Personal Injury Law

Baker NYT Editorial: Liability=Responsibility

Posted on July 13, 2009
On Saturday, Tom Baker (Penn) published an op-ed in the NYT on med mal reform. --CJR

AZ: Gov Signs Bill Raising Burden of Proof for ER Physicians

Posted on July 11, 2009
Yesterday, Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law requiring plaintiffs to prove malpractice against ER physicians by clear-and-convincing evidence. The new law takes effect on September 30th. Forbes.com has a brief story here. --CJR

OR: Family of 3-Year-Old Boy, Kaiser Permanente Settle Med Mal Suit

Posted on July 10, 2009
The case caused The Oregonian to investigate the physician involved in 2005; multiple alleged errors were discovered. AboutLawsuits.com has the details.

MI Court: Damages for Caring for Kids Uncapped

Posted on July 09, 2009
A divided Michigan Supreme Court has allowed to stand a ruling that a dead mother's family can sue for $1.4 M for lost household services. The defendants argued the damages were noneconomic and, thus, subject to a damages cap. I...

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Logue on Coordinating Sanctions in Torts

Posted on July 09, 2009
Kyle Logue (Michigan) has posted to SSRN Coordinating Sanctions in Torts. Here is the abstract: This Article begins with the canonical law-and-economics account of tort law as a regulatory tool, that is, as a means of giving regulated parties the...

Palin Threatens Defamation Suits

Posted on July 08, 2009
Jonathan Turley reports that Sarah Palin's lawyer has sent "cease and desist" letters to the Washington Post and other news outlets regarding their reporting on her decision to leave office. Although the letter reportedly threatens a defamation suit, Turley notes...

Foundations of Torts 2d Edition Available

Posted on July 07, 2009
A second edition of Foundations of Torts, co-edited by Saul Levmore (Dean, Chicago) and Cathy Sharkey (NYU), is now available: This is a completely revamped, updated version of the original 1993 edition, and is a valuable resource for torts professors...

Levaquin Suits Designated as Mass Tort in NJ

Posted on July 07, 2009
New Jersey Law Journal (via law.com)reports that the New Jersey Supreme Court has designated the growing litigation over Levaquin, an antibiotic manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, as a mass tort. The case has been assigned to Atlantic County Superior Court...

Products Claim Against Boeing for "Fume Event" Sickness

Posted on July 04, 2009
CNN has the details here. --CJR

Personal Injury Roundup No. 41 (7/03/09)

Posted on July 03, 2009
Happy Fourth of July! Reform, Legislation, Policy Point: Richard Epstein on Medical Malpractice Reform (Olson/Point of Law) Counterpoint: Eric Turkewitz Responds (New York Personal Injury Law Blog) Alberto Bernabe has more here. Trials, Settlement and Other Ends NE: Inmate Kills...

Lay Perceptions of Strict Liability Standards in Mundane Cases

Posted on July 02, 2009
Matthew Kugler (Princeton-Psychology), John Darley (Princeton), Joseph Sanders (Houston), & Lawrence Solan (Brooklyn) have posted to SSRN Riding a Bicycle is Not an Abnormally Dangerous Activity: Lay Perceptions and the Appearance of Strict Liability Standards in Mundane Cases...

Ross & Prince on Post-Sale Duties

Posted on July 02, 2009
Kenneth Ross (Adjunct Minnesota & Products Liability Prof Blog) and J. David Prince (William Mitchell & Products Liability Prof Blog), in a recent article in the Brooklyn Law Review, provide an overview of post-sale duties in the Restatement (Third) of...

FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Ban on Percocet and Vicodin

Posted on July 01, 2009
An FDA Advisory Panel has recommended a ban on drugs that combine narcotics with acetaminophin (i.e., Tylenol or Excedrin). As the New York Times reports: High doses of acetaminophen are a leading cause of liver damage, and the panel noted...

Scorned Husband Sues Wife's Alleged Lover

Posted on June 30, 2009
A new alienation-of-affection case from Jonathan Turley: Wealthy car dealer Bob Rohrman (known as ?Bob Rohrrrrrrr-man? on his commercials) is suing a surgeon, Dr. Sami M. Bittar, who wooed his wife, Ronda. Of course, Rohrman must show that the couple...

