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Mealey's Personal Injury

  • September 17, 2020

    Data Content Provider Hit With COVID-19-Related Shareholder Derivative Suit

    NEW YORK — An investor in a data content and services provider to health care providers filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit against the company's CEO and three of its directors in New York federal court on Aug. 21, alleging that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty by issuing and/or causing the company to falsely represent to the investing public that it had received a purchase order to produce millions of COVID-19 rapid test kits with the ability to produce a total of 48 million test kits over a 23-week period (Josstyn Richter v. Marc S. Schessel, et al., No. 20-6760, S.D. N.Y.).

  • September 17, 2020

    Trial Court Didn't Address Validity Of Arbitration Agreement, Arkansas Panel Says

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas appellate panel on Sept. 16 reversed a ruling denying a motion to compel arbitration of a nursing home negligence case, finding that the trial court erred in denying the motion without expressly ruling on "the threshold issues of whether there was a valid agreement to arbitrate and, if so, whether the dispute fell within the scope of that agreement" (JS Arkansas Five Healthcare, LLC, et al. v. Amy Gilbreath, No. CV-18-995, Ark. App., Div. 2, 2020 Ark. App. LEXIS 449).

  • September 17, 2020

    Judge Looks To Recent Precedent In Allowing Crash Expert To Testify

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A forensic engineer can testify that a highway authority's negligence caused a fatal accident in a construction zone, a federal judge in Puerto Rico held Sept. 14, saying the authority was asking him to go beyond his gatekeeping role of determining whether the expert's testimony was admissible (Carlos Ortiz De Jesus, et al. v. Andres Reyes Burgos, Inc., et al., No. 17-2349, D. Puerto Rico, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168986).

  • September 17, 2020

    Tennessee Panel Orders Nursing Home To Pay Costs Of Arbitration In Liability Action

    JACKSON, Tenn. — Although agreeing with a trial court that a fee-splitting provision in an arbitration agreement between a nursing home and a former resident is unconscionable, a Tennessee Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 15 reversed the lower court's decision to deny the facility's motion to compel arbitration and ordered the trial court on remand to compel arbitration at the facility's expense (Tkach Stokes v. Allenbrooke Nursing and Rehabilitation Center LLC, No. W2019-01983-COA-R3-CV, Tenn. App., 2020 Tenn. App. LEXIS 411).

  • September 17, 2020

    2nd Circuit Finds Lack Of Jurisdiction Over 5 Appeals Of WWE Concussion Suits

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 9 ruled that it lacked appellate jurisdiction over the consolidated appeals of five cases, three of which were putative class actions, by former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) wrestlers for head injuries; four appeals were deemed untimely in light of Hall v. Hall, the fifth was found to contain time-barred claims and the appeals of sanctions orders in two of the cases were found to be not appealable as the amount of sanctions were not yet set (William Albert Haynes, III, et al. v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Incorporated, Nos. 18-3278, 18-3322, 18-3325, 18-3326, 18-3327, 18-3328 and 18-3330, 2nd Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28606).

  • September 15, 2020

    Judge Allows Expert's Shipping Opinions In Denying Judgment On Injury Claims

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Sept. 14 denied summary judgment to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on negligence claims leveled by a paper products company worker who was injured while unloading cardboard bales from the retailer after the judge found that an industry standards expert's opinions are reliable (Luis Uzhca, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., et al., No. 17-3850, S.D. N.Y., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167662).

  • September 15, 2020

    USA Taekwondo Seeks Partial Summary Judgment In Class Sex Abuse Suit

    DENVER — USA Taekwondo Inc. (USAT) on Sept. 11 in a Colorado federal court moved for partial summary judgment in a putative class complaint by certain Team USA's Olympic taekwondo athletes who have alleged more than two decades of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking by Olympic officials, coaches and mentors, arguing that the operative third amended complaint "heavily" draws on allegations of actions by dismissed defendants, that two of the challenged counts are untimely and that the other two lack sufficient evidence (Heidi Gilbert, et al. v. USA Taekwondo, Inc., et al., No. 18-981, D. Colo.).

  • September 15, 2020

    Summary Judgment Denied After Expert Opinions On Alleged Faulty Lift Allowed

    PORTLAND, Ore. — An injured boom lift operator — with most of his engineering experts' opinion intact — provides sufficient evidence to defeat summary judgment on his claims that the lift manufacturer made a defective product and failed to warn about its hazards, an Oregon federal judge decided Sept. 11 (Mark Bowden v. United Rentals [North America] Inc., et al., No. 17-1411, D. Ore., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166618).

  • September 14, 2020

    Response Waived In Couple's Petition Over 'Multiple Chemical Sensitivity' Opinions

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court will decide without a response whether to grant certiorari in a case challenging the reliability of experts' opinions on a woman's "multiple chemical sensitivity" diagnosis after an Ohio county engineer on Sept. 8 said he will not file an opposition to the woman's petition for review (Cynthia Madej, et vir v. Jeff Maiden, No. 20-227, U.S. Sup., 2020 U.S. S. CT. BRIEFS LEXIS 2591).

  • September 11, 2020

    Judge: No Federal Jurisdiction Shown In COVID-19 Death Suit Against Nursing Home

    LOS ANGELES — The removal of a COVID-19 wrongful death and negligence suit by the defendant nursing home, its owner and a doctor pursuant to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) fails as no claims were brought under that act, a federal judge in California ruled Sept. 10, adding that removal was also not justified by federal officer jurisdiction and that there was no showing of an "imbedded question of federal law" (Emma Martin, et al. v. Serrano Post Acute LLC, et al., No. 20-5937, C.D. Calif.).

