Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

  • November 20, 2024

    DOJ Settles With Atty Who Reported Judge's Sexual Misconduct

    A former Alaska federal prosecutor who made allegations of sexual misconduct against then-U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred has reached an undisclosed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving claims she suffered retaliation for speaking up, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Texas Court Tosses $800K Verdict In Bar Shooting Suit

    A Texas appeals court has thrown out a jury's $816,000 verdict in a suit blaming a bar for serving alcohol to an underage man who later shot two patrons multiple times, saying there was insufficient evidence that the attack was foreseeable.

  • November 20, 2024

    Hospital's Med Mal Win Axed By Mich. Appeals Panel

    A divided Michigan Court of Appeals panel has revived a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Michigan hospital, finding that the patient established a genuine fact dispute regarding her reasonable belief that the gynecologist treating her was acting as the hospital's agent. 

  • November 20, 2024

    Magnets Akin To Coins As Swallow Risk For Kids, Court Told

    The attorney representing hobbyist and industry groups for magnets told the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday that the dangers of a child swallowing a single magnet aren't any different from a child ingesting other small items like a dime, in an appeal over a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission rule.

  • November 20, 2024

    Michigan Hospital Can't Escape Amputee's Malpractice Claims

    A Michigan appeals court refused to throw out an expert opinion proffered by a patient who alleges that doctors and staffers at a Michigan hospital are responsible for the loss of his right hand, but said the trial court must fully evaluate whether the expert is qualified under state Supreme Court precedent.

  • November 20, 2024

    Mich. School Gains Per-Wound Coverage For Shooting Suits

    A Michigan school district has access to at least $55 million in coverage from its insurer for a mass shooting that killed four students and injured seven people at a high school in 2021, a state court found, determining each bullet striking a victim was its own occurrence.

  • November 20, 2024

    Conn. Trial Firm's Dissolution Is In Disarray, CEO Tells Judge

    The windup of Connecticut Trial Firm LLC is "in complete controversy" and must be submitted to arbitration, CEO Ryan McKeen has told a state Superior Court judge, saying his onetime 50-50 partner, Ryan Garza, committed "self-dealing, waste and abuse" to benefit his new firm, Claggett Sykes & Garza LLC.

  • November 20, 2024

    Girardi Pushes For New Trial Over Competency Claims

    Counsel for Tom Girardi told a federal judge the disbarred attorney is plainly mentally incompetent and deserves a new trial over charges he defrauded clients of $15 million worth of settlement money.

  • November 20, 2024

    Beasley Allen And J&J Tussle Over Atty Sanctions Bid

    Beasley Allen Law Firm accused a Johnson & Johnson talc unit of using "deposition notices as weapons" in its quest to sanction a firm lawyer, while the company said the firm "refused to meaningfully subject itself or its members to any discovery" in its bankruptcy case.

  • November 20, 2024

    3 Law Firms Can't Dodge TCPA Suit Over Camp Lejeune Claims

    A trio of law firms accused of calling a veteran dozens of times promising they could represent him in claims over toxic drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, despite his never having been stationed there, cannot evade the former soldier's lawsuit, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Flint School Atty Can't Get Immunity In Defamation Case

    Outside counsel for Flint Community Schools who accused her predecessor of overcharging the public school district is not entitled to a form of immunity that shields government officials from liability for statements made during official proceedings, a state appellate court panel ruled on Tuesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    No Coverage For Road Rage Shooting Dispute, Judge Says

    The auto insurer for a freight transportation company needn't cover an underlying suit over the fatal shooting of a man during a road rage altercation, a West Virginia federal court ruled, saying the shooting was "wholly unrelated to the inherent nature of the vehicle."

  • November 20, 2024

    Pa. Justices Ask Why CBD Isn't 'Medicine' For Hurt Workers

    Justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court questioned Wednesday why they should accept an insurer's assertion that hemp-derived CBD oil should be deemed dangerous, when an injured attorney's physician had prescribed it for pain relief as part of his workers' compensation treatment plan.

  • November 19, 2024

    Monsanto's Bid To Pause PCB Trial Again Shot Down

    A Washington state appellate commissioner on Friday again refused to undo a trial court's decision not to pause a chemical poisoning tort trial playing out in Seattle, rejecting Monsanto's contention that the court committed "obvious error" in letting the trial proceed while the state's highest court decides a similar case.

  • November 19, 2024

    DC Circ. Wonders Where To Land On Terrorism Liability Claims

    Hypotheticals were flying Tuesday morning at the D.C. Circuit, where a three-judge panel spent more than two hours trying to figure out whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision means they need to stop the revival of a suit accusing pharmaceutical companies of funding terrorism in Iraq.

  • November 19, 2024

    11th Circ. Urged To Revive Fla. Cancer Cluster Suit

    Several Florida individuals diagnosed with cancer after exposure to soil that defense contractor Pratt & Whitney allegedly contaminated with radiation told the Eleventh Circuit Tuesday their claims shouldn't be barred by statute of limitations, saying a jury should determine what caused their illnesses.

