Consumer Law
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So civil justice isn't toast....
Post Frequency: 0.7/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 10:26:36 Recent Entries: 242
By Amanda, Andy Hoffman, Emily, Eric Bell, Jason Held, Joe Consumer, John Guyette
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The Floodgates of Justice for Katrina Victims!
Posted on November 20, 2009The news has been ?flooded? with reports of the possible ?floodgate? of lawsuits in light of the incredible ruling by a federal judge that the flooding of St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward during Hurricane Katrina was caused...
Vonage Settles Lawsuit With 32 States Over Sketchy Marketing Practices
Posted on November 17, 2009Good news for victims of ?voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)" phone giant Vonage?s unofficial ?I just can?t quit you? campaign. The company, has reached a settlement in a lawsuit with 32 state AGs over the company?s payment of ?incentives to...
Hilarious SNL Opening on Medical Malpractice
Posted on November 16, 2009It?s not everyday that Saturday Night Live audiences get to see just what we?re talking about! Check out the video at about 2:05 for a little patient safety humor.
Swine Flu Vaccine Production ? More Craziness from Big Business
Posted on November 13, 2009The conservative Federalist Society held a little pow-wow yesterday to strategize about ?federal preemption? - immunity for corporations that produce unsafe products - which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected earlier this year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it didn?t take long for the...
Court Documents Reveal Pfizer was Massaging Data to Increase Neurotonin Sales
Posted on November 12, 2009Documents obtained in lawsuits by insurers and consumers against the ?world?s biggest drug maker? Pfizer have given rise to a report to be published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), indicating the company ?altered or omitted unfavorable...
Dartmouth Atlas and Physician Supply - No Relation to "Tort Reform"
Posted on November 12, 2009First it was the GAO. Then the Bureau of Economic Research. The Cincinnati Enquirer. The Texas Observer. What are we talking about? Clear evidence by any credible benchmark that there is no link between state ?tort reform? laws and where...
In the News: Special Veterans Day Edition
Posted on November 11, 2009Military vets and contractors have filed thirty-two lawsuits from 32 states against the likes of Halliburton and KBR, claiming the companies exposed them ?to toxic fumes by burning everything from human remains to tires in massive open air pits.?You may...
Actor James Woods Sues Rhode Island Hospital Over Brother?s Death
Posted on November 10, 2009Celebrities are often thought to be more or less immune from the everyday challenges of common folk, but as Dennis Quaid, the late Ed McMahon, Dana Carvey, and others have shown, they can be victims of medical malpractice just like...
Huff Post: Americans Suffering Enough from So-called ?Tort Reform? and Don?t Need More
Posted on November 09, 2009One of the more underreported, though no less important aspects of this past weekend?s Congressional health care debate (which preceded the historic passage of the U.S. House?s health care reform bill) was related to attempts by some seeking to ?derail?...
U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley Advocates Patient Safety?Gets Shouted Down on House Floor
Posted on November 09, 2009If you thought U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson?s ?You lie!? moment during President Obama?s health care speech to Congress was an aberration, think again. This past weekend, as Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) dared to champion the rights of the millions of...
In Montana, Workers? Comp is the Same as Social Security?
Posted on November 06, 2009Earlier this week, the Montana Supreme Court decided to uphold a horrendous state law, which cuts off workers' compensation benefits for injured/disabled employees when they turn 65. According to the court, workers' comp benefits are merely intended to cover an...
?Loser Pays? is a Medical Malpractice Loser
Posted on November 05, 2009Add yet another awful idea to the growing list of anti-patient rights schemes being considered by Congress as part of the larger health care reform debate. U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced so-called ?loser pays?...
Medical Malpractice at Rhode Island Hospital x 5 = Bad Patient Safety
Posted on November 03, 2009Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the nation, but they?ve proven (yet again) to be just as capable of subjecting unsuspecting patients to preventable medical errors as the big kids. In the fifth case of wrong-site surgery since...
Don?t Cry for Me AstraZeneca
Posted on November 02, 2009AstraZeneca has now joined the ranks of drugs companies that admit to trying to cash in on popular drugs by promoting their off label use, hurting lots of people in the meantime. According to its recently released third-quarter earnings report,...
Medical Malpractice and So-called ?Conservatives? on Huff Post
Posted on November 02, 2009Did you happen to catch former Republican National Committee Chair/?conservative? extraordinaire, Ed Gillespie, grousing this past Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, saying that state lawmakers are being "punished" (i.e., not getting a federal handout) for considering caps on...
Whistleblower Suit Reveals Johnson & Johnson Reps Sold Risperdal for ?Unapproved Uses?
Posted on October 29, 2009Up for a ?profits over patient safety? story? Good, because a pretty disturbing trial got under way in New Jersey yesterday involving a former sales rep for Johnson & Johnson?s Janssen Pharmaceutica unit who says she was fired after complaining...
CPSC Releases Initial Report on Chinese Drywall
Posted on October 29, 2009Vicitms of the Chinese drywall mess may have received some help as they try pursing lawsuits against those responsible, although this can?t be too comforting. The the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report today finding that "Chinese drywall...
Secrecy, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Yes Men
Posted on October 29, 2009It?s official. The ??no-one-should-have-access-to-the-courts-except-us? U.S. Chamber has filed a lawsuit against the Yes Men for punking them over their primitive views on climate change. On a related note, Joanne Doroshow of the Center for Justice & Democracy, has a featured...
U.S. House of Reps Joins the Growing Chorus of Those Who Say ?Ick? to Iqbal!
Posted on October 28, 2009Good news out of the U.S. House of Representatives. Reps John Conyers (D-MI), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Henry Johnson (D-GA), have aligned their interests with Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) in seeking to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court?s Iqbal decision, which...
Huffington Post Is On It!
Posted on October 27, 2009Today, Joanne Doroshow of the Center for Justice & Democracy, has a featured blog on The Huffington Post, talking about the outrageous insurance industry exemption from anti-trust laws. Check it out! And speaking of HuffPo, they have a tip line...
In the News
Posted on October 27, 2009We saw a few interesting things today. First, read the absolutely heartbreaking story of Leslie Vernon, hero and asbestos victim who fought bravely to protect our Constitution, only to find his own rights stripped away by Texas lawmakers. A U.S....
U.S. Chamber: No to Lawsuits for KBR Rape Victims, But if the Yes Men Punk Us?Sue!
Posted on October 26, 2009Seems like only yesterday that the U.S. Chamber of ?no-one-should-have-access-to-the-courts-except-us? Commerce (and that means you, rape victims!) was threatening to sue the EPA over their global warming views. These people are so Neanderthal on issues like climate change, financial regulation...
Now that John Stossel?s Gone, 20/20 Reports on Patient Safety
Posted on October 23, 2009Since John Stossel has gone over to Fox Business News where he should be more at home, we?re happy to see 20/20 focusing on some better stories ? like tonight?s piece on actress Alicia Cole (pictured). Alicia went to the...
Medical Malpractice Victims and their Families Go to Washington
Posted on October 22, 2009Yesterday, there was an amazing event in Washington DC with the survivors of medical malpractice - families from nine states, including many who have been catastrophically injured. They made the trek to our nation?s capital to ask Congress to ensure....
Where is Patient Safety in the Health Care Bill?
Posted on October 20, 2009That?s the spot on question asked by those Hearst papers reporters (the same folks responsible for the blockbuster expose? on the epidemic of medical errors in this country, Dead by Mistake). The answer: nowhere! Health care legislation now before Congress...
Bad Press From Al Franken Rape Bill, and More, Has U.S. Chamber Blaming?Attorneys???
Posted on October 19, 2009The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been getting buried by horrendous press lately?whether for its bizarre climate change denial, opposition to the Al Franken Anti-Rape Amendment, bragging that it has 3 million members (when it only has 300,000), spending $100...
Alternative Madness: Workers? Comp., a Crazy Chimp, KBR, and More?
Posted on October 16, 2009Remember that horrible story out of Connecticut several months ago where a woman literally had her face ripped off by a 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis? Well the story has taken some pretty convoluted turns of late, and the civil justice...
Jon Stewart Takes Those Who Voted No On Al Franken?s KBR/Rape Bill to the Woodshed
Posted on October 15, 2009They don?t call the Daily Show?s Jon Stewart America?s ?most trusted? newsman for nothing! He has now officially weighed in on the Al Franken-sponsored bill that prevents military contractors from forcing rape victims to sign away their legal rights ?...