G.M. Keeps Liability for Unfiled Products Claims

Posted on June 29, 2009
As the New York Times reports, General Motors will retain liability for unfiled products liability claims as part of its bankruptcy. Previously-filed claims, however, will be part of the bankruptcy. A hearing on G.M.'s bankruptcy plan is scheduled for tomorrow...

The D.C. Metro Crash: Race to the Courthouse

Posted on June 29, 2009
John Bratt, an associate of Ron Miller, has a post at Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog. For those of you who are just-the-facts types: Train accident on 6/22 at 5:02 p.m.; first suit filed on 6/24. --CJR

Cookie Dough Suits Filed

Posted on June 27, 2009
A California woman has filed suit against Nestle alleging that raw chocolate chip cookie dough gave her food poisoning, although no tests have confirmed any contamination in Nestle products and despite a clear warning on Nestle pre-packaged cookie dough not...

Who Wants to Be a TortsProf?

Posted on June 25, 2009
I assure you it's fabulous! Prawfsblawg has an open thread for hiring chairs. At least three schools--Notre Dame, St. John's, and Lewis & Clark--have stated in interest in hiring for Torts. The full list, including contact information, is here. --CJR

Michigan Class Action Autism Settlement

Posted on June 24, 2009
As the National Law Journal reports, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has agreed to a $1M settlement to reimburse at least 100 families for the costs of applied behavioral analysis treatment for their autistic children. - SBS

Ted Frank's New Blog

Posted on June 24, 2009
Ted Frank of Overlawyered and Point of Law has launched a new blog: Center for Class Action Fairness, a project founded by Ted Frank to provide pro bono representation to consumers dissatisfied with court-appointed representatives in class actions, especially with...

Reminder: Prosser Award Nominations Due Next Week (July 1st)

Posted on June 23, 2009
The Torts and Compensation Systems section of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) is soliciting nominations for the William L. Prosser Award. The award "recognize[s] outstanding contributions of law teachers in scholarship, teaching and service in ...

AALS Torts Section Announces Panel on Richard Epstein

Posted on June 23, 2009
Announcement and Call for Papers AALS Torts Group Section Meeting January 8, 2010, 8:30 ? 10:15 a.m. Panel: Richard Epstein?s Legacy in Torts. Richard Epstein is among the most prominent and influential torts scholars of our times. Unmatched in breadth,...

NYT Letters on Med Mal

Posted on June 22, 2009
The NYT has a letters-to-the-editor section devoted to medical malpractice. --CJR

Miller & Tucker on Incentives of Adopting Electronic Medical Records

Posted on June 20, 2009
Amalia Miller (Virginia-Economics) & Catherine Tucker (MIT-Management Science) have posted to SSRN Electronic Discovery and Electronic Medical Records: Does the Threat of Litigation Affect Firm Decisions to Adopt Technology? Here is the abstract: After firms adopt electronic information and communication...

Personal Injury Roundup No. 40 (6/19/09)

Posted on June 19, 2009
I hope you are enjoying the opportunity to focus exclusively on scholarship as much as I am. Without further ado... Reform, Legislation, Policy Obama open to med mal reform, but not damage caps. (ABA Journal) States reform med mal for...

Obama to Embrace Apology Legislation as Med Mal Reform?

Posted on June 18, 2009
So surmises McKnight's in this brief piece. --CJR

Korzec on Federalizing Products Liability

Posted on June 18, 2009
Rebecca Korzec (Baltimore) has posted on SSRN her 2003 article Products Liability Harmonization: A Uniform Standard. Here is the abstract: Among industrialized nations, the United States is unique in addressing tort law at the state rather than the national level...

Have You Friended Your Drug Company?

Posted on June 17, 2009
As the Washington Postreports, drug companies are getting creative in their marketing, using Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and other on-line outlets to pitch their products. The FDA is watching the development with interest. "If drug companies or others working on...

Democrats Put Tort Reform "On the Table"

Posted on June 17, 2009
As part of President Obama's health care package, top Democrats have begun saying that tort reform is on the agenda. In particular, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle told CBS's Early Morning Show that "tort reform is going to be...

Pace Environmental Law Review Announces New Peer Review Process

Posted on June 16, 2009
As of August 1, 2009, Pace Environmental Law Review (PELR) will use a new Peer Review process to select articles for publication. Submissions will be reviewed internally and then forwarded to a select group of Peer Reviews - academics, practitioners....

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