In his blog the Art of Advocacy, Baltimore lawyer Paul Mark Sandler suggests a counter to the slippery slope argument: “The ‘slippery slope’ argument falsely assumes that once you take a moderate first step in a particular direction, a catastrophic chain of events will follow. Most times, a better metaphor…
Maryland Injury Law Center
Medical Malpractice in Maryland: Too Often, the Names Don’t Change
I read in the paper today that attorneys Dale Adkins, III and Emily C. Malarkey, both with Salisbury, Clements, Bekman, Marder & Adkins in Baltimore, filed a wrongful death medical malpractice case against an OB/GYN in Salisbury. We also have a case pending against the same doctor. [2013 Update: we…
Average Wrongful Death Verdicts for Females: Age Is More Than a Number
Interesting data from Jury Verdict Research on the median and average values of wrongful death cases where the decedent is female. The overall average compensatory award for wrongful death of an adult female over the last eight years in the United States is $2,990,032 ($1,102,976 is the median). Age is…
Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Are Committing Fraud and Defense Lawyers are Powerless to Stop It
The Mass Torts Blog, another defense lawyer blog brought to you by our friends at Dechert, posts on Labor Day about medical screening in mass tort cases. The allegations are basically that plaintiffs’ product liability lawyers are committing fraud when screening clients. Read the post for yourself and tell me…
‘We Can’t Compete with MAIF’ Complain Maryland Car Insurance Companies
The Baltimore Sun reports that car insurance companies in Maryland are resisting the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund’s (MAIF’s) car insurance rate-lowering proposal because MAIF’s plan to lower rates puts the private sector at risk. After a hearing in Baltimore, Maryland Insurance Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler delayed ruling on some insurance…
University of Baltimore Law School
The Wall Street Journal published an article today on law schools gaming the system to improve their U.S. News and World Report rankings. It focuses in part on the rise of the University of Baltimore School of Law, which has risen dramatically under new dean Phillip Closius, including the U.S.…
Should Companies Be Required to Disclosure Expected Litigation Obligations in Product Cases?
The Wall Street Journal has an editorial with an anti products liability lawyer spin. No surprise. But what is surprising is that I agree with it. Considering Enron and other business collapses that left stockholders holding the bag with no actual picture of the company’s financial condition, the Financial Accounting…
Lowering the Drinking Age
The Baltimore Sun reports that the presidents of the University of Maryland, Towson University, Washington College, Johns Hopkins, Goucher College and Washington College among other schools have signed off on a letter urging Congress to lower the drinking age to 18, saying we need to stop relearning the lessons of…
Medical Malpractice Minority Tolling of Statute of Limitations Opinion in Montana
On Monday the Montana Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 decision that a father’s wrongful death medical malpractice claim on behalf of his 16-year-old son was time-barred. In Runstrom v. Allen, the plaintiff’ son sustained a broken femur in an ATV accident (I wonder if it was a Yahama Rhino…
Connecticut Supreme Court’s Ruling Insurance Coverage for Emotional Distress Claims
Last week, I wrote a recent Missouri Supreme Court opinion that found that a driver could recover emotional damages in a lawsuit against the parent of a child killed in a truck accident. Today, I found Taylor v. Mucci, a Connecticut Supreme Court issued on Tuesday that reaches a different…