| | The TTLA 2008 Mid-Year Conference w/ Advanced Personal Injury Course & Board Meeting is scheduled for April 30th - May 2nd at the Driskill Hotel (800-252-9367) in Austin, TX. For more information contact rhonda@ttla.com. |
| | A California judge last week overturned millions of dollars in damages awarded to Nicaraguan field workers who were left sterile by pesticides used on Dole Food Co. crops. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victoria G. Chaney found that punitive damages were not warranted because Dole only used the product and did not market it. Most legal experts seem to agree the ruling could preclude punitive damages for similar cases still pending inCalifornia. John Spano, LA Times 03/11/2008 | |
| | A woman who developed terminal cancer after being exposed to asbestos fibers while working in a home-remodeling business should receive $7 million in damages, a California jury has ruled. Jurors found that Georgia Pacific Corp., the only defendant in the case, was 30 percent responsible for causing the woman’s illness. The jury assessed total damages of $20 million. The rest of the award will go unpaid. Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle 03/13/2008 | |
| | A jury in California is scheduled to begin deliberations Thursday in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of actor John Ritter. According to the complaint, two doctors mishandled the diagnosis and care of a torn aorta that caused Ritter’s death. In closing arguments, attorneys for the defendants argued that there was little they could have done to diagnose and treat a rare and underlying disease. Ritter’s family is seeking $67 million in damages for future lost income. AP, USA Today 03/13/2008 | |
| | Ford Motor Co. was not responsible for injuries that left a girl partially paralyzed following the rollover crash of a Bronco II sport-utility vehicle, a federal jury has ruled. Attorneys for the girl’s family claimed that she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt because a defective design caused the receiver portion to become lodged behind the seat. Jurors instead found that the girl’s sister, who was driving at the time of the accident, was entirely to blame for her sister’s injuries. AP, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 03/12/2008 | |
| | The Washington state prison system will pay $2.25 million to the families of children who were wounded or traumatized during a 1999 shooting spree by a prison parolee at Jewish Community Center outside Los Angeles. The agreement settles a $15 million claim filed against the Washington State Department of Corrections over the incident. Washington prison officials said they have since toughened the state’s policy on offender supervision. Jennifer Sullivan, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 03/13/2008 | |
| | The nation’s largest for-profit hospital company and one of its former subsidiaries have agreed to settle 70 malpractice lawsuits filed against a former doctor. The settlement between plaintiffs and the Hospital Corporation of America Inc. and Putnam General Hospital will not affect pending lawsuits against the doctor, John Anderson King. King has been named in 122 lawsuits and has had his medical license revoked in 10 states. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Paul J. Nyden, The Charleston Gazette 03/13/2008 | |
| | More than a dozen families and several businesses in a Utah town have filed a lawsuit against the parent company of a gas station that that spilled 20,000 gallons of gasoline under parts of the town. According to the lawsuit, Wind River Petroleum tried to hide the leak which could leave homes and businesses uninhabitable for decades. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for negligence and emotional distress. Judy Fahys, The Salt Lake Tribune 03/13/2008 | |
| | Southwest Airlines temporarily removed 38 aircraft from service Tuesday night and Wednesday following reports questioning the carrier’s maintenance programs. Maintenance crews were said to be checking for hairline cracks in the aircrafts’ fuselages. Southwest, the nation's largest domestic carrier, faces a $10.2 million fine for irregularities surrounding maintenance reports and its dealings with the Federal Aviation Administration. Julie Johnsson, ChicagoTribune 03/13/2008 | |
TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | | |
| | Legally sufficient evidence supported a finding that SMI Owen Steel Co. Inc. proved the causation element of its claim for negligent failure to procure insurance. SMI Owen Steel Co. Inc. v. Marsh USA Inc., 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 06-41387, 3-7-2008. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 03/13/2008 | |
| | A new study has revealed that a costly brainwave monitor used to help doctors prevent patients from waking up during surgery is no more effective than previous techniques. According to the study, to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the widely used Bispectral Index or BIS system, produced by Aspect Medical Systems Inc., generally does not decrease the risk of anesthesia awareness. Anesthesia awareness occurs when a patient has some degree of consciousness during surgery. By one estimate, as many as 40,000 patients may experience inadequate anesthesia during surgery. Gene Emery, Reuters 03/13/2008 | |
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