Thanks for the Shout Out Manhattan Institute! Love is in the ?AIR?!!!
Posted on October 14, 2009It?s feels like Valentine?s Day here at ThePopTort! It always does when one of our good pals over at Dick Cheney?s favorite ?think tank,? the Manhattan Institute, gives us a free publicity, especially when they credit one of our studies...
The Ongoing Texas Medical Malpractice Nightmare
Posted on October 14, 2009Believe us when we say that we have nothing against the state of Texas. In fact, with a few exceptions, we love Texans! So it pains us that the people in the state are now living under a bunch of...
U.S. Senate Committee Hearing About Getting Rid of Anti-trust Exemption Under the McCarran-Ferguson Act Today!
Posted on October 14, 2009Attention all doctors who complain about the cost of insurance rates! An important hearing is being held right now by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that concerns two new bills that could ultimately eliminate your concerns in a heartbeat. The...
Center for Justice & Democracy Critiques CBO Analysis of Medical Malpractice Costs
Posted on October 13, 2009The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released some new numbers about ?costs savings? for severely reducing patients? legal rights. Here are some highlights from CJ&D?s new fact sheet on this report: [CBO] seems to base its new analysis on a...
Cigna, ERISA, Legal Immunity for HMOs, and ?the Finger?
Posted on October 09, 2009Did you know you can bring a lawsuit against your HMO if one its employees gives you ?the finger,? but not if it wrongly denies your child a life saving transplant? Such is the moral of a terrible story involving...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Opposed Al Franken?s Amendment to Give KBR Rape Victims Justice
Posted on October 08, 2009Are you like us (and 68 members of the Senate, including every female member of the GOP)? Do you think women who serve as contractors in Iraq and get brutally drugged and raped by their co-workers ought to be able...
Chrysler Continues to Find New and Innovative Ways to Shoot Itself in the Foot
Posted on October 08, 2009Just when you thought you?d heard it all when it comes to the ?new? Chrysler?s uncanny ability to undermine consumer confidence in its products, some new piece of news comes out that makes it sink a little deeper. Just to...
Feds Order Columbia to Inform Drug Study Patients the ?True Nature? of Their Risk
Posted on October 07, 2009As if we needed more evidence of the horrific effect potential profits can have over patient safety, not to mention the epidemic of medical malpractice in this country?there?s a crazy and horrendous investigative piece just published exclusively by the Huffington...
Michael Jackson?s Doctor and So-Called ?Tort Reform?
Posted on July 09, 2009Were you wondering when the Michael Jackson story would finally cross over to ThePopTort?! Well, it finally has, thanks to TMZ, the apparent news source of record on all things MJ! Today, TMZ published an exclusive which cites a Nevada...
More Evidence that ?Tort Reform? and Patient Safety Don?t Mix
Posted on July 08, 2009You may have already heard about this next medical malpractice horror story, but it?s oddly similar to a Nevada story we?ve been telling you about (here, here, here) and there?s an interesting article about its civil justice implications in today?s...
What?s Next For The Victims Of Defective GM and Chrysler Vehicles?
Posted on July 07, 2009So if you have been following our coverage of the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies wiping out the rights of people injured or killed by defective vehicles (for a recap click here) you may be left wondering ?so what now?? Well,...
Hypocrisy Alert: Resigning Sarah Palin Denounces Lawsuits as Her Attorney Threatens to Sue
Posted on July 07, 2009As partisans and pundits frantically attempt to decipher why soon-to-be-former Governor Sarah Palin quit, we?ve decided to join the fray just long enough to issue the following hypocrisy alert. According to Palin, the filing of so-called ?frivolous lawsuits? against her...
GM Bankruptcy Approved, But Victims Fight ?Far From Over?
Posted on July 06, 2009Late last night, US Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber issued his ruling allowing for the sale of General Motors to move forward ? but left the current victims of defective GM vehicles without any real legal recourse. "It is morally reprehensible...
Some Docs Singing, ?You Don?t Bring Me Flowers? to Drug Makers Over New State Gift Bans
Posted on July 03, 2009We?ve blogged about the evils of drug companies bearing gifts to doctors a number of times (here, here, here) so when laws to ban such practices in Massachusetts and Vermont went into effect on Wednesday, we thought it was reason...
Nevada Medical Board Elects Not to Hold Malpractice/Hepatitis Doc Accountable
Posted on July 02, 2009We?ve mentioned before that a Nevada clinic recently ?reused syringes and vials,? ultimately exposing some 50,000 of the state?s residents to hepatitis C (here, here, here). We?ve also mentioned an awful tendency on the part of state medical boards to...
Accutane Finally Removed From the Market Proving Again That Lawsuits Are the Last Line of Defense Against Unsafe Drugs
Posted on July 02, 2009Over the weekend Roche Holding, the maker of the dangerous acne drug Accutane took it off the shelves. This is a development that consumer groups have been calling for for years (as noted in Center for Justice & Democracy?s report,...
Despite Of What You May Have Heard, GM Will NOT Honor Current Liability Claims
Posted on July 02, 2009Over the last couple of days, some of the information about GM covering liability claims has been pretty confusing. Due to all kinds of political pressure, GM made a major concession in the bankruptcy last week. So if you?re hurt...
David v. Goliath at the GM Bankruptcy Hearing
Posted on July 01, 2009Check out last night's CBS Evening News for a great piece making clear that the fight by injured GM claimants to have their rights restored is a real ?good vs. evil? kind of struggle. (Video below.) At the end of...
Nestle Cookie Dough E. Coli Update
Posted on July 01, 2009We told you several days ago about a young woman who filed a lawsuit against Nestle after some of the company?s cookie dough put her in the hospital with E. coli poisoning. Here are some related developments. The FDA has...
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Suit All But Over
Posted on June 30, 2009It was just a couple of weeks ago that we were asking whether Exxon would finally pay what it owed the 33,000 or so Alaskans injured by its 1989, 11 million gallon oil spill into Prince William Sound. Well, lo...
Consumers Injured by Defective GM Cars Continue Fight at Federal Bankruptcy Court Today
Posted on June 30, 2009The headline pretty much says it all, civil justice fans. GM auto-defect victims and their families, including some with catastrophic injuries, are in NYC today attending the company?s bankruptcy hearing as they continue fighting its attempts to skirt responsibility for...
More Chrysler/GM ?Bankruptcy Loophole? Buzz
Posted on June 26, 2009Today?s Wall Street Journal is reporting that ?[t]he U.S. Treasury Department is negotiating with more than a dozen state attorneys general to roll back two key features of General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy plan that would have wiped out billions of....
E. Coli-Tainted Nestle Cookie Dough Puts California Teen in the Hospital
Posted on June 26, 2009You may have heard that one of America?s favorite guilty pleasures?Nestle cookie dough?has unfortunately joined the ranks of ?spinach, lettuce, jalapenos, beef, pet food, peanut butter, pistachios and alfalfa sprouts? (among other ingestible items) as a member of America?s recalled/tainted...
New Kind of Medical Malpractice ? Not Telling Patients About Test Results
Posted on June 25, 2009In what can only be described as a devastating new report, it turns out that ?Failing to inform a patient of an abnormal outpatient test result or to document informing patients of abnormal outpatient test results are common. And it...
Oops! Medtronic Did it (Yet) Again!
Posted on June 24, 2009Several weeks ago, we told you about a Walter Reed surgeon named Timothy Kuklo who was on Medtronic?s payroll when he published a ?study? that made false claims and grossly inflated the benefits of the company?s bone-growth product, ?Infuse,? in...
New Report: 3400 Americans will be Injured or Killed by Defective GM/Chrysler Cars in First Post-Bankruptcy Year Alone
Posted on June 23, 2009Just as the number of states? attorneys general filing objections to the ?bankruptcy loopholes? contained in the Chrysler/GM bankruptcies reaches 11, our friends at Safety Research & Strategies, Inc. have released a new report, which predicts more than 3,400 Americans...
Another GM/Chrysler ?Bankruptcy Loophole? Update
Posted on June 22, 2009As promised, we?re continuing to follow the Chrysler/GM bankruptcies (and in particular, developments involving the ?bankruptcy loopholes? which effectively immunize both companies from lawsuits should defects in the ?old? pre-bankruptcy Chrysler GM/vehicles injure or kill people)...
