Personal Injury Law

Big Tobacco in a Post-Settlement World

Posted on January 31, 2010
The New York Times has an interesting piece today on Altria's direction in recent years, including its support for FDA oversight, its acquisitions to grow in the smokeless arena, and its efforts on smokeless cigarettes. Worth a read. --BC

Speaker Needed

Posted on January 30, 2010
Gerard Magliocca (Indiana-Indy), newly installed chair of the AALS section on maritime law, is creating a panel for next year's AALS annual meeting. The panel will discuss distinctions between maritime and land-based law from a variety of perspectives...

Personal Injury Roundup No. 64 (1/29/10)

Posted on January 29, 2010
Reform, Legislation, Policy TN: Med Mal claims report for 2008 (Day on Torts) As a matter of federal law, truck drivers may no longer text. (Day on Torts) VA: A proposal to streamline UIM recovery passes key subcommittee (VLW Blog)...

Introducing Guest Blogger Richard Epstein

Posted on January 28, 2010
Monday's guest blogger is Richard Epstein. Epstein is the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, where he currently teaches Roman Law and Torts. He has also been the Peter and Kirstin Bedford Senior...

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A Sequel to the McDonald's Coffee Case

Posted on January 27, 2010
A man going through a McDonald's drive-thru in Virginia was allegedly burned by the grease from a chicken sandwich. When he took a bite, ?the grease from the inside of the chicken sandwich spread out all over my bottom lip,...

Med Mal Reform in Virginia

Posted on January 27, 2010
There are two pieces of med mal reform news from my home state. First, Virginia hospitals are supporting General Assembly legislation authorizing a disclosure/early offer pilot program. The House bill, No. 306, is sponsored by Henrico County neurologist and Del...

Glaxo and Merck Disclose Payments To Doctors

Posted on January 26, 2010
The Miami Herald reports that Glaxo and Merck have launched on-line databases disclosing payments to physicians: Responding to a continuing push from lawmakers to reveal how much the pharmaceutical industry is influencing America's doctors, two more major drug makers have...

NY Governor Wants Tougher Regs on Gifts By Drug Companies To Doctors

Posted on January 26, 2010
New York Governor David Patterson wants to restrict drug companies from giving gifts to doctors. CNBC/AP has more. - SBS

Guest Blogger Mike Green: "Let's Be Careful Out There"

Posted on January 25, 2010
?[I]n this atmosphere of economics now a change in a fundamental part of law affecting landholders is bound to have an effect on the cost of homeowner insurance if the word is out that there is a duty to trespassers....

Personal Injury Roundup No. 63 (1/22/10)

Posted on January 22, 2010
Reform, Legislation, Policy Tobacco companies must disclose cigarette ingredients to FDA in June. (AP/ABC News) "FDA issues warning about BPA exposure." (CBS News) New Lawsuits Iraqi government contemplating class action suit against private security firm Blackwater for injuries to Iraqi...

Monday's Guest Blogger: Mike Green

Posted on January 21, 2010
Mike Green is the Bess and Walter Williams Distinguished Chair at the Wake Forest University School of Law. He currently serves as a Co-Reporter for the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical Harm, a publication of the prestigious American...

Partlett on Fischer

Posted on January 20, 2010
David Partlett (Emory) has posted to SSRN his symposium introduction celebrating the scholarship of David Fischer. Entitled David Fischer, the Fox (a), the abstract provides: This essay recognizes the seminal scholarship of Professor David Fischer. The piece notes that scholars...

Suit Against Exxon for Alleged Radiation Exposure Underway

Posted on January 20, 2010
Business Week has the details. The plaintiffs (nineteen among thousands of people with related claims) are former pipe workers and they allege that Exxon knew as early as the 1930s that their drilling pipes were contaminated but didn't inform regulatory...

Wajert, Beck & Gallo on "Reduced Legal Oversight For FDA Warning Letters Amplifies Compliance And Liability Risks"

Posted on January 19, 2010
The Washington Legal Foundation has published a "legal backgrounder" piece by Sean Wajert, Jim Beck and Vincent Gallo (all of Dechert) titled "Reduced Legal Oversight for FDA Warning Letters Amplifies Compliance and Liability Risks. (pdf)" The piece reviews the impact...

Medical Malpractice And the Health Reform Bills

Posted on January 19, 2010
In today's Los Angeles Times, Tom Hamburger and James Oliphant report on the lobbying efforts to keep medical malpractice reform out of the health care reform bills: ....With Democratic strategists looking for ways to woo Republican support for the overall...

