Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

A Seroquel lawsuit that was set to go to trial before the next Seroquel MDL trial was dismissed yesterday by a Delaware state court judge. The move was not unexpected. The judge had previously excluded medical expert testimony linking diabetes and Seroquel. Without an expert, a product liability lawyer cannot pursue a Seroquel verdict.The irony of it all is that no one seriously questions that Seroquel can cause diabetes. But I believe the problem here is the same as the problem in the Florida Seroquel MDL case that was set for trial: the expert - in this case an endocrinologist - could not sufficiently rule out alternative causes for the diabetes. It did not help that AstraZeneca's lawyers were able to state in their motion for summary judgment that "until recently, her diet consisted of slurpies and donuts, fish and fries from McDonald's, Burger King and '(a) lot of Chinese food.'" Not exactly the best "Seroquel caused my diabetes" case.

The Plaintiff in this case had the type of lawsuit Seroquel lawyers prefer: diabetes from off-label use of Seroquel for insomnia.

"The plaintiffs want to try these cases in the press," said Mike Kelly, a Wilmington attorney with the law firm McCarter & English who represents AstraZeneca in the Delaware cases. "But what is happening in the courts tells it all ... So far, the plaintiffs can't get a case to trial."

Continue reading "Seroquel Lawsuit: Another Loss, This Time in Delaware" »

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Posted In: Delaware , Florida , Product Liability , Texas

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The Texas Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, upheld a jury verdict that found Nationwide Insurance responsible for covering injuries sustained to a Texas family involved in a collision with one of its policyholders.

Nationwide's insured was chased by police before the accident where he collided with the Plaintiffs. Nationwide refused to pay the claim, arguing that their policyholder had forfeited his right to coverage when he began the chase. Plaintiffs' Texas accident lawyer argued that the logic of Nationwide's argument is if you try to run a red light, speed or take any other intentional act not intended to cause an accident in Texas, that would also be an intentional act for which there would be no insurance coverage. The Texas Supreme Court agreed ruling that "Texas mandates liability insurance for drivers but if ordinary Texans are unprotected from those who speed or run red lights, but intend no harm to others by doing so, then Texas is replete with non-coverage notwithstanding its mandatory-coverage requirement."

A spokesperson for Nationwide said the insurance company is "glad the high court has resolved the issue of whether a high-speed chase falls within the 'intentional acts' exclusion in Texas. Nationwide intends to comply with the courts ruling on this complex issue." So Nationwide just wanted the issue resolved - that was their goal in all of this? Please.

If you have been injured in a car accident anywhere in Texas, including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Brownsville, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano, Amarillo, and Garland, you may need a Texas accident lawyer. Call 800-553-8082 to speak with a lawyer today or click here for a free Texas auto accident lawyer consultation.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Texas

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A number of mostly medical malpractice related links from around the web today

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Posted In: Maryland , Medical Malpractice , Texas

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Interesting article on what sounds like an insane medical malpractice trial in Jefferson County in a breast cancer misdiagnosis lawsuit.

It is crazy easy for lawyers to complain about judges, complaining that judges take too much or too little control of a courtroom. I'm sure it is easy to say when you don't have to actually preside over a case yourself. But listening to the facts of this medical malpractice case, I think there is no question the judge needs to get a tighter grip on the medical malpractice lawyers in his courtroom.

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Texas

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Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar was named in a lawsuit following a fatal alcohol-related car crash. In the lawsuit, plaintiff claims the bar overserved a man on the night of the accident and was negligent in the death of her daughter.

This is an awful case. The man's pickup truck collided with a car occupied by three teenagers, killing two people of them and seriously injuring the third. The drunk driver was also killed in the car accident.

As tragic as this case is, I do have some concern with dram shop laws that hold bars accountable in these case just because I think it is so difficult to track who has been served what at a bar.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Texas

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The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a strange rehearing of a ruling that Texas lawmakers and other groups say deprives injury victims of their rights. The issue of whether contract employees covered by workers’ compensation are able to seek damages against work site owners for on-the-job injuries. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, labor groups and accident victims have protested the decision saying the Texas high court erred in granting extended immunity provisions that were not part of legislative intent.

Interesting case. The Texas Supreme Court decision was unanimous but they get a rehearing because everyone thinks it was an awful call. Probably the best approach would be for Texas lawmakers to rewrite the law.

