Personal Injury Roundup No. 54 (10/16/09)

Reform, Legislation, Policy

• U.S. Supreme Court dictum on constitutional implications of class action procedure (Drug & Device Law)
• The Pop Tort on the Texas med mal system (The Pop Tort)
• Ralph Nader on the CBO's report that tort reform would save $54 B over 10 years (Counter Punch)

New Lawsuits

• Malpractice alleged in death of H1N1 patient in Spain. (Typically Spanish)

Trials, Settlements and Other Ends

• PA:  Jury awards $2.36 M to a boy kicked by a horse during a charitable program.  Walter Olson is concerned about the effects on the charity, Work to Ride Inc.  (Olson/Overlawyered)
• Woman sues physician and loses med mal case; then woman sues her attorneys and loses legal malpractice case.  Finally, she wins in dispute that $6K of legal costs were frivolous.  (ABA Journal)
• GlaxoSmithKline loses Paxil suit (Krauss/Point of Law) 

Appeals

• NY:  Pain-and-suffering verdict in traumatic brain injury of $1.9 M affirmed on appeal for 79-year-old woman struck by bus.  (Hochfelder)
• In 1975, NH set up a fund to fill a gap in med mal liability insurance.  Now it argues the fund has a $110 M surplus and claims it is entitled to the money.  The state supreme court gets the case this week.  (Forbes)

Miscellaneous

• Peter Strauss on Geier v. Honda (SSRN)
• Joseph Raz on Agency and Luck (SSRN)

--CJR