“NTSB blames pilot error, but airport told to pay $10 million“, May 14, 2003.
Security profiling, 2002: “Rather die than commit profiling, cont’d“, Oct. 14; “Profiling: a Democrat outflanks Ashcroft” (Sen. Feinstein), Jun. 10; “Airlines sued over alleged profiling“, Jun. 6; “The scandal of the Phoenix memo“, May 28-29; “Fearing ethnic profiling charges, bureau ignored flight-school warning“, May 6; “Columnist-fest” (Charles Krauthammer), Mar. 18; “Profiling: the cost of sparing feelings“, Jan. 14-15. 2001: “Profiling perfectly OK after all“, Nov. 16-18; “‘Politically incorrect profiling: a matter of life or death’” (Stuart Taylor, Jr.), Nov. 9-11; “Opponents of profiling, still in the driver’s seat“, Nov. 2-4; “Anti-bias law not a suicide pact“, Oct. 3-4.
“‘Sisters suing Southwest over “racist rhyme”‘“, Feb. 11, 2003.
Forum-shopping: “Mass disasters belong in federal court“, Dec. 18-19, 2002; “Crash lawyers like Boeing move” (Chicago, new HQ city, has higher verdicts), May 17, 2001; “Come to America and sue” (Concorde forum-shopping), Jan. 19-21, 2001; “French crash, German victims, American payout levels?“, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2000.
“Lawyer’s suit against airline: my seatmate was too fat“, Aug. 2-4, 2002; “‘Sorry, Slimbo, you’re in my seats’“, June 7, 2001 (& updates Dec. 15-16, 2001, Oct. 25-27, 2002); “Obese fliers“, Dec. 20, 2000.
“Annals of zero tolerance: ‘No scissors allowed at ribbon-cutting ceremony at Pittsburgh airport’“, Sept. 23, 2002.
“‘Airline sued for $5 million over lost cat’“, Sept. 3-4, 2002.
“Flowers, perfume in airline cabins not OK?” (Canada), May 17-19, 2002.
World Trade Center, 2002: “Roger Parloff on 9/11 fund“, Apr. 1-2. 2001: “Liability limits speed WTC recovery“, Nov. 21-22; “‘Company tried to capitalize on Sept. 11’“, Oct. 15; “‘Despite Protection, Airlines Face Lawsuits for Millions in Damages’“, Sept. 24 (& Oct. 10-11); “‘Lawsuits From Attacks Likely to Be in the Billions’“, Sept. 21-23; “Washington Post on airline liability“, Sept. 19-20; “What you knew was coming“, Sept. 14-16 (& coverage generally after Sept. 11).
“Couldn’t order 7-Up in French” (suing Air Canada for $525,000), Mar. 18, 2002.
“Disclaimer rage?” (GPS software), Oct. 15, 2001.
“‘Man Thought He Was Dead, Sues Airline’” (left sleeping in darkened cabin), Oct. 10-11, 2001.
“‘Poor work tolerated, employees say’“, Nov. 15, 2001; “The high cost of cultural passivity“, Sept. 21-23; “Self-defense for flight crews“, Sept. 13; “Transsexual passenger’s airline hassle“, Sept. 12, 2001.
White-knuckle lotto: “‘Delta passenger wins $1.25 mln for landing trauma’“, Aug. 24-26, 2001; “All shook up” (jury says emotional scars from Little Rock crash worth $6.5 million), Oct. 19, 2000; “White-knuckle lotto“, Oct. 8, 1999.
Letter to the editor, Sept. 3, 2001 (ABC vs. Parker-Hannifin); “Big numbers” (Teledyne Continental Motors $27 million settlement), April 16, 2001; “Getting around small-aircraft lawsuit reform“, Jan. 29, 2001.
“‘Airline restricts children flying alone’“, Aug. 6, 2001.
“‘Lawyers pay price for cruel hoaxes’“, Aug. 3, 2001; “‘The love children of Flight 261’“, April 10, 2001; “After an air crash, many Latin ‘survivors’” (Alaska Air claimants), Nov. 29, 2000.
“Needed: assumption of risk” (first-time skydiver), July 27-29, 2001; “‘Skydivers don’t sue’“, May 26, 2000 (update July 6: Canadian diver prevails in suit against teammate) (& see Apr. 16, 2001).
“Getting around small-aircraft lawsuit reform“, Jan. 29, 2001.
“‘Economy-class syndrome’ class action” (Australia), Dec. 13-14, 2000.
