Important Reminder: if you currently get this blog's updates by e-mail, you need to change "carrier"; here's how to do it

Hopefully, by now you don't need this last reminder, but just in case...

In case you have missed the previous posts on this, you should know that Google has announced changes that will affect your ability to get updates by e-mail after July 1 (in two days). So if you currently get your blog stories by e-mail, this message is for you.  

I already posted about this a few days ago and what follows is essentially the same message, including information on how to sign up for updates by e-mail from different websites.  If you already signed up with one of the new services, whatever services you picked should be working already and you do not have read any further.  

So, the bad news is that Google will terminate the system they use now to send updates by e-mail.  The good news is that there are other options you can use to re-subscribe so you don't miss the blog's content.  

Please take a minute to select a new e-mail delivery service so you don't risk missing content.  It really takes only a few minutes.  I explain how to do it in detail below.  Feel free to contact me by e-mail if you need more information.

As you know, there are two main ways in which readers can get updates when I post new stories.  One is to add the blog to a “news aggregator” such as “Feedly” which is the one I use myself to collect the stories from all the blogs I follow.  The changes announced by Google will NOT affect the use of an aggregator.

The other way to keep up with the new stories is to subscribe by email and that is the system Google is going to eliminate in two days.

So, if you want to continue receiving your updates by e-mail, you will need to sign up using a different service, and below I will describe two options in detail.  

The first option is Blogtrottr.  This is the easiest to set up BUT when you get the e-mail message with the blog stories, there will be a big ad at the top and another at the bottom.  I don't like ads, so this is not my preferred way to subscribe.  If you don't mind the ads, then feel free to sign up for the updates this way.  If you don't want ads, I recommend a service called Follow it.  It has ads but they appear at the bottom of the message and are not intrusive.

I also prefer Follow-it because you can set it up as a news aggregator just like Feedly.  So it is both an email subscription service and a news aggregator in one.  Here is what you need to do to sign up.  It only takes a few minutes but there are a few steps.  (I will also explain how to set up Blogtrottr below).

To sign up for email update through Follow it, here is what you need to do:

Go to https://follow.it/intro where you will see this page:

Click on "No, I am a reader..."  This will take you to this page:

Here, type in his blog's address (https://bernabetorts.blogspot.com/) in the blank (as shown) and hit Go.  This will bring you to this page:

These are the different options on how to follow the blog.  If you want only one message per day with all the stories published the previous day, choose the first box (maroon) that says "Newspaper" by email.  If you want to use Follow it as a news aggregator, click on the purple box that says "News page."  You can sign up for more than one option.

Once you pick your options click on Follow it, and this will bring you to another page with more options

As you can see, these are optional, so you can decide what to do there.  I did not select any of these.  

Once you are done with all this, you will get a message by email asking you to confirm.  Make sure you do so because otherwise you will not be signed up and won't get the email updates.  If you don't get the message right away, make sure you check your junk or spam folder just in case.

The other option is easier to set up, but, as I said before, the e-mail messages you will get will have ads.  If you don't mind that, here is what you need to do: 

Go to Blogtrottr.com , where you will see this page 

Once there, enter the URL for this blog (https://bernabetorts.blogspot.com/) in the first blank on the left (where you see "http://").

Then enter your email address in the blank in the middle.

Then select how you want the updates to be delivered by clicking on the drop down menu on the left, where it says "realtime".  Realtime means you will get a message by email the moment I post something.  This means you will get multiple messages if I publish more than one story on any given day.  Click on the down arrow to see the other options.  If you want only one message per day (if there is new content) pick the daily digest option.

Once you have filled out these blanks, click on "Feed me".  That will take you to this page:

Pick one of the two options (I picked the one that says Feed Type: RSS) and you will then get a message by email asking you to confirm your subscription.  Check your junk or spam folder if you don't see it right away and make sure you follow the instructions to confirm.  You won't get the updates unless you do so.

I hope this message helps you figure out how to re-subscribe so you continue to get the email updates you are used to.  There may be other options out there that I am not aware of too.  These two are the two I know of.  I tried them both and they work well.  I prefer Follow it for the reasons stated above but they both work.  

Please let me know by email or by leaving a comment here if I can help you make the transition.  

Finally, some changes to the Feres Doctrine!

In Feres v US, the US Supreme Court expanded the interpretation of one of the exception to the Federal Torts Claims Act resulting in a ban on any claim for any injury suffered while the plaintiff is in military service (active or otherwise).  This has resulted in findings that members of the military can't sue for injuries caused by medical personnel. The debate over whether the Feres Doctrine should be abandoned has raged ever since.  For all the stories I have published over the years on the Feres Doctrine, go here.)

There have been many attempts to eliminate or at least to change the effect of the Feres doctrine over the years, and Justice Clarence Thomas recently expressed his support for change.  But all attempts had failed, Until now.  

Thus I am happy to report that the Defense Department has published a new rule governing how uniformed service members or their representatives can file claims against the military for medical malpractice.  This new rule states that (subject to some exceptions)

"A substantiated claim under $100,000 will be paid directly to the member or his/her estate by the [Department of Defense (DoD)]. The Treasury Department will review and pay claims that the Secretary of Defense values at more than $100,000. Service members must present a claim that is received by DoD within two years after the claim accrues."

