In a disappointing decision for malpractice plaintiffs and their medical caregivers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 21 that patients do not have a state law private right of action against their Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) when such entities make coverage decisions that impact the patient's health care. The decision means patients have little recourse against their HMOs, which under federal law are liable to plan beneficiaries only for the cost of services they wouldn't cover.

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Last month, we discussed some possible ways that hospitals, in order to maintain staffing needs, can help physicians obtain medical malpractice insurance coverage at reasonable rates. These possible solutions range from giving physicians outright payments to help cover their premiums to establishing a physician insurance program through an independent or hospital-owned insurer. It is important, however, that when hospitals and physicians consider any of these alternatives, they take into account the regulatory implications of any program they may devise.

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a nonprofit research and communications organization funded by auto insurers. Its purpose is to ascertain what works and doesn't work to prevent motor vehicle crashes and to reduce injuries in the crashes that occur. The Institute's Web site (<i>www.iihs.org</i>) is a resource for practitioners who need information on vehicle safety. IIHS research focuses on countermeasures aimed at all three factors in motor vehicle crashes (human, vehicular, and environmental) and on interventions that can occur before, during, and after crashes to reduce losses.

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Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.

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Today, television has become the dominant medium for the dissemination of information and entertainment, and the trial lawyer who ignores this basic reality of American life does so at significant peril to his or her case. The effective trial lawyer will continue to rely on the timeless tactics of credibility, emotional appeals, and logic. Nevertheless, in order to persuade a jury effectively, the trial lawyer must deliver the case themes and facts in a way that is consistent with how jurors process information in our high-technology age.

It has been estimated that at least 600,000 people have brought asbestos-related personal injury suits. Typically, each plaintiff sues dozens of defendants, so the total volume of litigation has reached nearly astronomical proportions. The total amount spent on asbestos litigation (awards and expenses) to date is staggering and has been estimated to be on the order of $54 billion. Many critics have said that this litigation has been abused, leading to the enrichment of plaintiff lawyers at the expense of those actually injured by asbestos exposure. According to one study, only about 43% of total spending has reached the claimants as their net recovery. <i>See</i> Stephen Carroll, <i>et al</i>., <i>Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report,</i> RAND Institute for Civil Justice, Santa Monica, Calif. (Sept. 2002). The RAND report is available at <i>www.rand.org/publications/DB/DB397.</i>

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A year ago, manufacturers and marketers of dietary supplements benefited when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented a new regulation allowing such companies to make unproven health claims on their labels. Under the new relaxed FDA requirements regulating the marketing and promotion of dietary supplements, manufacturers have more leeway to tout the healthfulness of products by making "qualified health claims" on dietary supplement labels, even if there is no "significant scientific agreement" over the validity of these claims. Under the former policy, supplement manufacturers that had scientific support for their claims, but lacked conclusive evidence, were prohibited from marketing their potential health benefits, thus losing out on important marketing opportunities. The new, more flexible dietary supplement regime enables companies to market their products more aggressively and increase sales.

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Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.