Injury & Accident Law

DC Firm Racks Up Big Bill in RI Case

A well-known Washington, D.C., law firm is sending the state of Rhode Island six-figure monthly bills for ongoing representation in a huge environmental clean-up case. When the state asked Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan to represent R.I. in the case concerning a Southern Union Co. site in Tiverton, it anticipated monthly…

Jun 12, 2007 1:00 AM CDT

Civil Case Leads to Murder Charge

For years, Mary Miller thought she knew who had murdered her son, Jesse: his father. Chicago police agreed. But there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Leroy Alexander with the 2002 crime, which took place at his home – until now. Mary Miller sued her estranged husband in civil court over…

Jun 11, 2007 6:31 PM CDT

Getting ‘Borked’ Gets New Meaning

Failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork is seeking $1 million in damages for injuries suffered when he fell at the Yale Club in Manhattan. The New York Post carried news of the suit under the headline “$1 Mil Bork Chop.” The suit claims Bork fell backward when trying to climb…

Jun 8, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

Suit Says Energy Drink Caused Endless Erection, Seeks Damages

A New York City man claims he got a lot more than he bargained for when he purchased and drank a can of Boost Plus nutrition beverage. An erection that wouldn’t quit, in fact, Christopher Woods says in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the energy drink. “It gave me…

Jun 6, 2007 8:21 PM CDT

Tough New Policy for Prosecutor DUIs

Prosecutors traditionally work hard and play hard. But because they enforce the law, they should be held to a higher standard, many believe. For that reason, prosecutors in Kane County, Illinois, will hereafter face disciplinary action, up to and including termination, if they are found to have been drinking and…

Jun 6, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

Death Suit Dismissed in Holloway Case

A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a California wrongful death suit filed over the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. The parents of the Alabama teen, who vanished on May 30, 2005 while on vacation with high school classmates on the Dutch Caribbean island, have no jurisdiction to sue in…

Jun 4, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

Doc: Vaccine Claims Risk Child Health

Litigation over some 4,800 autistic children allegedly injured as a result of being vaccinated could mean the end of much-needed programs to protect millions from potentially fatal diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. Even though the link between childhood vaccination and at least many of the injuries claimed,…

Jun 4, 2007 6:52 PM CDT

Med Mal Creates Unlikely Safety Teams

Stereotypically, those injured or killed by medical errors and their family members sue for redress. But some victims and their relatives are banding together in partnership with representatives of the very medical facility where the problems occurred, seeking to improve the situation for other patients. Sorrel King, for instance, and…

May 30, 2007 9:52 PM CDT

$6.6 M in Chicago Priest Abuse Cases; Settlements Total $50 M+

A $6.65 million settlement has been announced in a Chicago archdiocese priest sex abuse case, reportedly bringing the total of all such settlements paid by the Chicago archdiocese to more than $50 million. The $6.65 million resolves lawsuits brought by 15 plaintiffs in 2005 and 2006 concerning a dozen allegedly…

May 30, 2007 1:26 AM CDT

Court Orders Review of Rollover Award

The U.S. Supreme Court today ordered California courts to re-evaluate a multi-million dollar award in a Ford rollover case. Benetta Buell-Wilson was paralyzed when she swerved to avoid hitting a metal object and her Ford Explorer rolled over. A jury originally awarded her $369 million, but appeals courts cut the…

May 14, 2007 5:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Liable for Nightclub Assault

A Dallas lawyer has been ordered to pay $1.3 million in damages for assaulting a nightclub owner. Earlier this month, a jury had found Jerry W. Mooty Jr. liable for $3 million, but a high-low agreement capped the award at the lower amount, according to Texas Lawyer. The incident occurred…

May 14, 2007 1:17 PM CDT

No Damages, No Legal Malpractice

A New Jersey judge has dismissed a malpractice suit against a tort lawyer that alleged a conflict of interest, saying the plaintiff had shown no damages. Plaintiff Miguel Herrera had claimed he was in the hospital recovering from injuries from an auto accident when lawyer Jeffrey Hark of Cherry Hill,…

May 10, 2007 1:27 PM CDT

Study: Doctors Win Most Med-Mal Suits

Juries in medical malpractice cases find for physicians more often than plaintiffs, a researcher told the New Jersey Law Journal. Around 30 percent of medical malpractice suits result in a verdict for the plaintiff, according to professor Philip Peters Jr. of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. The rate…

Apr 26, 2007 12:47 PM CDT

Lawyer Raps ‘Paralyzed’ Client, Opposing Counsel

A lawyer whose medical malpractice client claimed paralysis, then was caught on videotape walking with a cane, questions why defense lawyers waited almost two years to disclose the tape. John K. Lawlor of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had harsh words in an interview with the Daily Business Review for both his…

Apr 26, 2007 12:33 PM CDT

Punitives Low in Ford Rollover Case

A jury awarded only $42,000 in punitive damages yesterday in an SUV rollover case after finding Ford Motor Co. liable for millions of dollars in compensatory damages. Plaintiff Rebekah Zakrocki, who was paralyzed in the accident, was awarded about $7 million in compensatory damages, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.…

Apr 19, 2007 12:50 PM CDT