State cap on punitive damages constitutional 
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: clergy sex abuse, damages cap, punitive damages
A state law that places a $50,000 cap on a personal injury plaintiff’s punitive damages does not violate the state constitution, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in reversing judgment.
Vendor could be liable for crash caused by improperly loaded cargo
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: automobile accident, distracted driving, superseding cause, vendor liability
A vendor could be liable for a motor vehicle accident that was allegedly caused by the distraction created by cargo that was improperly loaded onto a customer’s vehicle, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in reversing judgment.
HHS proposes tougher child care safety measures
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: child care, Department of Health and Human Services, federal agencies, safety
WASHINGTON – New proposed regulations would impose stricter safety requirements on child care providers who receive federal funding.
Landowners may have duty to fix ‘open and obvious’ hazards
Published: May 16, 2013
Tags: landlord-tenant, negligence, premises liability, “open and obvious danger” doctrine
The “open and obvious danger” rule does not apply to preclude a finding of negligence in a premises liability action filed by a tenant who was injured when he unsuccessfully attempted to flip into an inflatable pool from a trampoline, Massachusetts’ highest court has ruled in reversing a defense verdict.
Benchmarks: Indiana Supremes restore cap on punitive damages
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: May 16, 2013
Tags: clergy sex abuse, damage caps, punitive damages, right to jury trial, separation of powers
The Indiana Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that the state’s $50,000 cap on punitive damages violated a personal injury plaintiff’s right to a jury trial.
Doctor has no liability for patient’s auto accident
Published: May 15, 2013
Tags: automobile accident, duty of care, negligence
A doctor treating a patient for an inoperable brain tumor did not owe a duty of care to a third party injured when the patient suffered a grand mal seizure while driving, Massachusetts’ highest court has ruled in affirming summary judgment.
Plaintiffs had capacity to sue U.S. for flight controller’s negligence
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: airplane crash, choice of law, Federal Tort Claims Act, FTCA, wrongful death
The mother and adult daughter of the victim of an airplane crash had the capacity to sue the federal government for the alleged negligence of a flight controller, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
HMO not required to indemnify drug maker for hepatitis C outbreak
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: equitable indemnification, Health Plan of Nevada, Robert Eglet, SIerra Health Services, Teva, Will Kemp
Two HMOs that a jury found liable for $524 million for retaining a doctor at the center of a hepatitis C outbreak need not pay an additional $280 million to indemnify the drug maker.
N.Y. attorney wrests $130M verdict from jaws of defeat
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: birth injuries, cerebral palsy, medical malpractice
New York defense attorneys were having a good laugh back in 2009. The snickering was over the story of a well-known medical malpractice lawyer who lost his case after turning down an $8 million settlement offer.
But no one’s laughing now.
Calif. judge tosses $6.5M verdict in first Actos trial
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: Actos, design defect, expert testimony, failure to warn, product liability, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
A California judge has thrown out a $6.5 million product liability verdict against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, deciding that a key expert witness should not have been allowed to testify that the diabetes drug Actos was the cause of a man’s bladder cancer.
