A Lawyers’ Listserv Gets SCOTUS Recognition
Sign inside the Supreme Court on Tuesday. It came as a shock to everyone in our informal listserv group that was sworn in on Tuesday to the Supreme Court bar. When we entered the building, we were asked what group we were from. Ummm, each of us stuttered, a group of trial lawyers from New York organized by Jay Breakstone? “You guys the Rogues?” Holy shit! The SCOTUS marshals and clerks knew the jokey name of our informal listserv!? No way! We were at first startled and flabbergasted, then astounded and amazed. Our little group of 28 New York personal injury lawyers, plaintiffs-side only, walked up the interior stairs of the Court, following those clerks and marshals, who all knew we were “the Rogues,…
City and Construction Company Liable for Substantial Injuries in Car Crash Caused by Unsafe Highway Lane Closures
On May 20, 2006 at about 3 a.m., a five-car pile-up occurred on the West Side Highway near 79th Street in Manhattan. Initially, a taxi was rear-ended and caused to strike the car in front of him. While those three cars were disabled in the roadway, James Gregware, coming over a blind hill in the road, rear-ended the car that had rear-ended the taxi. Uninjured, Mr. Gregware got out of his car to exchange insurance information and he was then struck and knocked to the ground by another driver who rear-ended his vehicle. Another 5 car pile-up Mr. Gregware, then a 41 year old self-employed film editor, sustained extensive injuries and sued the driver who rear-ended his car, Burtis Construction Company and …
CHP on Motorcycle Rider Safety
CHP on Motorcycle Rider Safety The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has recently issued a press release about Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and the shared responsibility for motorcycle rider safety. Throughout the month of May, the CHP, along with other public safety agencies, will be trying to raise awareness about safety issues facing motorcyclists on California and U.S. roadways. This year, the CHP’s message is that motorcycle safety is just as important to vehicle drivers as it is to motorcyclists. Joe Farrow, CHP Commissioner, wants motorists to know that motorcycle rider safety is truly a shared responsibility. Drivers and riders are both responsible for safe driving and riding practices to improve overall safety for motorcycle riders and other roadway users. Motorcycles in California by the Numbers There…
KNAUER -v- MOJ: FATAL ACCIDENTS & MULTIPLIERS IN THE SUPREME COURT: DECISION PENDING
The issue of the date when the multiplier should run from has been considered by the Supreme Court on the 28th January 2016 in Knaur -v- the MOJ. This is a case that, undoubtedly, is going to feature again on the blog. THE MULTIPLIER The question of the date from which the multiplier should be calculated is one that is hardly likely to give rise to general acceptance. Current practice is that the multiplier in fatal claims runs from the date of death. This compares to personal injury actions when the multiplier is assessed from the date of trial. The differences can be important. In the Knauer case this led to a difference in the sum of £50,000. The question was whether the Supreme Court should adopt the …
Safety Advisory and Recall for Ford and Lincoln Vehicles
Safety Advisory and Recall for Ford and Lincoln Vehicles The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recently issued a press release regarding a safety advisory for certain Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Ford Motor Company has recalled approximately 390,000 Ford Fiesta, Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ automobiles, and the NHTSA wants to advise owners to get the suggested repair as soon as possible. Apparently, it is possible for defective door latches in these vehicles to prevent the doors from completely closing. This means that car doors can open unexpectedly while the automobiles are moving, putting drivers and passengers in great danger. Affected Ford and Lincoln Models 2012-2014 Ford Fiestas All model year 2013 Ford Fusions All model year 2013 Lincoln MKZ’s Certain model year 2014 Ford Fusions Certain model year 2014 Lincoln MKZ’s…
Negligence, false imprisonment and a surprising decision on contributory negligence: Liability of a taxi driver to a passenger detained in his vehicle…
The case of Hicks v Young [2015] EWHC 1144 (QB) is extremely sad based, as the judge found, on a tragic misunderstanding between a taxi driver and his young passenger. The taxi driver formed the view the claimant and his girlfriend were going to run off without paying so drove away from the claimant’s home with him still in the vehicle, intending to “teach him a lesson”. The judge found that there was no such intention on the part of the claimant, although he accepted that the taxi driver’s belief was genuine. Whilst the taxi was travelling at about 20mph the claimant jumped from the vehicle to escape, suffering a serious brain injury. Edis J presided over a trial on liability. The claim was brought in negligence …
