In today's litigious environment, physicians consistently struggle with rising malpractice premiums. For those inclined to stop reading here, this article will not attempt to rehash the contentious debate over why malpractice premiums continue to rise. Rather, we want to discuss a fairly new and rapidly growing problem for physicians: personal liability for excess verdicts.
In recent years, electronically stored information ' or 'ESI' as it has come to be known ' has become an increasingly 'hot topic' during discovery. Many attorneys now include questions regarding ESI in their standard discovery requests, and several of the recently enacted amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure address ESI-related discovery. Therefore, clients and counsel alike must have a clear understanding of their obligation to preserve ESI and the proper process for doing so.
A state attorney general's novel investigation into the development of treatment guidelines for Lyme disease should put health care and professional medical societies on alert to a possible new front in antitrust litigation, say antitrust lawyers and others. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal late last year issued a subpoena to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) for information on how it established its latest guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease ' guidelines that were subsequently adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While IDSA has responded to the subpoena, Blumenthal said his investigation is ongoing. 'We've reached no conclusion,' he said.
When tortious conduct causes injuries, the plaintiff is allowed to recover as special damages the 'reasonable value' of the medical services needed to treat the injury. Today, determining what is the 'reasonable value' of health care services is becoming a more challenging task.
The authority to concede liability derives from a defendant's inherent right not to contest claims made by a plaintiff. There has been a general reluctance to concede liability on the part of the defense bar, based as much on the inability to recognize what is to be gained by such an approach as on an unrealistic fear of what may be lost. However, conceding liability can provide a valuable opportunity to enhance one's credibility, as well as a vehicle to provide damage and expense control. In the appropriate case, conceding liability can be a particularly effective strategy, which tends to be underused. What are the risks and benefits of conceding liability? In which cases is it appropriate to employ the strategy? We address herein some of the practical aspects.
The Internet's value arises in part from its ability to provide images, data and content quickly and at little cost. This ability results from the fact that Internet products — whether they be images, data or content — are each reduced to a digital format. Sharing products that have been so reduced may result in product liability.
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Chances are that if your company is involved in research and development of new technology there is a standards setting organization exploring the potential standardization of such technology. While there are clear benefits to participation in standards organizations — keeping abreast of industry developments, targeting product development toward standard compliant products, steering research and intellectual property protection into potential areas of future standardization — such participation does not come without certain risks. Whether you are in-house counsel or outside counsel, you may be called upon to advise participants in standard-setting bodies about intellectual property issues or to participate yourself. You may also be asked to review patent policy of the standard-setting body that sets forth the disclosure and notification requirements with respect to patents for that organization. Here are some potential patent pitfalls that can catch the unwary off-guard.
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