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Posted In: Texas

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A Jury Verdict Research study found that the median compensation award for personal injury case that go to trial in Texas is $22,360. Plainitff's recover about 52% of the time (which is consistent with the national average).

If you have been injured and need a personal injury lawyer anywhere in Texas, call our malpractice, product liability and car accident lawyers at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free, confidential Internet case evaluation.

Related Posts

• What is the Value of My Case?
(how valuation is determined in personal injury cases in Texas)

• Handling Your Own Personal Injury Case
(what to do if you want to handle your personal injury case yourself

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Posted In: Texas

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When a lawyer gets a verdict or settlement in a 7 figure case, the lawyer can join the Million Dollar Advocates (of which I am a member). Last week, after a Texas jury awarded $1.5 million in a truck accident involving two men seriously injured after a semi crashed into their car, an Indiana based trucking company entered a more ignominious group of trucking companies that have had million dollar truck accident verdicts entered against them based on truck accidents that occurred within a year, both Texas truck accidents. In 2005, Celadon took a $17.5 million jury hit in a truck accident case involving the death of a U.S. Army lieutenant, who was killed after getting rear-ended by a Celadon truck. The venue? Texas.

In this most recent case, two men were driving in their car on a highway in Waxahachie, Texas (near Dallas) when a Celadon Trucking Services tractor-trailer struck their car. The Plaintiffs' Texas truck accident lawyer alleged in Plaintiffs’ lawsuit that Celadon negligently hired the truck driver and that its driver caused the truck accident. The jury agreed.

One of the men suffered a fractured vertebra; the other sustained a serious injury to his right knee, which required several reconstructive surgeries. The latter man also suffered a mild traumatic brain injury and damage to his collarbone.

I appreciate that Celadon is a big, publicly traded company that has a lot of truck drivers on the road. And I realize that this verdict may have been less than Plaintiffs' demand. But given Celadon's history in Texas, you would think they might work a little extra hard to settle this truck accident case before trial.

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Posted In: Texas , Truck Accidents

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If you have talked to a personal injury lawyer who handles a lot of car accident cases in the last six months, you will hear complaints that car accident cases are drying up. Yet, unfortunately, there is no indication we have less automobile accidents in this country. So why?

I think the main reason is that car insurance companies are getting better at reaching out to clients before they find a lawyer. Insurance companies are absolutely entitled to do this. Moreover, I think this works mostly with smaller auto accident cases. The reality – and this is something a lot of car accident lawyers don’t want prospective clients to know – is that you can often handle small auto accident cases without a lawyer.

Our car accident lawyers handling your case will increase the value of your case. In fact, the mere involvement of our law firm, given our reputation, is going to increase the value of your case. But how much? If you have a big case, it will increase the value a great deal. Our car accident lawyers have been referred cases by other lawyers that already have an offer and we have gotten more than 35 times the offer given to the original lawyer. But our accident lawyers’ ability to add value to your case is directly proportional to the size of the case. If you have a case with an ER visit and a few physical therapy sessions, our car accident lawyers will increase the value of your case. And it certainly will make your life easier because you have someone to process everything for you. But is it enough to make it worth hiring us? The answer to that varies from case to case. Our car accident lawyers used to take these kinds of cases because we thought it was a bad idea to deny anyone the right to a lawyer if they had a valid claim. Now, I’m telling at least a third of the people that call us with legitimate cases that they certainly can hire a lawyer, but they also have the option to proceed without a lawyer, and we tell them what they should do to continue bringing their car accident claim without a lawyer.

Don’t get me wrong: there are real risks in proceeding on your own without a car accident lawyer. Among other risks, you can miss deadlines to file a claim and you don’t have the experience that a car accident lawyer does to know the value of your auto accident claim. But the reality is some people are willing to assume those risks. If you are one of those people, you can click on the article titled “Handling My Own Auto Accident Claim.”

If you are going to proceed without a lawyer for your car accident, call a lawyer just to discuss your case with them.

Related Posts:

Handling Your Own Auto Accident Claim (a “how to” for those proceeding on their own)

Why Hiring a Lawyer is the Best Way to Maximize Your Recovery in Most Auto Accident Cases (explanation of the pitfalls of proceeding without a lawyer).