  • September 11, 2020

    Estate Of Resident Who Died Of COVID-19 Files Class Suit Against N.J. Facilities

    NEWTON, N.J. — The estate of a resident of a New Jersey long-term care facility on Sept. 8 filed a class action complaint in state court against the facility, its sister facility and their owners and operators, claiming that they violated state and federal nursing home laws and the state Consumer Fraud Act and failed to protect residents from the novel coronavirus, which has cost at least 94 residents their lives (Estate of Albert C. Roberts v. Andover Subacute Rehabilitation Center I, et al., No. SSX-L-358-20, N.J. Super., Sussex Co.).

  • September 10, 2020

    Panel Reverses Judgment In Favor Of T-Mobile's Insurer In Suit Arising From Injury

    MIAMI — A Florida appeals panel on Sept. 9 reversed and remanded a lower court's final judgment in favor of T-Mobile's liability insurer in a breach of contract lawsuit brought by a man who was injured outside of T-Mobile's store property (Stevie Howard v. Greenwich Insurance Company, No. 3D19-1922, Fla. App., 3rd Dist., 2020 Fla. App. LEXIS 12634).

  • September 08, 2020

    Florida Judge Refuses To Dismiss Claims Against FBI Over Parkland School Shooting

    MIAMI — Plaintiffs related to students and others killed or injured in the Parkland, Fla., mass shooting in 2018 may proceed with their claims against the federal government alleging that the FBI breached a legal duty by failing to properly handle reports about the shooter's threatening behavior, a Florida federal judge ruled Aug. 31 in denying the defendant's motion to dismiss (In Re:  Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting FTCA Litigation, No. 18-62758, S.D. Fla.).

  • September 08, 2020

    Maryland High Court Says Nonparty Medical Negligence Claims Need Expert Testimony

    ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A trial court erred in allowing two radiologists to raise the issue of nonparty negligence and to submit it to the jury without supporting expert testimony in an action over the late diagnosis of a man's inoperable lymph node cancer, the Maryland Court of Appeals concluded Aug. 24.  It affirmed an appeals court ruling and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings (American Radiology Services LLC, et al. v. Martin Reiss, No. 50, Md. App., 2020 Md. LEXIS 376).

  • September 06, 2020

    Families Sue Manufacturer, Seller Of Assault Rifle Used In Texas Shooting Spree

    ODESSA, Texas — The families of two people killed by a man on a shooting spree in Texas in 2019 filed suit in state court on Aug. 28 against the dealer that sold him the AM-15 assault rifle and the weapon manufacturer, arguing that the shooter was ineligible to own a gun and the dealer was unlicensed (Joanna Leyva, et al. v. Marcus Anthony Braziel, et al., No. 20-08-0905, Texas Dist., Ector Co.).

  • September 06, 2020

    $10.8 Million Awarded By Pennsylvania Jury For Brain Damage From MRI Dye Reaction

    HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania jury awarded $10.8 million on Aug. 25 to the father and guardian of a man who suffered a cardiac arrest and severe brain damage after having an allergic reaction to contrast dye that was administered for an MRI.  The man's father accused the hospital and a physician of failing to immediately take the proper action to help him (Charles Timothy Miller v. Kelly Biggs, et al., No. 2018-2849, Pa. Comm. Pls., Blair Co.).

  • September 06, 2020

    Illinois Court Throws Out $50 Million Award For Birth Injury, Remands For New Trial

    CHICAGO — The exclusion of a child's autism diagnosis as evidence deprived a jury of relevant information in determining causation and damages, an Illinois appellate panel concluded Aug. 21, vacating a $50.3 million award to the child for the severe brain injury he suffered at birth and remanding for a new trial (Julien Florez, et al. v. NorthShore University HealthSystem, et al., No. 1-19-0465, Ill. App., 1st Dist., 2020 Ill. App. LEXIS 560).

  • September 06, 2020

    Texas Appeals Court Vacates $33.4 Million Award To Driver Hit By Truck As Excessive

    TYLER, Texas — A Texas appeals court on Aug. 26 threw out a $33.4 million award to a driver whose pickup truck was hit by a semi-truck that drifted out of its highway lane, calling the amount excessive and improperly intended to send a message to the entire trucking industry.  The appeals court remanded for a new trial against the trucking company and its driver (FTS International Services LLC, et al. v. Joshua Patterson, No. 12-19-00040, Texas App., 12th Dist., 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 6851).

  • September 06, 2020

    8th Circuit: Traveler Can Sue Government For Battery By Airport Screening Officer

    ST. LOUIS — A divided Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 31 concluded that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is not immune to an airline passenger's claims that he was injured by a TSA screening officer at a security checkpoint, holding that such personnel are considered "investigative or law enforcement officers" under federal law (Brian Iverson v. United States, et al., No. 18-3137, 8th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 27634).

  • September 04, 2020

    Defense Verdict Affirmed By New Jersey Court In Suit Over Boy's Immune Disease Death

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals court affirmed a defense verdict for a pediatric practice and two physicians accused of failing to properly diagnose an 18-month-old boy's immune system disease before his death, concluding Sept. 2 that the alleged jury selection errors did not warrant a new trial (Jennifer O'Connor, et al. v. Riverside Pediatric Group, et al., No. A-0700-18T2, N.J. Super., App. Div., 2020 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1664).