The latest installment of our free periodic newsletter went out this afternoon to its c. 2300 subscribers, covering the last month or so’s worth of postings in telegraphic, even punchy style. It’s a great way to keep up with items you may have missed; when you’re through, you can forward the email to a friend or three to let them know about the site. Sign up today, right here.
Archive for July, 2004
Update: “Friends” harassment case headed for Calif. high court
The California Supreme Court, which must know a hot case when it sees one, has unanimously agreed to review the recently reinstated harassment lawsuit in which Amaani Lyle, fired as a writers’ assistant on the TV comedy “Friends”, complained that the atmosphere in the scriptwriters’ office had included joking about women and sex (see Apr. 23, Jul. 19) (Mike McKee, “Calif. Justices Hit Rewind on ‘Friends’ Suit”, The Recorder, Jul. 23).
With a little help from their friends
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America has decided to cultivate friends on both sides of the aisle. Long viewed as a friend of Democrats, the organization is beginning to see the wisdom of courting Republicans, too:
ATLA stepped up its courting of Republicans — particularly in the Senate — about three years ago. David Casey Jr., a Democrat who at the time was ATLA’s vice president, invited Mr. Parkinson, the Republican lawyer, to his San Diego law office….Mr. Parkinson went to see Sen. Hatch, who, he says, told him, “Not all Republican senators and House members favor the wholesale dismantling of the civil-justice system, but the view is that you’re completely Democratic.” If ATLA “would just try to be fair to both sides, they’re going to find the reception” among Republicans more welcoming, Sen. Hatch says in an interview.
How “fair” do they have to be to get a warm welcome? Let’s look at the numbers for the politicians mentioned in the article: Orrin G. Hatch, Saxby Chambliss, Lindsey Graham, and John T. Doolittle. Evidently, their work is paying off:
The trial bar’s Republican push again showed results last month, when Sen. Kyl tried once more to pass his attorney-fee cap for tobacco cases. This time, 15 Republicans opposed it, two more than last time.
Money talks. And trial lawyers have no shortage of money.
Pennsylvania Reform Roadblocked
Doctors in Pennsylvania had high hopes for the possibility of caps on non-economic damages in their state. They had managed to get a bill for an amendment to the state constitution that would allow the caps, only to see it killed in committee by opponents of tort reform. Evidently, the legislators don’t want to take the issue to the people, who would have had to vote on the amendment. Will they be willing to answer to the consequences of their inaction? Young doctors already view Pennsylvania as a state to avoid :
In 2003, only 17% of residents who trained in Pennsylvania stayed there, according to the Pennsylvania Medical Society. The state had a net loss of 507 physicians from 2002 to 2003, and it dropped into the bottom 10 states for the number of young physicians in the state, PMS data show.
Shattered Dreams
Many people volunteer for medical trials for the hope of a cure that they offer, no matter how remote. The disappointment they suffer when the experiment fails is understandable, but one group of volunteers is suing to keep a failed experiment going. Hope springs eternal. (More details at RangelMD)
Second Hand Smoke
An Overlawyered reader makes a point worth debating about second hand smoke and the law:
In the case of smoking, I am one of those who thinks someone smoking around me (in public, of course – they can do as they like as long as the smoke stays on their own property) is a form of assault.
Analogy – chlorine gas. A little more obvious, a little quicker, and therefore easier to condemn, but whatever crime someone who releases chlorine gas in a public place (or directly onto my property) is committing, a person who blows their smoke on me in a similar manner is committing.
You want to dip? Chew? Snuff? Take tobacco intravenously? Knock yourself out – but leave me out of it! And if the legislature won’t protect my rights, then the lawyers are all I have left… Ouch, that’s a terrible choice.
It certainly is a terrible choice. But, is the case for second hand smoke really analogous to chlorine gas? Chlorine gas is highly caustic and causes immediate damage to the lungs. Lung damage can occur with doses as low as 9 parts per million.
Second hand tobacco smoke, on the other hand, is a little more complex. It’s composed of many different components, for one thing, kind of like smoke from a fire. One of its deadliest components is, perhaps, carbon monoxide, which can kill at concentrations of 2000 ppm and cause symptoms at doses of 200ppm. The amount of carbon monoxide in second hand smoke will vary depending on the concentration of the smoke, but even in a submerged submarine filled with smokers, the amount of carbon monoxide produced in three days is only 6.6 ppm, well within OSHA’s work-safety standards.
A better analogy of second hand smoke would be perfume. As crazy as this may sound, I have never had to admit someone for an exacerbation of their asthma or emphysema because their neighbor or a relative was smoking outside on their porch. But, I have had to admit patients whose asthma or emphysema was aggravated by perfume or incense. So where do we draw the line? If the smoker commits assault with his second hand smoke, then so, too, do the heavily perfumed with their Chanel No. 5.
Capped in Canada
Pain and suffering awards — not just in suits against doctors, but in suits generally — top out at $280,000 (U.S. $210,000) in our northern neighbor’s courtrooms. More details at Point of Law (Olson, Krauss, Krauss). Also discussed there this week: a new report on the incidence of medical errors (Krauss, Olson). And Jim Copland, the site’s managing editor, dares tort czar Fred Baron to substantiate his claim that drug, insurance and chemical companies “have spent over $200 million over the last five years in ad campaigns that make trial lawyers look like villains”.
“Pay the lawyers in coupons, too”
The editorialists of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News (Jul. 25) are critical of the settlement of a class action suit against AT&T Wireless said to be worth a maximum of $20 million in coupons, airtime and other benefits. Under the deal, most former subscribers will be offered noncash benefits with a value not to exceed $3, while current subscribers will be offered noncash benefits with an estimated average value of $10.50. Denver law firm Hill & Robbins (see also Jun. 9) is asking for $3 million cash in fees, plus $750,000 in expenses. The suit challenged the cell-phone company’s practice of delayed roaming charge billing, under which some roaming fees were not charged to customers’ bills until the next month, resulting in a detriment to those customers who had used up all their allotted minutes in the later month. See also John Accola, “Lawyers’ bonanza in AT&T lawsuit”, Scripps Howard/Sun, Jul. 20 (via Colorado Civil Justice League).
Welcome New York Times (and Wonkette) readers
Yesterday John Tierney in the New York Times quoted me calculating that the $2.4 million that the Democrats paid for general liability insurance for their four-day convention amounted to roughly $500 per delegate/alternate, or about $120 per day apiece. My suggested line for Sen. John Edwards’s acceptance speech: “I’m worth it.” (John Tierney and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Rehabilitating the L-Word”, New York Times, Jul. 29). For more on the Democrats’ insurance bill (they paid an extra $86,000, on top of the $2.4 million, to add terrorism coverage), see “Democrats’ Insurance Coverage To Top $2.6m For Convention”, Bestwire (A.M. Best & Co.), Jul. 12.
Also welcome to readers of Wonkette, which picked up the item (Jul. 29). I should point out, however, that contrary to the site’s description of me I’m not a lawyer.
Madison County Fair
Rural Madison County, Illinois has a widespread reputation as a lucrative trial venue, even for people who don’t live or work there. The state legislature has not been helpful in pushing tort reform, so tort reform groups are taking their cause straight to the people – at the fair. Now that’s a populist venue if ever there was one.