Health Insurers to Cruel Rescission Policies: ?We Wish We Could Quit You?Not!?
Posted on June 19, 2009We?ve talked before about lawsuits that have arisen out of an insidious little practice called ?rescission,? whereby health insurance companies drop patients with serious illnesses then back charge them for treatment they?ve already received. Well, earlier this week, executives from...
Real Health Care Reform Must Begin With Reducing Medical Malpractice
Posted on June 19, 2009Every once in a while, a web headline has a way of calling out to us, ?Click me!? The following column from Bloomberg columnist Anne Wollner, did just that. ?Cap Medical Malpractice, Not Malpractice Awards,? reads the lead caption. Hallelujah!...
Chrysler/GM ?Bankruptcy Loophole? Update
Posted on June 17, 2009As regular readers of ThePopTort can attest, we?ve been following the Chrysler/GM bankruptcies with the utmost interest (here, here, here), particularly with respect to the ?bankruptcy loopholes? which effectively immunize both companies from lawsuits should defects in the ?old? pre-bankruptcy...
Medical Malpractice: Interesting Responses to Obama?s Offer to ?Bargain?
Posted on June 16, 2009Yesterday, we told you that President Obama might support bargaining away the rights of injured patients to gain right-wing support for his national health plan. We were a little fearful that an AMA imprimatur would give this plan some juice,...
Will Exxon Stop Fighting Now Over Paying for The Valdez Oil Spill Damage?
Posted on June 16, 2009It was around this time last year when we started talking about the Exxon Valdez oil spill ? and not just for nostalgia. The company had fought residents and fishermen hurt by the spill?s ecological disaster for 19 years. In...
Obama Dangles the Rights of Medical Malpractice Survivors to AMA as a ?Bargaining Chip?
Posted on June 15, 2009Today, President Obama delivered a much-anticipated speech to the American Medical Association (AMA) about his comprehensive plan to reform the country?s health care system. For those of us who care deeply about the rights of those injured by preventable medical...
Documents Show Lilly Marketed Zyprexa for Dementia, Knowing It Did No Good
Posted on June 12, 2009Regular readers of ThePopTort may recall that in February, we ran a piece suggesting that drug companies were fast becoming America?s ?new bottom-feeders,? displacing the likes of say, telemarketers as society?s number one social pariahs. Well, this next item sort...
In the News Special Report: Chrysler/GM ?Bankruptcy Loophole? Round-up
Posted on June 11, 2009Bankruptcies are a ?ticking time bomb? given how many Chrysler and GM cars with defects could be on the road. U.S. News & World Report, USAToday, Scripps, and BusinessWeek explain. The National Law Journal is also covering. Other great coverage...
Illinois AG: Chicago Suburb Supplied Toxic Drinking Water for 20 Years?and Lied About It
Posted on June 10, 2009In most locales, it?s polite to offer house guests a cool beverage upon entering?perhaps even a nice refreshing glass of water, straight from the tap. But this next item has us wondering: what will be the go-to beverage in Crestwood,...
Clear and Present Danger: U.S. Supreme Court Greenlights the Chrysler-Fiat Deal
Posted on June 10, 2009Buckle your seatbelts, 40 million Chrysler/GM owners?and better hope they work. Late yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted its temporary stay of bankrupt Chrysler?s sale to Fiat ?placing millions of Americans at risk in the process. Some of these cars...
Let?s Hope Oklahoma-style Anti-Civil Justice Laws Don?t Put Seniors at Risk
Posted on June 09, 2009It?s pretty clear that those of us at ThePopTort don?t like it when lawmakers tell jurors what to do by legislatively ?capping? compensation that juries can award. But when state lawmakers do go down that mistaken road, they must, at...
Breaking News! The U.S Supreme Court Delays Bankrupt Chrysler Sale to Fiat!
Posted on June 08, 2009The headline says it all! And as you can imagine, we?re pretty ecstatic over here, given what the bankruptcy would mean for those injured by the ?old? Chrysler?s product defects (here, here, here, here). Of course, like all breaking news,...
Supreme Court Says Coal Company Donation Should Disqualify West Virginia Judge
Posted on June 08, 2009Don Blankenship, the CEO of Massey Coal, ?tort reformer? and one rich dude, thought he could buy his way to justice in West Virginia. But he?s been failing lately ? big time. First, he tried to buy the 2006 mid-term...
Ferry Victim Wants to Pay Attorney?s Contingency Fee, Despite Judge?s Interference
Posted on June 08, 2009Last September, we told you about a former Fulton Fish Market worker named James McMillan who was left a quadriplegic as a result of the 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash. The gist of the story was related to McMillan?s fee...
Report Shows No Link Between Medical Malpractice Suits and Insurance Rates for NY Docs
Posted on June 05, 2009A new report released today and endorsed by a coalition of consumer organizations (including CJ&D!) shows that ?despite rising malpractice insurance premiums over the past several years there has actually been a drop in medical malpractice payouts made by New...
The Sound of (Liability) Silence: Bausch & Lomb?s 600 Confidential ?Eye Fungus? Settlements
Posted on June 05, 2009So the House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing yesterday about a bill aimed at curbing potentially hazardous ?confidential settlements? in Federal courts?and the timing couldn?t have been better, given a story that came out earlier this week involving...
Chrysler/GM Auto Defect Victims Head to DC?Demand Justice, in Spite of Bankruptcies
Posted on June 04, 2009As we mentioned yesterday, families and severely injured victims of defective GM and Chrysler vehicles are in Washington DC this week seeking immediate help from lawmakers to remedy those companies? excessively cruel bankruptcy plans. Under both schemes, warranties issued by...
Driving Chrysler or GM Cars? Better Beware! Sell it Now!
Posted on June 02, 2009As we alluded to a few days ago, one of the great untold stories of the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies is that under both plans, families driving any of these cars (about 10 million Chrysler, 30 million GM vehicles now...
We?re Keeping Our Ears to the Ground About Sotomayor?s Views on Business
Posted on May 29, 2009The Sonia Sotomayor speculation games have definitely begun! Ever since her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, policy nerds, pundits, and blearly-eyed bloggers have been in a ?wonkadelic? frenzy over who Judge Sotomayor is and how she?s likely...
Louisiana Anti-Senior Citizen Bill Defeated!
Posted on May 28, 2009Great news, civil justice fans! It?s an ?ask and ye shall receive? kind of day here at ThePopTort! Just one day after we told you about a horrendous anti-civil justice, anti-consumer, anti-senior citizen law that was under consideration in Louisiana,...
Chrysler and GM Bankruptcies Could Bankrupt Those Injured by Defective Vehicles
Posted on May 28, 2009Last week, we told you about the many consumers severly injured by design and manufacturing defects in Chrysler vehicles, who could go uncompensated as a result of Chrysler?s proposed bankruptcy. Well increasingly, the news has been filled with stories that...
Louisiana Bill Seeks to Deprive Civil Justice to Seniors
Posted on May 27, 2009Several weeks ago, we celebrated the demise of a Tennessee bill that would have severely limited compensation for nursing home patients who had suffered the worst kinds of abuse and neglect. The ?Kill Old People Cheap Act,? as it had...
Obama Selects Sotomayor as Supreme Court Nominee
Posted on May 26, 2009Time to shift speculation gears from who will be the next U.S. Supreme Court nominee to who is Sonia Sotomayor and what does she stand for. Here?s some interesting preliminary info. from the New York Times? ? Sotomayor, 54, would...
New Fraud Law Adds Important Layers of Corporate Accountability
Posted on May 26, 2009We?ve talked about the importance of broadening the liability of those whose unscrupulous actions helped create the country?s current economic woes, so you can imagine how tickled we were to learn that President Obama signed into law some of ?the...
Chicago Tribune Acknowledges the Reality of Medical Malpractice
Posted on May 22, 2009Let?s face it. There probably isn?t a newspaper in the country more rabidly in favor of limiting the compensation of patients injured by reckless medical care ? especially by OB-GYN?s - than the Chicago Tribune. So when the Tribune published...
