Health Law

Newly Unemployed: Thousands of Texas Fish Used in Banned Pedicure Practice

Worried about the potential risks of fish nibbling at customers’ tootsies, the state of Texas banned the pedicure practice yesterday. “Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokeswoman Susan Stanford said the agency was concerned about salons using the same fish to clean the skin of multiple customers, leaving them open…

Oct 9, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Jury to Decide Why Sandy Morgan Died, in Jail and Mentally Ill

If jail authorities had checked her vital signs, they should have known that something was seriously wrong with Sandy Morgan in addition to her obvious mental illness, experts say. But despite checking her every 15 minutes, as part of a suicide watch, they didn’t realize the Pennsylvania woman needed emergency…

Oct 7, 2008 10:19 PM CDT

Calif. Judge Bans Anna Nicole Smith Breast Surgery Videotape

In the latest ruling in a steady stream of medical privacy cases, a California judge has nixed a Texas doctor’s claimed right to distribute videotapes of the 1994 breast augmentation surgery he performed on celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. After granting a preliminary injunction against Dr. Gerald Johnson last year, Los…

Oct 6, 2008 9:10 PM CDT

New Legal Frontier: Defining the Rights of Frozen Human Embryos

Thanks to today’s reproductive technology, the interrelated questions of when life begins and who has the right to make decisions about someone else’s body and children are becoming increasingly complex. The latest wrinkle: Whether frozen embryos belong to the couple (usually married) who asked a medical clinic to fertilize their…

Oct 6, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Justices Blame FTC for Misleading Consumers about Light Cigarettes

During oral arguments today, two U.S. Supreme Court justices blamed the Federal Trade Commission for misleading consumers about the dangers of light cigarettes. The arguments did not bode well for smokers suing tobacco makers for making misleading advertising claims about the cigarettes’ lower levels of tar and nicotine. SCOTUSblog reports…

Oct 6, 2008 4:28 PM CDT

Solicitor General Had Winning Supreme Court Term

Solicitor General Paul Clement was on the winning side in 20 out of 25 Supreme Court cases in which the Justice Department filed an amicus brief last term. In business cases, Clement was particularly successful, staking out a win in six out of seven cases. The figures are reported in…

Oct 1, 2008 1:53 PM CDT

Wash. High Court Allows Brain Harvesting Claim to Move Forward

The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday revived a suit brought by a mother who objected to the removal of her deceased son’s brain for medical research. Nancy Adams’ son Jesse Smith was an organ donor. But when Adams gave permission for a pathologist to take a sample of Smith’s brain…

Sep 26, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

Police Taser Naked New York City Man, Who Falls and Dies

Add another individual to the death toll related to Taser use: Several New York police officers are facing potential disciplinary action after reportedly stunning a naked and incoherent man who was standing on a fire escape in Brooklyn wielding only an 8-foot fluorescent light tube. The man, 35-year-old Iman Morales,…

Sep 25, 2008 11:06 PM CDT

Divorce Drama: Kirkland Partner Sues Wife re Alleged Affair & STD

Private equity partner Frederick Tanne of Kirkland & Ellis was already expecting a difficult year because of the market slowdown. But now it’s clearly gotten worse. The 48-year-old New York lawyer has sued his wife, Amy, 46, in Manhattan Supreme Court, contending that she gave him a sexually transmitted disease…

Sep 22, 2008 8:19 PM CDT

Tort Suits Claim Chinese Chairs are Toxic

Sitting in an armchair or lying on a sofa isn’t ordinarily considered a hazardous activity. But for well over 1,000 people in several European countries, it allegedly was. After the Chinese manufacturer of furniture distributed by a French company put extra packets of a chemical mold retardant, customers began reporting…

Sep 19, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Jurors Read Newspaper in Jury Room; Judge Voids Verdict

Jurors in a medical malpractice case against a prominent Washington state physician accused of abusing his minor patients weren’t told at trial about an important issue concerning the plaintiffs’ damages. If they determined that he had communicated with minors for immoral purposes, the plaintiffs could get attorney fees. But they…

Sep 17, 2008 8:57 PM CDT

Sunglasses Issue Obscures Case Outcome

A New Jersey judge’s insistence that a respondent should remove his sunglasses in her courtroom has put the outcome of his civil commitment hearing in doubt. Her focus on his shades calls into question her impartiality, requiring another hearing before a different judge, a state appeals court says. A forensic…

Sep 4, 2008 9:54 PM CDT

Arnstein Plans Major Growth in Florida

In the news last month for its plan to eliminate its summer program, Arnstein & Lehr is now reportedly planning a major expansion in Florida. The Chicago-based law firm, which has 143 lawyers on its attorney roster, plans to double its Florida contingent from 43 to as many as 90…

Sep 4, 2008 9:31 PM CDT

Banner Year for Labor Law Expected in 2009

Regardless of who wins the November presidential election, it is expected to result in a lot of work for employment lawyers. Experts predict an “onslaught of legislation” related to employment after the election, creating numerous new rules and potential pitfalls that corporations will have to get up to speed on,…

Sep 4, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Sudden Deaths in Police Custody May Be Biological, Study Says

A study by Spanish researchers of sudden deaths of young men who died soon after being arrested says a biological fear factor may be at least part of the answer to the unsolved mystery. Just like wild animals, which can die suddenly when captured, humans taken into custody are stressed.…

Sep 2, 2008 6:18 PM CDT