Blog

The following is an article that appeared in the May 7, 2007 Los Angeles Times reporting that an appeals court is hearing a case regarding Blue Shield retroactively cancelling the medical insurance policy of a self-employed machinist who was badly injured in an auto accident. The article reports that the case could affect hundreds of suits challenging such cancellations as illegal and unfair. LOS ANGELES TIMES INSURANCE Halted health coverage suit may be far-reaching An appeals court will weigh Blue Shield’s retroactive cancellation of a car-crash patient. By Lisa Girion Times Staff Writer May 7, 2007 A 2001 car accident… Read More

Today’s Consumer Law and Policy Blog refers to a Washington Post article published on May 6, 2007 aimed at illuminating strategies that borrowers and mortgage lenders might employ to avoid foreclosure.  The article entitled Fighting to Keep The Roof On  discusses the fact that lenders are willing to work with borrowers.  Restructuring the loan may benefit both the borrower and the lender because it is much less costly for the lender to restructure than to foreclose.  The lenders are in the business of lending not foreclosing and selling the property so, when feasible, they would prefer to keep the homeowner in their home.

A question that is frequently asked by people who have been in automobile accidents is “What is the difference between rental and loss of use?” Jonathan G. Stein of the California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog answered this question by using the following illustration: Okay, so your car is damaged in a car accident. You can’t drive it and it is in the shop. You think you are entitled to a rental car (because you read this blog, you know you are entitled to a rental car). But what about loss of use? What the heck do you get? This is pretty easy. If… Read More

Texas Attorney Bob Kraft’s P.I.S.S.D. Blog (Personal Injury, Social Security Disability), a blog to which I subscribe, posted a list of links to some very useful resources for information on Child Safety Seats. Thank you, Bob, for the posting. I’m relisting the links here: American Academy of Pediatrics — Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2007 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Child Safety Seat Information Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — Partners for Child Passenger Safety Safe Kids Worldwide — Child Passenger Safety Safety Belt Safe — Safe Ride Helpline for Child Passenger Safety I’m adding the following links: California Highway Patrol — Child Safety Seats Save… Read More

Below is an article that was posted in the South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog on April 26, 2007: From the American Association for Justice: A bogus study released today by the national Chamber of Commerce claiming to rank so-called “anti-business” state legal systems is yet another baseless attack on the nation’s civil justice system in its campaign to eliminate corporate accountability for wrongdoing and negligence. “This latest propaganda is a made-up survey primarily of corporate lawyers earning millions of dollars defending their CEOs from being held accountable,” said Jon Haber, chief executive officer of the American Association for Justice. “The Chamber will stop at nothing to destroy… Read More

Using Cruise Control on slippery roads is fraught with danger. The website truthorfiction.com relates the following: “We checked with the departments of transportation for Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Washington State as well as visiting several websites of other states and the consensus is clear: Don’t use cruise control during winter conditions such as when it is snowing or icy or under other slippery conditions such as when it is raining.”

My South Dakota colleague, John R. Hughes, a plaintiff’s attorney and, dare I say, fine plaintiff’s advocate, represented a woman in a serious gynecological medical malpractice case. Due to the many, many misrepresentations during closing arguments by the defense attorney representing the doctor and facility, the jury came back in favor of the defendants within one hour. The verdict was appealed and the Supreme Court of South Dakota granted a new trial based on the outrageous conduct of the defense attorney. Click here to read the facts of the case and full decision in LUCILLE SCHOON and JOHN SCHOON, a husband and wife,… Read More

The Public Citizen’s Consumer Justice Project publishes an incredible blog called Consumer Law & Policy Blog which has articles related to consumer safety, dangerous products, class actions, consumer lending and much, much more. The blog caught my eye with a recent posting which discusses Dangerous Kitchen Stoves — in essence, there are 15-20 million lightweight stoves currently in use in the United States which pose a danger “because they are so light-weight, have a tendency to tip over and maim and kill consumers” with the potential of causing great personal injury to their users. I urge you to view the informative Consumer Law & Policy… Read More

A skier has been awarded $14 million after being paralyzed in a fall from a ski jump at the Summit at Snoqualmie. In February 2004, Kenny Salvini of Lake Tapps fell 37 feet from a jump at Central Terrain Park and maintained by Ski Lifts, Inc. A King County jury on Friday found that the operator failed to take safety into consideration at its Summit West terrain park and therefore was partially responsible for the crash. The full jury award was for about $31 million, but that amount was decreased to $14 million after calculating “the comparative fault” of Salvini… Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor has a great website advising both employers and employees in the area of overtime pay. The FLSA Overtime Calculator Advisor provides information and links to guide you. Here’s a snip-it from their introduction page: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that covered, nonexempt employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked and receive overtime pay at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. FLSA overtime pay is due on the regular pay day for the period in which the overtime… Read More