Palsgraf v Long Island RR revisited (with Legos)

Thanks to Brian Bendoff and Leigh Harmon for the link

Indiana OSHA says there is no evidence of negligence in accident during Transformers movie

The Chicago Personal Injury Blog is reporting that although the lawsuit filed against the producers of the film "Transformers 3" on behalf of an extra who was severely injured during the filming of a stunt is still moving ahead, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has called the accident "unforeseeable" and cleared the producers of violating workplace safety rules. For more on the story go here and here. I am not sure the use of the term "unforseeable" is accurate here since what the Agency concluded was that those in charge of the film were not negligent. In other words, to the extent that the Agency's ruling relates to the elements of a tort action, the ruling is really that there was no breach, not that there is no foreseeability, a term that is usually used to refer to proximate cause or duty.

Interesting trivia I learned today

Here is a little bit of interesting trivia I learned today: William Marston (the “father” of the modern day polygraph), is credited as the creator of the systolic blood pressure test used in an attempt to detect deception, which became one component of the modern polygraph. Under the pseudonym Charles Moulton, he created “Wonder Woman” whose magic lasso requires those bound by it to tell the truth. For more information on comic books and law go to the Abnormal Use Law Blog. Most Fridays, they feature a classic comic book cover with a law related theme.

Jury finds Johnson & Johnson liable and orders it to pay $258 Million for misleading marketing of a drug

A Louisiana jury has issued a $257.7 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson for misleading Louisiana doctors about the possible side effects of one of its anti-psychotic medications. For more on this story go to AboutLawsuits.com or Law.com.

Thousands of complaints vs Bayer claim injuries caused by Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella

About 4,200 people have filed lawsuits claiming they suffered severe, and sometimes fatal, injuries due to side effects of the birth control pills Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella. Go here for the full story.

Risk still present even after Meridia is taken off the market

A few days ago, I posted a note asking whether the FDA had waited too long try to get Meridia off the market. See here. Now, AboutLawsuits.com is reporting the question might actually be moot since many unregulated dietary supplements appear to use bibutramine, the active ingredient in Meridia, including in some that do not list it as an ingredient. Go here for the full story.

New study concludes ATV accidents are more likely to be fatal than motorcycle accidents

I often use hypos involving ATVs and motorcycles in my torts class. So, my students may find it interestint to know that a new report announced at an annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons this month found that victims of an ATV accident were 50 percent more likely to die than victims of a motorcycle accident, even when the severity of the injuries appeared to be the same. Go here for the full story.

Report rates the USA last in "access to justice"

The World Justice Project issued a new report today ranking the “rule of law” in 35 countries, including the United States. Go here for a copy of the full report. One of the four “universal principles” WJP examined was “access to justice,” defined as “access to legal representation and access to the courts,” calling these principles a “critical cornerstone for the implementation of policies and rights that empower the poor.” The US civil justice system was found to have less access to justice than in countries in Western Europe and North America as a whole, and other “high income” nations throughout the world. In fact, overall, the U.S. ranks last (7 out of 7) in the region, and last (11 out of 11) among high-income nations. "Tort reform" is one important cause of the poor U.S. ranking, of course, but not the only one. Lack of adequate funding for legal service programs is certainly a huge part of it too. Thanks to the PopTort for the information and links. For its full comment go here.

Recent case to illustrate issues on the traditional rule on (no) duty to help

Here are some links to a recently reported story about a CVS pharmacist who refused to sell an asthma inhaler to a customer even though she was having an attack at the moment because the customer was just over a dollar short. Could CVS be liable for it under the common law? No. (There may be some special statute that applies to a situation like that but I don't know of any.) What about other customers? Assume other people were around and did not offer to help. Could they be liable?  The Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Blog has a good comment about the case here, and there is more on the story here and here.

TV segment on Bruesewitz v. Wyeth

Go here for the argument recap by the SCtUS blog on Bruesewitz v. Wyeth. Here is a video of a segment from PBS News Hour commenting on the case: