Lawsuit Information Center

November 5, 2010

Unnecessary Heart Stents

If you Google “unnecessary heart stents” most of the searches come up discussing the stent debacle at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Maryland. But Maryland might just be the tipping point. The same health care system with the same financial incentives for doctors for using heart stents exists throughout the country. I suspect unnecessary stent medical malpractice lawsuits will be the next wave of malpractice lawsuits. In many jurisdictions, although I suspect not in Maryland when all is said and done, there will be a great case for punitive damages.

Stent lawsuits in jurisdictions with punitive damages involving a hospital systematically providing unnecessary heart stents may be big cases. Punitive damage claims against individual doctors are typically of limited utility because the doctors have limited assets – relatively speaking – and the insurance policies do not cover intentional torts. Obviously, hospitals have more insurance and deeper pockets.

September 9, 2010

Average New York Car Accident Verdicts

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A recent Jury Verdict Research (JVR) study found that the average verdict in a New York motor vehicle accident case is $837,020. The median verdict is $150,000. This data does not include defense verdicts which, if considered in the data, would obviously reduce the average award.

To be sure, $837,020 is a lot of money for the average car accident case. But you have to keep in mind that in New York because of the threshold level of injury requirement, juries are more likely to hear a serious injury case than a jury would in, say, for example, Maryland.

Rear-end accidents accounted for 21% of the successful verdicts in the study. Pedestrian lawsuits were 17% of the verdicts and intersection accidents made up 15%.

August 11, 2010

Average Jury Verdict in Pennsylvania

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The average verdict in a Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit where the jury awards damages is $749,973, according to a recent Jury Verdict Research study. The median jury verdict Pennsylvania paints a little different picture: $36,400.

July 18, 2010

Pennsylvania Malpractice Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

James A. Goodyear, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, says that because Pennsylvania doctors win a defense verdict in 85 percent of malpractice lawsuits that go to trial, it may be that “too many claims are advancing that shouldn’t.”

Alternative view: good malpractice lawsuits settle before trial.

July 15, 2010

Average Jury Verdict in Tennessee

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

According to Jury Verdict Research, the average personal injury jury verdict in Tennessee is $273,821. Using the median verdict, which deflates the impact of large verdicts, the number falls to $17,536.

John Day provides some additional data about Tennessee car accident verdicts. The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter, he reports, looked at 130 car accident lawsuits that went to trial in Tennessee. The average plaintiff’s verdict was $60,552 in the 93 (71%) lawsuits in which the plaintiff prevailed. Factoring in the losses, the average verdict was $43,318.

Average verdict statistics are interesting but, in the end, the axiom that every case is different really does ring true. Average statistics are just that, averages. If you want more information on the value of your case, call 800-553-8082 or get a free online case evaluation.

July 12, 2010

Accutane Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Accutane lawsuits arise out of the allegation that Accutane, an acne medication that has been available for almost 30 years, causes serious bowel problems, Crohn’s Disease, and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Our lawyers are reviewing these claims. For a free consultation, call 800-553-8082 or get more information online.

Accutane lawsuits have been going on for some time now. But interest in these lawsuits rose dramatically after a $25 million verdict against the manufacturer of Accutane earlier this year. The lawsuit played out like a novel. The Plaintiff got a $2.62 million verdict only to have an appellate court take away the verdict. A new jury heard the case and tacked on an additional $23 million. That is a strong message.

There are over 1,000 Accutane lawsuits now pending. If you think you may have a claim, find out if we can help you. Get a free online no obligation consultation.

July 6, 2010

Lawsuit Against Phillies’ Mascot

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Philadelphia Phillies mascot is the defendant in a lawsuit stemming from a fan’s injuries at a minor league baseball game. Plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges that the “Phillie Phanatic” climbed on top of her during a game in 2008 which causing Plaintiff arthritis to get worse which, Plaintiff believes, caused her to need a knee replacement.

Exacerbation of prior arthritis claims are incredibly tough because it so hard for the doctors to really state strong opinions as to whether a trauma accident caused her injuries to worsen. I also imagine there are liability problems. In these kinds of cases, I always fear the lawsuit is filed in part because it is a case against the Philly Phanatic and that sounds a little interesting, so let’s bring a case we otherwise would not. Again, I have no facts to support this, but it makes you wonder when you hear cases with these kinds of facts.

Lawsuits Against the Philadelphia Phillies

May 7, 2010

Car Insurance Costs in Each State

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

MSN provides the average annual premium for car insurance by state. The numbers are provided below.

The numbers are interesting for their relativity but not for their absolute values. Because the numbers are based on a male driving a 2010 vehicle with slightly better than average coverage (100 (per person)/300 (per accident)/50 (property damage). Why not shoot for a more average driver who is not driving a brand new car? These are insurance company statistics and insurance companies want us to read this and say (1) my insurance company is not charging me that much, it must be cheap, and (2) rates are high all over so we must need tort reform to lower car insurance.

With those caveats, here are the numbers:

February 15, 2010

Soft Tissue Injury Settlements

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

There is a fundamental problem with soft tissue injury cases that few plaintiffs’ lawyers will admit: some percentage of soft tissue injury plaintiffs are either completely faking the injury or exaggerating the symptoms. Maybe you are not, dear reader. But many do and the key – and the hard part – is figuring out who is who, both for lawyers considering taking a case and for judges and juries.

Whiplash Does Not Sound Like a Big Case

Make no mistake: judges, juries, and even insurance companies struggle with these cases. Whiplash. Car accident. What comes to mind when you hear these three words? Now, wait. Make sure you answer this question as you would before you got hurt. It is probably a much different answer.

December 1, 2009

Pennsylvania Personal Injury Verdicts

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A recent Jury Verdict Research study found that the median (midpoint of data, not average) jury award for personal injury trials in Pennsylvania is $40,974. Personal injury plaintiffs in Pennsylvania receive damages in 48% of tort cases that go to trial.