Personal Injury Roundup No. 30 (3/27/09)

Reform, Legislation, Policy

• In 2006, the UK passed a compensation act that included a provision to allow defendants to make apologies.  Prue E. Vines (University of New South Wales) writes about its effects in a new article.  (Via Solum/Legal Theory Blog) 
• WV Senate passes a bill clarifying that pharmacists and pharmacies are health care providers for purposes of last year's medical malpractice reforms.  (WV MetroNews)
• On Tuesday, the family of a Marine who died of cancer undiagnosed despite several military medical examinations testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.  The family seeks a law to overturn the Supreme Court's Feres decision, which bars claims against the federal government by members of the armed forces for injuries arising out of their military service.  (Kansas City InfoZine)

Trials, Settlements & Other Ends

• Golfer John Daly has his defamation case against a Florida newspaper dismissed at the summary judgment stage; the newspaper may seek the cost of defense.  (ABA Journal)
• Some post-Wyeth v. Levine claims are still preempted by FDA approval rules Judge Solomon Olivier, Jr. of the federal district court in Cleveland.  (Krauss/Point of Law)
• Final Big Dig civil settlements (Legal News Line)

Appeals

• John Hochfelder discusses the variability of negligence trials as an appellate court upholds the $22,000 verdict of a trial court; the first time the case was tried the award was $575,000.  (New York Injury Cases Blog)
  

Miscellaneous

• Alberto Bernabe discusses an issue I ran into in practice several times:  Duties to non-clients in the legal malpractice setting.  (Bernabe Torts)
• Pro wrestler fakes a fall at 7-11 in an attempt to get $50,000 in premises liability case.  (Philadelphia Daily News via Olson/Overlawyered)
• John Day on the increase in structured settlements.  (Day on Torts)
• John Culhane (Widener) posts Tort, Compensation, and Two Kinds of Justice on SSRN.

--CJR