“All shook up” (jury says emotional scars from Little Rock crash worth $6.5 million), Oct. 18, 2000; “Diva awarded $11M for broken dream” (opera student injured in runway crash), Aug. 31, 2000.
“John Denver crash” (also Air France, Northwest, aviation need for tort reform), Oct. 4, 2000.
“Prosecution fears slow crash probes“, Sept. 6-7, 2000.
“Retroactive crash liability” (Death on the High Seas Act), Aug. 25-27, 2000.
“Class actions: are we all litigants yet?” (American Airlines frequent flier class action), Aug. 23-24, 2000.
“Never too stale a claim” (suits against manufacturers over planes built in early 20th century), July 14-16, 2000.
“New subpage” (this page introduced), June 16-18, 2000.
“Somebody to sue” (map publisher Jeppesen Sanderson sued after Croatia crash), June 1, 2000.
“Swissair crash aftermath” (Peggy’s Cove disaster in U.S. courts), March 14, 2000; “Montreal Gazette ‘Lawsuit of the Year’” (bagpipers sue Swissair for lost income), Jan. 17, 2000.
“Blaming good pilots” (Alaska Air crash), Feb. 24, 2000.
“New safety rule likely to increase death toll” (FAA and child seating on airlines), Dec. 31, 1999-Jan. 2, 2000.
“Attorney blames airline for passenger’s drunken in-flight rage“, Dec. 9, 1999.
“Indications of turbulence” (pilot whose mental fitness for duty was challenged wins partial back pay), Dec. 1, 1999.
“Some lawyers try to make nice” (EgyptAir 990), Nov. 29, 1999.
“From the planet Litigation” (UFO suits), Nov. 22, 1999.
“Grounds for suspicion” (DEA and arriving passengers), Oct. 9-10, 1999.
“Overlawyered skies not always safer“, July 19, 1999.
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Other resources: AVweb includes articles by its law columnist, Phillip J. Kolczynski, on such topics as product liability, liability for homebuilt aircraft, and aircraft owner liability. Walter Olson, “Kingdom of the One-Eyed” (pilot vision and ADA), Reason, July 1998. Walter Olson, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Good Beer” (alcoholic pilot and ADA), Washington Monthly, September 1997. Archived medical items, pre-July 2003“Texas’s giant legal reform“, Jun. 18-19, 2003. Malpractice suit crisis, 2003: “Letter to the editor“, Jun. 20-22; “Docs leaving their hometowns“, Jun. 12-15; “Juggling the stats“, Jun. 4-5; “Malpractice studies“, May 12; “Public Citizen’s bogus numbers“, Apr. 10-13; “Malpractice crisis hits sports-team docs” (& general roundup), Apr. 7-8; “Would you go into medicine again?“, Mar. 18; “‘Public deceit protects lawsuit abuse’“, Mar. 15-16; “One solution to the malpractice crunch“, Feb. 19; “Feinstein set to back Bush malpractice plan“, Feb. 12; “State of the Union“, Jan. 29; “Malpractice-cost trends“, Jan. 24-26; “ATLA’s hidden influence“, Jan. 21-22; “Playing chicken on malpractice reform“, Jan. 9; “‘Doctors strike over malpractice costs’” (W.Va., Pa.), Jan. 3-6. 2002: “Campaign roundup“, Nov. 4-5; “Pennsylvania House votes to curb venue-shopping“, Oct. 11-13; “Rumblings in Mississippi“, Oct. 9-10 (& Sept. 9-10); “Let ’em become CPAs“, Oct. 7-8; “Tour of the blogs“, Sept. 24; “You mean I’m suing that nice doctor?“, Aug. 1; “‘Bush urges malpractice damage limits’“, Jul. 29; “‘Trauma center reopens doors’“, Jul. 18; “Malpractice crisis latest” (Pa., Tex.), Jun. 11-12; “Sick in Mississippi? Keep driving“, Jun. 3-4 (& Apr. 5-7); “‘Rocketing liability rates squeeze medical schools’“, May 28-29; “‘The trials of John Edwards’“, May 20-21; “Ob/gyns warn of withdrawal“, May 17-19; “‘The Tort Mess’” (Forbes, etc.), May 13; “Texas doctors’ work stoppage“, Apr. 11 (& Mar. 15-17); “No more ANZAC Day marches?” (Australia), Apr. 1-2; “Scenes from a malpractice crisis“, Mar. 5; “Med-mal: should doctors strike?“, Jan. 21-22. 2001: “Soaring medical malpractice awards: now they tell us“, Sept. 11; “‘Valley doctors caught in “lawsuit war zone”‘“, May 3; “Pennsylvania MDs drop work today“, Apr. 24; “Philadelphia juries pummel doctors“, Jan. 24-25. 