Buzbee's Introduction and Conclusion in "Preemption Choice: The Theory, Law and Reality of Federalism's Core Question"

Posted on January 18, 2010
William W. Buzbee (Emory) has posted the Introduction and Conclusion chapters from "Preemption Choice: The Theory, Law and Reality of Fedralism's Core Question" on SSRN. The abtract provides: This posting provides the covers and introductory pages, Introduction and Conclusion from...

FDA to Look at BPA

Posted on January 16, 2010
In a course change, the FDA announced that it would be attempting to change BPA's status from "food additive" to "food conduct substance" and that it would be engaging in an extensive safety review of the product, which is in...

Personal Injury Roundup...

Posted on January 15, 2010
...will be up later this morning.

Guest Blogger Monday Spring 2010 Lineup

Posted on January 14, 2010
We are delighted to announce the Guest Blogger Monday lineup for the Spring 2010 semester: 1/25--Mike Green (Wake Forest) 2/1--Richard Epstein (Chicago) 2/8--Kenneth Abraham (Virginia) 2/15--Alan Calnan (Southwestern) 2/22--Anita Bernstein (Brooklyn) 3/1--Kenneth Simons (Boston) 3/8--Michael McCann (Vermont) 3/15--James Henderson (Cornell)...

Dickerson on Waivers as Risk-Management Tools

Posted on January 13, 2010
Darby Dickerson (Stetson) has posted to SSRN Sign and Release? Using Waivers and Releases as Risk-Management Tools. The abstract provides: Many on- and off-campus activities provide students with tremendous educational and social benefits. But these same activities can also carry...

Inaccurate Calorie Counts

Posted on January 12, 2010
So, your New Year's resolution is to lose a few pounds? Be warned: The Los Angeles Times reports that food and restaurant calorie labels may be off by as much as 18%. No one has sued....yet. - SBS

NYC Takes On Salt

Posted on January 11, 2010
The New York Times reports that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to unveil a plan today to reduce the amount of salt in packaged foods and restaurants: On Monday, after a year of consultations with industry, the city...

Stapleton on Causation in Asbestos Cases

Posted on January 08, 2010
Jane Stapleton (Texas/ANU) has posted to SSRN The Two Explosive Proof-of-Causation Doctrines Central to Asbestos Claims. The abstract provides: For decades the volume of asbestos claims has been a unique and mesmerizing phenomenon. This historic wave of civil claims would...

CA: Schwarzenegger Focuses on Tort Reform

Posted on January 07, 2010
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered his State of the State address yesterday. At the top of his agenda sits tort reform. Specifically, he seeks changes in the rules for class action and product liability suits, as well as a cap...

Top 10 Recent SSRN Torts & Products Liability Downloads

Posted on January 06, 2010
The top 10 SSRN Torts & Products Liabiltiy papers uploaded over the last 60 days are: Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 123 The Law Applicable to Secondary Liability in Intellectual Property Cases Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Rochelle Dreyfuss, Annette Kur, Date....

Twitter Libel?

Posted on January 05, 2010
In this week's Writ column, Julie Hilden analyzes the defamation suit recently filed against Kim Kardashian based on her "tweets" about the Cookie Diet. A copy of the complaint is available here (pdf). - SBS

TN: Post Tort Reform Med Mal Filings Down 60%

Posted on January 04, 2010
In 2008, the Tennessee legislature passed a law requiring a third-party certification from a doctor or nurse that a claim has some merit and notice 60 days prior to filing suit. In 2009, medical malpractice filings declined 60%. Nashville Public...

Hanson, Hanson, & Hart on Law and Economics

Posted on January 02, 2010
Jon Hanson (Harvard), Kathleen Hanson (affiliation unknown), & Melissa Hart (Colorado) have posted to SSRN Law and Economics. The abstract provides: This chapter provides an introduction to the history, uses, methods, strengths, and limits of law and economics...

Symeonides on Choice of Law

Posted on January 01, 2010
Symeon Symeonides (Willamette) has posted his 23rd annual choice-of-law survey to SSRN. The abstract provides: This is the Twenty-Third Annual Survey of American Choice-of-Law Cases. It is written at the request of the Association of American Law Schools Section on...

GA Legislators Ready to Revise Tort Reform Provisions if Held Unconstitutional

Posted on December 31, 2009
The Georgia Supreme Court heard constitutional arguments in two tort reform cases this fall. In September, the issue was a cap on pain and suffering in med mal cases; in October, the issue was the burden of proof in emergency...

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