Dilemma over Drug Safety
There is a newly urgent push from outside the pharmaceutical research and development community to get drug firms and the government to disclose the results of all tests conducted on new drugs and to immediately reveal information about problems that develop after those drugs go on the market. Consumers and health care providers say they're tired of finding out belatedly that negative information has come to light about the drugs they take or prescribe.
Pharmaceutcial: Why They're So Important in the Med Mal Arena
In this Special Issue, we explore some of the new safeguards that are being proposed and put into place to protect consumers from the unintended side effects of using medications and medical devices. We also look at the controversy surrounding the importation of lower-cost medications from foreign sources, and at one case that highlighted the interplay between medical providers and drug manufacturers in marketing pharmaceutical products.
The Impact of Obesity
Medical malpractice cases often reflect a series of events unique to one patient, independent of broader health care issues or a larger patient population. On occasion, however, the medico-legal issues of a single case may reflect an overarching social phenomenon, requiring counsel and the courts to address both factors if a just result is to be achieved. This is the story of one such case.
Clinical Trial Injuries
The plaintiff's bar has discovered an opportunity in clinical research. The deep pockets of pharmaceutical companies provide one attraction, but attorneys are seldom shy about suing anyone who might even remotely be found liable for an injury. Successful litigation is rare, but the judgments can be expensive. Because of this, many physicians who conduct clinical research are reviewing their medical malpractice insurance policies. Many others, however, have no concept of the looming risks and of whether they are protected by their medical malpractice insurance policies when taking part in clinical trials.
Wrongful Death Suit Allowed over Embryo
A Chicago judge has ruled that a husband and wife will be allowed to proceed with a wrongful death suit against a fertility clinic that allegedly inadvertently discarded their fertilized egg. Lawyers say courts have previously considered cases involving embryos to be property rights or negligence claims, but a wrongful death action presents a new issue that could affect abortion law, stem cell research, genetic testing and a wide range of other issues. "Calling this a wrongful death is a new frontier for the judiciary," said Andrew Worek, a medical malpractice defense lawyer with Philadelphia's Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby. Worek has written about the legal issues surrounding pre-embryonic human cells. "In the past, they have been handled as property or negligence cases."
Verdicts
Recent rulings you need to know.
Lateral Partner Recruiting Effective Use Of Search Professionals
Cravath, Swaine & Moore, one of New York's elite law firms, recently hired its first lateral partner in over 60 years. While an exception at Cravath, hiring lateral partners has become an indispensable strategy for law firms in achieving important business objectives and in thriving in hotly competitive markets.
Men Report Changed Attitudes Toward Work And Life
Last month, Part One revealed some of the significant findings of a study released in October 2004 titled "Generation & Gender in the Workplace." The study documents many things that change the equation regarding workplace attitudes. It was conducted by the Families and Work Institute and sponsored and funded by the American Business Collaboration (ABC), a group of eight major businesses, including two accounting/consulting firms, that believe collaboration can accomplish more than working alone. In Part Two, we present results on ambition and taking on responsibility ' at work and at home.
