Too often, in our line of work, we see victims or family members who have lost loved ones in senseless preventable automobile accidents caused by impaired drivers. Combining too much alcohol and an automobile leads to tragic results. Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD Arizona have taken it upon themselves to educate the driving public in Arizona about the dangerous...
I spend a fair portion of my life in doctor depositions. Most depositions in an attorney's world take place in law firm conference rooms where we can spread out our papers and our notebooks and look a deponent in the eye from across the table.Doctor's depositions are different, though. Unless a doctor is a defendant in a malpractice action, most doctor depositions take place at the doctor's...
ConsumerAffairs.com today discussed a problem with Ford F-series trucks. Apparently the engines don't like the taste of their spark plugs and are spitting them out.The website says they have received more than a dozen complaints already this year, and the issue involves vehicles from the model years 1999-2004.A federally mandated recall would have devastating financial implications for Ford...
Hundreds of years of common law development arrived at the conclusion that joint and several liability of wrongdoers was the fairest approach to the compensation of victims of wrongful acts. It generally allows the injured victim to collect all damages sustained and awarded by a jury from any defendant or defendants with the ability to pay (for example, from a liability insurance policy). The...
A trial before a jury of your peers and fellow citizens is not much of a right if you cannot determine if any of them are likely to be biased or prejudiced against you or your claims. This is why attorneys are given an opportunity to question prospective jurors in a process called voir dire (to speak the truth). It is during voir dire when a potential juror may reveal that he simply does not...
The long-term use of warfarin, a drug commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of blood clots, appears to increase the risk of fractures associated with osteoporosis, a bone-thinning condition that usually increased with age, according to a report. As the study authors note, warfarin prevents coagulation by blocking vitamin K, which is needed to activate certain clotting factors. Because vitamin K...
Late last week, Indianapolis-based Guidant lost its battle to keep secret certain documents that may sink its defense in its product liability litigation involving defective heart implantable devices. The New York Times and two Texas citizens won access to certain documents they allege prove that Guidant knew the dangers associated with certain heart defibrillators and pacemakers. In their...
According to breaking news from the Arizona Daily Star, the Arizona Medical Association has made a decision not to pursue lawsuit reform initiatives in the next election. In order to seek limits on the amount and type of damages a jury can award, those who oppose the current system of justice would have been required to seek changes to the Arizona Constitution. According to representatives of...
A large-scale scheme in which body parts were removed from corpses and sold to hospitals is likely to touch off numerous lawsuits. Patients that received skin grafts and other surgeries are worried about contracting infectious diseases from the illegal practice. Funeral homes in the NY area are facing criminal investigations. At least one woman claims to have contracted syphilis from a bone...
Letters from the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine were introduced as evidence in a federal trial against painkiller Vioxx. The e-mail messages written to another scientist express concern with a study that may have left out crucial data on the harmful effects associated with the drug. The dispute is over VIGOR, a study which has been faulted by plaintiffs for failing to disclose...