Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice
-
July 11, 2024
8th Circ. OKs Toxic Gas Injury Win, But Cuts Award By $30M
The Eighth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a jury's finding that Dyno Nobel Inc.'s negligence in handling toxic gas emissions caused serious injuries to a man's larynx but slashed his $43.75 million award down to $13.75 million, saying the explosives company lacked the culpable mental state required for punitive damages.
-
July 11, 2024
TikTok's Bid For Users' Device Data Found Overbroad
A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in multidistrict litigation over claims that social media is addictive denied TikTok's request Thursday for "full" forensic images of all personal devices bellwether plaintiffs used to access its platform, telling defense counsel that he's concerned about the "overbreadth" of the request and privacy issues.
-
July 11, 2024
All Grand Jury Witnesses Get Civil Immunity, Colo. Panel Says
A Colorado state appeals court held for the first time Thursday that all types of grand jury witnesses have absolute immunity for their testimony, though they don't have sweeping protection for statements made before the proceedings start.
-
July 11, 2024
Dollar General Pays $12M Over DOL's Safety Violation Claims
Discount retail chain Dollar General will pay $12 million to resolve alleged workplace safety violations at its stores nationwide, including obstructed emergency exits and unsafe storage, and will implement abatement measures like expanding storage capacity and reducing overstock, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday.
-
July 11, 2024
NJ Justices Back Expert Report In Mother's Suit Over Death
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a lawsuit against a Garden State hospital by the mother of a diabetic patient who died, saying the trial court erred in dismissing the case on grounds that an affidavit of merit was insufficient.
-
July 11, 2024
Condo Owner Can Sue Over Icy Sidewalk, Mich. Justices Rule
A condominium owners' association can be sued by a member who slipped on ice in a common area, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday, finding an association has a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect condo owners in shared spaces.
-
July 11, 2024
Celebrity Cruises Settles Suit Over Ship Morgue Failure
The family of a man who died aboard a Celebrity Cruises ship and whose body decomposed after being stored in an ill-equipped cooler told a Florida federal court Wednesday that they had settled their dispute with the cruise line, just days before the case was set to go to trial.
-
July 11, 2024
Opiate MDL Judge Flags Evidence Preservation Shortfall
An Ohio federal judge has said "at least some" of the plaintiff local government entities in four chosen bellwether cases against pharmacy benefit managers for the multidistrict litigation over the opioid epidemic failed to preserve documents and evidence for trial, warning the parties he may replace those cases.
-
July 11, 2024
Ex-Northwestern Coach Accuses University Of Defamation
The former offensive coordinator of Northwestern University's football team has sued the university, its president and its athletic director, claiming they portrayed him and the rest of the football staff in a false light when they fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald amid a hazing scandal and defamed him after he wore a T-shirt supporting the coach to practice.
-
July 11, 2024
Navy Can't Get Out Of Ex-Marine's PTSD Discrimination Suit
A Washington federal judge won't let the U.S. Navy out of a suit from a former Marine alleging that he was discriminated against and terminated over his post-traumatic stress disorder, saying there is enough evidence that a fact-finder could determine his boss retaliated against him.
-
July 11, 2024
Baldwin Wasn't Only 'Rust' Actor With Live Rounds, Jury Told
Alec Baldwin's counsel established Thursday during a contentious second day of testimony in the "Rust" trial in New Mexico that he wasn't the only actor unknowingly carrying live ammunition on the film's set before the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer.
-
July 11, 2024
2nd Circ. Says Unreported Violence Doesn't Doom Asylum Bid
The Second Circuit on Thursday said the Board of Immigration Appeals must reconsider an asylum bid from a Honduran woman claiming family abuse and rape by a criminal, finding that evidence of the difficulties women face in reporting violence and the government's ineffective response to such reports was ignored.
-
July 11, 2024
Conn. Justices Say Law Firm's Ex Parte Sanctions Were Error
The law firm Brignole Bush & Lewis LLC cannot be sanctioned for engaging in ex parte talks with an expert witness previously disclosed by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., the opposing party in a car accident case, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
-
July 11, 2024
Cruise Ship Co. Sanctioned With Fees In Sexual Assault Suit
Carnival Corp. will have to pay fees related to a discovery dispute stemming from a $10.2 million sexual assault personal injury lawsuit, a Florida federal judge has ruled in a sanctions order, finding that the cruise company must pay a portion of the legal bills of a female passenger after "clear" discovery violations occurred.
-
July 11, 2024
Hershey, Walgreens Sued For 'One Chip Challenge' Death
The Hershey Co. and its businesses that created and negligently marketed the "One Chip Challenge" to eat an ultra-spicy tortilla chip are responsible for the wrongful death of a Massachusetts 14-year-old, whose death coincided with the product being pulled from the shelves, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the boy's mother.
-
July 11, 2024
Talc Law Firms Beat J&J Subpoenas Seeking Funding Info
The Beasley Allen Law Firm, another plaintiffs law firm and a litigation funder defeated subpoenas from Johnson & Johnson in talc litigation, with a special master reasoning that the broad swath of discovery permitted in federal courts still has limits.
-
July 11, 2024
Insurer Can Tap Trust Fund For Old Claims, Mass. Court Says
A Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Thursday that workers' compensation insurers who are no longer selling policies in the state but still paying benefits on older claims are entitled to seek partial reimbursement from an employer-funded state trust fund, reversing its own prior holding on the question.