When it Comes to Civil Justice, Texas is Incredibly Rough Country
Posted on May 21, 2009For those passionate about the civil justice system, Texas?with its seemingly endless array of obstacles blocking citizens? access to the courthouse?can seem like very treacherous terrain indeed (here, here, here). And just when you thought you had heard it all?there?s...
When it Comes to Injured Consumers, Chrysler is Bankrupt in More Ways Than One
Posted on May 21, 2009The civil justice implications of the country?s financial struggles don?t often make it into the headlines, but an Indiana man named Jeremy Warriner will be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee today to discuss at least one of them in...
Things That Aren't Funny
Posted on May 21, 2009Okay, so humor is very subjective. Like in 2004, George Bush?s joke during the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, ?those weapons of mass destruction must be somewhere,? he said as he looked under seat cushions in the Oval Office. That...
In the News
Posted on May 20, 2009Major major Bush clean-up action today, as Obama issued a new order, through OMB, rebuking Bush's "preemption" policy, stating "pre-emption of state law by executive departments and agencies should be undertaken only with full consideration of the legitimate prerogatives of...
Locked Out: An Update to the Supreme Court?s Ruling on Ashcroft and Mueller
Posted on May 20, 2009We told you the other day about the U.S. Supreme Court case involving Javaid Iqbal who was never charged with any 9/11-related terrorism, but nevertheless, suffered inhumane treatment in federal prison for months, and sought to hold former Attorney General...
Oops! Medtronic Did It Again!
Posted on May 19, 2009Honestly, civil justice fans, tracking medical device maker Medtronic in the news is beginning to feel a little like watching the tabs during the Britney Spears ?spiraling? period (here, here, here). Last week, there was a front page New York...
Rampant Medical Malpractice in Military Hospitals - The Real Impact of Immunity
Posted on May 19, 2009Consumer and patient safety advocates know how important lawsuits are to making health care safer, especially in hospitals. While we can argue this until we?re blue in the face, we know nothing?s as powerful as real life examples. That?s why...
It?s Alive! California Supremes Reinstate Tobacco Class-Action
Posted on May 19, 2009Great news, civil justice fans! Yesterday, in a much anticipated decision, the California Supreme Court reversed two lower court decisions, ruling that a class-action suit for deceptive advertising can go forward against a consortium of big tobacco companies (including our...
U.S. Supremes Vote 5-4 to Immunize Ashcroft and Mueller from 9/11 Abuse Suit
Posted on May 18, 2009Several months ago we told you about an incredible case involving a fellow named Javaid Iqbal who was never charged with any 9/11-related terrorism, but nevertheless was subjected to all sorts of horrible treatment over the course of several months.....
Cass Sunstein?s Indelicate Balance
Posted on May 18, 2009The following entry, by Joanne Doroshow and Andy Hoffman, has been cross-posted on InjuryBoard.com. As the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concludes its three-day public hearing on the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in Buffalo, New York, and it...
Food Companies to Consumers: Yo, Go Fix Yourself a (Non-Poisonous) Pot Pie!
Posted on May 15, 2009Frozen pizza, pot pies, chicken nuggets ? sure they?re not the most nutritious or great tasting things in the world, full of chemicals, preservatives and the like. But at least they?re food. OK, food with ingredients that may cause cancer...
Love You Back, Manhattan Institute!
Posted on May 15, 2009It?s always a special treat to be given free publicity by our friends at Dick Cheney?s favorite ?think tank,? the Manhattan Institute?so hugs to the Institute?s blog, PointofLaw for its extra-special shout out today on our recent story, ?Just Say...
Merck Up To Its Old Tricks - Even 'Down Under'
Posted on May 15, 2009Vioxx, the painkiller taken off the market in late 2004, by its manufacturer Merck has become poster-child of greedy drug companies reaping the rewards (the drug reached $2.5 billion in sales in 2003) by keeping its dangerous drug on the...
Out of the frying pan into oblivion
Posted on May 14, 2009A few years ago, the American Tort Reform Assocation named West Virginia a so-called "judicial helllhole", in fact # 3 "hellhole" based on a flagrant error. ATRA said that two Florida law firms had filed class action lawsuits in West...
ThePopTort?s ?Leaked Chevron Transcript?
Posted on May 13, 2009When we heard about 60 Minutes?s scathing report last week about the huge pollution lawsuit against Chevron/Texaco for destroying Ecuador?s rain forest, we thought, well it?s about time ? that lawsuit was filed 16 years ago! When we later learned...
Weighing Legislation to Overturn Medical Device Immunity
Posted on May 12, 2009Great hearing today in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee?s Subcommittee on Health on the need to pass Medical Device Safety Act. There was a great deal of convincing testimony including Gregory Curfman, M.D., Editor of the New...
When it comes to patient safety, Nevadans are still waiting to join the party
Posted on May 12, 2009Loyal readers of ThePopTort may recall that Nevada?s severe cap on compensation for injured malpractice patients was being reevaluated by the state?s legislature after some 50,000 patients were exposed to Hepatitis C via ?reused syringes and vials? at an area...
In the News
Posted on May 11, 2009After receiving some 160 complaints from Indiana residents about obnoxious ?Your Warranty Will Expire? robocalls (not to mention receiving a few himself, as have many of you!), Indiana AG Greg Zoeller announced a lawsuit against two companies and an individual...
Lawsuits Sparked by Disturbing New Health Insurance ?Trend?
Posted on May 11, 2009Heath insurance ?rescission? - when companies to drop patients with serious illnesses, then back charge them for treatment they?ve already received - is a huge issue in this country. In California, there?s been a ton of coverage of the efforts...
Has the FDA Cleaned House? Meh, Not So Much.
Posted on May 08, 2009I?ll admit it. I spend a lot of time worrying about dangerous drugs and medical devices. Just this morning I thought twice before taking an over-the-counter NSAID (same drug class as VIOXX) to quell my migraine. I suppose I can?t...
In the News
Posted on May 08, 2009The Detroit Free Press published an editorial today entitled, ?Put teeth back in consumer protection,? criticizing the Michigan Supreme Court for weakening the state?s consumer protection law. (We couldn?t have said it better ourselves!) President Obama?s choice to lead the...
Just Say No?to Medical Device Hooey
Posted on May 08, 2009As loyal readers of ThePopTort know well, one of our favorite things to do is debunk abject hooey?so today, we?re bringing you this little gem of a ?study,? drawn up by MIT professors who were bought and paid for by...
Alabama Prisoners and Guards Agree: Substandard State Prisons are ?Unconstitutional?
Posted on May 07, 2009It?s often been said that politics makes strange bedfellows, but one doesn?t often hear about prison guards joining prisoners who are suing over substandard prison conditions. Nevertheless, a group of corrections officers from Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama are...
?Star? Brain Surgeons Under Investigation for Ignoring OR Patient
Posted on May 07, 2009It?s always interesting to us when the doctors complaining most about medical malpractice lawsuits, let?s say neurosurgeons, get caught doing some pretty outrageous things to patients in, let?s say, New York hospitals. So begins the story of two of the...
In the News
Posted on May 06, 2009The mother of a deceased infant whose body was lost by a northern New Jersey hospital (and never found even after a search of dumps in 3 states ? can you imagine?) has filed suit against the hospital and others...
CPSC to Get Great New Leadership, as the CPSIA Follies Play On?
Posted on May 05, 2009Excellent news on the consumer advocacy front! President Obama has finally gotten around to replacing Bush-appointee and industry chum, Nancy Nord as head of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). He is also seeking a 71 percent budget increase for...
New Twist on FDA?s Inept Approval Process Of Special Concern to Women
Posted on May 05, 2009Medical devices that mutilate women are certainly nothing new. Heck, the Center for Justice & Democracy wrote a whole report on the topic. But as much as this topic has been covered, there?s always something new and even more dreadful,...
Michigan?s Supreme Court Creates The Toothless Wonder
Posted on May 05, 2009As we?ve mentioned, despite recent improvements, the Michigan Supreme Court has long been the most anti-consumer, anti-environment, anti-victim, precedent-disregarding court in the country. So a recent report in the Detroit Free Press about how the state?s Consumer Protection Act has...
In the News
Posted on May 04, 2009David Lazurus of the LA Times has joined the growing chorus against mandatory arbitration. And several good stories from last week that we should tell you about: It took toxic Chinese drywall, but CPSC Chair Nancy Nord is actually now...
