The FDA issued a warning regarding the use of the marketed drugs Xenical and Alli. The warning identifies rare but serious liver injuries. Both weight-loss medications contain the active ingredient, Orlistat. There are currently thirteen reported cases of serious liver...
Continue reading "Dietary drug may cause liver damage" »
In the first study of its kind, the RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) found that as adverse events in hospitals decreased, medical malpractice claims decreased as well. While the study may seem to prove the obvious, no evidence affirming...
Continue reading "California Study Finds Correlation Between Hospital Safety and Malpractice Suits" »
In Posas v. Hortan, 126 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 12 (April 15, 2010), the Nevada Supreme Court addressed when it is appropriate for a sudden emergency instruction to be given to a jury. The case arose from an automobile accident....
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court Clarifies Sudden Emergency Jury Instruction" »
The Las Vegas Sun reports that a state health investigation uncovered questionable procedures surrounding disposal of patient information at University Medical Center in Clark County. ... state health authorities have discovered an unknown number of unidentified people have keys to...
Continue reading "Privacy Concerns at UMC Arise Over Patient Information" »
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is a flavor enhancer contained in a large amount of processed foods. The FDA has been investigating the finding of salmonella in HVP manufactured in Las Vegas, by Basic Food Flavors, Inc. The contaminated HVP affects...
Continue reading "Massive HVP Recall Affects Hundreds of Food Products" »
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a press release on Thursday, March 11, announcing that "the number of overall traffic fatalities reported at the end of 2009 reached the lowest level since 1954, declining for the 15th consecutive quarter."...
Continue reading "Highways Getting Safer? USDOT: 2009 Traffic Fatalities Reach Record Low" »
The Las Vegas Sun reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Nevada law restricting advertising for brothels. The law was challenged under the First Amendment for violating the right to free speech. The Nevada law prohibits brothels...
Continue reading "First Amendment Does Not Prohibit Restrictions on Brothel Advertising" »
NRS 41.133 states that when "an offender has been convicted of the crime which resulted in the injury to the victim, the judgment of conviction is conclusive evidence of all facts necessary to impose civil liability for the injury." In...
Continue reading "NRS 41.133 Liability Does Not Abrogate Comparative Negligence" »
According to the Reno Gazette Journal, the Reno Police are relaunching a $36,000 campaign to increase traffic safety. Under the campaign, pedestrians and bicyclists may receive citations for violating safety laws. Reno Wheelmen official Spencer Ericksen estimates that 25 percent...
Continue reading "Reno Traffic Safety Campaign Focuses on Bicyclists" »
The Nevada Supreme Court addressed the applicability of NRS 41A.097, Nevada's medical malpractice statute of limitations, to equitable indemnity and contribution claims. In Saylor v. Arcotta, 126 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 9 (March 4, 2010), a taxicab passenger was injured...
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court Addresses Equitable Indemnity/Contribution Limitations Period " »
22% of Nevada motorists are uninsured, according to Jim Gibbons' chief of staff, Robin Reedy. According to Chicago company InsureNet, Nevada could raise $30 million by using InsureNet's system of photographing license plates to identify uninsured and unregistered vehicles. The...
Continue reading "Nevada Assembly Rejects Proposal to Photograph Uninsured Motorists" »
Avandia, a drug produced by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and used to control Diabetes, was the subject of a Senate report released Saturday. Among the report's finding was that "The totality of evidence suggests that GSK was aware of the possible cardiac...
Continue reading "Avandia Controversy: Senate Report Says Drugmaker Had Duty to Warn of Heart Risks" »
A class action lawsuit has been filed in a Philadelphia suburb against a school district that provided students with laptops installed with webcams. The problem? The 2,300 laptops' webcams were remotely accessible by school officials. According to Law.com, the lawsuit...
Continue reading "21st Century Learning Environment, or Illegal Wiretapping? " »
A Texas nurse who notified the state medical board of a doctor's unsafe practices found herself on trial for a third-degree felony with the possibility of up to ten years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. The prosecution's...
Continue reading "Texas Nurse Acquited at Trial for Reporting Doctor's Unsafe Practice" »
Since 2004, Nevada statute has limited jury awards in medical malpractice actions to $350,000 for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering. Illinois has a similar statute, which limits noneconomic damages to $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals....
Continue reading "Illinois Cap on Medical Malpractice Damages Unconstitutional" »
In further attempts to combat the dangers of distracted driving, The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has prohibited commercial drivers from texting while driving. Commercial drivers include drivers of interstate buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds. Drivers who violate the ban...
Continue reading "Commercial Drivers Prohibited from Texting While Driving" »
As of February 2010, according to the Governor's Highway Safety Association, many states prohibit or limit the use of cell phones while driving. The GHSA reports the state laws currently in effect: Handheld Cell Phone Bans for All Drivers: 6...