However, it must be noted that the rule does not allow for judicial review of adjudicated claims, and that, therefore, their settlement will be "final and conclusive."

So, it while it is a good thing that plaintiffs will have the chance to recover for their injuries, the remedy provided is still short of the recognition of a possible judicially resolved tort claim.  

For more information, you can go to Military.com, Stars and Stripes and the NY Personal Injury Law Blog.

Supreme Court rules that Alien Tort Statute can't be used against defendants for conduct that happens overseas

Long time readers of this blog know I have followed the cases on the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) for some time.  For my posts on this topic, go here and scroll down.

The last time I posted something about the ATS was back in November of 2019, when I reported on a case against Nestle and Cargill alleging that the defendants aided and abetted in human rights violations by farmers in the Ivory Coast.  Back then the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a lawsuit filed by citizens of Mali who, as children, worked on Ivory Coast cocoa farms should be permitted to go forward under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS).  You can read that post here.

That case was appealed to the Supreme Court and the Court issued its opinion just a few days ago reversing the Circuit Court, by a vote of 8-1, because the lawsuit was based on conduct that occurred overseas. 

Evidently, the decision was a victory for the defendants, but it was not what the business community and the Washington Legal Foundation really wanted because the opinion left open for another day the question of whether the federal law at the heart of the case allows lawsuits against U.S. corporations to begin with.  (I comment on the WLF position in my post linked above.)  

You can read more about the case and the Court's opinion on the SCOTUS blog, Politico, and Howe on the Court.

Snapchat Ends 'Speed Filter' That Critics Say Encouraged Reckless Driving

 Last month I reported that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had issued an opinion holding that the parents of a teenager killed in a traffic accident could sue Snapchat based on the argument that Snapchat's speed filter entices young people to drive at astounding speeds.

Today I am writing about this because NPR is reporting that Snapchat is eliminating a feature known as the "speed filter" that lets users capture how fast they are moving and share it with friends. 

You can read the story on NPR here.

Trial related to destroyed frozen embryos raises interesting questions -- UPDATED again

This story is updated below, at the end of the original post

I just read a story on Courthouse News on a trial in which the plaintiffs are suing the manufacturer of cryogenic tanks that somehow failed causing the destruction of thousands of frozen eggs and embryos, which according to the plaintiffs dashed some families’ only hope of having biological children.

The plaintiffs' claim is for product liability based on the alleged defective design of the tanks.  The defendant, however, is apparently going to argue that the tank's failure was due to the misuse of the product by the Fertility Center which used it.  This is the first interesting point in the case because that argument is essentially claiming that the conduct of the Fertility Clinic was an unforeseeable intervening (and therefore superseding) cause.  

Yet, the most interesting question raised by this case relates to the injuries claimed by the plaintiffs.  The story states that the claims "for the loss of eggs and embryos" were sent to private arbitration.

So, my first question is what is a claim for the "loss of" the eggs and embryos?   I am assuming "embryos" refers to fertilized eggs, while eggs are not fertilized.  If that is the case, there can be no claim for wrongful death for the loss of the eggs in any jurisdiction I know of.  And for the loss of the embryos, there can be a wrongful death claim only in jurisdictions that recognize that life begins at conception for purposes of the wrongful death act.  So I wonder if the claim is not for wrongful death but for something else?  Is it just a contracts dispute then?  I just don' know.

On the other hand, maybe the claim is for emotional distress, but that claim would depend on the jurisdiction's approach to those claims?  If the jurisdiction requires impact, I don't think there is support for the claim, for example.  Also, the facts don't seem to fit a claim for emotional distress of a bystander.  

Since the case is already at trial, I guess these questions were resolved already through motions to dismiss, etc.  But I wonder what the answers are.  

UPDATE May 30, 2021:  Courthouse News is following the trial closely.  This week they published the following stories:

On May 26:  Lab Workers Were ‘Devastated’ by Tank Failure That Destroyed Human Embryos

On May 27:  Tank Manufacturer Accuses Fertility Clinic of Falsifying Data in Frozen Eggs Trial 

June 6: Fertility Patients Describe Sadness and Anger After Freezer Tank Failure

June 9: Jurors Asked to Award $30 Million for Lost Eggs and Embryos

June 10: Jury Finds Tank Maker Responsible for Lost Eggs and Embryos, Awards $15 Million

June 12: Loss of Embryos and Eggs at Fertility Clinic Leads to Groundbreaking Multi-Million Dollar Verdict in California

June 20: $15 Million Verdict Against IVF Cryopreservation Tank Maker Is Big News

All those attempts to get immunity for coronavirus related injuries are paying off now

About 200 lawsuits in nearly half the states have been filed against nursing homes, and many more are expected.  Patient advocates contend that some nursing homes were negligent in their handling of the virus, pointing to the industry’s documented history of problems with infection control. Unfortunately, the nursing home industry spent at least $4 million lobbying Congress and statehouses to grant expanded protections, arguing that they faced shortages of personal protective equipment and shifting guidance from the federal government on battling the virus.