What is the Value of My Car Accident Case? (explanation of how value is determined in auto accident cases)

Sample Demand Letter (sample letter to the insurance company to settle an accident claim)

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Posted In: Alaska , Car Accidents , Texas

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My two volume treatise Insurance Settlements is now available from James Publishing. The book discusses how to position a lawyer's car accident, truck accident, medical malpractice or product liability case to the best possible settlement at every step along the way (until the state's high court affirms the judgment).

Click on the James Publishing link. If you have any comments on the book, please email me at ronmiller@millerandzois.com under the subject "Insurance Settlements Comments."

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Posted In: Alabama , Alaska , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Car Accidents , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Lawyer Blogs of Interest , Louisiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Medical Malpractice , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Nursing Home Abuse , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Product Liability , Puerto Rico , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Truck Accidents , Utah , Vermont , Virginia , Washington , Washington DC , West Virginia , Wisconsin , Wyoming

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Our lawyers are reviewing Byetta claims after the FDA announced this week that the diabetes drug has been linked to severe pancreatic problems in dozens of patients. On Monday, the FDA warned patients taking Byetta to discontinue use if they develop symptoms of the disorder. Further the FDA said that doctor prescribing Byetta should consider other prescription options for patients with a history of pancreas problems.

Since Byetta was introduced into the United States in 2005, more than 700,000 patients have used the Byetta.

Our lawyers are now exploring potential Byetta lawsuits. If you would like to discuss your case with a Byetta lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consulation/case evaluation (or even to answer any question you may have). For more information on Byetta and the concerns with Byetta, click here.

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Last week, Digitek manufacturer Actavis Totowa recalled over 65 different drugs made at their New Jersey manufacturing plant. The list of recalled drugs (in some form or another) includes such generic drugs as Bellamine, Buspirone, Carisoprodol, Oxycodone Meperidine, and Rifampin. This strengthens the conclusion that the New Jersey plant that made these drugs may be the cause of irregularities in Actavis medications.

In April 2008, Actavis recalled Digitek, a drug prescribed to treat heart failure and irregular heartbeat because it was discovered that Digitek tablets appeared to have double the thickness – and likely double the active ingredient – listed on the label. When Digitek is given in abnormally high doses it can lead to digitalis toxicity which, paradoxically, worsens the problems Digitek is intended to treat, causing nausea or lower blood pressure and other side effects from the Digitek overdose that can lead to the increased risk of stroke or a heart attack.

If you would like to speak to a Digitek recall lawyer about a potential Digitek lawsuit, call 1-800-553-8000. For more information on the Digitek overdose recall or a free consultation on your potential Digitek case, click here.

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Posted In: Alabama , Alaska , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Medical Malpractice , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Product Liability , Puerto Rico , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , Virginia , Washington , Washington DC , West Virginia , Wisconsin , Wyoming

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A nursing home in Carrollton has been sued for failing to maintain the health and safety standards required by Texas law, according to a lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General.

Specifically, the Texas Attorney General's complaint alleges that Brookhaven Nursing Center's failure to have backup safety measures and emergency response protocols was a contributing cause to the death of a patient who died of oxygen deprivation because the patient's oxygen system shut down during a power outage.

It is a sad commentary that Texas now has to rely on the state to bring about justice because there are so few nursing home lawyers left in Texas.

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse , Texas

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Zimmer's Durom Cup hip implants are likely to be the subject of a good number of lawsuits from patients with the Zimmer implants. But they will not be the only ones. Apparently, Zimmer’s own shareholders may agree that Zimmer left its hip implant on the market way too long. Last week, shareholders of Zimmer stock filed a class action in Indiana. Interestingly, the lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who purchased stock between January 28, 2008 and July 21, 2008. This tells our Zimmer hip implant recall lawyers that these shareholders believe that Zimmer knew or should have known and issued a recall on or before January 28, 2008.

If your Zimmer Durom hip resurfacing cup was defective, call our Zimmer hip implant lawyers at 1-800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation.

More information on the Zimmer Hip Implant Recall
History of the Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant Recall
More information on the Zimmer hip implant recall lawsuits

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Posted In: Alabama , Alaska , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Product Liability , Puerto Rico , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , Washington , Washington DC , West Virginia , Wisconsin , Wyoming

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Texas is a rare state that requires almost everyone - doctors (it is now dirt cheap because there are so few medical malpractice claims under Texas' new draconian law), building contractors, and motor vehicle drivers to have insurance. Lawyers are not required to have insurance. Texas lawyer oppose mandatory legal malpractice insurance. They are wrong in opposing legal malpractice insurance, these lawyers open the door to hypocracy. Moreover, any Texas injury lawyer that does not have legal malpractice insurance is putting themselves and their clients at great risk.

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Posted In: Texas

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Jury Verdict Research(r) study reports that rotator cuff injuries reached a 7-year high in 2006 with a compensatory award median of $72,667. This is almost 50% higher than previous reported settlements and verdicts in rotator cuff injury cases.

Our lawyers have never understood while the national data in these cases was so low. Washington D.C. rotator cuff injuries have averaged well over $100,000 for rotator cuff settlements and verdicts so we have never understood why the national average was as low as it has been. In any event, for whatever reason, rotator cuff verdicts are on the rise.

Our lawyers handle rotator cuff injury cases throughout the United States. Our lawyers have handled scores of rotator cuff injuries in car and truck accidents, typically in side collision or "T-bone" accidents. Our lawyers believe that insurance companies do not give fair value in most rotator cuff injury cases and our lawyers will fight to get you the financial compensation you deserve. Call a rotator cuff lawyer to protect you at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation and case evaulation.

Related Posts

What Is the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim? (how the value of rotator cuff and other person injury settlements are calculated)

Sample Demand Letter (sample letter demanding settlement in a personal injury case)

Handling Your Claim Without a Lawyer (tips and pratfalls)

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

Posted In: Alabama , Alaska , Arkansas , California , Car Accidents , Colorado , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Product Liability , Puerto Rico , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Truck Accidents , Utah , Vermont , Virginia , Washington , Washington DC , West Virginia , Wisconsin , Wyoming

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The new Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog has a post on medical doctors in Florida not having medical malpractice insurance. This is considered to be a concern because patients do not have protection if their doctor commits medical malpractice. Of course, in states like Texas, where caps on economic damages discourage 95% of meritorious claims, it seems ironic that the state is putting risks on patients that are almost universally decried as risky to patients. It is a bad thing for doctors to risk medical malpractice victims' ability to recover but okay if the state does the very same thing?

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Posted In: Florida , Maryland , Medical Malpractice , Texas

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Lawyers representing Digitek overdose victims have filed nine lawsuits in New Jersey against Actavis Totowa LLL and its parent company Actavis Group, alleging a manufacturing defect in Digitek, namely that some Digitek tablets have contained twice the active ingredient of the drug. Digitek recall lawsuits have also been filed in West Virginia and California.

Our Digitek recall lawyers are reviewing these Digitek overdose cases in all 50 states expecting that a consolidated class action lawsuit will be appropriate (as opposed to this scatting of individual cases). If you want to discuss your case with one of our Digitek lawyers call us at 800-553-8082 for a free consultation or click here for a free Internet consultation.

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The Dallas City Counsel voted 10-5 to tow the cars of drivers who cannot produce proof of car insurance after a traffic stop. The new car insurance law will take effect on January 1, 2009.

I’m pleased to see that Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said police would use prudence in enforcing this law. For example, police would not tow a vehicle if towing would result in a family with children being stranded at night on the side of a road.

I honestly do not know how I feel about this law but I’m having a hard time coming up with legitimate arguments against it. District 6 council member Steve Salazar, who is against the bill, does not provide me any help. He is quoted as saying, “"I want my officers catching burglars, people committing assaults, people committing rapes, people committing murders. Our priority is fighting crime."

Mr. Salazar is creating a false choice. We don’t have to choose between stopping murders and rapes and fighting back against people that refuse to get auto insurance. We can and do afford both.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Texas

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In Providence Health Center v. Dowell, the Texas Supreme Court found against he Texas Supreme Court found against the Plaintiffs who sought to recover in a medical malpractice case for their son’s suicide.

The Texas high court, in an opinion by written by Justice Hecht, based its ruling on a number of factors, most notably appears to be the fact that there was no expert testimony to a reasonable degree of medical probability that had the young man been hospitalized, that his death could have been prevented. When asked if hospitalization would have prevented the suicide, the expert only answered that the young man “would have improved” and been at a “lower risk” of suicide when he left the hospital.

The majority opinion also ruled that there was no evidence that the young man would have consented to hospitalization. A dissenting opinion by supported by three justices took exception to the notion that plaintiffs should be required to prove that the patient would have consented provides a new and insurmountable hurdle in suicide cases.

