Personal Injury Law

Practice Tip - Look to the Law First

Posted on April 07, 2009
Here is a tip that will improve the quality of your law practice and your life: look at the law first. Oh, things a different in the run of the mill auto case or other cases that you routinely handle. And it is different if you have recently handled a case that presented the same issues...

Off Topic - Roundball

Posted on April 07, 2009
It is 1:45 AM.  I just returned to the Carolina Inn after spending a little time on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, NC.  My daughter and I had the pleasure of being in the Dean Dome and watching the Tar Heels win their 5th National Championship...

Genetic Defect in Sperm Gives Rise to Products Claim

Posted on April 06, 2009
A mentally retarded 13-year old girl has been permitted to purse a claim against a sperm bank that sold her mother sperm 14 years ago.  She has claimed that the sperm had a genetic defect that caused her mental retardation. The case is Donovan v...

The Alleged IME Exposed

Posted on April 03, 2009
IME.   Independent Medical Exam.  And just how independent is the so-called IME?  The New York Times has looked behind the curtain in New York, and it doesn't like what it saw. Here is an excerpt:  "'If you did a truly pure report,' [the IME doctor] said later in an interview, 'you'd be out on your ears and the insurers wouldn't pay for it...

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April Edition of the Tennessee Trial Law Report

Posted on April 02, 2009
The April 2009 edition of the Tennessee Trial Law Report is in the mail. This edition includes a summary of 11 different cases addressing various aspects of the law of torts, civil procedure, evidence and trial as decided by Tennessee appellate courts between February 15 and March 15, 2009...

Off Topic - Photos From Memphis, April 4, 1968

Posted on April 02, 2009
I  just saw  these previously unreleased photos  from Life magazine that were taken on the day that Martin Luther King was shot.  Most of the photos were taken at the Lorraine Motel, the site of the murder.  They were so powerful I felt that I should share them with you...

"They Killed My Patient. Then They Tried to Hide It."

Posted on April 01, 2009
These are not the words of some crazy plaintiff's lawyer.  These are the words of a doctor.  Dr. Amy Tuteur at Harvard. An excerpt:  "If I had been angry about what happened to the patient, I was even angrier after learning of the deception...

Take A Look At Your Fee Agreement

Posted on April 01, 2009
The lawyer in this case was not permitted to collect expert witness expenses from his client after an unsuccessful med mal case because the fee agreement with the client said only that the client "may" be responsible for such expenses. What does your fee agreement provide?

The Latest From David Mills

Posted on March 31, 2009
From the March 30, 2009 edition of Courtoons.

Lawyer Shares Writing Tips

Posted on March 30, 2009
Raymond P. Ward writes  "the (new) legal writer," where he shares his knowledge of the art of legal writing.  In this post he shares an excellent article that helps us understand techniques for emphasis and de-emphasis in our our writing...

Standard for Recusal of Judge

Posted on March 27, 2009
What is the standard to be applied when a judge faces a recusal motion?   The Tennessee Supreme Court answered that question yesterday in Bean v. Bailey, No. E2007-02540-SC-S10-CV  (Tenn. Mar. 26, 2009).  Here is the standard:  a recusal motion should be granted when 'the judge has any doubt as to his or her ability to preside impartially in the case' or '‘when a person of ordinary prudence in the judge's position, knowing all of the facts known to the judge, would find a reasonable basis for questioning the judge's impartiality...

Attorney General's Opinion on Effect of Expiration of Judicial Selection Commission

Posted on March 27, 2009
The Judicial Selection Commission and the Judicial Evaluation Commission are in a wind-up period after the General Assembly let them die last year.  (I serve on the later commission as an appointed of former Lt. Governor John S. Wilder...

Structured Settlements Are Up

Posted on March 26, 2009
Structured settlements were up 25% in the 4th quarter of 2008 (compared with the previous quarter), and totaled nearly $1.8 billion, according to this article in the National Law Journal.  The article relates the increase to the economic turmoil we have been experiencing...

"Dealing with the Difficult Adversary"

Posted on March 26, 2009
Here is an interesting article from the ABA Section of Litigation on the issue of handling the difficult adversary lawyer.   We have all been there.  Here is a description of a type of lawyer each of us has seen: The Bully. Nearly all difficult adversaries exhibit bullying behavior...

Don't Make This Argument

Posted on March 26, 2009
I argued a medical malpractice case before the Tennessee Court of Appeals today.  Regular readers know that we prevailed in a med mal case in Maury County last year after a thirteen-day jury trial.  The case has been resolved as to all defendants but one, the ER doctor, and it was that case that was set for oral argument today...

