TTLA EClips • TTLA Home • Search Litigation Bank • About November 20, 2008 -  Mother of Drowned Student Files Lawsuit -  FMLA Changes Problematic, Lawyers Say -  Hospital Whistleblower Settlement in Trouble -  Insurers Yield to Coverage for All, With a Caveat -  Choking Death Prompts Window Blinds Recall -  Column: How Obama Administration Will Affect Civil Justice -  Waco Court of Appeals: Torts -  Cancer Drug Linked to Clotting Risk     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 Mother of Drowned Student Files Lawsuit The mother of a student who drowned during a school retreat last week has filed a lawsuit in connection with his death. According to the lawsuit, North Lawndale College Preparatory High School, VisionQuest International and YMCA of McHenry County failed to secure a paddle boat the boy had been using prior to the incident. A plug on the bottom of the boat had been removed when the craft was set aside for winter.  Tribune Staff Report, Chicago Tribune  11/20/2008 Read Article: Chicago Tribune     FMLA Changes Problematic, Lawyers Say Recent changes to the Family Medical Leave Act are likely to spark increased confusion and litigation, some lawyers say. Employers and employees alike have been critical of the revisions detailed in the new 750-page document. Specifically, employers argue that workers abuse FMLA for intermittent leave while workers contend that they might be wrongly denied FMLA leave and punished for taking it.  Tresa Baldas, Law.com  11/20/2008 Read Article: Law.com     Hospital Whistleblower Settlement in Trouble A former secretary at a Pittsburgh-area hospital is seeking to abandon a deal to settle her whistleblower lawsuit against the facility. According to the woman’s attorney, the hospital and its parent company have attempted to enforce terms inconsistent with the facts of the case and the settlement. Donna Kovacs was fired from Magee-Womens Hospital for allegedly disclosing confidential patient information. A judge is scheduled to rule on the enforceability of the settlement this week.  Walter F. Roche, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review  11/20/2008 Read Article: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review     Insurance Insurers Yield to Coverage for All, With a Caveat In a somewhat unanticipated move, two major lobbying groups for the insurance industry said they would accept legislation requiring insurers to accept customers regardless of preexisting conditions. However, the concession includes one major caveat: the government must mandate universal coverage. The purposed plan is expected to spark advanced debate over healthcare initiatives proposed by President-elect Barack Obama.  Robert Pear, The New York Times  11/19/2008 Read Article: The New York Times     Products Choking Death Prompts Window Blinds Recall Two home furnishings companies have recalled more than 670,000 window blinds and shades following the death of a young child. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a 1-year-old girl died after becoming entangled in the cord of IKEA Roman blinds. In a separate incident, a 2-year-old girl nearly choked to death after getting caught in the cord of a set of Green Mountain Vista shades. The recall applies to about 670,000 blinds from IKEA and about 7,300 shades from Green Mountain Vista Inc.  Natasha T. Metzler, LA Times  11/20/2008 Read Article: LA Times     Editorials/Columns/Letters Column: How Obama Administration Will Affect Civil Justice The coming Obama administration is unlikely to push for major changes to the civil justice system or to rollback many policies of the Bush administration, a column by Anthony J. Sebok says. Sebok points out that Obama has never aligned himself with the trial bar and that his largest contributor from the legal community was a major corporate defense firm. However, Sebok notes that any changes to the civil justice system are likely to come from the Democratic majority in Congress.  Anthony J. Sebok, FindLaw  11/18/2008 Read Article: FindLaw     TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES Waco Court of Appeals: Torts An electric motor-driven cell door is "motor-driven equipment" under the Tort Claims Act. Doyal v. Texas Dep't of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division, Waco Court of Appeals, No. 10-07-00103-CV.  , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)  11/20/2008 Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only)     Study Cancer Drug Linked to Clotting Risk Chemotherapy patients taking the popular cancer drug Avastin are significantly more likely to develop blood clots in the veins, according to research released Tuesday. In the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that patients combining Avastin with chemotherapy treatment raise their risks for clots by about a third. Avastin already carries warnings about the potential for arterial clotting.  Reuters, Reuters  11/18/2008 Read Article: Reuters     Published by TRIALSMITH, Litigation Tools for Trial Lawyers