The Times, They Are a-Changin'.
The Times, They Are a-Changin' by John McCumber I was reminded of Bob Dylan's famous song this morning as I was hauling my trash and recycling bins to the curb. As a child growing up in 60s, I was introduced to his music early in...

Supreme Court upholds federal pre-emption of state device liability laws.
The U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 20 upheld federal preemption of state liability laws when it comes to lawsuits involving medical devices approved through PMAs. The 8-to-1 decision was a victory for the Bush administration, which for years has sought broad authority to pre-empt tougher state regulation, according...

NJ court dismisses Vioxx medical monitoring suit.
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Vioxx users who suffered no known harm from the withdrawn pain drug cannot sue Merck to pay for medical tests and treatment by heart doctors, Reuters reported June 4. In the latest in a string of recent legal victories for...

Merck faces expanded class in Canadian Vioxx lawsuit.
Merck, which settled most of its U.S. Vioxx lawsuits, said a Canadian court has expanded a class action over the painkiller to include most of the country's residents with claims, Bloomberg reported May 30. The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench expanded the scope of the litigation beyond...

Malpractice suit nets man $809K; Misdiagnosis by ER doctor led to loss of testicle.
Byline: Thomas Caywood WORCESTER - A Worcester County Superior Court jury has awarded more than $809,000 in damages and interest to a New Jersey man who lost a testicle after an area emergency room doctor failed to correctly diagnose his testicular torsion, according to court records and...

Simplify your practice: no insurance.
I want to add my encouragement to Dr. Ann Hamilton, who wrote a letter about CPT coding ("Heed the Call: Take on CPT Tyranny," Letters, March 15, 2008, p. 8). When CPT and diagnosis codes first came out, we were all bombarded with brainwashing from "industry experts"...

Luhrsen and Walsh, LLC: a merger of the area's prestigious personal injury firms. (Advertising Feature: Legal Profile).
People come to Luhrsen and Walsh, LLC when something bad has happened, and this newly merged personal injury firm works to turn the worst of situations around. "Our clients know we're their last, best hope," says attorney Jeff Luhrsen, the firm's chief executive officer. "We're able to...

Personal injury as a systems failure: systems analysis: systems analysis - Bridging the engineer lawyer gap.
Abstract Personal injury investigations by a forensic engineer are frequently commissioned by a trial lawyer after a complaint has been filed, and sometimes even after legal theory was established. It is, therefore, not unusual for the trial lawyer to anticipate the forensic investigation to produce a conclusion...

How to maintain government benefits for a child who receives an inheritance or legal settlement.
When a person with disabilities receives a significant amount of money--for example, from an inheritance or a legal settlement in a personal injury or medical malpractice action--eligibility for critical government benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid can be lost because these benefits are for individuals with...

J.D. Smith Joins Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Coluccio.
Addition Makes Seattle Law Firm's Personal Injury Team One of the Strongest in the Northwest SEATTLE, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- J.D. Smith, a veteran advocate for victims of catastrophic personal injuries, has joined the Seattle law office of Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Coluccio (SKWC). "J.D. is...