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Battling ageism in cancer negligence
cases
Elizabeth H. Faiella & Peter J. Gulden III
Some people—doctors included—think diagnosing the elderly for serious illnesses like cancer is a waste of time or believe older people aren’t strong enough for aggressive treatments. And many defense lawyers are only too happy to play on these unspoken prejudices. When your elderly client didn’t receive complete and compassionate care for cancer, you’ll need to counter ageist attitudes among jurors and ageist messages in defense arguments.
Who’s really in charge?
Linda Miller Atkinson
Midlevel medical providers—physician assistants and nurse practitioners—usually work under doctors’ supervision, but in some cases they are the only medical professionals patients see. When these patients are hurt by negligence, where does liability fall? Familiarize yourself with the profession’s licensing requirements, practice limits, and professional standards to determine who is responsible for dropping the ball on your client’s medical care.
Prescription for powerful expert testimony
Deborah J. Gander
You’ve heard it countless times before: The key to effective direct and cross-examination is preparation. It may be an old saw, but if you ignore it, you do so at your—and your client’s—peril. Use these guidelines to help you focus your witnesses’ testimony, raise doubts about opposing experts, and present a convincing case to the jury.
Making the most of motions in limine
Kevin G. Burke
Worried that the defense will attempt to reduce damages by citing free or discounted medical services, unpaid family care, extra insurance coverage, and other factors? Head them off at the pass with a carefully worded motion in limine. Curtail opposing counsel’s ability to introduce this evidence, block the use of a missing-witness inference, and stop admission of annuity testimony to start securing justice for your client before trial even begins.
Inside the brachial plexus injury case
Giles Manley
Shoulder dystocia—when a fetus’s shoulders fail to follow the head during birth—requires a physician’s intervention, and doctors should be well versed in accepted techniques for handling it. A careful examination of the treatment records can reveal what health care workers did or didn’t do to protect the baby from harm.
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Features
Proper pleadings prevent preemption
problems
Michael Warshauer
Be ready to head off a preemption threat. One of your best strategies is getting back to basics on your pleading. If you prepare it with care, you’ll be in the right position to deflect a preemption challenge and keep your case where it belongs—in state court.
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News & Trends
Compounded drugs are dangerous concoctions, critics say
Citing Merck misconduct, jurors find for plaintiff in
Vioxx retrial
Shareholder options actions proceed against directors
Allstate ordered to reinstate policyholders in post-Katrina
settlement
In student harassment case, N.J. court holds schools
to high standard
Maryland high court expands economic loss exception
Consortium claim goes forward even without wife’s
med-mal suit
Employers put teens at risk, study says
Departments
President’s page
Insurers’ 60-year ‘temporary’
reprieve
Supreme Court review
More questions about punitive damages
Good counsel
Speaking & writing
Hearsay
Justice in motion
FDA embraces stealth tort ‘reform’
in proposed OTC drug rules
More states join anticonsumer insurance
regulation ‘compact’
Spreading the pro-civil-justice message
Litigation packets help lawyers handle
new twists in med-mal cases
Start a litigation group to find strength
in numbers
New litigation groups certified at Miami
convention
New program focuses on preparing and trying
nursing home cases
Books
The Whistleblower: Confessions of a
Healthcare Hitman by Peter Rost
Blocking the Courthouse Door: How the
Republican Party and Its Corporate Allies Are Taking Away Your
Right to Sue by Stephanie Mencimer
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