Reminder: 50 Shades of Pain Conference on 19th March
Next Thursday, Fieldfisher are proud to be presenting Fifty Shades of Pain – a conference focusing on major issues associated with pain, including pain management and the dilemma of separating physical and psychological pain symptomology. We’d like to take this opportunity to focus on one of the speakers at the conference, Dr Glyn R Towlerton, who will be giving a talk on the Nuts and bolts of treatment options. This talk will focus on the available techniques for treating pain and how they would be expected to be administered. Dr Towlerton trained as an undergraduate in medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He read for a BSc in experimental pathology and was awarded the Award of Merit, before qualifying as a Doctor with distinction in medicine …
Report unveils risks to hospital patients of treatment by untrained staff
A BBC investigation has uncovered how shocking risks are being taken in hospitals due to a lack of trained staff. During the course of the investigation, the team found untrained healthcare assistants looking after wards full of patients unsupervised and staff being asked to carry out tasks that they have had no training for, such as lifting patients, taking blood samples, and inserting IV drips, roles that are above their pay grade and beyond their experience and training. Healthcare assistants’ duties normally involve basic care such as washing and dressing patients, serving and feeding them food, toileting and bed making, and taking measurements such as temperature, height and weight. NICE guidelines on healthcare assistants state that they should only be given tasks within the scope of their …
Negligent Acts and Omissions in Massachusetts Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury cases in Massachusetts typically involve claims of negligence. Essentially, plaintiff is accusing defendant of acting in a negligent manner or failing to act (claim of omission), when they are required by law to do so. An example of a negligent act would be drunk driving. Every driver owes a duty to others on the roads and sidewalks to operate their motor vehicle in a reasonably safe manner so as to prevent foreseeable (predictable) injury to other persons and property. When someone drinks to the point of intoxication and then gets behind the wheel of car, they are not acting in a responsible manner, since everyone knows or should know drunk driving is dangerous. If this negligent conduct results in an accident in which a victim …
The future of prosthetics?
I remember watching the Six Million Dollar Man for the first time and I thought to myself ‘that’s the future. That’s what we have to look forward to.’ Fast forward 30 years and it is not unreasonable to think we are almost there. Right now human bones and joints are being replaced with artificial mechanical components that can perform almost as well as our own limbs. We have got a long way to go before we are anywhere near the sophistication of Steve Austin, but it is safe to say that science is making leaps and bounds towards making the reality of robotic prostheses closer than you may think. When you think of a tooth implant what do you imagine? The same principles used in teeth …
Bridgewater Daycare Manager on Leave for Not Reporting Alleged Abuse
According to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a daycare center manager in Bridgewater, Massachusetts has been suspended after officials learned she allegedly failed to report suspected acts of abuse by a student-employer at the center. Authorities recently arrested the student employer for sexually assaulting two young children under his care. Authorities say teachers at the center were troubled by defendant’s behavior for weeks. One teacher said she saw defendant sitting with a young boy on his lap and was rubbing the boy’s back while reading a story. It is alleged when he told administrator of this and other similar troublesome acts. The administrator in turn told teachers to keep a close watch on defendant and keep him away from the children while they …
Court fees set to increase by 600{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872}
The Government announced in a written statement earlier this year that they were going to increase court fees for money claims worth more than £10,000 so that they would be 5{9c067c25ed205f086ce6001901eb13dfadc688a7aefab9f64e0c55b8c5a55872} of the sum claimed, with a cap of £10,000. It has been calculated by the Civil Justice Council that a claim worth £200,000 will cost at least 6 times more in court fees than what it would currently cost under if these proposals were to be implemented. The Government undertook a short consultation exercise which started in December with the deadline for responses in late January. Even though the majority of responses to the consultation were against the rise in fees, the Government is still trying to push through the reforms. We understand that the Law Society …