The Insurance Commissioner from the State of Washington has issued a report that examines whether or not there is a medical malpractice insurance crisis in the state. Rather than relying on simple statements from doctors and their insurers the Insurance Commissioner did a closed claim study covering about 90% of…
Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday; I am at a conference in Florida and the day was a little hectic. I didn’t write the Trial Lawyer’s Prayer, but I wish I had. Read more of Evan Schaeffer’s stuff by clicking here. Trial Lawyer’s Prayer, by Evan Schaeffer Dear…
The ABA is hosting a 90-minute teleconference and live audio webcast on how to unearth fact information on the Internet. Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch, authors of the ABA’s The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet will be the speakers. They will address issues like locating public records,…
Many of us have attempted to use police officers as expert witnesses at trial. We have also had them used against us. The Delaware Supreme Court has recently ruled that it was reversible error for a trial judge to permit a police officer to testify to the “primary contributing cause”…
David Swanner, a lawyer in South Carolina, has a blog focused on the use of legal technology by trial lawyers. David’s blog has a lot of good information on Powerpoint, yet another great weapon that we can use when we go into battle. David also has a guest post entitled…
A study from Texas has determined that the medical malpractice “crisis” behind the push for restrictions on the rights of patients is phony, which is no news to anyone who understands the issue. “We find no evidence of the medical malpractice crisis that produced headlines over the last several years…
The Illinois Court of Appeals has ruled that surveillance videos made of a plaintiff in a personal injury suit are disoverable. In Shields v. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Co. defendant argued that the films were protected under the work product doctrine. The appellate court followed the majority rule…
Most of us have been there. You are at trial. The jury is in the box. Things have gone poorly. Your client, the plaintiff, was late, and showed up dressed in a pink oxford shirt and saddle shoes. (Your mistake, by the way. You told him to dress like he…
The House of Representatives has just passed the “Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.” The Senate passed an identical bill last week. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law tomorrow morning at 11:00 EST. The new law gives federal courts jursidiction over most class actions when the…