Ky. Lawmakers Didn't Consult Federal Experts About Limiting Black Lung Claims

A few days ago I reported that the Legislature in Kentucky had approved a measure to prevent federally-certified radiologists from judging X-rays in state black lung compensation claims, leaving diagnoses of the disease mostly to physicians who typically work for coal companies.

NPR is now reporting that the federal agency that trains, tests and certifies the physicians who read X-rays and diagnose black lung disease not consulted by Kentucky lawmakers in the 14 months they considered the new law.

This is a terrible law enacted to please the coal companies because black lung claims in Kentucky have risen about 40 percent since 2014. It should be repealed.

NPR has the story and more information on the reactions to the law by different groups including radiologists, the College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the Kentucky Workers Association, among others.

Kentucky enacts law to make it more difficult for plaintiffs to recover for black lung disease

A measure signed into law in Kentucky this past week would prevent federally-certified radiologists from judging X-rays in state black lung compensation claims, leaving diagnoses of the disease mostly to physicians who typically work for coal companies.

This is outrageous.  Whether a person should be allowed to appear as an expert in a case should be left to the application of the rules of procedure and evidence.  What the legislature has done here is simply interfere with the process in order to favor defendants. 

You can read the full story here.

Scientific study on banana peels wins Ig Nobel Prize

Torts professors and students who cover classic cases like Goddard and Anjou to discuss how to use direct and circumstantial evidence to prove the elements of a cause of action, might be interested in this story on the Ig Nobel prizes published by Smithsonian magazine a few days ago.  The Ig Nobel prizes are awarded to researchers whose work highlights the surprisingly practical implications of ridiculous sounding scientific research.

The 2014 awards were handed out at Harvard University about a week ago and the prize for physics was awarded to a study on the frictional coefficient of banana peels.  In other words, a study on how slippery banana peels really are. And, according to the study, it turns out that banana peels are especially slippery, even when compared to other fruits' peels, because of polysaccharide molecules in the peel.  More importantly, the study will help with the design of better prosthetics.

Another chapter in the story about doctors who testify for insurance companies

Here is an entertaining transcript of the cross examination of a doctor who testified as to the standard of the profession in a case, only that he admitted the standard he was using was not set by the profession but based on what the insurance company that was paying his fees told him.  The transcript of the cross examination gives you a very good example of how to handle a witness like that.