-
July 11, 2024
BP Deadline Denial Could Impact Mass Torts, 5th Circ. Told
A man suffering from a chronic health condition stemming from his work cleaning up Mississippi beaches after the Deepwater Horizon spill told the Fifth Circuit that a Louisiana judge's failure to yield to third-party discovery agreements could potentially impact a litany of mass litigation if upheld.
-
July 11, 2024
Communications Co. Says Death Suit Skirted Probate Court
Frontier Communications of America Inc. told a Connecticut state court that it must dismiss a wrongful death case brought against it after an elderly woman fell in her basement and could not call 911 because her phone lines were down, arguing her estate skipped a vital step before filing suit.
-
July 10, 2024
Roundup Cancer Case Revived By Oregon Appellate Panel
An Oregon appellate panel on Wednesday revived a lawsuit claiming Bayer AG subsidiary Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup caused an Oregon man's cancer, saying the judge who oversaw the trial that cleared the company wrongly excluded testimony from an expert for the plaintiff.
-
July 10, 2024
Texas Panel Tosses Electrocution Suit Against Oil Well Owner
A Texas state appeals court found that an oil field station owner wasn't responsible for a contractor's electrocution at the station, ruling Tuesday that the owner didn't owe any duty to the contractor under any negligence theory because it didn't direct the contractor's work.
-
July 10, 2024
Ex-Chili Peppers Guitarist Sued Over Pedestrian Death
Josh Klinghoffer, a former guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and current touring member of Pearl Jam, is accused of hitting and killing a pedestrian in a crosswalk while driving a sport utility vehicle and distracted by his cellphone, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County.
-
July 10, 2024
Nassar Sex Abuse Law Not Retroactive, Mich. Justices Say
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a legislative change to extend civil suit deadlines for certain victims of sexual assault as minors does not apply retroactively, finding that claims from a man who said he was assaulted by a priest in the 1990s were untimely.
-
July 10, 2024
Houston Attys Escape Defamation Suit Over Sex Assault Case
A Texas appeals court said a group of Houston attorneys could escape a defamation suit brought by a man accused of sexual assault by one of their clients, writing that he did "not even raise a scintilla of evidence" that the attorneys knew statements they made to the media about their client's case were false.
-
July 10, 2024
Florida Court Overturns $2M Med Mal Arbitration Award
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday effectively vacated an arbitration award of more than $2 million in a suit accusing a hospital of causing a stroke patient's death due to alleged malpractice, saying proposed expert testimony regarding the patient's life expectancy should've been admitted.
Expert Analysis
-
Teach Your Witness About 'Good' And 'Bad' Testimony Words
To ensure honest and accurate testimony in trials and depositions, attorneys must take care to educate their witnesses about the problematic words opposing counsel may use, such as “always” and “must,” and the effective words they can use in response, like “potentially” and “depends,” say Steve Wood and Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.
-
Balancing Justice And Accountability In Opioid Bankruptcies
As Rite Aid joins other pharmaceutical companies in pursuing bankruptcy following the onslaught of state and federal litigation related to the opioid epidemic, courts and the country will have to reconcile the ideals of economic justice and accountability against the U.S. Constitution’s promise of a fresh start through bankruptcy, says Monique Hayes at DGIM Law.
-
What Justices' Cert. Denial Of Terrorism Suit Means For Banks
The U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in Freeman v. HSBC Holdings lets stand the Second Circuit's decision on the narrow scope of conspiracy liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, providing protection for banks that otherwise could have faced liability for finance activities with limited connections to third parties' unlawful acts, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Louisiana's Toxic Tort Barrier May Be Weakening
Louisiana's short prescriptive period to bring a survival action has long served as an important barrier against toxic tort claims, but the plaintiffs bar will likely rely on the recent Fifth Circuit decision in Jack v. Evonik to argue that anyone who arguably suffered injury based on exposure to some toxic substance may have a claim, say attorneys at Kirkland.
-
Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
-
3 Personal Jurisdiction Questions Mallory Leaves Unanswered
The due process framework that has cabined personal jurisdiction over nationwide and global businesses for the last eight decades looks increasingly precarious after this summer's fractured U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., which left three key questions unanswered, says Andrew Rhys Davies at WilmerHale.
-
How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
-
Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
-
How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
-
Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
-
Justices Could Use Purdue To Resolve Related Circuit Split
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear Harrington v. Purdue Pharma to determine the validity of nonconsensual third-party releases in bankruptcy, but justices should also take the opportunity to resolve a related circuit split over the constitutional authority of bankruptcy judges to issue final rulings on such releases, says Benjamin Feder at Kelley Drye.
-
Cases Linking Baby Food, Autism Pose Causation Challenges
Major baby food producers are now in the crosshairs of regulators, consumer advocates and plaintiffs attorneys over allegations their products contain heavy metals that harm children's development — but it will be difficult for plaintiffs to establish causation, as shown by the lengthy court battles over tobacco and talc, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
-
Suits Likely Over Nevada Law Limiting Claimant Injury Exams
A new Nevada law placing barriers on the mental or physical examinations that defendants use to evaluate claimants' injuries will likely spur waves of litigation to reconcile it with existing rules and practice, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.
-
Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
-
5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.