TTLA EClips • TTLA Home • Search Litigation Bank • About October 30, 2008 - Dell Computers Subject of Bias Lawsuit - Court: Hospital May Be Liable for Contract Doctor - AG Files Lawsuit Against Crib Distributor - Appeals Court Dismisses Damages to Attorney - Women Paying More for Health Coverage, Data Shows - FDA Criticized for Stance on Chemical in Plastic - Group Reports Record Number of Serious Drug Reactions - State Courts More Favorable to Plaintiffs, Study Finds This Service Sponsored Exclusively by The James Street Group A Member Service of Texas Trial Lawyers Association Announcements Time is running out to register for TTLA’s Annual Conference Events! Don’t miss our 4 incredible CLE programs, national speakers including Paul Begala, our Annual Party & Auction, List Server reception, Advocates Annual Meeting, Annual President’s Luncheon, Annual Board & Membership meeting, and more! Visit www.ttla.com/annual for more details and to register, or call (512) 476-3852 for more information. Laws/Cases Dell Computers Subject of Bias Lawsuit Four former Dell employees have accused the computer manufacturer of targeting women and workers over age 40 during a recent round of layoffs. In the lawsuit, the former human-resources executives say the company discriminates against women in pay, job placement, promotions and layoffs. The lawsuit seeks $500 million in damages on behalf of a class of employees affected by the alleged discrimination. Grant Gross, The New York Times 10/29/2008 Read Article: The New York Times Court: Hospital May Be Liable for Contract Doctor Hospitals that employee contract doctors may be held liable for malpractice if the facility leads patients to believe that the contractors are staff physicians, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled. While a hospital is generally immune from liability arising from contract workers, the court found failure to disclose that contract status vests the physician to act with "apparent authority" on the hospital's behalf. The case is Estate of Cordero v. Christ Hospital et al. Michael Booth, Law.com 10/30/2008 Read Article: Law.com AG Files Lawsuit Against Crib Distributor Crib distributor SFCA Inc. ignored a nationwide recall of bassinets linked to the suffocation deaths of two children, a lawsuit filed by the Illinois attorney general claims. According to the lawsuit, SFCA continued to distribute products from crib manufacturer Simplicity after it was well known that the items posed significant risk to children. The lawsuit seeks a public recall of cribs distributed by SFCA in addition to refunds. AP, Chicago Tribune 10/29/2008 Read Article: Chicago Tribune Appeals Court Dismisses Damages to Attorney A former Los Angeles prosecutor should not receive a $1.5 million award stemming from allegations of retaliation, sex discrimination and other misconduct by the city attorney's office, a California appeals court has ruled. In the original lawsuit, Lynn Magnandonovan claimed that she was fired after complaining of sexual discrimination and professional wrongdoing by other attorneys. The appeals court found that the award was unsupported by evidence presented in the case. Phil Willon, LA Times 10/30/2008 Read Article: LA Times Insurance Women Paying More for Health Coverage, Data Shows Women pay drastically higher premiums for individual insurance policies when compared to their male counterparts, data from insurance companies and online brokers shows. The disparities, which apply to policies providing identical coverage, come as an increasing number of people are turning to individual health plans. Insurers maintain that premiums are higher for women because they statistically use more healthcare services. Robert Pear, The New York Times 10/29/2008 Read Article: The New York Times Products FDA Criticized for Stance on Chemical in Plastic The Food and Drug Administration ignored critical studies and used flawed methods in reaching conclusions to reassure consumers about the safety of a chemical known as bisphenol-A, or BPA, according to the report of a scientific panel. In the report, the panel faulted the FDA’s stance for creating a false sense of security regarding BPA. BPA, which is commonly used in hard plastics and as a canned food and drink lining, has been linked in some studies to numerous health concerns. Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times 10/29/2008 Read Article: The New York Times Study Group Reports Record Number of Serious Drug Reactions A record number of consumers suffered serious drug reactions during the first three months of this year, a consumer watchdog group reported last week. According to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, nearly 21,000 patients suffered serious drug reactions and 4,800 of those patients died. The report cites the smoking cessation drug Chantix and the blood thinner heparin as the drugs accounting for most serious reactions. Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Seattle Times 10/23/2008 Read Article: Seattle Times State Courts More Favorable to Plaintiffs, Study Finds The Department of Justice has reported that plaintiffs win the majority of state court trials and are more likely to receive a favorable verdict from a judge than from a jury. According to the report, produced by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, plaintiffs won in 56 percent of all state court civil trials in 2005 with judges ruling favorably in 68 percent of cases. The report also found that the number of civil trials decreased 52 percent between 1992 and 2005. Vesna Jaksic, Law.com 10/30/2008 Read Article: Law.com