2000: “Trial lawyers’ clout in Albany“, Oct. 4; “Malpractice outlays on rise in Canada“, Oct. 2. “Malpractice studies“, May 12, 2003; “Radiologists: sue them enough and they’ll go away“, Nov. 2, 2000 (& see Sept. 24, 2002). “Incoming link of the day“, Mar. 5-7, 2003. “The jury pool he faced“, Feb. 25, 2003. “Take care of myself? That’s the doc’s job“, Feb. 14-16, 2003; “Claim: docs should have done more to help woman quit smoking and lose weight” (Pa.), Sept. 18-19, 2002. “Mercury in dental fillings“, Jul. 16-17, 2002 (& Nov. 4-5, 2002). “Artificial hearts experimental? Who knew?“, Oct. 23, 2002. “U.K.: ‘Dr. Botch’ sues hospital for wrongful dismissal“, Oct. 18-20, 2002; “Let them sue us!” (hospitals get sued if they withdraw privileges from questionable doctors), Mar. 23, 2000. “Lawyers fret about bad image” (lawyers’ own poll finds public has much more confidence in doctors than in lawyers), Oct. 3, 2002. “‘Patient pays price for suing over cold’” (U.K.), Sept. 20-22, 2002. “‘Doctors hope fines will curb frivolous lawsuits’“, Sept. 6-8, 2002; “The doctor strikes back” (neurosurgeon countersues), June 14-15, 2000; “‘Truly egregious’ conduct” (court cites misconduct by attorney Geoffrey Fieger in suit against cardiologist), Sept. 14, 1999. “‘The NFL vs. Everyone’” (medical privacy laws could restrict sports teams from commenting on players’ injuries), Jun. 13, 2002; “Promising areas for suits” (sports medicine), Dec. 7, 2000; “Doctor cleared in Lewis cardiac case“, May 15, 2000. “‘Remove child before folding’” (AEI-Brookings study on defensive medicine), Jun. 5, 2002. “Hospital rapist sues hospital“, May 22-23, 2002 (& Mar. 5-7, 2003: court dismisses case). “Bush’s big mistake on mental health coverage“, May 13, 2002. “‘Big government ruined my long weekend’” (tide-over weekend prescribing), May 7, 2002. “Lawyers stage sham trial aimed at inculpating third party“, Mar. 22-24, 2002. “All things sentimental and recoverable” (veterinarians), Jan. 30-31, 2002. Public health follies: “Infectious disease conquered, CDC now chases sprawl“, Nov. 9-11, 2001; “Letter to the editor” (activist doctors vs. gun ownership), May 18, 2001; “‘P.C., M.D.’“, Feb. 23-25, 2001. “Bioterrorism preparedness” (laws hobble hospitals), Oct. 30, 2001. “Letter to the editor“, Sept. 3, 2001 (can/should doctors avoid lawyers as patients?) (responses, Oct. 22). “Clinical trials besieged“, Aug. 27-28, 2001; “Bioethicist as defendant” (Arthur Caplan, Jesse Gelsinger case), Oct. 6-9, 2000. “‘Doctor liable for not giving enough pain medicine’“, Jun. 15-17, 2001. “The unconflicted Prof. Daynard” (British Medical Journal and tobacco lawyer), April 21-23, 2000 (& update: letters, Jan. 2001, June 2001). “To destroy a doctor” (lawyer’s campaign against laparoscopic surgeons), June 6, 2001. “Mommy, can I grow up to be an informant?“, July 30, 2001; “A case of meta-False Claims” (overzealous prosecution of hospitals), Sept. 9, 1999. “Updates” (Lawyers’ cameras in trauma ward), Dec. 26-28, 2000 (& Oct. 18). “Promising areas for suits” (laser eye surgery), Dec. 7, 2000. “Turn of the screw” (pedicle screw lawsuits), Oct. 24, 2000. “Disabled rights roundup” (obligatory sign interpreters at doctor’s offices), Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2000; “From our mail sack: ADA enforcement vignettes” (interpreters, guide dog allergy case), May 31, 2000. “Embarrassing Lawsuit Hall of Fame” (intimate injury; misdiagnosis charge), Aug. 14, 2000. “Senator Lieberman: a sampler” (cost of defensive medicine), Aug. 8-9, 2000. “And don’t say ‘I’m sorry’” (nurse’s first-person account), June 21, 2000. “Can’t sue over affair with doctor” (court rules it was consensual), June 13, 2000. “Jumped ahead, by court order” (residency), May 31, 2000. “‘Case’s outcome may spur more lawsuits’” (Mississippi fen-phen trial), Dec. 10, 1999; “‘Dieters still want fen-phen’“, August 18, 1999. “Rhode Island A.G.: let’s do latex gloves next“, Oct. 26, 1999. “Michigan high court upholds malpractice reform“, August 6, 1999. Other resources on medicine and litigation: Good general links pages on health law are provided by the St. Louis University Center for Health Law Studies and by the whimsically named but highly useful Health Hippo. The Litigation Explosion, the 1991 book by Overlawyered.com editor Walter Olson, was excerpted in two parts by Medical Economics [part one] [part two] Marc Arkin, “Products Liability and the Threat to Contraception” (Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo, February 