The New York Times reports on a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that found, as you might expect, that most small vehicles cannot provide the same safety protection that buyers find in bigger vehicles. Of the eight cars crash-tested, only one received passing scores on both side…
The Maryland Court of Appeals> overturned a lower court in a 4-3 decision in Goldberg v. Boone, a Montgomery County informed consent case. Facts of Goldberg v. Boone Plaintiff underwent a mastoidectomy (an operation on the mastoid bone, which is the prominent bone behind the ear, to remove a cholesteatoma…
The Dallas Morning News reports that it determined that a quarter of big-rig truck drivers faulted in fatal crashes in Texas from 2000 through 2005 had rap sheets. Their research found that of 953 fatal truck accidents where the driver was determined to be a fault, 25% were convicted of…
If you are a personal injury lawyer who regularly tries cases, you have encountered a witness, most likely the defendant’s medical expert, that you just cannot cross-examine even if your technique of cross-examination is sound. After you walk back to the trial table with your tail between your legs, what…
On Saturday, the New York Times published an informative article on trucking industry deregulation. If you are a truck accident lawyer in Maryland or elsewhere, I would suggest reading the entire article. Here are some highlights: *In 1937, Congress set the first driving hour limits. Truckers could drive up to…
A Jury Verdict Research study found that the median compensatory award for personal injury trials in Minnesota is $32,468. To the delight of Minnesota personal injury lawyers, the study also found that plaintiffs recovered damages in 67% of personal injury cases that go to trial. Both statistics are higher than…
The journal Spine has published an article questioning implanted hardware use in spinal fusion surgeries for back problems. The Spine study found that the implantation of hardware does not improve results. The authors also determined that the hardware carries a higher risk of complications, including infections which can occur more…
Frequently, insurance adjusters, plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyers, and defense lawyers confuse two important concepts when a defendant driver is using someone else’s vehicle: permissive use vs. negligent entrustment. I had an adjuster confuse the two last months during settlement negotiations so I thought I would write today about the differences…
I heard on the radio yesterday that there are four times more fatal auto accidents from drunk driving on Halloween as there are on New Year’s Eve. While statistics do not support this, drunk driving crashes cause more fatalities during Halloween than the New Year’s holiday. Four out of ten…
Last week, a Baltimore County jury awarded a $2.3 million jury verdict in a stroke misdiagnosis medical malpractice suit in Towson. The trial before Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Dana M. Levitz took six days, and the jury deliberated for seven hours before returning a verdict, according to Plaintiff’s medical…