Lawyer Sued By Non-Client Over Statute of Limitations "Advice"

Posted on March 25, 2009
Plaintiff talked to lawyer (later the defendant) about a potential car wreck case.  The lawyer allegedly gave the plaintiff wrong information about the statute of limitations applicable to the claim.  Plaintiff's car wreck case was dismissed as time-barred...

ACTL Releases Report on Discovery

Posted on March 24, 2009
The American College of Trial Lawyers has released a report examining the role of discovery in the civil justice system.  Predictably, the report concludes that the system is in need of repair, but the proposed fixes are bound to create controversy...

Lawyer Sanctioned in Fee Dispute

Posted on March 24, 2009
Keeping contemporaneous time records in cases where fee-shifting is allowed just makes sense.  Not keeping such records does not make sense.  And, if the allegations against one attorney are correct, a lack of candor about whether such records were kept can cause  a big, expensive mess...

Neuro Linguistic Programming

Posted on March 23, 2009
Paul Luvera has written an interesting post on neuro linguistic programming.  Those of you who have studied concepts such as mirroring and anchoring have explored some of the concepts that make up this field as applied to our craft. The Oxford  English Dictionary defines NLP as "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences (esp...

A Look Back: Senator Frist and Terri Schiavo

Posted on March 20, 2009
It was four years ago today that I wrote about the ability of Senator Bill Frist to make a medical diagnosis via videotape.  Here is my follow-up post from June 16, 2005, written after the release of Ms. Schiavo's autopsy. Did Dr. Frist's videotape diagnosis cost him a shot at the presidency?  That is a ough question...

Pleading With Particularity

Posted on March 19, 2009
The rules of civil procedure in Tennessee ordinarily require that a plaintiff make a "short, plain statement.."  There is an exception - Rule 9 of the TRCP requires pleading with particularity when fraud or mistake are alleged. Nothwithstanding the general rule, some people believe that more is better...

Free Research!

Posted on March 18, 2009
Are you familiar with JD Supra?  It is a website that contains thousands of legal documents prepared by lawyers around the country.  You can search by key word, locate a document relevant to your issue, and use to short-cut your research time...

New Rules Adopted by General Assembly

Posted on March 17, 2009
The Tennessee General Assembly has passed resolutions approving the rule changes proposed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.  The rule changes will be effective July 1, 2009. Here is a brief summary: Civil Procedure:  There are changes to 11 different rules or comments on rules  - Rule 1, 8, 12, 23, 34, 45, 51, 52, 55, 60 and 65...

Birthday of William L. Prosser

Posted on March 16, 2009
Yesterday (March 15) was the 111th birthday of William L. Prosser, author of the torts text used by most of us in law school and Reporter for the Restatement (Second) of Torts.   

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

Posted on March 16, 2009
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices defines the standards used by road managers and contractors nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices on all streets and highways. The MUTCD is published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Subpart F...

A Look Back: Sunday Spoof of the Past

Posted on March 15, 2009
President Obama hasn't been a resident at the White House so long  that we  forget how President Bush gave us ammo for our occasional Sunday Spoof. Here is one from February 5, 2006 titled "President Bush:  Lawyers to Blame for Lack of Krispy Kreme Stores...

For Consumers: What To Do If You Are Solicited By A Lawyer

Posted on March 12, 2009
Ken Shigley at the Atlanta Injury Law Blog wrote this interesting post where he advises consumers who have suffered a tragic accident what they should do if they are solicited by lawyer. Ken offers this advice: If you are solicited about your injury or death case, you may consider doing the following: Immediately call the General Counsel of the State Bar and report the improper solicitation...

Off Topic - Should Obama Get Credit for Yesterday's Market Increase?

Posted on March 11, 2009
All weekend I heard the drone of certain business reporters and various members of the Republican Party  that President Obama was responsible for the declines in the stock market over the last six weeks. Well, the market went up 5.8% yesterday...

Looking Behind the Curtain

Posted on March 10, 2009
Both the federal courts and Tennessee state courts have strict rules about the types of inquiry that can be made into a jury's verdict.    The general rules for impeaching a jury verdict are set forth in Rule 606(b) of the rules of both systems and in a relatively few number of cases...

Nashville Scene Speaks Out Against Efforts by Nursing Homes to Limit Liability for Malpractice

Posted on March 10, 2009
An article by Jeff Woods at Nashville Scene:   The nursing home industry is back at the legislature this session demanding a law to cap its liability in Tennessee courts for neglecting and abusing residents. That's even though a legislative study committee, which met once after last year's bill failed, decided more time is needed to write balanced legislation...

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