Sorry Charlie! U.S. Supreme Court Says No Immunity for Chicken of the Sea
Posted on May 04, 2009Okay, so Charlie the talking tuna was the ?pitchfish? for Star-Kist, not Chicken of the Sea?but it made for a snappy headline, so we decided to go with it. (Besides, we couldn?t think of a logical way to bring Jessica...
Arkansas Supremes Strike Down ?Tort Reform?
Posted on May 01, 2009We could go on and on about how destructive, oppressive, and cruel it is to take away the legal rights of injured people, and goodness knows, we have. But such measures are also unconstitutional ? at least according to many...
Feingold Bill Seeks to End Mandatory Arbitration
Posted on May 01, 2009As we mentioned on Tuesday, April 29 was ?Fair Arbitration Now Day? and we would be remiss in not telling you that as part of the festivities, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) reintroduced the Arbitration Fairness Act, a bill aimed at...
Enter ThePopTort?s AIG Renaming Contest!
Posted on April 30, 2009As some of you may know, AIG has been going through something of an identity crisis in recent weeks. Apparently, helping to bring the nation to the brink of financial ruin and requiring billions of taxpayer bailout money, while continuing...
?Extraordinary Rendition,? Torture, and a Very Busy Obama Administration
Posted on April 30, 2009Assuming you didn?t decide to watch ?Lie to Me? on Fox during President Obama?s ?First 100 Days? press conference last night, you may have noticed that he was asked several times about one of the biggest, most controversial issues of...
?Say Whaaaat?? Award to Forbes Magazine!
Posted on April 29, 2009As loyal readers of ThePopTort know, we occasionally hand out a special award to those who express views that so defy human comprehension that all we can think of to say is, ?Say Whaaaat?? (here, here, here). Well, we have...
U.S Supreme Court to Decide: What Should Happen To Prosecutors Who Cook Evidence?
Posted on April 28, 2009Riddle me this, civil justice fans: in a case of blatant misconduct by prosecutors that results in two innocent people going to jail for 25 years, should the prosecutors be immune from suit? Back in 1977, in a small Iowa...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Finally Makes it Fun To Go To The Movies!
Posted on April 28, 2009Forget that Zac Ephron is 17 Again. Monsters v. Aliens, who cares? Today?s #1 comedy? Pre-movie commercials by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce! Coming to Regal theaters (and maybe others) in Washington D.C.! And on a subject that?s gripping the...
April 29 is Fair Arbitration Now Day!
Posted on April 28, 2009Tomorrow, April 29, consumers and groups from around the country are joining together to protest and hopefully stop the horrendous practice of forced binding arbitration. This is an issue we cover now and then, and likely will continue to do...
In the News
Posted on April 27, 2009Lead story in today?s New York Times about primary care doctor shortages. Neither medical malpractice insurance nor lawsuits are even mentioned as reasons for doctor shortages - and none of the typical complaining specialties (OB-GYN?s, surgeons) are mentioned either -...
Employee Lawsuits Claim: Southern Nevada Health District Contaminated With Mold
Posted on April 24, 2009Several different news outlets are reporting (here, here, here) that working for the Southern Nevada Health District?the agency in charge of protecting the health of Nevadans?required that employees gamble with their own health. The Health District allegedly forced its own...
In the News
Posted on April 23, 2009A jury ruled that two off-duty Fresno, CA police officers were liable for helping a relative beat up an unsuspecting Christmas tree farmer. The Justice Department agreed to settle with an Army National Guard member who filed suit after being...
In the News
Posted on April 22, 2009AIG and others could be called on the Congressional carpet for denying injured contractors? claims. New York City public housing residents with disabilities and other physical problems who are continuously victimized by a repeated elevator break-downs are asking for no...
FDA?s Medical Device Director Calls an ?All-Hands Meeting? to Discuss Approval Process
Posted on April 22, 2009Remember when the U.S. Supreme Court decided to immunize medical device manufacturers from all liability? Ever wonder if they knew then what they know now, they would have ruled the same way? Just to give you a quick recap of...
Public Citizen Releases Report Showing States Most Lenient to Bad Docs
Posted on April 22, 2009Ever wonder which states allow incompetent doctors to get away with the most bad stuff? So do our friends at Public Citizen?s Health Research Group - which is why it publishes an annual ranking of state medical boards that shows...
Ding Dong the Wicked Legislation is Dead!
Posted on April 22, 2009Yesterday afternoon, the Tennessee Housing Subcommittee deadlocked (essentially killing) legislation pushed by the nursing home industry that would have limited compensation for nursing home patients who suffer the worst abuse and neglect. The ?Kill Old People Cheap Act? as it...
KID releases new report on 08 recalls, recall effectiveness
Posted on April 22, 2009Cross-post from our friends at Kids in Danger, a blog ?dedicated to protecting children by improving children's product safety.? Today, Kids In Danger released Toxic Toys and Faulty Cribs, an examination of children's product recalls in 2008, recall effectiveness at...
Waxman-Markey Climate Bill May Breathe Life into ?Citizen Suits?
Posted on April 21, 2009Good news, civil justice fans! Just as the EPA is finally admitting that greenhouse gases "endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations," Congress has introduced an exciting new bill aimed at doing something about them. The...
Katrina Victims Get Their Day in Court Against The Army Corps of Engineers
Posted on April 21, 2009We?ve blogged before (here, here) about what today?s New York Times is calling ?a groundbreaking civil suit,? brought by several Hurricane Katrina victims against the Army Corps of Engineers. We certainly don?t need to remind PopTort readers of the magnitude...
South Dakota Urology Center Reused Disposable Medical Equipment, Exposing Thousands to Disease
Posted on April 20, 2009Imagine you?re having bladder or urinary problems, go to the doctor and get some tests that are performed with equipment used by other sick patients. And then you get a letter from the clinic saying they?re now offering you new...
Hypocrisy, thy name is John Stossel
Posted on April 20, 2009We told you last week about how injured war contractors are being forced to hire lawyers to get AIG and others to pay their legitimate health and disability claims. We also mentioned that the story would be covered on ABC?s...
At Long Last, Some Justice in Apollo Pennsylvania
Posted on April 20, 2009The working-class residents of Apollo and Parks Township Pennsylvania have fought and endured more than any community should ever have to fight and endure. This sloppy and lethal nuclear fuel plant ran in Apollo from 1957 until 1983. In the...
If I've Said It Once, I've Said It A Million Times...
Posted on April 17, 2009What?s that adage about saying something enough times it must make it true? But that seems to be the approach from the opponents of the Michigan Drug Industry Immunity Repeal. In the late 1980?s the conservative, free-market think-tank, the Mackinac....
When it Comes to Compensating Injured War Contractors, AIG and Others ?Reject First, and Investigate Later?
Posted on April 17, 2009Here at ThePopTort, we don?t usually cover stories about the disability and health sector of the insurance industry, but this next item is so egregious and disgusting ? and it concerns companies that we do know something about, as well...
Senator Claire McCaskill - Awesome!
Posted on April 16, 2009One would be hard pressed to find more hypocrites than in the so-called "tort reform" movement. But maybe it takes a brilliant presentation by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) for this detail to truly sink in. Watch (and thanks to...
In the News
Posted on April 16, 2009Rehearsal dinner food poisoning leads to wedding bell blues?and civil justice. ?Speak English or else? rule for Latino workers results in a class action and consent decree. Feds settle with Quest Diagnostics for "one of the largest recoveries in a...
Fomenting more CPSIA-style confusion?this time with food safety
Posted on April 15, 2009We and our consumer group friends know a little about ?internet hysteria,? a term recently used by the reputable FactCheck.org to describe various absurd reactions to a Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) bill aimed at providing much-needed protections for the American...
In the News
Posted on April 14, 2009Virginia may be for lovers, but when it comes to holding bad doctors accountable, it?s ?asleep at the wheel? just like other states. North Dakota scientists ask state residents, ?Care to volunteer for a study that tests the health effects...
CPSC settles for $1.1 million with Mega Brands for Magnetix toy hazards
Posted on April 14, 2009This entry was cross-posted from Kids in Danger, a blog ?dedicated to protecting children by improving children's product safety.? CPSC announced a settlement today with Mega Brands for withholding information on the hazards associated with Magnetix building toys...