Continue reading "Cell Phone and Texting Bans Increasing by State" »
The National Safety Council and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation announced a new, non-profit advocacy group, FocusDriven. The advocacy group's mission is to "Support victims of cell phone distracted driving and families of victims, and increase public awareness of the...
Continue reading "FocusDriven to Raise Awareness of Distracted Driving" »
In Sanchez v. Wal-Mart Stores, 125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 60 (December 24, 2009), the Nevada Supreme Court examined the scope of a pharmacy's duty of care. In June 2004, Gregory Sanchez, Jr., stopped on the side of the road...
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court Addresses Pharmacy Liability to Third Parties" »
On September 29, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration alerted consumers about Toyota and Lexus vehicles experiencing unintended acceleration due to the accelerator becoming stuck. According to the NHTSA press release, floor mats in certain Toyota and Lexus models have...
Continue reading "Toyota and Lexus floor mats causing unintended acceleration" »
On November 4, 2009, the FDA introduced its "Safe Use Initiative," an effort to collaborate with the health care field to reduce the preventable harm resulting from medication use and misuse. The Initiative is in response to the millions of...
Continue reading "FDA Announces Safe Use Initiative" »
The American Association for Justice, in its efforts to promote health care reform, has attacked health care reform opponents' arguments that reform will be a heavy financial burden on the health care system. "All the facts and evidence show...
Continue reading "Exposing Myths About Medical Malpractice" »
The FDA urges caution when searching for H1N1 products on the internet because many unapproved H1N1 products purport to prevent, diagnose, or treat H1N1. The FDA warns consumers of the potential danger of these products and cautions consumers that they...
Continue reading "Beware of Unapproved H1N1 Products" »
The Nevada Supreme Court addressed the liability of a hotel for injuries occurring in an automobile accident after evicting intoxicated persons from the hotel premises in Rodriguez v. Primadonna Company, 125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 45 (October 1, 2009). In...
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court Reviews Dram Shop Liability" »
In Delgado v. American Family Ins. Group, 125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 44 (October 1, 2009), the Nevada Supreme Court was faced with the question of whether the passenger in an automobile who is injured by the concurrent negligence of...
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Stacking Rules for Concurrent Negligence" »
With the death toll from H1N1 rising in Nevada, we should all be taking everyday precautions to stay healthy. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests everyday steps to protect your health: Cover your nose and mouth with...
Continue reading "H1N1 Preventative Measures" »
Two weeks ago, the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners issued an emergency regulation to restrict the ability of medical assistants to perform certain injections, such as Botox. As reported by the Las Vegas Sun, the regulations prohibited doctors from allowing...
Continue reading "District Judge Bars Injection Regulations" »
The Las Vegas Sun reported that the Nevada Supreme Court denied a challenge to the civil enforcement of Nevada's indoor smoking ban. The criminal enforcement of the smoking ban had already been held unconstitutional, and the statutory basis for criminal...
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court Says Smoking Ban Constitutional" »
The Nevada Supreme Court addressed the scope of an insurer's duty to defend under the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in Allstate Insurance Co. v. Miller, 125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 28 (July 30, 2009). The opinion...
Continue reading "Insurer's Have Duty to Inform Insured's About Settlement Offers" »
The Nevada Supreme Court clarified business defamation in Clark County Sch. Dist. v. Virtual Educ., 125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 31 (August 6, 2009). The case presented the issues to the Court of whether "the absolute privilege applies to defamatory...
Continue reading "Nevada Supreme Court addresses business defamation actions" »
The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, or MMSEA, affects judgments and settlements involving Medicare liens. Plaintiffs and Defendant attorneys should be aware of the changes. The AAJ released a clarification about the MMSEA: In cases involving Medicare...
Continue reading "AAJ Clarifies: MMSEA's Section 111 Does Not Require Set-Asides in Liability Cases" »
The American Association for Justice reports about the hearing on the Medical Device Safety Act held last week: Two years ago, Michael Mulvihill of Bettendorf, Iowa, was driving with his wife across the Midwest to visit his son, daughter-in-law, and...
Continue reading "More on the Medical Device Safety Act from the AAJ" »
The U.S. Senate held a hearing yesterday regarding the Medical Device Safety Act, introduced in March of 2008 and aimed at clarifying that FDA approval doesn't preempt lawsuits against medical device manufacturers. MedPage Today summarizes the bill and the reasoning...
Continue reading "Senate Holds Hearing on Medical Device Safety Act" »
A Los Angeles Times article by Lisa Zamosky comments on the confusion in doctors' offices regarding Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The article points out that obtaining medical records is often harder for patients than the law allows:...
Continue reading "Doctors' Confusion over HIPAA" »
The Las Vegas Sun reported that a four-year-old boy drowned last Saturday in an apartment complex pool. The tragic incident marks the seventh child drowning this year in Nevada. ABC reports that there are approximately 1,500 child deaths each year...
Continue reading "Swimming Pool Safety Tips" »
|
 |
|