Archives

Categories

Registration

Resources

Archive for January, 2011

Putting the Conversation with the Defense Lawyer in Writing

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

It seems like Lawyer 101 advice: if you are making an agreement with the opposing lawyer, get it in writing.

Few lawyers do it. There are two reasons for this. The first is laziness. If this is your problem, this blog post will not help.

But I think another reason personal injury lawyers sometimes do not send letters memorializing agreements is that they feel like it is almost a breach of the trust between counsel. We all know some defense lawyers who would shoot their own mother in the head for the slightest of advantages. It is easy to send a confirmation letter to that lawyer. (You should not even be talking to that guy on the phone.) But what about when you like and trust the other lawyer? You feel a little like a jerk sending out an "I'm writing to summarize our agreement today" letter, don't you?

Do it anyway. First, people just forget. Defense lawyers are often juggling a lot of different cases. They don't remember half of the agreements they made so the lawyer might honestly not remember. Also, even good people have selective memories sometimes. The selective memory comes out in the heat of competition and the heat of battle, particularly during or before trial when the adjuster and/or in-house lawyer supervising the case begin to take a closer look at the file.

You should practice as if any agreement not in writing will only be enforced if it hurts your case.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

Trusting Your Attorney

Monday, January 10th, 2011

With so many lawyers out there, you may be wondering how to choose lawyers in Utah for your immediate needs. Perhaps the single most important criteria in choosing the right criminal defense lawyer for you and your situation is “trust.” Considering that this may be your very first contact with or need for a criminal defense lawyer, how can you possibly know which one to trust?

So the question is, what should I look for in a criminal attorney? How can you possibly trust someone you have just met with an event that could very well shape your future? A good starting point would be looking at how many others have trusted this attorney in the past. Go online, look around at their reviews, if someone has been unsatisfied with their work in the past, it will undoubtedly be there. Next, just go into their office and chat with them, you can generally tell how much someone cares by simply having a conversation.

On the unequal playing field of a criminal defense case, the law entitles an accused individual to a defense lawyer. This is the only person who is on your side who is within the legal system. While the rest of society may have already drawn its own conclusions as to the guilt of the accused, it is the defense attorneys duty to have complete confidence in the truth of what their client tells them. This presumption of innocence will dictate that no person can be convicted of an offense until guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Your Utah county attorney will do everything within the bounds of the law to defend their client. They will always stand up and fight for the rights of their client. This loyalty a criminal defense lawyer has to his client is not a persona choice, but a duty they have vowed to fulfill. This unwavering loyalty is a very important component, and is extremely essential to someone trusting their lawyer.

Ivie & Young
226 West 2230 North
Provo, UT 84603
Ph: 801-375-3000

No Ordinary Dentist – Arthur Glosman, DDS

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Dr. Arthur Glosman is no ordinary dentist. As a young man, Arthur Glosman studied beauty in all of its forms, from classic sculptures to natural shapes and the history of art, he has learned the ins and outs of what it takes to construct beauty.

The desire for furthering his skill led Dr. Glosman, DDS to travel across the world, most notably in Europe. A fluent speaker of Russian, having been flown there privately to perform work on many high-profile patients, his heritage lies in health care. His grandparents were physicians, his father and sister are also practicing dentists, and his wife is a pharmacist.

Always looking for new and improved ways to bring out a beautiful smile, Arthur Glosman is continually exploring new practices in cosmetic dentistry. After graduating from USC’s prestigious dental school, his travels landed him studying extensively at the Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies with a concentration in cosmetic dentistry; specifically in porcelain veneers, metal-fre crowns and bridges, and smile makeover. Everything he has done, he has done for those who look to give the best first impression to the world than anyone can give, a bright and shiny smile.

Dr. Arthur Glosman, DDS
414 N. Camden Drive Suite 940
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Ph: (310) 273-2215
Fax: (310) 271-0584

Today’s Stories

Monday, January 10th, 2011

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

  • Top 5 Stories of the Week (Maryland Daily Record)
  • Editorial: Judges shouldn't be able to toss out verdicts on a whim. The writer is talking about the criminal case involving the death of Anna Nicole Smith... I am sorry... former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. Apparently, even after her death, she needs a salacious lead in for her name. Anyway, the problem is one man's whim is another man's deeply help principle )
  • "Social media is seriously threatening the impartiality of juries." It is a problem. No doubt. But let's not overstate the case. I think justice will survive Twitter and Facebook.
  • Joint tortfeasor releases in Maryland medical malpractice cases. I think 1% of Maryland tort lawyer lawyers understand joint torfeasor releases
  • Oh, my, speaking of hyperbole, check out this one: Medical Malpractice Causing Threat For The Civilization. This is a new blog. The smart money: it won't last.
  • Overlawyered writes about tow truck scams. The Maryland Accident Lawyer wrote about this last month.
  • Albuterol recall last week.
  • A Chamber of Commerce files yet another lawsuit. Man, they file a lot of lawsuits.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

Presentation Calendar - inspiration for each month

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

By Amazing Firms Amazing Practices, Gerry Riskin.

 

Make your presentations far more effective by drawing on the fabulous ideas in this presentation calendar

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

Res Ipsa and Medical Malpractice?

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

Los Angeles County has settled a medical malpractice lawsuit with a patient at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center who claimed that one of her blood vessels was punctured by a catheter tip during a medical procedure. The woman suffered further complications from the injury but was released a few days later.

