Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

  • July 31, 2025

    Justices Told State Med Mal Laws Fly In Federal Court

    A Delaware federal court must apply a state statute requiring an expert affidavit in all medical malpractice suits, a hospital defendant told the U.S. Supreme Court, as key aspects of the Delaware law and similar statutes in 28 other states "should not be checked at the federal courthouse doors."

  • July 31, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seek $345M For Fatal Crash In Tesla Autopilot Trial

    The plaintiffs in a suit seeking to hold Tesla accountable for a fatal crash in the Florida Keys asked jurors Thursday to award $345 million in damages for putting out an allegedly defective autopilot product into the market.

  • July 31, 2025

    NTSB Hearing Probes Air Traffic Control In DCA Collision

    Air traffic controllers often juggled both helicopter and fixed-wing plane traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, trusted pilots to use their own judgment to visually maintain safe distances from other planes in certain situations and adopted a "just make it work" approach, according to details from the National Transportation Safety Board.

  • July 31, 2025

    Georgia Court Panel Revives Woman's Bus Injury Suit

    A commuter who filed a personal injury lawsuit against an Atlanta-area bus company two years and two days after she was injured did not run afoul of Georgia's statute of limitations, a state appeals court ruled on Thursday, saying the law gives plaintiffs additional time when the last day would technically fall on a weekend.

  • July 31, 2025

    Segway Slapped With Class Suit Over E-Scooter Fall Hazard

    Segway Inc. was hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court on Thursday by a consumer who claims the company sold more than 200,000 electric scooters with a dangerous defect that puts riders at risk of falling and failed to adequately address the issue during a recall.

  • July 31, 2025

    Calif. Med Mal Law Can't Apply To Ambulance Crash Suits

    The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the state's one-year time limit for medical malpractice claims does not apply to suits over ambulance drivers' negligence, saying instead the two-year deadline for ordinary negligence governs.

  • July 31, 2025

    Amazon Customer Can't Nix Defenses In 'Bling' Blinding Suit

    A California federal judge largely denied a woman's bid for an early judgment on Amazon.com Servies LLC's defenses and some claims in her suit alleging she was blinded in one eye by a "sparkly bling" steering wheel accessory when her airbag deployed in a collision.

  • July 31, 2025

    New Orleans Diocese Working On $180M Ch. 11 Plan Docs

    The bankrupt Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans asked a Louisiana judge for additional time Thursday to work on resolving opposition to its Chapter 11 plan disclosure statement that describes a $180 million settlement fund to provide recoveries to victims of childhood sexual abuse.

  • July 31, 2025

    Injured Motocross Rider's Negligence Suit Teed Up For Trial

    A Florida federal judge has denied summary judgment in a lawsuit accusing a motocross event organizer of negligence after an accident at a Supercross Championship race left a professional rider paralyzed, ruling issues of material fact still exist regarding the reach and applicability of the waivers he signed.

  • July 31, 2025

    8th Circ. Says Firm's Conspiracy Suit Wrongly Tossed

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday revived a law firm's suit alleging that the defendants in a wrongful death suit conspired to have the firm withdraw from that suit after raising false accusations, saying the trial court "took a trip back in time" to an older interpretation of court doctrine.

  • July 31, 2025

    1st Circ. Denies Marathon Bomber's Bid To DQ Trial Judge

    The First Circuit on Thursday denied a request by convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to have the judge who presided over his 2015 trial removed from conducting a probe into whether some of the jurors who sentenced him to death were biased.

  • July 31, 2025

    Conn. Atty Pins Failed Redaction On Tech In Gunmaker Suit

    A third party's ability to bypass redactions and view protected documents was due to a software issue, a Connecticut civil litigator has told a federal judge, urging the court not to authorize sanctions for what he said was a "good faith" effort at redacting filings amid his dueling lawsuits with gunmaker Sig Sauer.

  • July 31, 2025

    MSG Makes Play For $1.5M Fees In Oakley Dispute

    Madison Square Garden is seeking $1.5 million in attorney fees from former New York Knicks player Charles Oakley, laying out the efforts it took to uncover Oakley's efforts to destroy text messages connected with his long-running assault and battery suit against the arena.

  • July 31, 2025

    Split 3rd Circ. Expels Rutgers MBA Fraud Suit Over Standing

    The plaintiff leading a proposed class action against Rutgers University for allegedly cooking its MBA rankings by fudging job placement statistics doesn't have standing because he was in a different part-time certificate program, a split Third Circuit has ruled, affirming a New Jersey federal court's decision.

  • July 30, 2025

    Walmart Hoverboard Fire, Injury Case Ends After AI Scandal

    A Wyoming family of five that sued Walmart after a hoverboard they bought exploded, destroying their home and causing serious burns, has agreed to permanently end litigation in a case marred by plaintiffs counsel getting caught pushing case law "hallucinated" by artificial intelligence.

  • July 30, 2025

    No Philly Clause Is Valid In Med Mal Case, Pa. Panel Says

    A Pennsylvania appellate panel said Wednesday that a contract a patient signed before surgery mandating that any legal actions must be heard in Bucks County is valid and enforceable, affirming a trial court's transfer of the medical malpractice suit from plaintiff-friendly Philadelphia County.

