Vested Interest - Tort Briefs - January/February 2004 Issue

Estate Reaches Settlement with Radiologist

The estate of a 45-year-old female smoker who died from inoperable lung cancer in 1999 has reached a settlement with the radiologist who read a chest X-ray two years before the condition was diagnosed and with the hospital that the radiologist said should have provided the previous X-rays for comparison. The attorney for the woman’s estate said the radiologist should have detected the cancer in 1997, when it was small enough to be removed surgically. The hospital denied any liability, claiming that it did not provide the previous X-ray films because they were unavailable. (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – November 18, 2003)

Field Test of New Football Helmets

Schutt Sports of Litchfield, Illinois, unveiled its new, specially padded helmet during the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. The changes were triggered by ongoing NFL- and NCAA-sponsored studies into concussions. Schutt has high hopes for its new DNA helmet, which replaces traditional foam cushioning with shock-absorbing pads also used in Army paratrooper helmets and on decks of military boats to soften the blow of riding at high speeds in rough water. Schutt says the DNA pads absorb shock better than a much thicker layer of foam, leaving room for traditional padding to make the helmet comfortable. (Chicago Sun-Times – December 3, 2003)

Secret Things

A state appeals court in Florida has dealt a blow to the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Jones v. Goodyear by ruling that Goodyear design secrets uncovered in a product liability lawsuit can be disseminated to the public to protect consumer safety. But the Akron-based tire company continues to fight to keep that information confidential. The case illustrates the continuing battle between corporate defendants and plaintiffs lawyers over dissemination of potentially damaging design and manufacturing information in product liability lawsuits. Companies fear that dissemination of such information on national electronic databases will hurt them in future lawsuits. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 4, 2003)

Gun Makers Can Be Sued By Crime Victims

Gun manufacturers and distributors can be sued for negligence and "public nuisance" by relatives of murder victims for making guns widely available to criminals, the 9th Circuit has ruled, becoming the first circuit to allow such a claim to proceed. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 11, 2003)

Judge Sides With Doctors Over Insurers

Lawyers for 700,000 doctors claimed a victory in a long-running lawsuit against six big managed-care companies after a federal judge upheld the doctors’ right to seek damages under the federal antiracketeering law. A Federal District Court judge in Miami, ruled that the California and Texas medical associations, which filed the suit on behalf of the nation’s doctors, had legal standing to ask him to require the companies to change business practices under the RICO Act. The doctors contend that the health insurance companies regularly cut back on payments for medical services and often refused to permit the doctors to carry out the procedures they thought best. Two companies settled with the doctors and withdrew from the suit earlier. Aetna agreed to pay the plaintiffs $120 million, and Cigna agreed to pay $85 million. Both companies said they would make changes in operating practices demanded by the doctors. (ATLA Law News Digest – December 11, 2003)