Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice
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May 17, 2019
Geico Can't Escape Driver's $1M Punitive Damages Award
A California appellate court on Friday affirmed a jury's $1 million punitive damages award against Geico General Insurance Co. over its unreasonable delay in paying an injured policyholder the full limits of his policy following a serious car crash.
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May 17, 2019
Fla. Motorcyclist Scores $3.8M Verdict Over Debilitating Crash
A Florida state jury awarded approximately $3.83 million on Thursday to a motorcyclist T-boned by a Geico customer after the insurer refused to settle the claim within coverage limits, according to the motorcyclist's lawyers.
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May 17, 2019
Inconsistent Jury Answers Nix Conn. Town’s Injury Trial Win
A split Connecticut appellate panel on Friday ordered a new trial in a suit accusing a town of causing a man’s injuries when he fell from a municipal retaining wall, saying the jury’s findings were inconsistent and should have been ruled invalid as a matter of law.
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May 17, 2019
Military Medical Malpractice Legislation Gives Victims Hope
A recently floated bill that would allow active-duty military members to sue the federal government for medical malpractice is an encouraging first step in providing justice for victims who are barred from filing such cases because of a 70-year-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent, experts said.
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May 17, 2019
Ohio State Doctor's Abuse Was 'Open Secret,' Report Says
A report by Perkins Coie LLP on allegations that a now-deceased Ohio State University sports doctor sexually abused and harassed student-athletes for decades concluded that the abuse was an “open secret” that involved at least 177 men but failed to spur action by the school.
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May 17, 2019
The Law Firms Making Millions Off The PG&E Cases
The nation's largest utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric, has paid at least $89 million in the past year in legal fees to firms directly involved with its bankruptcy, civil, criminal and regulatory cases stemming from California wildfires — and the vast majority of that sum has gone to Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.
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May 17, 2019
11th Circ. Won’t Undo Royal Caribbean's Win In Injury Case
The Eleventh Circuit has backed a lower court decision favoring Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s argument that it is not responsible for a passenger's injury when part of a lighting machine fell on her head while she was on a dance floor, saying she can't show the cruise company is at fault.
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May 16, 2019
Skechers Light-Up Shoes Burn Kids, Mother's Suit Says
Popular light-up children's shoes made by Skechers USA Inc. contain a dangerous defect that can cause skin burns, an Illinois mother claimed in a proposed class action filed Thursday.
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May 16, 2019
MGM Estimates $800M To End Las Vegas Shooting Suits
MGM Resorts International could settle lawsuits stemming from the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas for up to $800 million, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing from the company.
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May 16, 2019
Ala. Hospital, Doc Owe $30M After Gunshot Victim Waits, Dies
A jury awarded $30 million Thursday to the family of an Alabama man who died while waiting in a hospital’s emergency department for a surgeon to show up and treat his gunshot wound, according to his family's lawyers.
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May 16, 2019
Full 6th Circ. Won’t Rehear Flint Contaminated Water Suit
A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday denied the city of Flint, Michigan's bid for an en banc review of a lawsuit accusing city officials of exposing residents to contaminated water, saying the panel already considered the city's arguments when it first examined the suit earlier this year.
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May 16, 2019
Insurer Must Face Suit Over Tree Crush Death, 3rd Circ. Says
A homeowner whose husband was crushed by a downed tree that "uprighted" may have viable claims against an insurer over the Superstorm Sandy-related accident, the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday, reviving the suit on the grounds that it's not clear the accident was "unforeseeable."
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May 16, 2019
Atty-Client Conduct Derailed Train Yard Injury Suit: Panel
The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday snuffed a former Wisconsin Central Ltd. employee's suit seeking damages for a 2013 railway yard injury, saying the worker and his attorney's refusal to fully cooperate with a court-ordered medical review derailed the suit.
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May 16, 2019
Calif. Gov., Fire Victims Slam PG&E's Request To Delay Ch. 11
California wildfire victims and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are urging a California bankruptcy judge to deny Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s request for more time to file its Chapter 11 plan, calling the bid for a six-month extension a stall tactic.
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May 16, 2019
Ex-NFLers Lose Bid To Overturn Tighter Concussion Rules
Attorneys for the thousands of retired NFL players covered by the league's landmark concussion settlement suffered a bruising defeat on Thursday when the Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the program denied their bid to overturn new, restrictive medical rules that many view as a gift to the NFL.
