TortsProf Blog

VA: Facebook "Likes" Admissible, But Defamation Punies Award Cut

In a federal case in Virginia, the number of"likes" an allegedly defamatory Facebook page received was admissible, but a punitive damages award was reduced.  Peter Vieth of Virginia Lawyers Weekly has the story:

A federal judge says a dog trainer who claimed he was defamed by online accusations of animal abuse was entitled to tell a jury how many people “liked” the offending Facebook page, a federal judge has ruled.

Nevertheless, U.S. District Judge James Cacheris said the jury’s “grossly excessive” $60,000 punitive damages verdict in favor of the dog trainer should be cut by three quarters. Cacheris says the defendant can either accept the reduction of punitives to $15,000 or take a new trial.

The full story is here.

--CJR

Podcast on Medical Apologies

WHYY has a podcast on medical apologies featuring Richard Boothman, chief risk officer at the University of Michigan Health System, and Thomas Gallagher, a physician and associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center.  Listen here: 

http://www.whyy.org/podcast/081809_110630.mp3

Thanks to David Raeker-Jordan for the tip.

--CJR

Miller & Tucker on Incentives of Adopting Electronic Medical Records

Amalia Miller (Virginia-Economics) & Catherine Tucker (MIT-Management Science) have posted to SSRN Electronic Discovery and Electronic Medical Records:  Does the Threat of Litigation Affect Firm Decisions to Adopt Technology?  Here is the abstract:

After firms adopt electronic information and communication technologies, their decision-making leaves a trail of electronic information. We ask how the threat of litigation affects decisions to adopt technologies that leave more of an electronic trail, such as electronic medical records (EMRs). EMRs allow hospitals to document electronically both patient symptoms and health providers' reactions to those symptoms. We find evidence that hospitals are a third less likely to adopt electronic medical records if there are state laws that facilitate the use of electronic records in court.

--CJR