Hepatitis C Outbreak Gives Nevada Residents a Different View of Lawsuit Caps
Posted on April 13, 2009Back in 2002, Nevada was one of the first states that decided to cruelly cap compensation to injured medical malpractice patients?including catastrophically injured children?in response to a nationwide ?liability insurance crisis? that had nothing to do with the legal system...
In the News
Posted on April 13, 2009Student activism pays off: Harvard teaching hospitals issue rules that say, ?Beware of drug companies bearing gifts.? New England Journal of Medicine comes out strong?again?for the Medical Device Act. Appalling Tennessee nursing home allegations underscore why limiting legal recourse for...
10 More Ideas for Getting CPSC Chair Nancy Nord Outta There!
Posted on April 10, 2009There have been so many calls for Obama to replace Nancy Nord, the corporate crony Bush holdover who is still acting Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, we?ve about lost count. The latest comes from U.S. Senator Bill Nelson...
FDA?s Approval Process For Dangerous Medical Devices Not So ?Rigorous?
Posted on April 09, 2009Eureka! After 30 years of chronic thumb twiddling, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly asking manufacturers of some of the oldest and most dangerous medical devices on the market (like pacemakers) to offer assurances that their products are...
Life Without Lawyers? No, Thanks, Philip K. Howard
Posted on April 08, 2009Greetings, civil justice fans! Take a look at The Daily Kos today for our review of corporate lawyer, Phil Howard?s ridiculous new book, Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans From Too Much Law. For those of you who don?t know him,...
In the News
Posted on April 08, 2009Class action suit says taking care of luggage is not British Airways? ?bag.? On average, Americans spend more time (16 hours a year) watching ?often misleading? drug ads on TV than talking with their primary care doctors. Unlike efforts in...
Recent Medtronic Heart Device Removals Just the ?Tip Of the Iceberg?
Posted on April 07, 2009As loyal readers of ThePopTort know, the Center for Justice and Democracy just released a new study on defective heart devices that shows they?ve caused thousands of needless injuries and deaths. The study includes mention of the recent dismissal of....
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry Stands Strong For Civil Justice
Posted on April 07, 2009About a year ago, we praised Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry for standing up for the sick and injured, despite enormous pressure from the insurance industry and medical establishment to enact laws that would significantly limit their ability to seek compensation...
In the News
Posted on April 06, 2009To have a recalled medical device extracted through risky heart surgery, or not to have a recalled medical device extracted through risky heart surgery?for too many, that is the question. For Texas temporary workers, the ?tale of horror? we told...
The Insurance Industry and a Bogus Arson Conviction in Texas
Posted on April 06, 2009There is perhaps nothing more tragic in our judicial system today is when an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit. To date, the Innocence Project has exonerated 235 people using DNA evidence to overturn their...
In the News
Posted on April 03, 2009Wyeth is the ?wind? beneath the Medical Device Act?s ?wings!? On the other hand, the Peanut/Salmonella fiasco hasn?t delivered the faintest breeze under the FDA. Disturbing news about the EEOC?add it to the post-Bush clean-up list? We?ve said it before,...
Myth Tally from the CPSIA Rally
Posted on April 03, 2009We alluded recently to an April Fool?s Day rally that was to take place in Washington, DC for those interested in expressing their views about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). While the event didn?t ultimately get that much...
Nancy Nord Wants Out of the CPSC
Posted on April 02, 2009First it was key members of Congress calling for Nancy Nord to step down as head of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) after she thumbed her nose at a proposal to double the agency?s budget. Then, still more members...
Seven Myth-Busting Facts About the CPSIA
Posted on April 01, 2009Rumor has it that some of our friends in the small enterprise world may be heading down to Washington, DC today to express their views about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). As a parting gift, ThePopTort is providing...
Setting Time Bombs in Our Chests: Our Unreliable FDA
Posted on March 31, 2009Written by Ian Millhiser creator of Overruled, a blog on progressive legal issues, and an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, where his work focuses on restoring access to courts. This post was cross-posted from the Huffington Post...
In the News
Posted on March 31, 2009Just in time for the release of CJ&D?s new study on defective heart devices, medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific Corp. is warning doctors of a defect that can cause their implanted defibrillators to deliver improper shocks to the heart, and/or...
More Proof of Workers' Compensation Harm
Posted on March 31, 2009In 2006, the Center for Justice & Democracy released a study about the failure of workers' compensation systems in America, finding that ?workers? compensation programs throughout the country have been devastating for injured workers, leaving them to contend with an...
Patients Travel to Washington Today to Urge Congress to Restore Their Legal Rights
Posted on March 31, 2009Medical Device Patients from around the country are in Washington, DC today to ask Congress to pass the Medical Device Safety Act organized by the Campaign to Stop Corporate Immunity (CSCI) a coalition of consumer, health and trade associations fighting...
CJ&D Releases New Study on Defective Heart Devices
Posted on March 30, 2009Check out the Center for Justice & Democracy's new study, HEART SICK ? Hazardous Heart Devices and the Importance of Litigation. It finds that medical devices for the heart have caused thousands of needless injuries and deaths, yet patients currently...
Michigan Moving Forward to End Drug Industry Immunity
Posted on March 27, 2009Yesterday, for the second year in a row, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a package of bills that would effectively end the drug industry immunity in Michigan. Since 1996, Michigan has been the only state in the nation that...
True Lies: Debunking A Major CPSIA Myth
Posted on March 27, 2009One of our favorite things to do here at ThePopTort is debunk abject hooey, so today we?ve chosen to address one of the most insidious CPSIA myths out there?the notion that the Consumer Products Safety Commission?s (CPSC) ?hands are tied?...
An Update on Colonel Klink?s FDA
Posted on March 26, 2009Last week, we told you how FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Torti had written a memo to his staff warning against any sort of whistle-blowing behavior and threatening ?disciplinary sanctions and/or individual criminal liability? to those who failed to take heed...
The CPSIA and How ?Tort Reform? Groups Sold Small Businesses Down the River
Posted on March 25, 2009If you listen to big corporate lobbyists and their neo-con friends at certain ?think tanks?, they will tell you that lawsuits by consumers - even cases brought by state Attorneys Generals to protect the public - are this country?s greatest...
Still Fighting: Carmelo Rodriguez and the Medical Malpractice Bill Aimed at Holding the Military Accountable
Posted on March 25, 2009About a year ago, we brought your attention to a CBS News report about a U.S. Marine named Carmelo Rodriguez who served in Iraq and survived, only to die as a result of gross medical malpractice by military health care...
Bottom Feeders II: Despite Controversy, FDA Approves Lexapro For Kids
Posted on March 24, 2009Several weeks ago, we told you that the U.S. attorney?s office in Boston has filed a civil suit against drug maker Forest Laboratories, alleging the company illegally marketed Celexa and Lexapro, two versions of the anti-depressant, ?citalopram,? for unapproved uses...
Once Again, A Judge Asks Congress to Clean Up Supreme Court?s Mess?This Time With Stoneridge
Posted on March 23, 2009Not to get all ?high school Civics class? on you, but one of the cool things about America?s unique division of government is that when things go wrong, one of the three branches can clean up another one?s mess?and lately...
We're Finally Speechless Over AIG
Posted on March 20, 2009Here?s our photo of the demonstration in New York yesterday (at Goldman Sachs) protesting Wall Street abuses. Yes, ThePopTort happens to live just steps away from some of Wall Street?s biggest miscreants. Go figure! Oh, and one more thing. Now...
The FDA: Run by Colonel Klink?
Posted on March 19, 2009Just in time for the Washington Post to expose yet another example of the FDA?s Sargent Schultz-like willingness to ?know nothing? when it comes to unfavorable drug trials that big pharma is trying to bury, The Wall Street Journal?s ?Health?...
CPSC: Working to Foment Fear At the Expense of Kids
Posted on March 18, 2009We?ve written about toy safety and specifically, the importance of the landmark Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSIA) in making sure kids stay protected. Incredibly, toys with illegal lead levels continue to be sold in discount stores, showing all the more...
Obama?s Health Care Overhaul Spurs Docs? Broken Record Attacks on Patients? Rights
Posted on March 17, 2009As Carol Ann remarked in Poltergeist II, ?They?re back!? That?s right civil justice fans, with all the appeal of five-day-old Chinese food, organized medicine and their lobbyists have reportedly been screaming about limiting injured patients? access to the civil justice...
