Mealey's Personal Injury
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June 22, 2018
Jury Finds Red Sox Not Negligent In Suit Over Foul Ball Injury
BOSTON — A Massachusetts state court jury on June 13 found that the Boston Red Sox team was not negligent in a lawsuit filed by a woman who was hit by a foul ball while sitting in the stands behind home plate at Fenway Park (Stephanie Taubin v. John W. Henry, et al., No. 1584-02565, Mass. Super., Suffolk Co.).
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June 22, 2018
Iowa High Court Remands Informed-Consent Claims In Heart Surgery Dispute
DES MOINES, Iowa — A divided Iowa Supreme Court on June 15 said a trial court erred when it dismissed two informed-consent claims from a lawsuit alleging that a physician mishandled a Bentall heart procedure after failing to disclose his inexperience with the operation or the risks the procedure posed to the patient. It reversed in part and remanded to the trial court (Alan Andersen, et al. v. Sohit Khanna, et al., No. 14-1682, Iowa Sup., 2018 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 62).
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June 22, 2018
Split Wyoming High Court: Jury Should Decide Proximate Cause In Fatal Accident
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A divided Wyoming Supreme Court on June 8 reinstated a wrongful death action against a trucking company and two drivers, ruling that a jury must resolve the issue of proximate cause in a fatal accident where a tractor-trailer was parked in an emergency lane and another driver hit the back of the truck and died (Misty Wood v. CRST Expedited, Inc., et al., No. S-17-0120, Wyo. Sup., 2018 Wyo. LEXIS 66).
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June 21, 2018
8th Circuit Affirms Verdict For Physician In Post-Operation Infection Case
ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 12 affirmed a trial court’s decision in favor of an orthopedic and sports medicine facility and a physician, holding that they did not breach the standard of care by not testing post-surgery fluid that developed in a patient’s knee for infection (Leslie Grussing v. Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Inc., et al., No. 17-2228, 8th Cir.).
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June 20, 2018
New Jersey High Court Grants Insurer Leave To Appeal PIP Benefits Ruling
TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Supreme Court on June 15 granted an auto insurer leave to appeal a ruling finding the insurer liable for personal injury protection (PIP) benefits for an unnamed additional insured under terms of a voided insurance contract (Tyrone S. Henry Sr., et al. v. Santosh S. Bhowmik, et al., No. N/A, N.J. Sup., 2018 N.J. LEXIS 795).
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June 20, 2018
Oregon High Court: Product Liability Suit Is Not Subject To Statute Of Repose
SALEM, Ore. — Answering a certified question from the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the Oregon Supreme Court on June 7 found that pursuant to Oregon Revised Statutes 30.905(2), when an Oregon product liability lawsuit involves a product that was manufactured in a state that has no statute of repose for an equivalent civil lawsuit, the Oregon action is also not subject to a statute of repose (Aline L. Miller v. Ford Motor Company, No. SC S065010, Ore. Sup., 2018 Ore. LEXIS 438).
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June 19, 2018
Man Files Personal Injury Suit Against New Jersey Insurance Guaranty Association
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey man sued the state’s insurance guaranty association and others on June 8 in a New Jersey trial court for personal injuries sustained from a car crash (Steve Eugene v. Taylor E. Legates, et al., No. ESX-L-004020, N.J. Super., Essex Co.).
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June 18, 2018
Pennsylvania Superior Court Refiles Ruling In $5 Malpractice Suit After Stay Lifted
HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a stay pursuant to a liquidation order of an insolvent insurer was automatically lifted, a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel on June 13 refiled its Jan. 30 ruling that affirmed a $5 million medical malpractice verdict in favor of the daughter of a man who died because of a misplaced feeding tube (Anita E. Tong-Summerford v. Abington Memorial Hospital and Radiology Group of Abington, P.C., et al., Nos. 3114 EDA 2016 & 3310 EDA 2016, Pa. Super., 2018 Pa. Super. LEXIS 648.)
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June 18, 2018
Defendants Prevail At Trial In Dispute Over Car Accident Caused By Cow
DENVER — A Colorado federal magistrate judge on June 14 explained her decision to instruct jurors two days earlier that actual notice is not a prerequisite to apportioning liability to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for any negligence by the state that contributed to an automobile accident involving an escaped cow (Tamara Bryant v. Earl Byron Reams II, et al., No. 16-1638, D. Colo., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99929).
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June 12, 2018
Minnesota Panel Holds Hospital’s Negligence Did Not Cause Seizure, Stroke
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals panel on May 21 affirmed a trial court’s decision that a hospital’s negligence did not cause a patient to suffer a seizure and stroke and that a pre-existing condition caused by alcohol use was the actual cause of the patient’s injuries (Justin D. Meyer, et al. v. Fairview Health Services, ex rel., Nos. A17-1331, A17-1345, Minn. App., 2018 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 420).
