Consumer Law

Where do Doctors go? Where the money is.

Posted on November 20, 2009
Check this out: Doctors have been flocking to the area and surrounding Westchester County since the 1970s, drawn in part by an upper-class clientele who demand top-notch medical care and have the means to pay for it. The county has one of the highest median household incomes in the nation (about $77,000 a year in 2007), and the figures soar above six digits in suburbs like Scarsdale and Chappaqua, which former President Bill Clinton calls home...

Without Medical Malpractice Lawsuits, Connecticut Hospitals Would Rarely Be Held Accountable

Posted on November 17, 2009
Are there any states that aggressively investigate and fine hospitals for violation of state law? For the fraction of cases the department pursues, investigators almost always find multiple violations of state laws and regulations. But hospitals rarely face sanctions...

More Proof That We Can't Trust Businesses To Protect Their Workers

Posted on November 17, 2009
Can you spot the most disturbing sentence in this clip? WASHINGTON -- Some employers are pressuring workers not to report illnesses and injuries, just one problem that has led to widespread underreporting of workplace safety issues, according to congressional investigators...

Uninsured patients are twice as likely to die from trauma than those with insurance

Posted on November 17, 2009
I found this very interesting.   Patients who lack health insurance are more likely to die from car accidents and other traumatic injuries than people who belong to a health plan -- even though emergency rooms are required to care for all comers regardless of ability to pay, according to a study published today...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

98,000 People Die Every Year Due To Medical Errors

Posted on November 12, 2009
I?ll support medical malpractice ?reform? when that number gets down to 980. That statistic, and this video comes from the 98000 Reasons website. 98000reasons.org: Blake Fought from American Association for Justice on Vimeo.

What medical malpractice crisis?

Posted on November 02, 2009
The number of payments is dramatically down, and so is the amount of payments.   Nationwide, the number of payments physicians made for malpractice claims fell to 11,037 last year -- the lowest figure since the National Practitioner Data Bank began tracking data in 1990...

A Doctor's Stance on Tort 'Reform'

Posted on October 29, 2009
I really enjoyed this article.  You should read it. Defensive medicine is just one of the supposed systemic ills that doctors, doctors' lobbies and doctors' insurers invoke when they shill for what they call malpractice reform. Proponents of reform say that defensive medicine, frivolous lawsuits and high premiums are behind the surge in healthcare expenses...

Kansas Damage Caps About To Be Tested

Posted on October 26, 2009
$760,000 is much lower than I would have anticipated for this.  It?s really more like a $575,000 award, as the past & future medical expense damages aren?t part of the noneconomic damage award: Topeka ? Seven years ago, Amy Miller, Eudora, went in for surgery for removal of her right ovary...

California Starts The Civil Gideon Revolution

Posted on October 19, 2009
I wish I had the time to blog substantively about this today.  Since I don?t, I just want to point out what a game-changer this is, and congratulate Governor Schwarzenegger for signing this bill into law. California is embarking on an unprecedented civil court experiment to pay for attorneys to represent poor litigants who find themselves battling powerful adversaries in vital matters affecting their livelihoods and families...

I am truly shocked. Chrysler did the right thing.

Posted on August 28, 2009
Considering that Chrysler has been such a powerhouse in the tort reform movement, the fact that they did this is remarkable. Chrysler changes course on product liability claims David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington -- The Chrysler Group LLC reversed course and agreed to accept product liability claims on vehicles built before the company's good assets exited bankruptcy on June 10...

On Huff Po: Corporate Hypocrisy re Arbitration

Posted on June 17, 2009
In HuffPo today, Art Levine asks, Why Does Chamber of Commerce Favor Arbitration for Workplace Rape Victims, But Oppose It for Union Workers?. If their flip flopping on the issue is confusing, Levine sets forth a pretty simple litmus test for determining how the corporate lobby will weigh in: It's easy to determine when businesses will back or oppose arbitration: if it seems likely to screw workers and consumers out of their day in court, then they see it as good, and it if might possibly help workers achieve decent wages and benefits through labor negotiations, then it's bad...

Will Pres. Obama back Med Mal Deform?

Posted on June 15, 2009
I'm confused. Today, President Obama told attendees at the American Medical Association conference in Chicago that he is not supportive of the idea of capping medical malpractice damages: "I'm not advocating caps on malpractice awards, which I believe can be unfair to people who've been wrongfully harmed...

Post-Hiatus Supreme Court Stuff...

Posted on June 12, 2009
It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you... (Anyone who can finish that sentence wins a prize!) I have been on a bit of a hiatus while I concentrated on completing my fellowship at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. I apologize for my unannounced absence! On Monday, I will offer forth a longer reflection about my amazing experience at DMI as their civil justice fellow, and will resume blogging for TortDeform, although it will probably be less frequently than before...

Waiting Room Death Case Settles

Posted on May 28, 2009
A while back we covered the story of Esmin Green, a Brooklyn woman who died on the floor of the waiting room at Kings County Hospital Center (here's my post, here's Justinian's post). Her estate's civil case against the hospital has been settled and the family is to receive $2 million from the hospital (in NYT )...

The Sotomayor Buzz

Posted on May 26, 2009
(Photo courtesy of Pace University.) I just finished watching the live announcement that Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonya Sotomayor is President Obama's Supreme Court nominee. (Here's some coverage from NPR and New York Times) In her speech, Judge Sotomayor pledged to "respect and respond to the concerns" of all who come before her in court...