Medical Device Heartbreak
Posted on March 16, 2009Imagine a company manufactures a defective medical device and it's implanted in your heart. Now imagine that you have no recourse against the company because the U.S. Supreme Court decided they were immune from suit! No, this isn't a dream....
AIG: Ain?t Too Proud to Beg For $165 Million In Undeserved Bonuses
Posted on March 16, 2009As regular readers of ThePopTort know, we were disgusted with AIG before being disgusted with AIG was cool. And it wasn?t just its attacks on the civil justice system or attorneys for the injured, the rampant hypocrisy and fraud, or...
The Value of Suing Over 9/11
Posted on March 13, 2009The New York Times had a pretty interesting story today about what happened to 9/11 victims who sued in court, including why they went that route. While the story focuses on money, we found it much more interesting to hear,...
Surprise! Turns Out, Mandatory Arbitration is Fair?Not!
Posted on March 12, 2009Well, that didn?t take long. Just in time for Congress?s recent introduction of the Arbitration Fairness Act, which is designed to protect consumers from having ridiculously one-sided arbitration agreements shoved down their throats, the Wall Street Journal?s law blog is...
If At First You Don?t Succeed...Keep Trying to Take Away Nursing Home Victim?s Rights
Posted on March 12, 2009It must be that time of year again. State legislatures are up and running, passing laws that (we hope) will make our states better places to live. Of course I suppose that depends on what your definition of ?better? is....
The Civil Justice Sheriff May Soon Be Headed to Wall Street
Posted on March 12, 2009We?ve talked about how the civil justice system provides a crucial compliment to the criminal justice system before, but today?s lead story in the New York Times has us thinking about it in a slightly different context, so we thought...
Nothing?s ?Knee-Jerk? About The Importance of Passing The Medical Device Act
Posted on March 11, 2009The day after the landmark Wyeth decision came down, a bill was introduced in Congress to correct last years horrible Supreme Court decision, Riegel v. Medtronic (which immunized medical device manufacturers from liability for deaths and injuries caused by FDA-approved...
U.S. Supremes Hand Consumers Another Major Win?This Time With Arbitration
Posted on March 10, 2009Just days ago, we told you about the spectacular outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court case, Wyeth v. Levine. Well, it may be time to pop open another bottle of champagne, because the Supremes have come down on the side...
Supreme Court Upholds Total Immunity for the Gun Manufacturing Industry
Posted on March 09, 2009This morning the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the City of New York?s final appeal in their case against gun manufacturers who sell their guns in ways that allow their product to end up in the hands of criminals. This...
Tomorrow, Dennis Quaid To Take a Trip Down ?Med Mal? Lane, With Oprah
Posted on March 09, 2009It?s hard to believe 16 months have passed since actor Dennis Quaid?s newborn twins almost died after they were mistakenly given 1000 times the amount of the blood thinner Heparin than they should have received.His lawsuit against the drug company,...
Say It Ain?t So, Joe?America?s Favorite Plumber Goes to Court
Posted on March 06, 2009Extra, extra, read all about it! Guess who?s the latest guy running to court? Why it's Samuel J. Wurzelbacher a.k.a. ?Joe the Plumber,? so dubbed by John McCain (who later campaigned with the Toledo toilet-fixer). Seems Mr. Plumber is claiming...
Drug Company Immunity Remains Status Quo in Michigan Unless Legislature Acts
Posted on March 05, 2009The Thrill Of Victory! U.S. Supremes Deliver 6-3 Win to Levine Over Wyeth!!!
Posted on March 04, 2009This Just In: Agent Orange Victims Denied Ability to Seek Relief by U.S. Supreme Court
Posted on March 02, 2009In New York, Those Who Can?t Teach?Teach Crane-Safety
Posted on February 26, 2009Every once in a while, we come upon a news story that makes us thank the civil justice gods for laws that help protect us from the lunacy and incompetence of others. For example?The front page of the New York...
Big Drug Companies?the New Bottom Feeders!
Posted on February 26, 2009A recent column in the Houston Chronicle suggested that it may be time for drug companies ?to take their place in public esteem somewhere south of bankers, Wall Street whiz kids and used-car salesmen,? and this next item helps illustrate...
Bush, Obama and Nursing Homes
Posted on February 25, 2009Can we first just say, what a pleasure it was to finally hear a President address Congress without launching into a blatantly political attack on sick and injured people who file lawsuits? What?s it been, like 8 years of having...
New York Hospitals - As If We Didn't Have Enough to Worry About
Posted on February 24, 2009It?s been awhile since New York?s abysmal Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC), which is supposed to weed out New York?s bad doctors, has popped up on ThePopTort. We were hoping things had gotten better over there in the past...
Battle Lines Drawn on Immunity for Medical Device Companies
Posted on February 20, 2009The front page of the New York Times business section today presents a pretty good overview of the expected fight in Congress to restore people's legal rights against medical device manufactures, a right taken away by the U.S. Supreme Court...
The Asbestos War Takes a Criminal Turn
Posted on February 20, 2009Here at ThePopTort, we don?t generally discuss criminal cases, but a conspiracy trial that got underway yesterday in Libby, MT touches on significant civil justice issues that have been around for years?so we?ve decided to make an exception.The New York...
Come On Over WSJ, The Water?s Fine!
Posted on February 18, 2009Let?s face it civil justice fans, when it comes to recognizing the essential role that lawsuits play in promoting corporate accountability, the Wall Street Journal isn?t exactly our soul mate. So imagine our surprise when we stumbled upon a juicy...
New York Times Joins Growing Chorus ? Get Rid of CPSC Chair Nancy Nord!
Posted on February 18, 2009As we?ve mentioned before, Bush?s acting head of the Consumer Project Safety Commission, Nancy Nord, is a horrible public servant, is still in office, and needs to go! Right now! And now, so says the New York Times. Here?s some...
The Ugly Truth Behind Medical Malpractice Caps
Posted on February 17, 2009Suppose you went to the hospital to undergo a fairly routine medical procedure?say, ulcer surgery. But before you were discharged, you contracted a hospital-acquired infection, which in turn, was improperly treated. As a result, all of your limbs had to...
Autistic Children Having a Very Bad Day
Posted on February 13, 2009As many of you know, yesterday, a special court ruled against three families who claimed vaccinations had led to their children?s autism. While we can?t claim any real expertise on the scientific merits of the three cases litigated, we do...
Thumbs up, Kia!
Posted on February 12, 2009Wanted to give a quick shout out to our friend Kia Franklin over at TortDeform for her excellent op-ed in The Nation about the Arbitration Fairness Act. While we encourage you to check it out, here?s a sample?Congress and President...
Georgia Flirts With Michigan's Big Mistake
Posted on February 12, 2009Although a lot of politicians have economic stimulus on the brain right now, jump-starting our stalled economy shouldn't come at the expense of consumers' rights. Which would be exactly what Georgia would be doing to its citizens should a recent...
The Peanut Butter Plot Thickens?
Posted on February 11, 2009The company responsible for the salmonella outbreak is finally being hauled before Congress ? kicking and screaming, it seems. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding hearings today and asked the president of Peanut Corporation of America, Stewart...
Law Students Think Civil Justice System is Important
Posted on February 09, 2009You couldn't really tell if the unemployment figures released recently were worrying the 40 or so fresh-faced New York City area law students attending the Alliance for Justice's luncheon. Maybe it was the chance to learn more about the Weth...
Gitenstein - Obama's Business As Usual
Posted on February 09, 2009When word emerged that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?s top lobbyist had visited the Obama transition office 16 times, and then ?pronounced himself satisfied that the incoming administration will consider the needs of corporate America,? we were left thinking, WTF...
Crime and Punishment, U.S.-Style (Apologies to Dostoevsky!)
Posted on February 06, 2009Inhuman prison conditions in U.S. facilities aren?t unique to Guantanamo. A federal judge in Louisiana has certified a class action on behalf juveniles abused at New Orleans' Youth Study Center. The case, first brought December 2007 by the Juvenile Justice...
Nancy Nord Has Got to Go - Today!
Posted on February 05, 2009What?s it going to take to finally remove the disastrous Nancy Nord as acting head of the Consumer Project Safety Commission, and replace her with a new Chair who is competent, fair and honest and actually cares about consumers -...
