AAJ’s upcoming seminar Litigating Medical Negligence and Injured Infant Cases, April 9–10 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, will provide the newest strategies and techniques on how to get justice for those who need it the most.
To register and learn more, visit www.justice.org/education/medneg or call AAJ Education at 800-622-1791 or 202-965-3500, ext. 8612.
AAJ’s upcoming seminar Growing on the Vine: Maximizing Profitability in Changing Times (cosponsored by AAJ’s Sole Practitioner and Small Firm Section) is about the business of running a successful law practice. The program is taking place April 9–10 at Caesars Place in Las Vegas. Program highlights include “Controlling Cost and Maximizing Revenue”, “Electronic Medical Research”, and “Technology at Trial—Cutting Costs Not Corners”, all of which are designed to help you run your firm more effectively and efficiently.
For more information and to register visit www.justice.org/education/growingonthevine or call the education department at (800) 622-1791.
Former ATLA President Howard Twiggs has died. Funeral services are today. Howard has been a friend for over 25 years and was a leader in the plaintiff’s trial bar and his community.
I first met Howard at a NCATL seminar in Chapel Hill, NC when I was still a law student. Later, we became re-acquainted at ATLA conventions and meetings around the country. About 12 years ago we had the pleasure of working on a case together, helping a North Carolina family that had a tragic accident on I-40 near Lebanon, TN. Thus, we had time to get to know one another in a long car rides and over dinner in my home, as opposed to simply running into each other at a reception at convention or two.
I say all of that to say this: Howard Twiggs was a very, very fine man and an extremely competent lawyer. He had a love for his fellow man, and felt duty-bound to help them, especially those who were not blessed with his intellect and his health. He loved his adopted state of North Carolina, and had that wonderful accent that always took me back 1978, when I left WI and jumped into life in the South.
Trey Mills is angry at Allstate. He explains why on his South Carolina Injury Law Journal blog.
My daughter was hurt in a soccer game because the ref refused to reign in a reckless player on the opposing team. Can I sue? My son is devastated because he was improperly called out on strikes by a blind umpire. Can I sue?
Setting aside the merits of these complaints, or the wisdom of pursing such a claim, Tennessee law gives a relatively high level of immunity to sports officials. Under T. C. A. Section 62-50-201, a “’sports official’ means any person who serves as referee, umpire, linesperson or in any similar capacity in supervising or administering a sports event and who is registered as a member of a local, state, regional or national organization that provides training and educational opportunities for sports officials."
Section 62-50-202 provides that "[a] sports official who administers or supervises a sports event at any level of competition is not liable to any person or entity in any civil action for damages to a player, participant or spectator as a result of the sports official’s act of commission or omission arising out of the sports official’s duties or activities."
The Tennessee Adult Protection Act, T. C. A. Sec. 71-6-101 et seq, creates civil action for compensatory and, as appropriate, punitive damages when "adults" covered by the act are victims of abuse or neglect, sexual abuse or exploitation and for theft of money or property whether by fraud, deceit, coercion or otherwise. Those covered by the Act fall within this definition of adult:
“Adult” means a person eighteen (18) years of age or older who because of mental or physical dysfunctioning or advanced age is unable to manage such person’s own resources, carry out the activities of daily living, or protect such person from neglect, hazardous or abusive situations without assistance from others and who has no available, willing, and responsibly able person for assistance and who may be in need of protective services; provided, however, that a person eighteen (18) years of age or older who is mentally impaired but still competent shall be deemed to be a person with mental dysfunction for the purposes of this chapter
The Act also permits recovery of attorneys’ fees in certain circumstances.
As a Tennessee injury lawyer I receive calls from time to time from parents of children who have been injured by a foster parent. Indeed, several years ago our firm represented a parent of a pregnant teenager who was killed as a result of careless driving by her foster parent.
Can a person injured by the negligence of a foster parent sue the foster parent? Can the parents of a foster child sue the foster parent if the foster parent negligently causes the death of the foster child? In Tennessee, the answer is "no."
Under Tennessee law, a foster parent is deemed to be a state employee and is immune from a lawsuit for injuries or death caused by the negligence of the foster parent. Here is the provision from the Tennessee Code that defines "state employee" to include foster parents:
Check out this commercial.
I don’t think this type of advertising would impact the lawyer’s credibility before the average Texas jury. Do you?
Work is underway on the third edition of Day on Torts: A Handbook for Tennessee Tort Lawyers. Laura Bishop and I have already identified over 30 new sections that need to be added to the book, as well as citations to well over 200 new cases.
If you have come across a topic that you believe should be included in the next edition please send me an email at jday@dayblair.com and we will find the leading case and add it to the book.
It is our hope to have the new book available in April of 2010. Hundreds of lawyers across Tennessee are using the earlier editions of the book and we believe that the new edition will be even more valuable to our fellow lawyers.
Some of you heard me rant about West Publishing Company during the recent Justice Programs seminar. Well, here are a couple great posts about West’s pollution of the blawgosphere.
The controversy arose when Findlaw launched "The New York Personal Injury Law Blog" years after a wonderful blog by the same name was started by Eric Turkewitz.
Here is an excerpt from The Legal Satryricon:
Day on Torts