Liability to Non-Patients: Recent Decisions Offer Guidance
Although, generally, there must be a physician-patient or a hospital-patient relationship for a legal duty of care to exist upon which liability may be founded, in some situations, health care providers may be held liable to someone other than a patient.
Features
Sequenced Discovery in Mass Tort Litigation
This article focuses on sequenced discovery ' an underutilized tool that permits courts to focus initial discovery on general causation. Sequenced discovery front-loads the issue of general causation and prevents plaintiffs from dragging out litigation without having been put to the test of proving that the product at issue can cause the alleged injury.
Features
QDRO or Buyout
One of the most complex and difficult decisions a divorcing couple faces is the division of the pension rights accumulated during the marriage. This article discusses QDROs, pro and con.
Features
Tort Reform in New Jersey
As the authors explained in Part One of this article, like many other states, New Jersey has instituted tort reform measures aimed at reducing the incidence of frivolous lawsuits and the costs of practicing medicine. These changes in the law have had unintended consequences, however, often making the prosecution of a medical malpractice claims so complicated that only specialist attorneys can handle them.
Columns & Departments
Real Property Law
Analysis of several key rulings.
Features
Second Circuit Arguments in Google Books Case
Recently at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a lower court ruling that Google Books' digital library isn't copyright infringement came under attack.
Features
To Settle or Defend
Apple's iPhone muse and general know-it-all, Siri, can provide a ready answer to nearly any question. Its analytical ability would, however, be sorely taxed by the agonizing decision that physicians must make when facing medical malpractice claims: to defend or empower the insurance company to try to settle?
Connecticut Is Capturing Captive Insurers
As a globally recognized capital of the insurance industry, Connecticut has had a complicated relationship with the industry segment of captive insurers. Recent legislative initiatives, however, have demonstrated the interest of state government in promoting the development of a domestic captive industry, which is growing in importance.
Features
The Territorial Barrier To Commodity Exchange Act Suits
While judicial ink has long been spilled on the extraterritoriality of the securities laws, growing attention is being paid to the overseas reach of the antifraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
Features
Balancing the Equities in Municipal Bankruptcies
When it comes to explaining what has prompted the incidence of financial distress being experienced by an increasing number of our nation's cities, perhaps the most persistent and significant cause is a troubled city's obligations to fund substantial pensions for its employees, both retired as well as its active work force.
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