Are you relaxing at home? Lucky you...

Posted on May 25, 2009
Happy Memorial Day! If the weather is nice (it certainly is here) then I hope you can get out to a park or barbecue or picnic. Also be sure to get some nice relaxing time in at home, if you can. Unless your home is like one of those featured in this new study, Home Court Advantage: How the Building Industry Uses Forced Arbitration to Evade Accountability...

Times are Tough... Time for Civil Gideon

Posted on May 22, 2009
I've seen some pretty troubling figures about legal aid, and it's no wonder. Legal aid is completely stretched thin as more people find themselves in the middle of desperate civil legal battles due to the recession, while simultaneously legal aid organizations across the country are finding their funding slashed due to the downturn...

Health care tort "reform" arguments exposed as false, mythical

Posted on May 21, 2009
Barbara O'Brien's third and fourth parts to her series on the health care debate and tort "reform" are up and running and ready for you to read and debate. In part three, she highlights the lies that are being offered as fact about tort "reform," health care costs, and medical malpractice...

Obama goes pro-civil justice, hit's "undo" on preemption

Posted on May 21, 2009
This is, in a word, amazing. In an official memo released today, the Obama administration rolled back the effect of abusive implied federal preemption tactics like preemption by preamble, which is basically just a way to sneak lawsuit immunityfor big business into important regulations that are supposed to protect us...

Obama Administration straddling fence on forced arbitration?

Posted on May 20, 2009
Where does the Obama administration stand on the issue of forced arbitration? Apparently, with one foot on each side of the line. Consumerist shared clips from their entertaining and informative interview with Austan Goolsbee, President Obama's senior economic adviser, about consumer protection and credit card industry reform...

Happy Birthday, Jim Crow, and Good Riddance!

Posted on May 18, 2009
This article from Politico marks the 102nd anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling Plessey v. Ferguson. What a sobering reminder of why, as Obama himself put it, "the critical ingredient [in a good Supreme Court nominee] is supplied by what is in the judge's heart...

From blog opinion to Supreme Court opinion?

Posted on May 15, 2009
Maybe... Josh Camson asks, Can Blogs Influence the Supreme Court?, in his blog post reviewing a law review article on the subject. According to Camson, the article cites ?a trend towards citing more online sources, including blogs? and the fact that ?on a recent workday [SCOTUSblog] registered over a hundred hits from an IP address registered to the Court...

Staying in US, for now.

Posted on May 14, 2009
Sometimes I get so stressed out I just want to up and move to New Zealand or something. Well, this bit of news sure makes me think twice about that inclination. As Courtney at Feministing writes, it looks like New Zealand Needs its Own Lilly Ledbetter...

On RaceWire... will AG Holder Face Race?

Posted on May 14, 2009
Will Eric Holder Make Good on His Word and Face Race? Julianne Hing asks whether the attorney general and the Obama administration will grapple with a racial discrimination case, the details of which are are horrendous to say the least. The plaintiff, FBI Agent Donald Rochon, said the following about his case and why he's pushing forward with it after over two decades of fighting for justice: "The FBI is kind of using me as an example to scare other employees ? whether they be Title VII claimants or whistleblowers ? into not making complaints," he says...

Revived Focus on Health Care, Revival of Tort "Reform" Rhetoric

Posted on May 13, 2009
President Obama: In the coming weeks and months Congress will be engaged in the difficult issue of how best to reform health care in America. I'm committed to building a transparent process where all views are welcome, but I'm also committed to ensuring that whatever plan we design upholds three basic principles: first, the rising costs of health care must be brought down; second, Americans must have the freedom to keep whatever doctor and health care plan they have or to choose a new doctor and health care plan if they want it; and third, all Americans must have quality, affordable, health care...

Ledbetter law applied to tenure case

Posted on May 11, 2009
The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is being applied in a university tenure lawsuit. From Ms. Magazine we learn that "the suit alleges gender discrimination in denying tenure, in part because male professors at the university who also were not published had received tenure and promotions...

Website to Stop Corporate Immunity

Posted on May 11, 2009
Check out this website: www.StopCorporateImmunity.org, which is designed to build awareness about the real life effects of federal preemption on important claims related to defective medical devices. There you can access clips of patients sharing stories about how they were affected by faulty medical devices that, because they were FDA-approved, were protected from lawsuits despite the serious injuries they caused people...

I've got a suggestion...

Posted on May 11, 2009
The President recently told Congress that he expects them to present him with a bill that will put an end to consumer abuses in the credit industry. He said: "Instead of fine print that hides the truth, we need credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight, and we need to give people the tools they need to find a credit card that meets their needs...

Thoughtful Thursday

Posted on May 07, 2009
There are other blogs that, well, i just wanted to highlight because of their thoughtful, precise content. Here they are: Alliance For Justice's JusticeWatch The Opportunity Agenda Blog The American Constitution Society's blog Mark Wahlstrom Blog Any other blogs you would add for today? Share in the comments below...

Work it Wednesday

Posted on May 06, 2009
Well, I'm definitely not working today--quite the contrary. So to compensate, I thought today I'd share a few blogs that tackle issues related to the civil justice system, the workplace and workers' rights. For starters, check out: The New York Disability Law Blog New York Workers Comp Alliance Law Blog The Pump Handle The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights Blog NWLC's WomenStake blog From workers' comp and workplace safety, to employment discrimination and fair pay, it is important to think about how our ability to work and pursue work are affected by the law...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.