Injury & Accident Law

Uncomfortable About Blowing Own Horn, Lawyer Talks About Electric Car in TV Ad

Uncomfortable about directly seeking clients for his auto accident practice, a South Carolina attorney and admitted car buff urges viewers to promote electric-powered vehicles on a television ad. “I think it’s awful when lawyers go on there begging for someone to have a crash,” Gary Ling tells the Post and…

Jan 20, 2010 12:41 AM CST

Lawyer’s Enterprising iPhone App Routes Clients to ‘My Attorney’

A free iPhone application being offered by a Florida lawyer makes it especially easy for would-be clients to reach attorney Jason Turchin, send him photographs related to potential tort claims and download free legal advice and forms. But his My Attorney App has space for users to list additional attorneys…

Jan 5, 2010 5:50 PM CST

Fired Woman Gets $150K for 3-Day Jury Duty

A Miami security guard is going to get $150,000 for serving a three-day stint as a juror in a South Florida murder trial in April of 2007. Agreeing with Jackalyn Strachan that her former employer fired her due to her jury service, another Miami-Dade Circuit Court jury awarded the 57-year-old…

Dec 9, 2009 7:01 PM CST

Practice Pitfalls

When it comes to potential ethics or malpractice hazards, watch where you’re going, or look out below

Dec 2, 2009 5:39 AM CST

1st Ban on Drop-Side Cribs Follows Nationwide Recall of Millions

Following news this week of a Consumer Product Safety Commission recall of 2.1 million so-called drop-side cribs, a suburban New York county has banned their sale. In a new law that is believed to impose the first such prohibition in the country but is already being considered for emulation elsewhere,…

Nov 24, 2009 9:46 PM CST

Appeals Court OKs $5M in Punitives for Victim of Phone Hoax Strip Search

A Kentucky appeals court cut from $1 million to $400,000 a punitive damages award to a McDonald’s manager who was fired and charged with a crime after she says she was duped into pressuring a young worker to comply with instructions from a prank caller to submit to a strip…

Nov 23, 2009 7:55 PM CST

Model Who Married Doorman Sues Swanky NYC Coop

Love hasn’t been entirely a bed of roses for a wealthy young woman who has been called the Heidi Klum of foot models and her new husband—a former doorman in her swanky New York City co-op building. Jealous of the 30-something pair, some fellow residents of the upscale Upper East…

Nov 20, 2009 11:02 PM CST

Jury Says Philip Morris Must Pay $300M to Longtime Smoker

A jury in South Florida says Philip Morris USA must pay $300 million, including $244 million in punitive damages, to a 25-year Benson & Hedges smoker who argued that the cigarette company committed fraud by concealing the dangers of smoking from her. Lawyers for Lucinda “Cindy” Naugle, who is a…

Nov 20, 2009 9:15 PM CST

Chevron Sues Plaintiffs Lawyer for $4M, Alleges Malicious Prosecution

After making headlines several months ago by posting a video on YouTube to bolster its defense of an Ecuador-based environmental mass tort case, Chevron is again trying an unusual litigation tactic in a closely related case. The company has sued a plaintiffs attorney for $4 million in federal court in…

Nov 17, 2009 10:51 PM CST

Heroic Hassles

Why must we make life difficult for those who bother to step up and answer the call?

Nov 2, 2009 12:10 AM CST

Jury Says Radio Station Must Pay $16.6M in Woman’s Water Intoxication Death

The owner of a California radio station must pay $16.6 million to the survivors of a woman who died of water intoxication after participating in a “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest. The winner of the 2007 contest promoted by KDND, also known as “The End” due to the…

Oct 30, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Man Who Gave Judge Video to Chevron in $27B Ecuador Case a Convicted Felon

One of two men who made a secret videotape seemingly showing an Ecuador judge in a $27 billion environmental case discussing his upcoming ruling is a convicted drug felon, the New York Times reports. Wayne Hansen, an American, was convicted of conspiring to traffic 275,000 pounds of marijuana from Colombia…

Oct 29, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

Nevada Supremes Consider Pharmacy Liability for Painkiller Customer’s Accident

The Nevada Supreme Court is considering whether pharmacies can be held liable for a fatal car accident caused by a woman who bought almost 4,500 doses of prescription painkillers in one year, spurring a warning to the drug stores. The court heard oral arguments in March and is expected to…

Oct 28, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

Toyota Whistle-Blower Lawyer Is Dogged and ‘Heavily Medicated’

Dimitrios Biller describes himself as an emotional guy. He says he sometimes cried for the plaintiffs who lost lawsuits he defended as an in-house lawyer for Toyota. But plaintiffs lawyers who opposed him in court had another description for him. “People thought on the plaintiff side that he was a…

Oct 22, 2009 3:34 PM CDT

Law Firm to Pay $1.5M to Settle Claims That Ex-Associate Dropped Cases

A Connecticut plaintiffs firm has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle claims by two former clients that an ex-associate dropped the ball on their cases. Ex-associate James Sullivan, who left the law firm of Kevin Maher and Scott Williams in 2007 to operate a ski resort in Vermont, allegedly…

Oct 19, 2009 10:22 PM CDT