Appeals Archives - The Thompson Law Firm https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/category/appeals/ Fort Myers Florida Trial Attorney Mon, 18 Mar 2024 18:53:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 This Kind of Courthouse Reporting Reveals a Bias Against Plaintiffs https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/this-kind-of-courthouse-reporting-reveals-a-bias-against-plaintiffs/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 18:53:14 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23776 As reported in Law 360 … The Florida Supreme Court’s recent decision not to reinstate a nearly $31 million jury award against a bar that served alcohol to an underage person who later crashed into a pedestrian was the right call, experts said, and provided much needed clarity on the state’s dram shop statute. Read […]

The post This Kind of Courthouse Reporting Reveals a Bias Against Plaintiffs appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> As reported in Law 360 …

The Florida Supreme Court’s recent decision not to reinstate a nearly $31 million jury award against a bar that served alcohol to an underage person who later crashed into a pedestrian was the right call, experts said, and provided much needed clarity on the state’s dram shop statute.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1813400?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2024-03-18&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

The establishment in question is a Tallahassee watering hole near the FSU campus frequented by students. Its owner is a locally well-known donor to conservative legislators and the University. If you ignore this and blithely chalk the result up to unidentified “experts” cheering, you’ve done a grave disservice to the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s lawyer, and especially the jury. What a monumental waste of time and resources.

The post This Kind of Courthouse Reporting Reveals a Bias Against Plaintiffs appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> Insurance Coverage Issues and Fighting Through Delay https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/coverage-issues-and-delay/ Tue, 23 Jan 2024 17:42:40 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23645 When insurance carriers and defense lawyers fight among themselves, the victims of negligence and defective products sometimes endure delays. The primary insurer for a Colorado climbing gear company said an excess insurer’s bid to get out of liability for a climber’s injuries should be heard in a Washington state malpractice suit, arguing in a motion […]

The post Insurance Coverage Issues and Fighting Through Delay appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> When insurance carriers and defense lawyers fight among themselves, the victims of negligence and defective products sometimes endure delays.

The primary insurer for a Colorado climbing gear company said an excess insurer’s bid to get out of liability for a climber’s injuries should be heard in a Washington state malpractice suit, arguing in a motion that the policy dispute is “intertwined” with lawyer misconduct in the underlying product liability case.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1787996?e_id=25d2963f-1ea0-460a-a386-3cba85706e60&utm_source=engagement-alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=similar_articles?copied=1

Here are links to just a few of the cases in which I fought through coverage issues to obtain full recoveries for my clients:

Owens v. Nationwide

Signorelli v. Fireman’s Fund

Bethany Morris

The post Insurance Coverage Issues and Fighting Through Delay appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> On Jury Selection https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/on-jury-selection/ Wed, 27 Dec 2023 16:15:43 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23585 I have had State Farm adjusters sitting in the venire eager to get on an auto accident jury. In one case, I remember a State Farm adjuster on the venire panel. I used internal State Farm documents with the Judge showing that the insurance carrier encouraged their employees – when called for jury duty – […]

The post On Jury Selection appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> I have had State Farm adjusters sitting in the venire eager to get on an auto accident jury. In one case, I remember a State Farm adjuster on the venire panel. I used internal State Farm documents with the Judge showing that the insurance carrier encouraged their employees – when called for jury duty – to maneuver their selection onto a jury to make mischief. The judge would not strike the juror for cause, and we were forced to use a peremptory challenge. These are always difficult decisions.

Here is a Florida appellate court decision that may help with that.

During jury selection, Okaloosa County Circuit Court Judge William F. Stone refused to excuse for cause one of the jurors who Seadler flagged as biased. This meant Seadler was forced to use one of his three peremptory challenges to toss the problematic juror, the justices’ opinion said. Seadler was ultimately forced to accept a different juror he didn’t want and would have removed if he only had that challenge, the opinion said.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1779945?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-12-22&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=5?copied=1

The post On Jury Selection appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> This Privilege Ruling Reminds Me Of Our Charles v. Baptist Hospital Case https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/this-privilege-ruling-reminds-me-of-our-charles-v-baptist-hospital-case/ Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:47:53 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23564 Hospitals try to conceal every report of adverse incidents, even when they know better. I litigated this issue here in Florida successfully. Here is the link to that story: Charles v. Baptist – A Landmark Decision. In this Pennsylvania case, things were a little more clear. Central to the appeal is text of the MCARE Act […]

The post This Privilege Ruling Reminds Me Of Our Charles v. Baptist Hospital Case appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> Hospitals try to conceal every report of adverse incidents, even when they know better. I litigated this issue here in Florida successfully. Here is the link to that story: Charles v. Baptist – A Landmark Decision.