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June 11, 2018
Audience Member Held Solely Responsible For Fall During Magic Trick
LAS VEGAS — A Nevada jury on May 29 held an audience member who was injured when he fell in a dark area under construction at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas while participating in a magic trick performed by David Copperfield 100 percent responsible for his injuries (Gavin Cox, et al. v. MGM Grand Hotel LLC, et al., No. 14-705164-C, Nev. Dist., Clark Co.).
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June 11, 2018
Ohio Appeals Court: Pub Crawl Sponsor Not Negligent In Auto Accident
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio judge did not err in finding that the organizer of a “pub crawl” to raise funds for cancer research is entitled to judgment on the pleadings in a lawsuit filed by a motorist injured in a car accident caused by an intoxicated pub crawl participant, a state appeals court ruled May 26 (Erin Lytal, et al., v. Crawl for Cancer Inc., et al., No. 17AP-771, Ohio App., 10th Dist., 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 2192).
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June 11, 2018
Iowa Appeals Panel Upholds $900,000 Award Following Nursing Home Death
DES MOINES, Iowa — A $900,000 jury award for the family of a woman who was determined to have died from dehydration due to negligence at the nursing home where she resided was not excessive given “degree of reprehensibility,” an Iowa Court of Appeals panel ruled June 6, affirming a trial court’s order upholding the jury award (Kristine Christensen, et al. v. Good Shepherd, Inc., No. 17-0516, Iowa App., 2018 Iowa App. LEXIS 535).
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June 11, 2018
Colorado High Court: Plaintiff Can’t Show Road Contributed To Accident
DENVER — A woman who was seriously injured when the motorcycle she was riding on collided with a car could not establish that the road’s condition contributed to the accident and, therefore, was not entitled to waive the city’s immunity to her lawsuit, a divided Colorado Supreme Court ruled May 21 (Denver v. Sean Dennis, No. 16SC8516, Colo. Sup.).
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June 11, 2018
Louisiana Appeals Court: Paramedics Not Negligent In Timely Care Dispute
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A paramedic company did not breach the applicable standard of care when it transported a man who was critically injured in a motorcycle accident and later died to a hospital, without first calling a state medical clearinghouse to determine the best facility for treatment, a Louisiana appeals court concluded May 23, affirming a trial court’s decision (Brenna Ash Miller, et al. v. Acadian Ambulance Service Inc., et al., No. 17-1096, La. App., 3rd Cir.).
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June 11, 2018
California Appeals Court Reverses New Trial Order Granted Nunc Pro Tunc
LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court on May 30 reversed a trial court’s order granting a motion for a new trial nunc pro tunc but said a jury properly awarded zero damages for future noneconomic damages to a teen who suffered a concussion and a broken arm when he was hit by a car (Samuel Gallagher v. Rebecca Latham, No. B270972, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., Div. 7).
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June 11, 2018
Florida High Court Rules Motion To Enlarge Does Not Toll Time To Accept Deal
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court held May 17 that the filing of a motion under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090 to enlarge the time to accept a proposed settlement in a personal injury dispute does not automatically toll the 30-day deadline for accepting the proposal until the motion is decided, remanding for the lower court to reinstate the negligence action (Donna Koppel v. Laura Ochoa, et al., No. SC16-1474, Fla. Sup., 2018 Fla. LEXIS 1091).
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June 11, 2018
Claims Reinstated Against Georgia Surgeon Who Failed To Disclose His Disabilities
ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals court on June 1 reinstated a medical malpractice claim against a physician who performed gynecological surgery that left a woman with a distal ureteral injury and uterovaginal fistulas without informing her of his various disabilities, including loss of vision and fine motor skills. The physician, his practice and the hospital filed a notice of intent to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court on June 7 (Bonnie Holmes, et al. v. Thomas Lyons, et al., No. A18A0277, Ga. App., 3rd Div., 2018 Ga. App. LEXIS 322).
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June 11, 2018
Reduction Of Jury Award, Denial Of New Trial Affirmed By Massachusetts Court
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Appeals Court on June 6 affirmed the remittitur of a $32 million award to $20 million to the husband of a woman killed by a speeding SUV that crashed into a Cumberland Farms convenience store as she was entering it. The appeals court also refused to grant the store operator a new trial on the grounds that the trial court had admitted an unreviewed report on 485 prior car strikes at its other stores (Albert R. Dubuque Jr. v. Cumberland Farms Inc., No. 17-P-266, Mass. App.).
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June 11, 2018
Rhode Island High Court Partially Reverses Ruling Over Wet Floor Hazard
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Security camera footage of a plaintiff slipping on a puddle of liquid from a leaking beverage bottle in a Price Rite and testimony from store employees about its safety policies were enough to raise the question of whether the store knew or should have known about hazard, a divided Rhode Island Supreme Court concluded May 22, reversing a lower court decision in part (Karen Dent v. PRRC, Inc., No. 2016-129, R.I. Sup.).