When you file a personal injury claim, your attorney will inform you whether your case will likely settle or go to trial. Around 95 percent of cases settle before trial. Settlement happens when the insurance company for the defendant, or a defendant, offers a reasonable amount for the damages in the case which makes the risk of getting something more at trial difficult to predict. Settlement is quicker, less stressful, and less risky than going to trial. If your case goes to trial, it will take longer because your attorney will need to conduct thorough and extensive discovery, which … [Read more...]
Transvaginal Mesh Litigation
Transvaginal mesh has become a nightmare for thousands of women who have suffered severe adverse effects involving erosion and migration of the mesh along with perforation of organs from it. Surgical mesh was designed over 60 years ago for repairing hernias. It’s a woven material made of synthetic or biological materials that usually comes in a prepackaged kit along with tools to aid in the surgical procedure. Because mesh was widely successful in the treatment of hernias, surgeons began using it in other parts of the body that needed support. About 20 years later they began inserting it … [Read more...]
Texas Supreme Court Ends Bad Faith Claims for Workers
Texas Workers Compensation claimants took a big hit Friday when the Texas Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Timothy J. Ruttiger. The Court held that Workers Comp claimants cannot seek damages for bad faith denials of claims outside the administrative Workers Comp regulatory framework. Justice Willett’s concurring opinion writes: "The continued existence of bad-faith claims will subvert the Legislature’s meticulous soup-to-nuts system, one augmented by an immense regulatory and adjudicatory framework that, taken together, now regulates virtually … [Read more...]
Deion and Pilar Sanders’ Divorce Illustrates the High Price of Animosity and the Great Deal we get through Settlement
Several sources have reported that Deion Sanders has been ordered to pay over $10,500 in child support and $3,500 mortgage payments. The shocking part is that he’s been ordered to pay over a quarter million in attorney fees incurred just since April 30, 2012. In three weeks of attorney fees these parties blew what most of my clients will not earn in a year. There has, perhaps, never been a clearer example of the high price of contempt and animosity in a family law case. If you do the math, Deion could pay support for his children for 18 months at the rate his wife’s … [Read more...]
Injured by a Doctor? You’ll likely deal with the secretive Medical Board instead of open court
Fox 4 in Dallas did a great story on the Texas Medical Board and their contribution to physician discipline since tort reform in 2003. According to the report serious disciplinary actions are down and the time taken to conduct investigations has risen. Further, Doctor confidentiality and secrecy is maintained until a final disciplinary action is completed, leaving patients unaware of allegations of malpractice by doctors. Check the Fox 4 page for a video. Some of the images are graphic and the stories are truly tragic. Its a shame our state has fallen so far in protecting patient … [Read more...]
Texas Appellate Courts are More Likely to Reverse Plaintiff’s Judgments
The Dallas Morning News reports that a soon-to-be-released study shows Texas Appellate Courts reverse judgments for plaintiffs with alarming regularity, and at a dramatically higher rate than judgments for defendants: “The study, conducted by two appellate lawyers at Haynes and Boone, found the Texas appellate judges have an overall reversal rate of 49 percent when they review cases that the plaintiff won in the trial court and the defendant appealed. But those same judges reversed only 25 percent of the cases in which the defendant prevailed at trial and the plaintiff appealed. The Texas … [Read more...]
Honda Recalls Weed Trimmers Due to Laceration Hazard
Unsafe products can cause serious injuries at the most unexpected times. Household names we all come to know and trust are no exception to oversites due to engineering, manufacturing or material shortcomings that require diligent testing and monitoring. Honda has acted to recall certain gas powered weed and lawn trimmers within a designated manufacturing span denoted by listed serial numbers. Awareness of such measures is one paramount to the safety of all consumers. Springer Lyle feels the information in this article should be made known so consumers who rely on Honda’s reputation can … [Read more...]
The New “Loser Pays”
A lot of my friends have asked me about the new “loser pays” law and how I expect it to affect litigation in Texas. For years, Texas and most other states followed the so-called, “American Rule” whereby litigants pay their own attorneys’ fees. There were exceptions, such as certain statutory provisions that allowed recovery of attorneys fees in breach of contract, declaratory judgments, and other types of lawsuits. The new law is a departure from our historical approach, and represents a Texas version of the “English Rule,” allowing the prevailing party to recoup attorneys’ fees and … [Read more...]
New Rules Require Lawyers to be Nice
by Jeff Springer, SpringerLyle ••• Texas adopted the “Texas Lawyers’ Creed” several years ago in response to the rising incivility among opposing trial lawyers. Now other states are apparently following suit. The Florida Supreme Court issued an order (PDF) on Monday adopting a civility pledge as part of the oath, the Legal Profession Blog reports. The new language reads: “To opposing parties and their counsel, I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications.” South Carolina adopted a similar pledge in 2003, the supreme court … [Read more...]
Honda Worldwide Recall of Sedans, Minivans, SUVs
By Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall of Reuters. Honda Motor Co Ltd plans to recall nearly 2 1/2 million vehicles: small SUVs, cars and minivans worldwide. This includes the popular Accord sedan. Problems relate to software issues that could damage the automatic transmission. The recall includes 1.5 million vehicles in the United States, about 760,000 in China and 135,142 in Canada, the automaker said on Friday. This week, Consumer Reports said it was not recommending the 2012 Honda Civic. This led some industry analysts to ask if that was a symptom of larger problems at the … [Read more...]
