Paul Luvera discusses a tough issue for Plaintiff’s lawyers: do you clue the jury in during your opening statement how much you will ask for in closing? I struggle with this and often opt for a middle ground. I lay out the foundation of what I will ask for: medical…
Yesterday, the Maryland Daily Record published the first of a three-part series I wrote with retired Judge Clifton J. Gordy (now a mediator and arbitrator) on mediation in serious personal injury and wrongful death claims. The article is for both plaintiff and defense lawyers looking to make mediations as productive…
A Maryland District Court has denied a class action on behalf of Maryland residents who own certain model years of Ford Explorers, Mercury Mountaineers, and Ford Windstars. This is not a personal injury lawsuit. Plaintiffs’ lawyers claimed front seats in the class vehicles are defective because they are prone to…
The Maryland Court of Appeals found today in a 5-2 opinion in a lead paint case that an individual member of a Maryland limited liability corporation (LLC) can be personally liable for torts committed on behalf of the LLC. The case, Allen v. Dackman, is a classic Baltimore lead paint…
Sean Wajert’s MassTort Defense Blog (c/o Torts Prof Blog) has an interesting post on a new opinion by the Iowa Supreme Court on whether you can admit subsequent remedial measures in cases that sound both in negligence and strict liability. The Iowa court found that Plaintiff’s design defect and failure-to-warn…
On Friday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reversed a $3 million jury verdict in Cecil County v. Dorman. That statement over-magnifies the ruling. The jury verdict of $3 million is misleading because Maryland’s Local Government Tort Claim Act limited the actual verdict to $200,000. But the legal issues presented…
We can hold hands and agree with the Drug and Device Law Blog on few things related to drug and medical device litigation but this is one: we hate Medicare liens and the government is making life even more difficult for parties on both sides of the v. As usual,…
The FDA has warned users of weight loss drug Hydroxycut to stop taking the popular weight-loss product because of risk of severe liver damage. The Hydroxycut recall focuses us all for the zillionth time on FDA’s inability to sufficiently police so much as a high school prom. But they never…
The FDA announced that it will now require Botox and its progeny to provide a black-box warning. The FDA said the labeling is necessary to warn doctors and patients that Botox has potentially fatal complications, including problems with swallowing or breathing. The FDA has identified at least 225 reports of…
Wyeth v. Levine!!!! Plaintiffs’ lawyers have seen drug (and medical device) injury victims take punch after punch. But in a huge win for patient safety, the Supreme Court upheld in a 6-3 ruling today that in a Vermont woman’s verdict against Wyeth for injuries she suffered after taking one of…