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May 16, 2019
Tesla's Autopilot Was On During Fatal Crash, NTSB Says
The automatic driving system in a Tesla electric car was active when it crashed into a semitruck trailer in March, killing the Tesla's driver, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.
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May 16, 2019
Ex-BigLaw Atty Who Killed Wife Fights Her Estate's Civil Suit
The former Fisher Phillips employment partner sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife told a Georgia appellate court on Thursday that his wife’s estate had no standing to bring a wrongful death action, arguing that he reserves that right, since he is the surviving spouse.
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May 16, 2019
Staffing Agency Settles Birth Injury Case Jury Tagged At $31M
A staffing agency settled claims that one of its nurses failed to properly monitor a baby during his delivery at Massachusetts General Hospital just moments before a jury returned a $30.55 million verdict Wednesday finding the agency responsible for the now-6-year-old's severe brain damage.
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May 16, 2019
Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Wigdor's Douglas H. Wigdor
Douglas H. Wigdor of Wigdor LLP is among the most prominent litigators in the current nationwide reckoning on sexual misconduct — and perhaps the only plaintiffs lawyer of the #MeToo movement who would wryly call himself “Trump-loving.”
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May 15, 2019
Calif. Officially Names PG&E As Cause Of Deadly Camp Fire
A California agency on Wednesday officially deemed Pacific Gas and Electric’s electrical transmission lines as the cause of the state's deadly Camp Fire, which tore through 153,000 acres, destroyed 18,800 structures and killed 85 people last year.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
IRS Should Use Tax Law To Combat The Opioid Epidemic
The IRS, which enforces anti-trafficking tax laws against state-regulated cannabis businesses, should be fair and apply the same policy against pharmaceutical companies that illegally market their opioids, says Kat Allen at Wykowski Law.
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Q&A
A Chat With Gilead Sciences Legal Ops Leader Gary Tully
In this monthly series, legal recruiting experts from Major Lindsey & Africa interview legal industry leaders about the increasingly competitive business environment. Here, Rod Osborne talks with Gary Tully, head of legal operations at Gilead Sciences.
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Series
Why I Became A Lawyer: Completing The Journey Home
My mother's connection to her Native American heritage had a major influence on my career — my decision to enter the legal profession was driven by the desire to return to my tribal community and help it in any way I could, says Jason Hauter of Akin Gump.
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Series
Judging A Book: Wood Reviews 'The Making Of A Justice'
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' new book, "The Making of a Justice," is required reading for anyone interested in 20th and 21st century America, says Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Diane Wood.
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State Net
State Lawmakers Stepping Up Fight Against Insurance Fraud
Insurance fraud costs insurers and their policyholders tens of billions of dollars a year. With insurance fraud-related bills introduced in 40 states and enacted in 14 so far this year, state lawmakers seem to agree with the industry that fraud is a major problem, says Korey Clark of State Net Capitol Journal.
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Getting Out Of Legal Project Management Debt
If a client does not demand the application of project management techniques at the start of a matter, or a law firm does not routinely apply them, it is highly likely that additional, avoidable work — legal project management debt — will materialize throughout the matter, says Anthony Widdop of Shearman & Sterling.
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6 Ways To Keep Your Jury From Zoning Out
Science suggests that at least some jurors pay attention to less than 65% of the evidence during a trial due to "task-unrelated thoughts," but there are steps attorneys can take to present information in a more engaging, cognition-friendly fashion, say Dennis Stolle and Dennis Devine of Barnes & Thornburg.
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Opinion
Ill. Workers' Comp Bill Should Not Apply Retroactively
Pending legislation in Illinois would let workers file suit against former employers for asbestos-related illnesses after they are no longer eligible to bring workers’ compensation claims. If the bill becomes law, defense counsel must be prepared to argue that its retroactive application would be unconstitutional, says William Irwin of Segal McCambridge.
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Perspectives
Calif. Lawmakers Should Stay Out Of USC Sex Abuse Case
A pending settlement between the University of Southern California and 17,000 former students would resolve claims over the actions of a sexually abusive gynecologist. But proposed state legislation could undermine the settlement, says Shook Hardy partner Phil Goldberg, director of the Progressive Policy Institute’s Center for Civil Justice.
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5 Myths In Legal Crisis Communications
Having worked at a boutique law firm, a crisis communications agency and in BigLaw, I have identified a number of common misconceptions across these disparate business models when it comes to crisis and litigation communications, says Robert Gemmill of Hogan Lovells.