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Mealey's Personal Injury

  • September 20, 2017

    Judgment For Defense Affirmed In Medical Malpractice Suit

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A panel of the 10th District Ohio Court of Appeals on Sept. 19 affirmed a trial court’s ruling in favor of a university hospital after finding that a doctor did not breach the standard of care by releasing a psychiatric patient who committed suicide shortly after being discharged (Sharon Yurkowski, et al. v. University of Cincinnati, No. 16AP-718, Ohio App., 10th Dist., 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 4009).

  • September 20, 2017

    Expert’s Opinion On Paralysis Tossed When Evidence Shows Accuser Can Walk

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An expert witness for a woman who says her paralysis was caused by medical malpractice was excluded from testifying by a Puerto Rico federal judge, who ruled Sept. 18 that the expert’s opinion on the cause of the paralysis is useless because, despite the woman’s claims to the contrary, the evidence shows that she is not in fact paraplegic (Aglaed Gonzalez Rivera v. Centro Medico Del Turabo, Inc. D/B/A Hospital Himacaguas, et al., No. 15-1538, D. Puerto Rico, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151189).

  • September 19, 2017

    Michigan High Court Sends Dispute With Insolvent Insurer Back For Reconsideration

    LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Sept. 12 vacated an appeals court’s decision finding that a trial court erred in not considering deposition testimony in determining whether a genuine issue of material fact existed in a coverage dispute against an insolvent insurer over personal injury protection (PIP) benefits (The Detroit Medical Center v. Michigan Property & Casualty Guaranty Association, et al., No. 154363, Mich. Sup., 2017 Mich. LEXIS 1622).

  • September 19, 2017

    Suit Seeking Discovery Filed Over Post-Irma Death At Florida Nursing Home

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man whose mother died in a Florida nursing home after the air conditioning system broke following Hurricane Irma filed suit on Sept. 15 against the home, its owners and administrative staff, seeking a pure bill of discovery and to preclude the home, its staff and owner from destroying evidence that could lead to who is responsible for his mother’s death (Francis L. Lopez v.  Rehabilitation Center At Hollywood Hills LLC, et al., No. CACE17016659, Fla. 17th Jud. Cir. Broward Co.).

  • September 19, 2017

    3rd Circuit Panel Affirms Summary Judgment In Wrongful Death Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — A panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal on Sept. 18 found that a trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to a university and its affiliates in a wrongful death suit because a woman who claimed that her husband developed cancer and died from radiation exposure during research did not show that her claims were not governed by The Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act (Estate of Jeffrey H. Ware v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, et al., No. 16-3801, 3rd Cir., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 17992).

  • September 19, 2017

    Tennessee Appeals Panel Orders New Trial In Medical Malpractice Trial

    KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A panel of the Tennessee Court of Appeals on Sept. 18 reversed a defense verdict and ordered a new trial in a medical malpractice suit after finding that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on the sudden emergency doctrine (Brittany Nicole VanDyke v. Brooke E. Foulk, M.D., et al., No. E2016-00584-COA-R3-CV, Tenn. App., 2017 Tenn. App. LEXIS 621)

  • September 19, 2017

    Illinois Appeals Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Medical Negligence Suit

    ELGIN, Ill. — A panel of the Second District Illinois Appellate Court in a Sept. 14 unpublished opinion found that a trial court properly dismissed a woman’s claim that a doctor and a hospital failed to inform her of the results of a test; however, it said the trial court erred in dismissing a claim that the defendants failed to consult the results of a CT that showed that the plaintiff had a brain tumor (Michelle Tucsek v. Monica Gavran, et al., No. 2-16-1106, Ill. App., 2nd Dist., 2017 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1882).

  • September 19, 2017

    Judgment Bid Snuffed By Admission Of Experts In MRSA Damages Action

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A cosmetics company is not entitled to summary judgment on a woman’s claim that she contracted a methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) infection from a makeover at one of the company’s stores, an Ohio federal judge held Sept. 15 after finding that the opinions of the woman’s causation experts are sufficiently reliable to be admitted at trial (Susan Welch Kelly, et al. v. Bare Escentuals Beauty, Inc., et al., No. 2:14-cv-1359, S.D. Ohio, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150060).

  • September 15, 2017

    Ohio Appeals Panel Affirms Defense Verdict In Medical Negligence Suit

    CLEVELAND — An appellate panel in Ohio on Sept. 14 affirmed a defense verdict in a medical negligence suit for a doctor and a practice he worked for after finding that the court did not err in a way that prejudiced a man injured after a tracheostomy nor did it err by denying his motion for a directed verdict (Michael Scott Beard, et al. v. St. Vincent Charity Hospital, et al., No. 105245, Ohio App., 8th Dist., 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 3919).

  • September 15, 2017

    Ohio Appeals Panel Affirms Defense Verdict In Medical Negligence Suit

    CLEVELAND — An appellate panel in Ohio on Sept. 14 affirmed a defense verdict in a medical negligence suit for a doctor and a practice he worked for after finding that the court did not err in a way that prejudiced a man injured after a tracheostomy nor did it err by denying his motion for a directed verdict (Michael Scott Beard, et al. v. St. Vincent Charity Hospital, et al., No. 105245, Ohio App., 8th Dist., 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 3919).