  • November 19, 2024

    10th Circ. Judge Asks If PLO Activity Enough For US Suit

    A Tenth Circuit judge hearing arguments Tuesday about whether federal courts have jurisdiction over the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization asked an attorney representing the entities whether the group "conducting activity" in the U.S. was enough for courts here to consider the case.

  • November 19, 2024

    'Blackballed' Bailiff Who Reported Jury Tampering Loses Suit

    A Texas appeals court on Tuesday tossed a former courtroom bailiff's suit alleging Brazoria County "blackballed" him for reporting several instances of a clerk's jury tampering, saying the county had no control over the state-elected judge who stopped assigning him as a bailiff.

  • November 19, 2024

    Personal Injury Atty Buzbee Accused Of Assault, Malpractice

    Tony Buzbee, a high-profile Texas personal injury lawyer known for representing women who have accused Sean "Diddy" Combs and Deshaun Watson of sexual abuse, was hit with a legal malpractice suit in New York state court Tuesday alleging that he assaulted a client seeking a divorce and deprived her of millions of dollars in settlement funds. 

  • November 19, 2024

    Wash. Justices Critical Of Splintering College Sex Abuse Case

    Washington State Supreme Court justices on Tuesday seemed to doubt the state's position that an adult survivor of sexual abuse needed to bring separate claims for harms suffered before and after she turned 18, even though all allegedly stemmed from the same grooming by her college basketball coach.

  • November 19, 2024

    Widow Can't Get Malpractice Suit Over Husband's Fall Revived

    A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday declined to reinstate a suit by a widow alleging that nurses at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital were responsible for a fall taken by her husband while he was recovering from brain surgery, saying the trial court rightly excluded her expert's testimony.

  • November 19, 2024

    NJ Man Can't Revive Autozone Slip And Fall Injury Suit

    A New Jersey appeals panel on Tuesday refused to reinstate a man's slip and fall case against Autozone Inc., saying he presented no evidence that the shop was or should have been aware that the floor was wet before he fell.

  • November 19, 2024

    Truck Insurance Must Arbitrate Asbestos Coverage Claims

    Truck Insurance Exchange must arbitrate its dispute with a group of reinsurers over coverage for asbestos bodily injury claims filed against Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, a California federal judge ruled, saying there was "little difficulty" in concluding that the case falls within the parties' arbitration agreement.

  • November 19, 2024

    No Coverage Owed For 1977 Auto Crash, Mich. Panel Rules

    A man who was injured in a 1977 automobile accident cannot get no-fault injury benefits from an auto insurer decades later, a Michigan appeals court ruled, finding there's no evidence the insurer either issued benefits payments for the man or that a claim was ever filed for him.

  • November 19, 2024

    Conn. Firm CEO's Wife Dropped From Ex-Partner's Suit

    Connecticut lawyer Andrew P. Garza on Tuesday dropped attorney Allison M. McKeen, the wife of his former 50-50 law firm partner Ryan C. McKeen, from a lawsuit surrounding the breakup of Connecticut Trial Firm LLC, a high-dollar firm where all three once worked together.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Ways Attorneys Can Emotionally Prepare For Trial

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    In the course of litigation, trial lawyers face a number of scenarios that can incite an emotional response, but formulating a mental game plan in advance of trial can help attorneys stay cool, calm and collected in the moment, says Rachel Lary at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Key Plaintiff Litigation Strategies For Silicosis Lawsuits

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    A California stone worker's recent $52 million jury award highlights the growing silicosis crisis among employees in the stone fabrication industry — and points to the importance of a strategic approach to litigating silicosis cases against employers and manufacturers, says David Matthews at Matthews & Associates.

  • Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys

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    Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • In Terror Case, DC Circ. Must Weigh Justices' Twitter Ruling

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    When the D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in AstraZeneca UK v. Atchley, how the court interprets the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh will have a significant impact on future claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • 3 Policyholder Lessons From NY Bad Faith Ruling

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    A New York appellate court's recent decision finding that Rockefeller University alleged viable bad faith claims against its insurers reinforces the principle that insurers may not elevate their own economic interests over those of their insureds, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Justices Must Weigh Reach Of Civil RICO In Cannabis Case

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    Oral arguments in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn suggest that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may agree that a truck driver's losing his job after unknowingly ingesting THC and failing a drug test does not merit a racketeering claim — but the court may not buy the other side's theory of the case either, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron. 

  • High Court 'Violent Crimes' Case Tangled Up In Hypotheticals

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    In Delligatti v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether attempted murder constitutes a crime of violence, and because the court’s interpretive approach thus far has relied on hairsplitting legal hypotheticals with absurd results, Congress should repeal the underlying statute, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Metadata

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    Several recent rulings reflect the competing considerations that arise when parties dispute the form of production for electronically stored information, underscoring that counsel must carefully consider how to produce and request reasonably usable data, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 2nd Circ. Maxwell Ruling Adds To Confusion Over NPA Reach

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision upholding Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction made an analytical leap in applying plea agreement precedent to a nonprosecution agreement, compounding a circuit split and providing lessons for defense counsel, say attorneys at Kropf Moseley.

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

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    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

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