Posted on September 24, 2010
There?s isn?t too much to add to the news yesterday about Avandia, the dangerous diabetes drug, the sales of which the FDA finally restricted in the United States ? and Europe suspended entirely - except to note again the important...

The Courts Are Actively Ruling on Katrina Cases (In Case Anyone's Paying Attention)

Posted on September 23, 2010
Who here remembers Comedy Central?s early 90?s John Stewart-hosted show, Short Attention Span Theater? No, me neither, but I can think of a few issues today that would make great segments. A few days ago, we featured a piece from...

Medical Malpractice ? Over and Over Again

Posted on September 22, 2010
U.S. House Republicans are set to announce ?their long-awaited governing agenda on Thursday at an event at a hardware store in Sterling, Va." Congressional Quarterly?s Health Beat had an article earlier this week (not linkable, sorry about that), which began:...

Ortho Evra Patch Makes Today Show Appearance - And it Ain't Pretty

Posted on September 22, 2010
Kudos to the Today Show for their investigative piece today on Johnson & Johnson?s dangerous Ortho Evra birth control patch, which significantly increases the risks of blood clots and strokes in women. It?s as if The Bitterest Pill, the Center...

Congressional Stalls

Posted on September 20, 2010
The last time we remember anyone talking about Congress and stalls in the same sentence, the topic was the men?s room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and a certain "wide stance" Senator. Ah, those were the days. Now, the...

Michael Jackson, BP and Wrongful Death

Posted on September 16, 2010
One magnificent thing about our civil justice system is that, whether you are rich and famous (like actor James Woods, or Michael Jackson?s family here, here) or the poorest and most vulnerable among us, you are allowed to challenge the...

B is for Bastards and Other Hot News

Posted on September 15, 2010
Lots of interesting non-election stuff in the news, too! Here?s a little review: Reuters reports, ?A new survey of primary care practices in North Carolina shows nearly one in six patients believed their physician had made a wrong diagnosis or...

Workers' Comp in Washington State - I-1082 Will Raise Costs and Reduce Benefits

Posted on September 14, 2010
If anyone had any doubt that smart government can really work - incredibly well, in fact - one need only look so far as Washington State and its phenomenally efficient workers compensations system. Believe it or not, it is one...

For Profit C-Sections. What's Next?

Posted on September 13, 2010
Former John Waters-muse turned talk show host turned home birth advocate Ricki Lake produced a documentary a few years ago called The Business of Being Born, which, among other things, covers the ever-increasing C-Section birth rate in this country. I...

Another Media-Driven Fiction - Medical Malpractice Liability Costs

Posted on September 10, 2010
There?s an article in the Christian Science Monitor called, ?Could the media have ignored Terry Jones and his Koran-burning plan?? A lot of people have been asking this question, examining the responsibility of those in positions of public trust to...

Trusting BP, Feinberg and ?CYA? Reports

Posted on September 08, 2010
Really, who should be too surprised by BP?s internal report, released today, that ?deflects attention away from BP and back onto its contractors" Transocean and Halliburton, and ?tries to undermine the notion that the company acted with gross negligence?? It...

A Mad Men Labor Day Lament ? Some Things Never Change

Posted on September 06, 2010
Oh yes, we?re back! And just in time for a brilliant Mad Men episode that some are calling among the best ever. In honor of Labor Day, we?d like to recognize SCDP copywriter Peggy Olsen for her excruciating journey down...

The PopTort is Away On Special Assignment

Posted on August 14, 2010
It's that point in the summer again! ThePopTort must go away once more on special assignment. As in the past, the exact nature of our work must remain classified - for now. But rest assured, know that we?ll be back...

BP?s Blast from the Past ? And the Hits Keep Coming

Posted on August 13, 2010
Americans grew pretty angry with BP this year, which is perhaps the most obvious statement ever. But for Texans, anger at BP stretches way back ? and forward, and at this point, there seems to be no end in sight....

Mastectomies, Rental Cars, BP, Discrimination, Drugs - and Other News

Posted on August 12, 2010
In no particular order, here are five good stories (good as in ?worse is better?) today relating to things we?ve been covering: Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center has settled with a woman who had a double mastectomy when she never...

Medical Malpractice: We Told You So, Part Deux

Posted on August 10, 2010
If you happen to be a fan of both ThePopTort and country music, today we begin with apologies because by now, you probably can?t get that Randy Travis/Carrie Underwood song ?I Told You So? out of your head (especially after...

Medical Malpractice: Hate to Say We Told You So

Posted on August 09, 2010
You know those people who always need to rub it in? I hate those people. But today looks like I?m one of them. Yikes! (Sorry.) The medical and insurance lobbies (and their political allies) have a pretty standard refrain about...

Spin, Sweat and Tone at Your Own Risk

Posted on August 06, 2010
Check out the web site for Powerhouse Gym, the self-described ?fastest growing gym licensing organization in the world ? distinguished by our unsurpassed motivating atmosphere, knowledgeable staff and premier exercise equipment, which supports our members in meeting their individual fitness...

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