In this Pennsylvania case, things were a little more clear.

Central to the appeal is text of the MCARE Act that protects as privilege documents that arise “out of matters reviewed by the patient safety committee,” and while the hospital conceded that the safety committee did not review the documents, it argued the law does not require the documents actually be reviewed, but just that they be documents that would typically be reviewed by the committee.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1777854?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-12-19&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=5?copied=1

The post This Privilege Ruling Reminds Me Of Our Charles v. Baptist Hospital Case appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> How The Sacklers Took $10B out of Purdue Pharma and Used It to Buy Themselves Immunity from Liability for the Opioid Epidemic https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/how-the-sacklers-took-10b-out-of-purdue-pharma-and-used-it-to-buy-themselves-immunity-from-liability-for-the-opioid-epidemic/ Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:14:42 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23534 The entire story from Law360 about Justice Jackson’s views during oral arguments to SCOTUS. As Purdue Pharma LP and its creditors pushed the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to bless liability releases granted to members of the Sackler family who own it, a skeptical Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it was the owners themselves who […]

The post How The Sacklers Took $10B out of Purdue Pharma and Used It to Buy Themselves Immunity from Liability for the Opioid Epidemic appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> The entire story from Law360 about Justice Jackson’s views during oral arguments to SCOTUS.

As Purdue Pharma LP and its creditors pushed the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to bless liability releases granted to members of the Sackler family who own it, a skeptical Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it was the owners themselves who created the necessity in the first place by withdrawing billions of dollars from the business before its bankruptcy.

During oral arguments on the permissibility of nondebtor, third-party releases in bankruptcy, Justice Jackson took issue with Purdue’s position that the liability shield, which was granted in exchange for $6 billion in contributions from the Sacklers to the estate, was necessary to implement a settlement with opioid victims and confirm the company’s Chapter 11 plan.

Her specific concern related to the Sacklers’ offshoring of more than $10 billion of assets from Purdue in the years before it filed for Chapter 11, and then seeking a release of liability without themselves filing for bankruptcy and avoiding the need to lay their assets “on the table.”

“[My] understanding is not only are they not doing that, but most of the assets we’re talking about were originally in the company, and they actually took the assets from the company, which started the set of circumstances in which the company now doesn’t have enough money to pay the creditors,” Justice Jackson said.

Her point boiled down to the theory that the Sacklers are buying releases from Purdue with Purdue’s own money. She asked Purdue’s counsel why this situation would be allowed to occur even if the court doesn’t outright bar third-party releases.

Gregory G. Garre of Latham & Watkins LLP, representing Purdue, said nearly half the money transferred to the Sacklers in recent years went to cover tax liability, and that of the remaining 60%, the $6 billion being contributed to the plan amounts to 97% of the funds.

He also said the location and structure of trusts that hold most of the assets would present difficulties in trying to recover funds for the benefit of creditors.

“If this settlement doesn’t go forward then these victims would likely, even if they prevailed on their claims, present serious issues about being able to collect on them at the end of the day,” Garre argued.

But Justice Jackson didn’t buy that argument, saying the difficulty in collecting was a result of the Sacklers’ own actions in taking the money overseas.

“It’s not like by operation of law it’s necessary to [grant these releases],” she countered. “It is necessary to do this because the Sacklers have taken the money and are not willing to give it back unless they get this condition.”

Among the criteria necessary for non-consensual, third-party releases to be approved is a showing that they are necessary to the restructuring. Justice Amy Coney Barrett chimed in with support for Justice Jackson’s point, saying that the percentages of assets used to pay taxes and then to pay for the release contribution are important figures in the argument, but that the money still came from the company.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 to handle its liability for the opioid crisis arising from its sale and marketing of the powerful painkiller OxyContin. Its Chapter 11 plan was confirmed two years later and included releases for the Sacklers, which the bankruptcy court found were necessary to implement the restructuring. The Sacklers contributed $4.325 billion under the original plan. When a New York federal judge overturned the plan, finding the releases to be impermissible, the Sacklers increased their contributions to up to $6 billion.