  • July 30, 2025

    NTSB Hearing Probes Helicopter Risks In DCA Collision

    The U.S. Army helicopter involved in January's deadly midair collision over the Potomac River was flying almost 100 feet higher than it should've been near one of the capital area's busiest airports according to testimony as the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday examined equipment and operational lapses tied to the accident.

  • July 30, 2025

    Virgin Atlantic Avoids $1M Default In Food Poisoning Suit

    A California appeals court won't reinstate a $1 million default judgment against Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited in a suit by a man who alleged he got food poisoning on a flight, saying he did not properly serve the complaint on the company.

  • July 30, 2025

    Insurer Atty 'Error' Dooms Arbitration Bid In Fla. Injury Suit

    A Florida appellate court on Wednesday agreed with a trial court that a West Palm Beach prep school has abandoned its right to arbitrate cheerleading injury claims brought by a student by filing a response to the complaint, rejecting the school's argument that its insurer-provided lawyer was unauthorized to represent it.

  • July 30, 2025

    RJR Gets New Trial, Undoing $8.1M Engle Progeny Verdict

    A Florida appeals panel on Wednesday upended an $8.1 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in an Engle progeny case, finding the trial court abused its discretion by instructing the jury on the Engle case's fraudulent concealment and conspiracy findings when this case did not involve those claims.

  • July 30, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Farm Worker's $2.5M Award For Amputation

    The Fourth Circuit affirmed a $2.5 million jury verdict favoring a former North Carolina farm worker who lost his lower leg to a grain silo auger, finding the farm tried to raise new arguments on appeal that were never before the district court.

  • July 30, 2025

    Landlords Not Covered For Lead Exposure Suit, Insurer Says

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify property owners accused of negligently renting out an apartment with hazardous levels of lead that injured a child, the carrier told an Illinois federal court, saying the owners' policy bars coverage for bodily injury caused by lead.

  • July 29, 2025

    Trump Admin Says UCLA Didn't Protect Jewish Students

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that it determined that the University of California, Los Angeles, violated civil rights laws by failing to "adequately respond" to harassment and abuse that Jewish and Israeli students faced on its campus following the war in Gaza.

  • July 29, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Rejection Of Man's HPV Vaccine Claims

    A man who claimed vaccines he received as a teen, including one meant to guard against HPV, caused him to develop inflammatory bowel disease will receive no payments under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, the Federal Circuit ruled on Tuesday, affirming a determination that his theory that vaccines caused his illness is unsupported.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ambulance Co. Can't Undo $2.3M Verdict In Wash. Crash Case

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel has affirmed an ambulance operator's $2.3 million trial court loss in a patient's family's wrongful death case over a crash, rejecting the company's argument that its crew was shielded from liability by a state law that protects first responders providing emergency medical services.

Expert Analysis

  • Statistics Tools Chart A Path For AI Use In Expert Testimony

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    To avoid the fate of numerous expert witnesses whose testimony was recently deemed inadmissible by courts, experts relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning should learn from statistical tools’ road to judicial acceptance, say directors at Secretariat.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

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    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

  • Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

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    The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Spoliation Of Evidence Is A Risky And Shortsighted Strategy

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    Destroying self-incriminating evidence to avoid a large judgment may seem like an attractive option to some defendants, but it is a shortsighted strategy that affords the nonspoliating party potentially case-terminating remedies, and support for a direct assault on the spoliator’s credibility, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

  • In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable

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    The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity

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    As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.

  • Series

    Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Supporting A Trial Team

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    While students often practice as lead trial attorneys in law school, such an opportunity likely won’t arise until a few years into practice, so junior associates should focus on honing skills that are essential to supporting a trial team, including organization, adaptability and humility, says Lucy Zelina at Tucker Ellis.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Attorney To BigLaw

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    When I transitioned to private practice after government service — most recently as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — I learned there are more similarities between the two jobs than many realize, with both disciplines requiring resourcefulness, zealous advocacy and foresight, says Zach Terwilliger at V&E.

  • Measuring The Impact Of Attorney Gender On Trial Outcomes

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    Preliminary findings from our recent study on how attorney gender might affect case outcomes support the conclusion that there is little in the way of a clear, universal bias against attorneys of a given gender, say Jill Leibold, Olivia Goodman and Alexa Hiley at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

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    As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

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    The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

  • What Gene Findings Mean For Asbestos Mesothelioma Claims

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    Recent advances in genetic research have provided substantial evidence that significant numbers of malignant mesothelioma cases may be caused by inherited mutations rather than asbestos exposure — a finding that could fundamentally change how defendants approach personal injury litigation over mesothelioma, say David Schwartz at Lumanity and Kirk Hartley at LSP Group.

  • Series

    Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Oft-Forgotten Evidence Rule Can Be Powerful Trial Tool

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    Rule 608 may be one of the most overlooked provisions in the Federal Rules of Evidence, but as a transformative tool that allows attorneys to attack a witness's character for truthfulness through opinion or reputation testimony, its potential to reshape a case cannot be overstated, says Marian Braccia at Temple University Beasley School of Law.

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