This is from the article I read:

    County officials said they believed they cared for the patient properly but would be hampered in court by the Res Ipsa Loquitur doctrine. The doctrine says an entity is presumed to be negligent if it had “exclusive control of whatever caused the injury even though there is no specific evidence of an act of negligence, and without negligence the accident would not have happened,” according to the website law.com.

Res ipsa loquitur in this medical malpractice case? What on earth are they talking about? I'm not saying res ipsa can never be applied in a malpractice case (read Orkin v. Holy Cross Hosp, Inc., 318 Md. 429 (1990) but that's a pretty big matzah ball to leave hanging out there. You are the Los Angeles Times. Tell us a little more than that.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

Insurance Bad Faith Average Verdicts

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

A punitive damage award for an insurance company's bad faith? It is a foreign concept for Maryland lawyers. But not for much of the rest of the country. A recent Jury Verdict Research study found that over the last twelve years, 32% of bad faith verdicts throughout the country led to a punitive damage award. The average bad faith punitive damage award was $6,951,219; the median award was $1,000,000.

The fact that Maryland does not allow for punitive damages in bad faith claims is sort of like my poor vertical jumping ability. I'm generally not that mad about it because it is all that I have ever known. I have never been able to jump high (I could never even dunk a tennis ball) and I've never practiced where there was a potential for any real punitive damages in the types of cases we handle. But I definitely get "punitive damage envy" reading a study like this. Because it is a great tool in keeping insurance companies honest.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

Today’s Links

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

Quick set of links today:

  • U.S. District Court Judge Roger W. Titus awarded - I guess on summary judgment - $3.8 million to former University of Maryland linebacker Shawne Merriman. The defendants in this case were former Duke basketball players Christian Laettner and Brian Davis and their company, BD Ventures. This must be the headline: Maryland beat Duke.

  • The Drug and Device Law Blog has a title that got my attention: Yet Another Reason to Hate Insurance Companies. Finally, these guys see the light. Tune in tomorrow when they turn on their pharmaceutical drug clients. It will be like when Al Pacino turns on John Forsythe in And Justice for All. Sadly, when I googled John Forsythe to check the spelling, I found out he died in April. I always liked that guy.

  • Fortune profiles Chief Justice John Roberts. My first off campus law interview was with Justice Roberts when he was at Hogan & Hartson. True story. Let's just say I didn't get an offer and I doubt there was a lot of inner office debate about it. And I don't want to talk about it anymore.

  • The Drug Recall Lawyer Blog has a ton of links for today

  • Maryland is ranked 9th in seat belt usage

  • Governor O’Malley will not seat Ramona Moore Baker on the Orphans’ Court of Baltimore City — even though she was elected to the bench in November - because she is not a lawyer. I'm sure it is the right call but it is certainly funny that you can be on the Supreme Court of the United States without being a lawyer but you can't be an Orphans' Court judge.

Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

New Blog Resolution

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

I spend way too much time reading personal injury related blogs and news. My first resolution this year should probably be to do this less. But it's actually productive in that I see new law and new developments and I'm pretty sure it makes me a better lawyer. So instead of resolving in 2011 to read less, I am going to provide more of what I find out there in the way of round-up posts. I'm going to try to provide commentary at least for some of the stories/blogs but sometimes it is going to be just the links. I'm going to look at Google Analytics and see if you are reading these round-up posts. If you are, I'm going to keep doing it. If not, it will disappear into the night.

  • Nevada Court Upholds $32 Million Verdict in Goodyear Case (Tire Review). This wrongful death case involved the discovery sanction of not being able to put on a liability defense at trial. Goodyear was precluded from arguing that the tire at issue was not defective or that the tire did not cause the motorcycle accident. I'm not sure of the details, I know Goodyear did not post for a deposition and the sanction was given in the middle of a three-week trial. I'm a big fan of plaintiffs' verdicts but it does seem like an extreme sanction. Like the Maryland case I wrote about earlier today, this case also involved the question of whether a full hearing was required specifically to strike Goodyear's liability defense. (You can read the opinion here.)
  • Several Accutane Lawsuits to Go to Trial in 2011 (Drug Watch). You can't watch Squawk Box in the morning without seeing a dozen Accutane lawsuit commercials. It's even more annoying than sneaking an "Accutane lawsuit" link into a blog post.
  • Driver who flashed headlights to warn fellow motorists of speed trap hauled to court and fined for 'obstructing police' (Dailymail.co.uk). I did this all of the time when I was a kid and thought it was very cool. Driver solidarity. Now I'm hoping they catch the guy.
  • Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.

    New Expert Designations Opinion

    Monday, January 3rd, 2011

    By Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog.

    Last week, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals decided Logan v. LSP Marketing, a lead paint case in Baltimore City.

    In this case, Plaintiff did not answer discovery. Defense lawyers, who I believe were the Leder Law Group in D.C., filed a motion to compel. In what is regrettably a common practice in Maryland, the motion to compel got Plaintiff to answer the discovery and their response was "hey, this is moot, we answered now." Defendant's counsel, to their credit, wrote a reply saying the answers were insufficient in part because Plaintiff wrote garden variety broad designations of experts. The motion was granted but a more detailed expert designation never came.

    So before trial, Defendant sought to strike the experts. Baltimore City Judge Kaye A. Allison struck Plaintiff's experts from testifying at trial. When the case went to trial, Judge John P. Miller denied the motion to reconsider Judge Allison's motion. Which left Plaintiff with no case and Judge Miller granted Defendant's motion for summary judgment.

    Originally posted at Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. Please visit http://www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com/.