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.
Tavern may be liable for assault in parking lot
Published: April 11, 2013
Tags: assault, duty of care, negligence, premises liability
A bar may be liable for injuries suffered by a customer in an assault that occurred in the establishment’s parking lot, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in reversing a summary judgment.
$41.5M awarded to prep student stricken by encephalitis
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: April 8, 2013
Tags: duty of care, insect-borne diseases, negligence, schools, viral encephalitis
A prestigious Connecticut boarding school is on the hook for nearly $42 million for failing to ensure that a student was protected from insect-borne viral encephalitis during a 2007 trip to China.
Hotel faces potential liability for evicted guest’s injuries
Published: April 4, 2013
Tags: drunk driving, duty of care, negligence
A hotel may be liable for injuries suffered by a guest in a drunk driving accident that occurred following her eviction from her room, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a summary judgment.
Florida Supreme Court rolls back economic loss rule
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: duty of care, economic loss rule, negligence
The economic loss rule does not bar a property owner’s negligence lawsuit against its insurance broker, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled in answering a certified question from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Benchmarks: Is anyone liable for child’s death at abandoned home?
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: January 23, 2013
Tags: duty of care, negligence, premises liability, wrongful death
Is there anyone to sue when a child dies because of an unsafe condition on one of the millions of abandoned properties in the U.S.?
One state court just scratched mortgage holders and homeowners associations off the list of potential targets.
Benchmarks: Prison guard can’t sue over MRSA infection
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: January 8, 2013
Tags: communicable diseases, duty of care, methicillin resistant staphylococcus, MRSA, negligence
A Pennsylvania corrections officer has lost her bid to sue prison doctors for failing to warn her that certain prison inmates had a dreaded communicable disease.
In torpedoing the prison guard’s lawsuit last month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to impose a new, affirmative duty on doctors to warn third parties that a patient has an infectious disease.
Benchmarks: Car owner escapes liability for thief’s crash
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: December 13, 2012
Tags: automobile accident, duty of care, negligence
The Wyoming Supreme Court has decided that a car owner had no liability for a serious crash that occurred shortly after her vehicle was stolen from her driveway – even though she facilitated the theft by leaving her car unattended with the motor running.
Benchmarks: HealthSouth escapes $12.3M bedsore verdict
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: December 7, 2012
Tags: bedsores, duty of care, medical malpractice, punitive damages
The South Carolina Supreme Court last month overturned a $12.3 million verdict against a HealthSouth rehabilitation hospital sued for allowing a patient recuperating from a gunshot wound to develop a severe bedsore.
Benchmarks: Court limits duty of left-turning drivers
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: November 9, 2012
Tags: automobile accident, duty of care, negligence
As young drivers, we are taught to keep our wheels straight when waiting to make a left-hand turn. That’s to prevent us from being propelled into oncoming traffic should we suffer the misfortune of being rear-ended.
But does a driver breach a duty of care to oncoming drivers by failing to follow this simple rule?