  • September 15, 2017

    Appeals Panel Reverses Directed Verdict For Doctor, Practice In Malpractice Suit

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 14 reversed a trial court’s decision granting a defense motion for a directed verdict in a medical malpractice suit after finding that the trial court placed too high of a burden on the plaintiff to show how cancer can move from one lung to the other and that the plaintiff’s expert’s testimony was enough to overcome a motion for a directed verdict (Lisa McKaughan v. Upstate Lung & Critical Care Specialists P.C., et al., No. 2015-001828, S.C. App., 2017 S.C. App. LEXIS 76).

  • September 14, 2017

    Lawsuits Filed In California Court Over Shooting At UPS Warehouse

    SAN FRANCISCO — Victims and surviving family members of the June 14 shooting at a San Francisco United Parcel Service Inc. warehouse filed multiple lawsuits on Sept. 12 in a California state court against UPS, the owner of the building and the company UPS contracted to provide security services, claiming that each defendant failed to protect the employees and allowed a man with a gun to enter the building and open fire (Sandy Lim, et al. v. United Parcel Service, Inc., et al., No. CGC-17-561241; Alvin Chen, et al. v. United Parcel Service, Inc., No. CGC-17-561241-245; Peter Tran v. United Parcel Service Inc., et al., No. CGC-17-561247; Ryan Bailey, et al. v. United Parcel Service, et al., No. CGC-17-561237, Calif. Super., San Francisco Co.).

  • September 14, 2017

    Ohio Appeals Panel Upholds $4.58 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict

    AKRON, Ohio — An Ohio appellate panel on Sept. 13 affirmed a $4.58 million verdict in a medical malpractice after finding that a man who sued a doctor and the practice he worked for presented enough evidence to show that the doctor’s negligence was the cause of his wife’s death and that the defendants were given a fair trial (Anthony McMichael v. Akron General Medical Center, et al., No. 28333, Ohio App., 9th Dist., 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 3908).

  • September 13, 2017

    Ohio Supreme Court Affirms Decision On Apology Statute In Medical Malpractice Suit

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — A majority of the Ohio Supreme Court on Sept. 12 resolved a conflict among the state’s lower appellate courts after finding that a doctor apologizing is not an admission of guilt and cannot be used as evidence in a medical malpractice suit pursuant to Ohio’s apology statute (Dennis Stewart v. Rodney E. Vivian M.D., No. 2016-1013, Ohio Sup., 2017 Ohio LEXIS 1683).

  • September 13, 2017

    Pennsylvania Appeals Panel Affirms Defense Verdict In Medical Malpractice Suit

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — A panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court on Sept. 12 affirmed a defense verdict in a medical malpractice suit after finding that the trial court did not err in its decisions on who may and may not testify during trial and in its jury instructions (Florence James v. Albert Einstein Medical Center, et al., No. 1723 EDA 2016, Pa. Super., 2017 Pa. Super. LEXIS 697).

  • September 12, 2017

    Defense Expert Allowed In Deckhand’s Negligence Suit Against Shipping Companies

    NEW ORLEANS — An expert for maritime companies that are defendants in a negligence action filed by an injured deckhand can give his opinions at trial about whether the defendants followed proper practices and procedures because his testimony is reliable and does not include legal conclusions, a Louisiana federal judge ruled Sept. 8 (Carlos David v. C and G Boats, Inc., No. 15-1655, E.D. La., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145614).

  • September 12, 2017

    Los Angeles Approves $6.5 Million Settlement In Dangerous Condition Suit

    LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council on Sept. 6 unanimously voted to approve a $6.5 million settlement between the city and a man who rode a bike through a pothole, fell off his bike and injured himself, according to a press release from the plaintiffs’ attorneys (Peter Godefroy, et al. v. City of Los Angeles, No.  BC593101, Calif. Super., Los Angeles Co.).

  • September 12, 2017

    Texas Appeals Panel Remands Negligence Suit To Dismiss Promissory Estoppel Claim

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A panel of the Second District Texas Court of Appeals on Aug. 31 found that a trial court erred in denying a dentist and his practice’s motion to dismiss a health care liability suit because two women who claimed that they were injured by the dentist were required to attach an expert report with their promissory estoppel claim under the Texas Medical Liability Act (TMLA) (Drs. Calabria-Ellis P.C., et al. v. Amanda Ho, et al., No. 02-16-00424-CV, Texas App., 2nd Dist., 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 8366).

  • September 11, 2017

    Texas Appeals Panel Affirms Summary Judgment In Car Crash Suit

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Texas appellate panel on Aug. 31 affirmed summary judgment for a paving company after finding that a woman who was hit by a trucker did not show how the paving company was responsible for the trucker since he was not directly employed by the company (Nicolette Elvir v. Brazos Paving Inc., No. 13-16-00546-CV, Texas App., 13th Dist., 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 8348).

  • September 11, 2017

    Woman Files Suit Against Dole After Contracting Listeria From Packaged Salad

    INDIANAPOLIS — A woman who was diagnosed with Listeria meningitis after eating a prepackaged salad made and sold by Dole Food Co. filed suit Aug. 25 in a federal court in Indiana, claiming that she contracted L. monocytogenes from eating one of the salads it sold (Barbra Mary Jennhatton v. Dole Food Co., Inc., et al., No. 1:17-cv-2942, S.D. Ind.).