In North Shore Medical Center v. Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. (11th Cir., No. 22-10514, 5/25/2023), the court held that the plaintiff’s expert’s report created a triable issue of material fact, and consequently the district court should not have granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. In a concurring opinion, a member of the panel pointed out that one section of the defendant’s expert’s report supported the plaintiff’s position on the triable issue and hence was an independent reason for denying summary judgment.
A neurologist and a neuropsychiatrist are both medical professionals who specialize in the field of neurology, but there are some differences in their areas of expertise and the types of patients they typically treat.
I was under the impression that the tobacco industry had settled all the claims against it. I was mistaken. The major tobacco companies settled with 46 states in 1998. Claims by individual smokers were not covered. A recent case that brought this fact to my attention and required me to do some research to alleviate my ignorance is Greene v. Philip Morris USA Inc. (Massachusetts, No. SJC-13330, 5/9/2023), https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2023/05/09/w13330.pdf.
Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms, including humans. Toxicologists investigate the mechanisms of toxic effects, evaluate the risks and benefits of chemical exposures, and develop strategies to minimize harmful effects. There are two categories of toxicologists: medical (MD) toxicologists and PhD toxicologists. They share some common areas of expertise, but there are significant differences in their training, responsibilities and career paths.
Barry N. Feldman, Ph.D., LICSW, is a nationally recognized educator, trainer, researcher, and clinical expert in the field of suicide intervention and prevention. He specializes in suicide-related training, critical incident response, and crisis stabilization services for schools, military, law enforcement, emergency medical responders, healthcare providers, veterinary medical practitioners, and other professionals.
I would have thought the answer was Yes – and not just because I’m in the expert referral business. But I’ve just learned that, in point of fact, the answer is a resounding No. In Laccetti v. Ellis, (No. 22-P-466, Mass. App. 3/20/23), the court cited cases from seven states and the U.S. Virgin Islands to that effect and probably could have cited more. Only Delaware is (possibly) an exception.
In Anderson v. The Raymond Corporation (7th Cir., No.
Today’s case is Bayes v. Biomet, https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/22/12/212964P.pdf (8th Cir., No. 21-2964, 9/21/2022), a lawsuit against the manufacturer of a failed metal-on-metal hip replacement. The trial court instructed the jury on two theories of recovery: strict liability and negligent design. The outcome was unusual – at least, it seems unusual to me. As the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals explained,
Reading today’s case took me back to Boston University Law School and my first-year civil procedure course, which was taught by one of those professors who yell angrily at students who are unprepared to answer Socratic questions but are really nice guys outside the classroom. (I say “guys” because there were maybe half a dozen female professors, yet women comprised at least a third of my class. And when I argued cases in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts supreme courts and the First Circuit, there were no female judges on any of them.
Frankel v. Deane (Md. 8/25/2022), https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2022/43a21.pdf, illustrates the legal issue that is the title of this post. It also illustrates what is technically a legal issue (a trial court’s abuse of discretion in excluding expert medical testimony), but is actually a practical issue that every trial lawyer has to deal with sooner or later, even multiple times in the course of a long career: the nightmare trial judge. I will discuss the legal issue first.