On further appeal, the Second Circuit reversed the district court ruling, and the Office of the U.S. Trustee sought review by the high court.

Purdue is represented by Gregory G. Garre, Charles S. Dameron and Eric J. Konopka of Latham & Watkins LLP and Marshall S. Huebner, Benjamin S. Kaminetzky, Marc J. Tobak and Garrett L. Cardillo of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

The official committee of unsecured creditors is represented by Mitchell P. Hurley, Arik Y. Preis, Sara L. Brauner, Pratik A. Shah, Z.W. Julius Chen and Lide E. Paterno of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Petitioner U.S. Trustee William K. Harrington is represented by Elizabeth B. Prelogar, Brian M. Boynton, Curtis E. Gannon, Masha G. Hansford, Michael S. Raab, Michael Shih, Sean R. Janda, Lawrence H. Fogelman, Peter Aronoff and Benjamin H. Torrance of the U.S. Department of Justice and Ramona D. Elliott, Nan Roberts Eitel, P. Matthew Sutko, Beth A. Levene and Sumi K. Sakata of the Executive Office of the U.S. Trustee.

The case is William K. Harrington v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., case number 23-124, in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1773229?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-12-05&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=2?copied=1

The post How The Sacklers Took $10B out of Purdue Pharma and Used It to Buy Themselves Immunity from Liability for the Opioid Epidemic appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> A major victory for Maya’s family, their lawyers, and patients everywhere. I cannot overstate how impressive this work is under difficult circumstances. https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/a-major-victory-for-mayas-family-their-lawyers-and-patients-everywhere-i-cannot-overstate-how-impressive-this-work-is-under-difficult-circumstances/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 15:10:30 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23470 A Florida jury tacked on $50 million in punitive damages to a roughly $211 million award to the family of Maya Kowalski, the child at the center of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for mistreating Maya to the point that her mother took her own life. Read […]

The post A major victory for Maya’s family, their lawyers, and patients everywhere. I cannot overstate how impressive this work is under difficult circumstances. appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]>

A Florida jury tacked on $50 million in punitive damages to a roughly $211 million award to the family of Maya Kowalski, the child at the center of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for mistreating Maya to the point that her mother took her own life.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1739675?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-11-13&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

I have been following this case and blogged about it

here (“A Difficult Case”), 

here  (“I Was Afraid This Would Happen”), and    

here (Juror Questions).

Medical malpractice cases are difficult on their own. When you add novel issues regarding damages and liability, they can become overwhelming. In addition, this case was tried in a jurisdiction considered by most trial lawyer to be relatively conservative.

I tackled similar issues in a neighboring county. You can read the results of that successful appeal

here (Estate of Thomas versus Lee Memorial Health System).

I have nothing but complete admiration for Maya’s family and their legal team for this brilliant result and wish the best for them during the inevitable appeal.

The post A major victory for Maya’s family, their lawyers, and patients everywhere. I cannot overstate how impressive this work is under difficult circumstances. appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> The Impact Rule https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/the-impact-rule/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 14:04:43 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23405 In many states, including Florida, a physical impact is required for a plaintiff to recover mental and emotional damages for most torts. There are exceptions for the most egregious misconduct – when some people without any physical impact can recover mental and emotional damages. I have litigated that question successfully on appeal. You can read […]

The post The Impact Rule appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> In many states, including Florida, a physical impact is required for a plaintiff to recover mental and emotional damages for most torts. There are exceptions for the most egregious misconduct – when some people without any physical impact can recover mental and emotional damages. I have litigated that question successfully on appeal. You can read that reported decision on my website …

Here (Estate of Thomas v. Lee Memorial)

But what if trauma experienced without any other physical contact – other than the seeing or hearing it – changed the brain in some way? Would that satisfy the impact rule? I am glad that some judges are asking these questions. It could be a game changer for people whose lives have been affected by witnessing horrible trauma.

“How is the brain different from a finger?” the judge asked. “Why isn’t the injury to the brain physical? And why isn’t the brain’s interaction with the device physical?”

