Med Mal Plaintiffs (Still) Have Privacy Rights

It isn’t often that Florida appellate courts elevate the privacy rights of plaintiffs over the discovery needs of hospitals and doctors in a medical malpractice case. So this will be a great help. “We understand the burden that in-camera inspections put on busy trial judges,” the panel said. “Nevertheless, that burden may be necessary to […]

This Kind of Courthouse Reporting Reveals a Bias Against Plaintiffs

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 […]

What Do Trial Lawyers Have In Common With Teachers?

One of the better trial judges I have appeared in front of started as a math teacher. This lawyer did that in reverse. When I entered the classroom each new school year, I became responsible for teaching a group of strangers who may not have wanted to be there, about a subject that they may […]

Punitive Damages

Punitive damage claims are heavily regulated. Your lawyer needs to understand how to plead them and how to prove them. Much of the law restricting punitive damages comes out of all the tobacco litigation that has been in the court system for decades. A new tobacco case on appeal further restricts punitive damage remedies against […]

Hospital Settles Missing Tumor Suit After Admitting It Can’t Find It

I have handled cases where records and reports went missing after the fact, but I can’t remember a case where the hospital lost tissue before it could be tested or reviewed. According to the lawsuit, Morton-Maxson had a family history of bladder cancer and doctors noted the growth was “likely cancer.” But UW “lost the […]

Lawyer Misconduct in Closing Can Get A Verdict Overturned

Defense lawyers who convince a judge to keep out evidence of prior similar accidents don’t get to argue to the jury that there is no evidence of similar accidents. “The misconduct of Appellant’s counsel has resulted in unnecessary expense to his client and to Appellee, a waste of judicial resources, and inconvenience to the jurors […]

Insurance Defense Conflicts Update …

There is an update on a story I blogged about here, involving a defense firm disqualified from an auto negligence case because one of its lawyers previously worked for the plaintiff on a prior similar claim. Apparently, they need the case more than they fear the repercussions, as they are fighting this on appeal (on […]

Today’s Quote

The truth is the light and the light is the truth. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man In his groundbreaking 1952 book “Invisible Man,” Ralph Ellison introduces an unnamed African American narrator who relates his story from a basement-dwelling lit with 1,369 light bulbs. This room filled with light represents the man’s choice to see his life […]