I have not read the dissent because it is not available; I gleaned the dissent’s view from the majority opinion. I agree with the dissent that it is ridiculous that a plaintiff would be required to prove that their decedent would have consented to hospitalization. But I’m not sure how the dissent gets around the failure of the expert to provide a definitive “more probably than not’ answer to the question of whether hospitalization would have made a difference.

In another life, I defended an antidepressant manufacturer in litigation involving suicides while on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Suicide is just an awful tragedy and the reasons for it are often incredibly complex. Not speaking to the merits of this case, but hospitals and doctors do have an obligation sometimes to protect people from themselves. I hope cases like this don’t send the wrong message to health care providers in Texas.

Of course, doctors and hospitals are already getting the wrong message as any Texas medical malpractice lawyer will tell you. Absurdly low damage caps have gutted Texas malpractice cases, living many victims without any compensation or, quite often, even a lawyer who is willing to take their malpractice case.

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Texas

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On Friday, a Dallas County jury awarded $87 million to a man who was partially paralyzed in a moving-truck accident with $87 million in his lawsuit against U-Haul.

Plaintiff’s lawyer Ted Lyon told reporters after the verdict that U-Haul had faulty emergency break and worn down gears. The Plaintiff rented a U-Haul to help his daughter move. When he got out of the truck, it started rolling backwards and knocked him down. Now the formerly active retiree cannot walk and requires around-the-clock care.

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Posted In: Texas , Truck Accidents

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In litgation that is a byproduct of the Ford Explorer rollover lawsuits, Ford Explorer owners will be "compensated" in a settlement because of the loss of value of the Explorer because of the perceived rollover danger. This settlement covers about 800,000 people who purchased Explorers in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas.

Unfortunately, the only people who will get a significant recovery will be the lawyers who brought these claims. Explorer owners will only be eligible for vouchers for $300 to purchase new vehicles Ford or Lincoln Mercury vehicles (or $500 off the Ford Explorer). Practically, the car dealers will just negotiate a higher sales price on the car the sale of the car, reducing the list price less than they otherwise would.

Accordingly, this settlement is worthless to everyone except for the lawyers bringing these claims. The frustrating thing about this is that 800,000 people see this settlement and think, "Geez, what a scam, the only people that really profit from this are the lawyers." For personal injury victims and their lawyers, this does not help when one of these 800,000 people shows up on a jury.

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Posted In: California , Connecticut , Illinois , Medical Malpractice , Texas

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Jeremy Roebuck of The Monitor in South Texas writes an interesting article about, unlike Friday's blog post, Allstate going on the offensive against abuses in the personal injury system.

In this case, Allstate has brought a fraud lawsuit against a group of Rio Grande Valley chiropractic clinics and their lawyers, claiming that they improperly recruited personal injury victims, suggested patients undergo unnecessary treatments and then persuaded their patients to file personal injury lawsuits against Allstate.

Allstate alleges the clinics, Chiropractic Strategies, has telemarketers that encourage people to visit their clinics for a free evaluation. Once there, Allstate claims they were are diagnosed with injuries they did not have and overtreated for the injuries they did have. The article does not say but I’m assuming they are calling people who have been in auto accidents based on looking at police reports or some other means to find injury victims.

In what certainly is a smart tactic, Allstate also sued the South Texas personal injury lawyers that received the referrals from the chiropractic group, including one easy target that has an extensive history of disciplinary reprimands from the State Bar of Texas and has been convicted of theft and conspiracy to commit barratry - a third-degree felony charge aimed at lawyers who improperly solicit clients.

It is worth nothing nether Texas or local authorities in South Texas have brought fraud charges against this chiropractic group or these lawyers which calls into some question the strength of these claims. But, for once, I’m rooting for Allstate to put these guys out of business if these charges are true. I hope Allstate enjoys its brief time on the other side of the v.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Texas

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Eleven plaintiffs, including former Dallas Cowboy Ron Springs, filed a class action lawsuit yesterday challenging the Texas Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform Act as unconstitutional.

I suspect this argument will fail miserably. I think the effort to solve the medical malpractice cap problem in Texas is through the Texas Legislature. Hopefully, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association are marshaling a quality effort to convince the Texas Legislature that they have gone down a path that has seriously compromised the basis rights of people who have been seriously injured as the result of medical malpractice in Texas.

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Texas

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Welcome to our blog covering injury law and policy throughout the United States.

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