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1721210?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-10-30&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0?copied=1

The post The Impact Rule appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> 11th Circ. Affirms $12M Award Over Deadly Fla. Keys Crash https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/11th-circ-affirms-12m-award-over-deadly-fla-keys-crash/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 14:24:06 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23387 In Florida, there is a presumption that the driver of a vehicle that rear-ends another is at fault. That presumption may be overcome by evidence of a sudden stop, sudden entry into traffic or cutting off traffic. Given that, you might rightly wonder why the carrier of the sand truck in this recent case in […]

The post 11th Circ. Affirms $12M Award Over Deadly Fla. Keys Crash appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> In Florida, there is a presumption that the driver of a vehicle that rear-ends another is at fault. That presumption may be overcome by evidence of a sudden stop, sudden entry into traffic or cutting off traffic. Given that, you might rightly wonder why the carrier of the sand truck in this recent case in the news would waste everyone’s time and money delaying a resolution of this case and taking it up on appeal. There is a simple answer: as long as they have the money, they still have it. Maybe they’ll pay now. Or maybe not.

“Thus, not only was the jury-instruction error harmless because the estates were entitled to a directed verdict, but Discount Rock actually benefitted from that error by getting an unearned second bite at the negligence-issue apple,” the Eleventh Circuit said.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1736856?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-10-26&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=2?copied=1

The post 11th Circ. Affirms $12M Award Over Deadly Fla. Keys Crash appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> Med Mal Presuit Rules Can Be A Trap https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/med-mal-presuit-rules-can-be-a-trap/ Tue, 19 Sep 2023 14:28:55 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23234 Many states, like Florida, have presuit rules for medical malpractice cases, passed at the urging of lobbies that represent insurance companies and hospital systems. These rules differ from state to state but generally make filing suit more difficult by setting up a series of procedures your lawyer has to follow. Unsurprisingly, almost every case involves […]

The post Med Mal Presuit Rules Can Be A Trap appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> Many states, like Florida, have presuit rules for medical malpractice cases, passed at the urging of lobbies that represent insurance companies and hospital systems. These rules differ from state to state but generally make filing suit more difficult by setting up a series of procedures your lawyer has to follow. Unsurprisingly, almost every case involves a claim by the defense that the procedures were not properly followed. This results in an unbelievable amount of litigation, appeal, and court docket crowding.

Texas is one of those states. Recently their Supreme Court had to overturn an appellate court ruling that ruined a legitimate action for years – all because the Appellate court accepted quibbling over the language of the expert reports confirming the merit of the case.

The appeals court faulted the two reports for not including enough details about how Kenmar should have changed Uriegas’ care plan, monitored his condition after the first fall or the specific interventions the facility and its nurses should have implemented, according to court documents.

 

Choose your lawyer carefully.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1722343?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-18&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=4?copied=1

The post Med Mal Presuit Rules Can Be A Trap appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> Discovery of Hospital Incident Reporting and Peer Review Privilege https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/23211-2/ Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:26:28 +0000 https://thethompsonlawfirm.net/?p=23211 I have had cases like the one below with both anonymous and signed reports removed from medical charts. In one case, a doctor met me in a restaurant across the street from the hospital and delivered to me his copy of a report that had been removed from the patient’s chart. I have also been […]

The post Discovery of Hospital Incident Reporting and Peer Review Privilege appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]> I have had cases like the one below with both anonymous and signed reports removed from medical charts. In one case, a doctor met me in a restaurant across the street from the hospital and delivered to me his copy of a report that had been removed from the patient’s chart. I have also been involved in cases challenging peer review privileges asserted by Hospitals. I have even secured a court order compelling a Hospital to produce JCAHO sentinel event reports. These are extraordinarily difficult issues to litigate – factually and legally. They require patience, resources, experience, and – most importantly – persistence.

This Pennsylvania case in the news today made me think of the hard work required by trial lawyers.

A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel on Thursday told a University of Pittsburgh hospital that it must make an effort to identify the author of an anonymous report regarding the treatment of a patient who died, saying the whistleblower protections of the state’s Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act don’t block the hospital from revealing the author’s identity.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1721860?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-15&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=3?copied=1

Click here to view the Supreme Court’s ruling in our case, Charles v. Baptist Hospital on peer review privileges.

The post Discovery of Hospital Incident Reporting and Peer Review Privilege appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

]]>