Injury & Accident Law

Grocery store chain isn’t liable for motorized cart collision, state supreme court rules

The Ohio Supreme Court has reversed an award of more than $360,000 in a suit against a grocery store chain that provided a motorized shopping cart to a customer who caused a collision and injured the plaintiff.

Sep 19, 2019 2:35 PM CDT

Lawyer accused of defrauding his law firm by secretly referring its clients to outside lawyers

Federal prosecutors have accused a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer of defrauding his law firm out of about $4.2 million in legal fees and costs by secretly referring its clients to outside lawyers and taking a cut of the recovery. Prosecutors in Philadelphia charged 64-year-old Neil Mittin of Huntingdon Valley with…

Jul 23, 2019 3:37 PM CDT

Criminal cases that involved lawyers’ spitting and shoving match are resolved

Two cases brought by a personal injury lawyer and the father of another attorney after they got into a spitting and shoving match are no longer sitting in criminal court in Providence, Rhode Island. Last week, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha filed the assault case against attorney Stephen J.…

Jul 3, 2019 2:51 PM CDT

Lawyer bitten by shark endures the inevitable jokes

Georgia personal injury lawyer Gene Brooks is hearing lawyer shark jokes from colleagues and friends as he recovers from a shark bite that sent him to the emergency room. Brooks, a Savannah lawyer, says a shark bit him as he was swimming in the Wilmington River on Sunday, report Savannah…

Jun 19, 2019 12:31 PM CDT

Dale Minami will receive this year’s ABA Medal for his civil rights work

“One of the things that I’m most proud of is having a minority firm survive for 44 years, and with a sense of values, sense of principles,” says personal injury lawyer Dale Minami. “Over the years, I think, on balance, we’ve been able both to do good and do well.” Minami will be presented with the ABA Medal, the ABA’s highest honor, at the 2019 annual meeting in San Francisco.

Jun 19, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Cap on pain-and-suffering damages violates Kansas Constitution, state supreme court says

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled 4-2 Friday that a cap on noneconomic damages violates the right to a jury trial under the state constitution’s Bill of Rights. The court struck down a damages cap of $250,000 in the case of Diana Hilburn, a passenger in a car rear-ended by a…

Jun 18, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Thomas dissent says SCOTUS should overrule decision protecting military from tort liability

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented Monday when the high court refused to hear the case of a man whose wife died at a naval hospital because of complications from childbirth. The petitioner, Walter Daniel, had filed a tort suit in the death of his…

May 20, 2019 10:18 AM CDT

Lawyer convicted of wife’s murder argues only he can represent her estate in wrongful death case

A former Atlanta lawyer convicted of felony murder in the fatal shooting of his wife is arguing that only he has the right to represent her estate—and that means a wrongful death suit filed against him by the estate must be tossed. The former lawyer, 77-year-old Claud “Tex” McIver, was…

May 20, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

This is not your father’s firm; suit pits dad against son over right to use first and last name

A personal injury law firm in South Carolina founded by George Sink Sr. contends in a federal lawsuit that Sink’s son, George Sink Jr., has no right to use the George Sink name for his own legal practice. The April 25 lawsuit by the elder lawyer’s law firm, George Sink,…

May 2, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Lawyer held in contempt for spending $390K in frozen funds spends 2 weekends per month in jail

A lawyer in Jackson, Mississippi, continues to spend two weekends per month in jail for contempt of court after he failed to persuade a judge to switch him to home confinement. Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III denied the motion by lawyer Eduardo Flechas in February, the Mississippi…

Apr 18, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Why toxic torts are hard to litigate and win

In movies such as Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action, lawyers investigate a serious environmental problem and then sweep a jury off its feet with the force of their evidence. Environmental litigators say a case actually can take years because of the Daubert standard, which governs whether an expert witness’s opinion is admissible in court.

Nov 1, 2018 12:15 AM CDT

7th Circuit tosses $3M verdict in suit blaming antidepressant labeling for BigLaw partner’s suicide

A federal appeals court has overturned a $3 million award to the widow of a Reed Smith partner who blamed antidepressant labeling for her husband’s suicide.

Aug 23, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Law firms hire company to send ads to ER patients’ cellphones; is it a HIPAA violation?

Some personal injury law firms plan to use a technology called “geofencing” to send ads to cellphones of patients in emergency rooms, pain clinics and chiropractor offices.

May 30, 2018 1:37 PM CDT

‘Westworld’ story lines connect with real-world legal issues

A fictional theme park with a wild west theme is the setting for the HBO series Westworld, where guests pay to live out their fantasies. Those familiar with the darker side of the human condition won’t be surprised to learn that these fantasies often entail patrons killing as many of the amusement park hosts as they please.

May 21, 2018 7:10 AM CDT

Uber and Lyft end mandatory arbitration for sexual assault claims

Uber and Lyft have ended forced arbitration for sexual assault cases brought by passengers, drivers and employees.

May 15, 2018 5:19 PM CDT