I’m scheduled to be a guest on MSNBC’s “Abrams Report” tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern, discussing the impact of litigation on society.
Archive for January, 2005
Vioxx-suit spam
The first three instances I’ve seen of spam promoting Vioxx litigation crossed my desk Dec. 28. The three emails used different names as the supposed sender, different “word salad” strings (“celandine bolshoi mandamus buckley tetragonal malleable”) aimed at baffling spam filters, and different subject lines (“Been hurt by Vii0xx? – Claim #565014”, “Make your claim against Vii0xx and Merck – Claim #206614”, and “Get what you deserve from Vii0xx and Merck – Claim #4978”). However, all three were evidently from the same sender, since they all contained the same core message: “Merck & Co., Inc. announced a voluntary withdrawal of Vii0xx from the U.S. and worldwide market due to safety concerns of an increased risk of cardiovascular events (including heart attack and stroke) in patients on Vii0xx. If you or a family member has experienced an adverse cardiovascular event after taking Vii0xx, please file your claim at:…” followed by links to one of two (apparently identical) websites at http://www.worldwideteamwork.com/notice and http://www.whereitallhappens.com/notice .
And what of this website to which spam-responders are steered? It contains no ads; it does contain some standard-looking information about the drug recall; but its main purpose appears to be to get persons interested in pursuing Vioxx claims to submit their names and contact information. A subpage (http://www.worldwideteamwork.com/notice/how_to_file.htm) announces, “Simply fill out the form below and a lawyer will immediately contact you to determine whether your claim will meet the necessary requirements.” Perhaps the creators of the site believe they can find lawyers willing to pay for leads generated that way, or are already in touch with such lawyers. According to Forbes (David Whelan, “Ambulance Chasing, Web-Style”, Dec. 27, at KeepMedia), lawyers are paying up to $15.03 for each clicked-on ad with a Vioxx keyword at Yahoo’s search engine, and $30.17 for a “Vioxx heart attack” click.
For the recent controversy over the “Get your million dollars” Vioxx website, which was much more lurid in content but whose proprietor was not alleged to have dabbled in spam, see Nov. 15, Nov. 18 and Dec. 22.
P.S. Reader Keith Williams writes to say that according to a WHOIS search, the web sites www.worldwideteamwork.com and www.whereitallhappens.com, mentioned above, are owned by the same registrant, Riverside News of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Finding an OB in Illinois
Dr. Benjamin Brewer, who writes the Wall Street Journal’s “The Doctor’s Office” column, discusses the OB shortage caused in Illinois by the medical malpractice problem. Trial lawyers like to blame the insurance industry’s investments and “business practices,” but the leading insurer in Illinois, ISMIE, has only 3% of its funds in the stock market. (Moreover, ISMIE is a mutual insurer–profits go back to its member doctors. The doctors aren’t conspiring to charge themselves too much; ISMIE’s rates reflect the payouts it makes in malpractice cases.) Large swaths of southern Illinois and nearly half the counties in the state have no obstetrical hospital services at all. Brewer concludes “it may take a federal law to stimulate the reform process in Illinois, where entrenched proponents of our broken system hold political and judicial sway.” (“When a Pregnant Patient Struggles to Find Care”, Jan. 4). Our sister site, Point of Law, comments on tomorrow’s Presidential visit to Madison County, where Bush will discuss his litigation reform agenda for the upcoming Congress. (Krysten Crawford, “Bush heads to ‘Judicial Hellhole'”, CNN/Money, Jan. 4; Ryan Keith, “Bush to Highlight Tort Reform in Ill.”, AP/Newsday, Jan. 4; Caleb Hale, “Doctors Are Eager To Hear What Bush Will Say About Crisis”, The Southern, Jan. 4; Mark Silva, “Bush’s tort reform efforts to start at ‘judicial hellhole'”, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 3).
CasiNO
CasiNO Free Sullivan County, an anti-casino group in New York, has sued to block the introduction of casinos to the area, claiming the casinos will pose a health hazard:
“The cumulative impact from these casinos will negatively affect the health and well-being of residents in the Town of Thompson, Sullivan County, and the entire region,” said Rosa Lee, a spokeswoman for the group. “The enormous increase in traffic itself would cause serious air pollution and bumper-to-bumper congestion, resulting in a significant reduction in air quality by the introduction of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, a common cause of serious lung disease, since such particulate matter lodges more deeply into the lungs than do larger ones.”
Mid-Hudson News Network, “Anti-casino group files lawsuit to block gaming,” Jan 4.
Guest Blogger
Hey folks. I’m Caleb Brown. I work in radio and I do occasional freelance writing. If my blog were a child, social services would have taken her away a long time ago for neglect. I have a dog and I play the banjo. And to answer your questions: Yes, I live in Kentucky and yes, I do drink bourbon. Guestbloggin’ commences later today. My thanks to Walter Olson for the opportunity.
“Marvel Battles Role Players”
City of Heroes, an entry in the “massively multiplayer online game” category pioneered by Sony’s Everquest, allows its nearly 200,000 participants to “bring the world of comic books alive” by inventing characters and selecting names, costumes and powers for them; the characters then interact with other players’ characters. Some users choose to imitate established comic-book heroes in creating their characters. In November, comic-book publisher Marvel Entertainment sued the site’s proprietor. According to Marvel’s complaint (PDF, courtesy Electronic Frontier Foundation), “Defendants’ Creation Engine facilitates and, indeed, encourages players to create and utilize heroes that are nearly identical in name, appearance and characteristics to characters belonging to Marvel” and the site is responsible for “directly, contributorily and vicariously infringing upon Marvel copyrights and trademarks”. Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing, a veteran of online free-speech fights, counters: “Asking City of Heroes to police their users to ensure that they don’t replicate Marvel characters is like asking a school to police its students to make sure none of them show up for Halloween in a homemade Spider-Man costume.” (Daniel Terdiman, Wired News, Nov. 16; Fred von Lohmann, “Et tu, Marvel?”, Law.com, Dec. 3 (contemplating a future offense of “pretending without a license”)).
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Guest blogger tomorrow
An all-new guestblogger will be joining us tomorrow. For full details, check back then.
Couldn’t outrun cops, sues them instead
Connecticut:
A 21-year-old New Haven man who led Hamden police on a high-speed chase on his all-terrain vehicle before crashing into a utility pole last summer wants the town to pay his medical bills.
Britt Martin, of 75 George Street, claims that Officer Stephen DeGrand and four other unidentified officers were responsible for his injuries because they violated a Police Department policy to discontinue high-speed pursuits when the risk exceeds the need for immediate apprehension….
DeGrand said the suspect went through red lights and made illegal turns while driving well in excess of the speed limit during the chase.
(Fred Musante, Cops blamed for ATV crash, Hamden Journal, Dec. 29). More high-speed chase suits: Feb. 18 and Apr. 27, 2004; Sept. 21, 2003, etc.
Hospital sued over lack of neurosurgeons
Coming full circle: in Florida, the family of the late Barbara Masterson is suing West Boca Medical Center because hospital staff was unable to locate a neurosurgeon willing to come to the scene to perform life-saving surgery after a stroke. “The incident occurred in February, when Palm Beach County neurosurgeons were refusing to perform emergency services for fear of skyrocketing malpractice costs. The Mastersons’ lawyer, Gary Cohen, said the hospital was aware of the unavailability of neurosurgeons for emergency work “and should have never taken her in.” (John Murawski, “West Boca Medical Center sued over woman’s death”, Palm Beach Post, Dec. 23).