1999). L. William Luria, M.D., and Dennis G. Agliano, M.D., “Abusive Medical Testimony: Toward Peer Review“, describes efforts under way in Hillsborough County, Florida, to apply principles of peer review to the control of irresponsible or unqualified forensic testimony by medical professionals. Walter Olson, “Lawyers with Stethoscopes: Clients Beware” (Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo, 1996) (abusive litigation is also bad for the medical prognosis of claimants) Breast implants: see separate page Vaccines: Health Hippo vaccines section. Peter Huber, “Dan Quayle, the Lawyers and the AIDS Babies“, Forbes, October 28, 1991 (liability and an AIDS vaccine). Peter Huber, “Health, Death, and Economics“, Forbes, May 10, 1993 (“investment in vaccines remains far lower than it should be, given the huge benefits that vaccines provide”) Walter Olson, “California Counts the Costs of Lawsuit Mania“, Wall Street Journal, June 3, 1992 (liability slowing research on AIDS vaccine). Daniel Kessler and Mark McClellan of Stanford won the Kenneth Arrow Award in Health Economics in 1997 for their article “Do Doctors Practice Defensive Medicine?”, which “found that when states reformed malpractice laws to put caps on damages for pain and suffering, or to eliminate punitive damages, hospital expenditures for heart disease patients were reduced by about 5 percent, yet did not leave the patients with worse health outcomes.” Richard Anderson, M.D., “An ‘Epidemic’ of Medical Malpractice? A Commentary on the Harvard Medical Practice Study“, Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo, July 1996 (shortcomings of famous study of medical care in New York hospitals). Forbes columns by Peter Huber on the issue include “Malpractice Law: A Defective Product” (1990) and “Rx: Radical Lawyerectomy” and “Easy Lawsuits Make Bad Medicine” (1997). Walter Olson, “A Story That Doesn?t Have a Leg To Stand On,” Wall Street Journal, March 27, 1995 (the famous “wrong-leg amputation” case). In 1993, in a paper given at the annual meeting of the Association for Health Services Research, Daniel Mendelson and Robert Rubin estimated that defensive medicine practices in three areas alone — pre-surgical testing, fetal monitoring and skull x-rays — probably exceeded $2 billion a year, and estimated likely savings from “aggressive malpractice reform” at more than twice that amount. Perhaps in contrast (or perhaps not), a 1995 study of obstetrics in Washington state by L. Baldwin et al found no differences in practice between doctors who had been named in suits and those who had not. And Mark Hauser et al, “Fear of Malpractice Liability and its Role in Clinical Decision-Making” studied doctors’ reaction to hypothetical cases in which a patient’s file did or did not reveal a history of having sued physicians. They found that in cases where an earlier suit had been reported the doctors were modestly more likely to call in other doctors, to recommend hospital admission, to document a case “by the book” rather than rely on judgment, and to predict a bad outcome. Surprisingly, they did not order more tests or withdraw from cases more often when informed that a patient had a record of suing. The Hauser paper notes one possible cost of an over-hasty resort to hospitalization: “In psychiatry a defensive response might include a needlessly low threshold for involuntary hospitalization, where the patient’s liberty and autonomy are, in essence, sacrificed in favor of conservative practice for the sake of self-protection.” The Michigan law firm of Garan, Lucow, Miller & Seward, P.C., which has a specialty in medical malpractice defense, maintains a comprehensive links page of resources in the field. Among reform groups, the Health Care Liability Alliance is a nationwide advocacy group whose website offers a variety of useful materials on the case for lawsuit reform. Californians Allied for Patient Protection defends the Golden State’s MICRA limits on malpractice liability. CLYSIS is a Minnesota group working for medical liability reform. State medical societies, such as the Medical Society of the State of New York, often maintain law-related information at their websites. |