This is a battle that we all saw coming a mile away.  Back in May of last year, I published a comment in which I argued that granting blanket immunity related to COVID-19 injuries is a bad idea and later, I published links to other articles (here, here, here, here, here and here).

Politico has the latest here.

ALI adopts Restatement Third on Intentional torts to persons

Last week, at the ALI's Annual Meeting, the membership approved the Restatement (Third) of Torts:  Intentional Torts to Persons.  The ALI's press release is here.

Parents of teen who committed suicide sue Snapchat and other "apps" developers

A few days ago I posted a news story about a decision against Snapchat.  Yesterday, I posted a story about a new decision involving a suicide.  Tragically, today's story combines both themes.

Law & Crime is reporting that the mother of a teenager who took his own life after months of online harassment is suing Snapchat and the makers of third-party anonymous messaging apps YOLO and LMK, alleging that the products violated consumer protection laws by failing to comply with their own terms of service that promise safeguards against cyberbullying.

You can read more on the story and the complaint itself here.

Court in Alabama holds suicide is not a superseding cause

In many other jurisdictions, a decedent's conduct in committing suicide is considered a superseding cause, presumably based on the notion that it is always unforeseeable that someone would commit suicide. 

But we all know that this statement is simply not true.  Depending on the circumstances, whether someone might commit suicide is as foreseeable as any other intervening event.  And, for that reason, it is not convincing to hold as a matter of law that suicide is always unforeseeable.  Yet, that is what many courts do.

I am writing about this today because I just read in Courthouse News that an appeals court in Alabama recently ruled that a man accused of sexually assaulting a college student who later killed herself can be sued for wrongful death, finding that suicide arising from an alleged sexual assault does not “absolve the alleged assailant of liability.”

The case is Rondini v. Bunn and you can read the decision here.

Federal judge orders NFL and players to mediation to address concern over racist methodology when calculating compensation for players - UPDATED

March 13, 2021

There are some good news and some bad news related to the lawsuit against the NFL seeking compensation for players related to concussions and other injuries.  

The good news is that the judge overseeing the litigation has ordered the parties to revise the compensation methodology to address serious concerns over "race norming" which results in lower compensation for black athletes.  The judge stated that “the Court . . . remains concerned” about the race-based formula used to measure cognitive impairment to determine eligibility for compensation.

The bad news is that the judge took the issue out of the courtroom and sent it to mediation.  As stated by the lawyer who represents some of the retired players, this means that the court's proposed solution is to order the very parties who created the discriminatory system to negotiate a fix while apparently excluding  some of the players affected by it.  

As you may know, the NFL had agreed to a settlement with retired players, but at some point later several players filed a lawsuit attacking the terms of the settlement, at least in part based on allegations of "race norming" in the process used to determine the proper compensation for players.  It is this lawsuit that the federal judge dismissed as “an improper attack on the Settlement Agreement.” 

You can read more about the story here and here.

The Nation has a good short op-ed piece on the topic here, which explains how the notion of "race norming" has changed over time.

In this story from ABC news you can also access a 11 minute video from the TV show Nightline.

 

Here is the key part of the story:

At the crux of the controversy is the fact that the NFL's concussion settlement program manual recommends the use of a "full demographic correction," in which a player's cognitive test scores are compared to average scores, or "norms," for similar demographic groups, and then adjusted to account for expected differences in age, gender, education -- and race. 

The practice of adjusting test scores for race, widely known as "race-norming," is in use across several different medical fields as a supposed safeguard against misdiagnosis. But because these "norms," as used in a neuropsychology context, assume that the average Black player starts at a lower level of cognitive functioning than the average white player at the outset of their careers, Black players need to show larger cognitive declines than white players to qualify for compensation. 

. . . . 

In response to questions from ABC News, an NFL spokesperson issued a statement in February saying that . . . "[t]he settlement seeks to provide accurate examinations to retired players," . . ."and thus permits, but does not require, independent clinicians to consider race in adjusting retired players' test scores as they would in their typical practice." 

But in email correspondence obtained by ABC News, those same clinicians appear to disagree. One bemoaned their possible complicity in a system that perpetuated "racial inequity" in payouts. 

 . . . . 

"Bottom line is that the norms do discriminate against Black players," [one] clinician wrote. "So now what? In this time of reckoning, like many professions, I think we need to look closely at the expected and unexpected ramifications of our practices." 

 And a dataset shared exclusively with ABC News suggests that race-based adjustments could have a significant impact on payouts. 

 At the request of an attorney who represents several former NFL players, a neuropsychologist who has evaluated former NFL players under the concussion settlement program recently rescored the results of cognitive tests from a group of 94 Black former players. . . . When the clinician interpreted the test scores as if those former players had been white, 34 of them met the criteria to receive payouts through the program. When the clinician applied the recommended demographic correction to those same scores, however, only 10 of those same players qualified.

 

UPDATE May 17, 2021:  Courthouse News has a new story on this topic here.

UPDATE October 21, 2021:  NFL changes its position on race norming