Access Denied: The Fight for Corporate Accountability - This Friday at NYU
Posted on February 04, 2009Are you a law student living New York City? What are you doing for lunch on Friday? New York University (NYU) law students and curious policy wonks will be attending the 32nd Annual Public Interest Legal Career Fair and lunching...
An Olive Branch to Small Business?Courtesy of American Express
Posted on February 03, 2009In spite of a minor kerfuffle ThePopTort recently had with some of our small business friends, we?re happy to report that last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York handed small business a well-deserved victory. The case invalidated...
Then We Add Dead Rat to the Peanut Butter, and Let It Bake Right In?
Posted on February 03, 2009The argument that companies regulated by the FDA should be completely immune from lawsuits brought by sick and injured customers just gets weaker and weaker as more information becomes available about the salmonella-tainted peanut butter scandal. First, it turns out...
California?s Proposition 64: The Best Law Money Can Buy!
Posted on February 02, 2009In 2004, bankrolled by $18 million from big oil, drug, and insurance companies (among numerous deep-pocketed others), California?s Proposition 64 passed by a comfortable margin. The law, which limits citizens? rights to file lawsuits under California?s Unfair Competition Law (UCL),...
Overzealous Police Apologize?With Gift Cards
Posted on January 30, 2009What do you do if you?re a police lieutenant whose officers barge into a house without a warrant (looking for drugs and guns), terrorize the innocent occupants for two hours, brutalize a mom and 7 children, and then realize (woops)...
Ledbetter Law (Signed Today!) Shows America?s Being Led Better
Posted on January 29, 2009We?ve talked about this law, and the absurd ruling by the U.S Supreme Court that made the creation of it necessary, but we would be remiss in not giving props to our new president for deliberately making this important piece...
The ?Safety Nanny? Responds
Posted on January 29, 2009Well, well, well. Who knew our little post supporting the landmark Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) would generate so many, shall we say, riled-up comments. (Although being deemed a ?Safety Nanny? doesn?t exactly sound like a diss. I?d sure...
Doctors Seeing the Light? Nah.
Posted on January 29, 2009It is wildly ironic and entertaining who?s been running to the courthouse to file lawsuits lately. For example, we had to chuckle at this item, about a Nevada pediatrician who is suing an insurance provider, claiming it cheated ?thousands? of...
How Scary Can the FDA Get???
Posted on January 28, 2009We thought we had heard it all when we told you that a group of FDA scientists had written a letter to Congress several months ago, pleading for intervention due to ?serious misconduct? within the agency. Then the scientists wrote...
Justice Rights a Health Care Wrong
Posted on January 27, 2009Every once in a while, a story comes along that thoroughly epitomizes why we think unfettered access to the civil justice system, particularly in cases involving reckless medical professionals, is so crucial. This is one.A little over a year ago,...
Chipping Away at Justice II: Workers? Comp. Woes With a Vengeance
Posted on January 27, 2009Yesterday we told you about a Kentucky employee who was deemed ineligible for workers? compensation, despite contracting Parkinson?s disease after a 20-year exposure to a toxic chemical at his job. Unfortunately, today, we?re bringing you a kind of sequel...
Chipping Away at Justice: More Workers? Comp. Woes
Posted on January 26, 2009For employees with obvious work-related injuries, forcing them into workers' compensation systems in this country, with paltry benefits and increasingly difficult eligibility standards, is bad enough. (See here, here, and here.) But for workers sick due to occupational exposure to...
Gimme Back My Toxic Toys!!!
Posted on January 23, 2009There?s been some news lately about an incredibly important piece of bi-partisan legislation that passed last year to repair damage caused by a weak and underfunded Consumer Product Safety Commission (one result of which was the failure to prevent lead...
Peanut Butter, Lawsuits and the Nutty FDA
Posted on January 21, 2009?We are inaugurating a President who campaigned on a platform of change, hope, and justice. I sincerely hope that Mr. Obama will be able to effect change in our food safety agencies and policies. In the meantime, hundreds of Americans...
Obama - A New Day
Posted on January 20, 2009While there a many important civil justice issues in the news today, we?ll take a break from reporting on them just to recognize the obvious: that the most consequential, momentous civil justice development in eight years is happening today ?...
Economic Crisis? Let State Attorney's General Do Their Work!
Posted on January 19, 2009We?ve blogged before about how years of corporate immunity in the financial world has led to disastrous results. In 2007, in a case called Waters v. Wachovia, the Supreme Court ruled that bank-owned mortgage lenders were no longer subject to...
Eli Lilly Settlement ? Watch Your Emails!
Posted on January 16, 2009Some interesting details in The Legal Intelligencer today about Eli Lilly?s agreement to pay $1.42 billion ?including the largest criminal fine in history -- $515 million? and plead guilty to violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, settling charges for...
U.S. Civil Justice - Envy of the World
Posted on January 15, 2009There are more suits against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others for detainee deaths at Guantanamo Bay, this one a wrongful death action on behalf of two prisoners who hung themselves after alleged physical and mental torture. (See our...
Ken Starr - He's Back!
Posted on January 14, 2009Ever wonder what Ken Starr, the guy who wrote the report that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky scandal ? has been up to lately? Well, in addition to defending California?s Prop 8, the gay marriage ban,...
Transportation Misery
Posted on January 13, 2009Wanna know a great way to prevent plane crashes, horrific deaths and injuries, and, by the way, subsequent litigation? (Like the suits just filed in last month?s plane crash in Denver?) How about better government regulation? NPR did a story...
Jack Bauer, Torture and the U.S. Supreme Court
Posted on January 12, 2009Between the return of Jack Bauer and ?24? last night and some pointed questions yesterday to Obama from George Stephanopoulos about torture policy and Guantánamo, torture U.S.-style was quite the topic of conversation over the weekend! Hey, why not invite...
Weird Science: FDA Scientists Write Another Letter
Posted on January 09, 2009In yet another Orwellian story about a federal ?protection? agency skewing scientific results at the expense of public safety?FDA scientists have been letter-writing again?this time to the Obama transition team, pleading for help in reforming the ?fundamentally broken agency...
If Hypocrisy Made Your Nose Grow?
Posted on January 09, 2009We?ve all heard the argument by drug companies who rail against juries for ?second-guessing? the ?expert? Food & Drug Administration, when unsafe drugs and devices end up on the market. Well, except when the jury?s on their side, apparently. Check...
Worse Than Rodney King?
Posted on January 08, 2009The family of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old father, who was fatally shot by transit police on a San Francisco area subway platform early New Year's Day, has now filed a $25 million dollar lawsuit against Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)....
ThePopTort?s New ?Leaked Memo?
Posted on January 07, 2009Many thanks to the Medical Technology Learning Institute for hosting a big drug company seminar later this month. We found out about it from the confidential ?leaked memo? below. (I don?t know who keeps sending us these things.)Although it sounds...
Come to the Hospital?Get Free Beer and Cigarettes!
Posted on January 06, 2009Just when you thought hospital stories couldn?t get any stranger? Seven New York state hospitals are being sued by New York AG Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Eastern District Attorney Benton Campbell for allegedly operating a $50 million dollar scheme, which....
Clean Up Time Begins - Ledbetter and More!
Posted on January 05, 2009Yes, it will soon be clean up time for the new Congress. Among the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that need fixing (in addition to Riegel v. Medtroic), is the Court?s decision in the Lilly Ledbetter case. The New York Times...
Hello
Posted on January 02, 2009Welcome to The Pop Tort. Thanks for coming! Can we get you anything? Take your coat, perhaps? Remember, our home is yours. We?re here for all of your civil justice needs. By all means explore away and please chat amongst...
Michigan Supreme Court Comes Out of the Darkness
Posted on January 02, 2009Here at the Pop Tort, we?re grateful for many things as we begin 2009. One of the things for which we are most grateful is new Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Diane Hathaway, who defeated former Chief Justice Clifford Taylor...
So Long Mr. Bush, and Thanks for all the Grief
Posted on January 01, 2009It?s hard to believe, but the eight-year reign of George W. Bush and the bumbling ?Bushies? is about to come to a joyous and merciful end. That?s great news for consumers, of course?but before anyone breaks into spontaneous choruses of...
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