Horwitz Personal Injury Blog
Personal responsibility?
Posted Friday, August 3rd 2007
You can type these words into Google and get a list of web sites all talking about how corporations are being attacked by lawsuits filed by people who refuse to take personal responsibility for their safety...
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WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET YOUR ATTENTION?
Posted Thursday, June 7th 2007
NO I MEAN TO REALLY GET YOUR ATTENTION.
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Orthostatic hypotension: The often missed answer to the question of why a nursing home resident fell
Posted Tuesday, June 5th 2007
Unfortunately, it's a fact pattern that those of us who prosecute nursing home neglect cases hear all too often. It goes like this. "My mother got out of a chair and took two steps and collapsed. She broke her hip. The nursing home said people like my mother fall a lot and there's nothing they can do to prevent the falls. After all, they don't want to restrain mom to a bed."
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What is a product?
Posted Tuesday, June 5th 2007
When preparing to file a product liability case, one initial question is sometimes overlooked, namely what is a product? Illinois courts have addressed this issue on a case by case basis, discussing the facts of the individual case against the backdrop of the policies behind product liability law.
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FDA Seizes All Medical Products From N.J. Device Manufacturer for Significant Violations
Posted Tuesday, June 5th 2007
(April 18, 2007) U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators and U.S. Marshals seized all implantable medical devices from Shelhigh, Inc., Union, N.J., after finding significant deficiencies in the company's manufacturing processes. The deficiencies may compromise the safety and effectiveness of the products, particularly their sterility.
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Why was a pharmaceutical company whistleblower fired?
Posted Tuesday, June 5th 2007
What happens when the public learns that "dissolving" medical sutures failed to timely dissolve if they dissolved at all? Apparently, the whistleblower gets fired, that's what.
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WHAT’S GOING ON?
Posted Thursday, March 22nd 2007
It’s always quite busy in my departments. My practice changes as technology advances, so from time to time I like to let people know what types of cases I’m investigating and/or prosecuting. So here we go…
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For many, State Farm Insurance is no "good neighbor"
Posted Wednesday, February 21st 2007
Nevermind the irony of an insurance company complaining that there are too many lawsuits while denying claims until the policy holder has no choice but to file a lawsuit.
For many, State Farm Insurance is no "good neighbor"
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In this season of giving thanks, let's remember trial lawyers
Posted Tuesday, December 19th 2006
We as a society actually have many important reasons to thank lawyers. yes, that's right. Lawyers.
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Consumers are expendable. Shareholders are not.
Posted Monday, September 11th 2006
Because of a defect, Ford assumed there would be 2,100 burned vehicles, 180 serious burn injuries and 180 burn deaths. Ford further estimated that each death would be worth $200,000 and each burn injury $67,000. They were wrong.
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TORT REFORM THIS!
Posted Thursday, August 3rd 2006
Biomedical Tissue Services (and a few of the vultures who ran that company) ignored the rules and regulations governing the harvesting and use of tissue from cadavers. Actually, that’s an understatement. They carved up bodies without the consent of the deceased person’s family.
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Lessons learned from Biomedical Tissue Services
Posted Thursday, August 3rd 2006
Michael Mastromarino, the owner of Biomedical Tissue Services, is currently out on $1.5 million bail after pleading not guilty to charges stemming from the illegal harvesting of body parts.
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Corporate Immunity; Paid in full by everyday Americans
Posted Sunday, July 30th 2006
Courthouse doors are closed to those killed or injured by railroad anhydrous ammonia. Allowing corporations to escape liability for wrongful acts should leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
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Harmful, sometimes fatal drug errors ...from the same people who offer you tort reform.
Posted Wednesday, July 26th 2006
1.5 million people are injured every year by drug errors. That’s hard to comprehend ...1.5 million people. That’s the approximate population of the State of Idaho. A few more people than live in the State of Hawaii.
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Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it.
Posted Wednesday, June 14th 2006
A study this week from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety determined that ten thousand fatal automobile crashes a year could be prevented if vehicles were equipped with electronic stability control to keep them from rolling over.
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JURY VERDICT UPHELD FOR WELDER AFFLICTED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE DUE TO WELDING FUMES
Posted Tuesday, June 13th 2006
In what can only be described as a landmark case, a jury awarded former welder, Lawrence Elam, $1M (one million dollars) in damages finding that he developed Parkinson's disease because of exposure to welding fumes.
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The Corporate Shell Game; Forsythe Vs Clark Challenges Presumed Innocence
Posted Friday, June 2nd 2006
The phrase, "Do as I say, not as I do" might not have been coined specifically by corporate culture, but it's a motto they're willing to take to the Supreme Court.
The truth about liability within the Corporate Shell Game has been exposed, giving injured people the right to hold those who manage the purse strings truly accountable.
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Ford Hides Vehicle Rollover Documents
Posted Wednesday, May 17th 2006
Volvo’s research and testing may actually undermine Ford’s defense in rollover cases. Wouldn't it be interesting if Ford's standard rolloverover defense is put to an unmerciful, public death because of it's aquisition of Volvo, a company Ford presumably bought so it could profit from Volvo's reputation for safety? While not a textbook definition of irony, it's interestingly close.
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The Screwdriver May Have Been His Own, but it Came from the Medical Community's Own Tool Chest
Posted Monday, April 24th 2006
Sometimes, it's best just to let the facts do the speaking. Look at how many times this doctor's license was revoked while he kept operating. Does he reflect the medical community? No. Did the medical community allow him to practice? yes.
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The Legal Fiction of the Independent Medical Exam
Posted Saturday, April 8th 2006
After being seriously injured a plaintiff goes to a physician for treatment. An injured person’s choice of physician is limited by options in an insurance plan. Geography matters too, if you are in a serious amount of pain you don’t want to sit in a car for a long ride to a doctor. As a practical matter, people often go to doctors they have a prior relationship with. The physician may not look sophisticated, may not be the best oral communicator and may not keep the best records. But, at least the physician’s heart is in the right place. The physician is working hard to diagnose and treat the injuries.
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Illinois Nursing Home Care Act
Posted Saturday, April 8th 2006
When the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act was passed by the Illinois General Assembly it embraced the concept of private attorney’s general. This concept means that private civil attorneys would be enforcing the provisions of the Act to ensure that for-profit (and not for profit homes being financial gutted by greedy “management companies” providing no real services) corporations followed the law.
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Do You Have Confidence in the Current Judicial System?
Posted Sunday, April 2nd 2006
Citizens continue to support the jury system, despite frequent false and misleading attacks by a few corporate lapdogs masquerading as various concerned organizations...
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Corporations v. Personal Injury
Posted Sunday, April 2nd 2006
Verdicts are increasing. Settlement amounts are up too. I’m not talking about personal injury cases or medical malpractice verdicts. In fact, medical malpractice payouts have remained stable. What I’m talking about is one corporation or business suing another. Here are some examples.
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Frivolous Lawsuits
Posted Sunday, April 2nd 2006
Frivolous lawsuits? Ever hear someone complain that there is too much money being spent on frivolous lawsuits? Are frivolous lawsuits driving up the cost of insurance? What about health care? The answer is a resounding “no.” How can I be so sure?
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