Accident and Injury Law Blog

Interesting editorial yesterday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal regarding the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners posting medical malpractice lawsuits filed against Nevada doctors. Apparently, the Nevada Board stopped posting this information about three years ago on it website. No one paid any attention until the recent southern Nevada's endoscopy clinic crisis.

You might think a medical malpractice lawyer would be unequivocal that this information should be made public. I appreciate the argument in this regard. But I do not know that it is necessary to post information about the filing of a lawsuit because some medical malpractice claims are groundless (or course, many medical malpractice defenses are groundless too but that is for a different blog). Of course, medical malpractice lawsuits are public information so anyone can post information about the filing of a lawsuit. The question is whether government agencies should be the conduit of this information.

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons is demanding that the information be put back up and that three members of the Nevada Board resign because of – surprise! – conflicts of interest. I’m inclined to agree with Governor Gibbons but it is a slippery slope of attaching meaning to the mere filing of a lawsuit.

Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Nevada

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The San Diego Union-Tribune reported yesterday on a case pending in the Nevada Supreme Court which may have a major impact on the extent to which stadium owners can be held liable when fans are injured during sporting events. Five years ago, plaintiff Kathleen Turner (not the actress) was struck by a foul ball while she was sitting in a mezzanine seating area at Les Vegas’ Cashman Stadium. Turner’s attorney claims that the beer garden area, where fans can not see the baseball game being played on the field below, created a false sense of security for the spectators. Ms. Turner was struck in the face by a foul ball and lost consciousness, suffered a broken nose and had to undergo reconstructive surgery.

Thomas Dillard, the lawyer representing the park’s owner, argues that this case involves an implied assumption of risk. He states that although Ms. Turner could not see the game, she was repeatedly made aware of the risk of stray balls in the stadium. The stadium posts warning signs at the entrance to the park, screens and plexiglass are installed in certain areas to protect fans, every ticket bears a notice of liability, and there are even warnings issued over the park’s public address system. He failed to add that common sense also tells you of the risk of a foul ball when you go to a baseball game.

The Nevada Supreme Court will decide whether or not implied assumption of risk can be applied to Ms. Turner’s case, and in doing so, Nevada may become one of the many states that abide by the “baseball rule.”

The article seems to think the ruling is relevant to whether major league baseball comes to Nevada. I think that overstates the economics of the outcome of this case. This issue of baseball in Nevada involves one thing: gambling.

Generally speaking, fans are presumed to have assumed the risk of getting hit by a baseball at a baseball game. In the Sports Law class that I teach, I argue that the best scenario for a plaintiff's verdict would be if you came to the game and specifically requested a ticket safe from a potential foul ball and you still get hit by one. Like many of my best law school hypotheticals, this has probably never happened and could never be proved even if it did.

Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nevada

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