You Stole My Wife!

Alienation of affections is a rare legal cause of action that allows one to sue another for luring his or her spouse away. Tennessee no longer recognizes this cause of action. Mississippi, however, still does, to wit:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21529255/

Mississippi Court of Appeals' Web Site

The status of the Mississippi Court of Appeals' opinion I posted on October 16, 2007 can be checked here:

http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/GeneralDocket/default.asp

The "Case Year:" is 2006 and the "Case Seq:" is 00385.

FYI: Mississippi's Rule 411 of Evidence is substantially similar to Tennessee's Rule 411.

Update on Mississippi Case

I promised you an update on Wells v. Tucker, No. 2006-CA-00385-COA (Miss. Ct. App. Sept. 4, 2007). Per the Mississippi Appellate Court Clerk's Office, a motion for rehearing is pending. I will let you know more as soon as I find out.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. The Wells case was in my Oct. 16, 2007 post.

Health Cost Controls Inc. v. Gifford (Again)

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an opinion regarding whether or not an injured party has been made whole in a non-ERISA subrogation case. It's the second time the Court has had an opportunity to visit this case, to wit: Health Cost Controls Inc. v. Gifford, No. W2005-01381-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. S. Ct. Oct. 17, 2007) ("Health Cost Controls II").

Here's the link to the case:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/CURRENT/HCCOPN.pdf

The last paragraph of Health Cost Controls II sums it up and states:

We conclude that the trial court erred in its computation of Gifford's total recovery by failing to consider Gifford's recovery from all sources. We further conclude that the record is insufficient to determine whether Gifford has been made whole. On remand to the trial court, both parties will be permitted to present evidence. Gifford will have the burden of presenting evidence that sufficiently enables the trial court to make a reasonable assessment of his damages. The trial court will determine the monetary value of Gifford's recovery from all sources and the monetary value of all elements of Gifford's damages. Finally, if the trial court finds that Gifford has been made whole, reimbursement should be awarded to HCC only to the extent that Gifford's total recovery exceeds his total damages....

Id., slip op. at 6 (emphasis added).

The Court took issue with the fact that the trial court ignored Mr. Gifford's non-economic damages; it pointed out that the trial court should have calculated Mr. Gifford's non-economic damages "'as certain as the nature of the case permits'" Id., slip op. at 5-6 (quoting Overstreet v. Shoney's Inc., 4 S.W.3d 694, 703).

(By the way, Overstreet is a "must-read" case authored by Justice Koch when he was on the Court of Appeals.)

Evidence of Liability Insurance Allowed to Show Bias of Defense Expert; Held Not Unfairly Prejudicial

The Mississippi Court of Appeals held last month that evidence of liability insurance was admissible to show the bias of a defense expert under Mississippi's Rule 411 of Evidence. The case is Wells v. Tucker, No. 2006-CA-00385-COA (Miss. Ct. App. Sept. 4, 2007).

Here's the link:

http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/Opinions/CO42486.pdf

I will check the status of this case tomorrow (i.e., if it was appealed to Mississippi Supreme Court). At the time of this post, it was too late to do that.

I know, a lot of you are thinking: "So what! That's one of the exceptions to Rule 411's exclusion of insurance." And you are exactly right. However, even if one of the Rule 411 exceptions are met (e.g., proof of agency, ownership, control, or bias or prejudice of a witness), some courts still exclude this information as being unfairly prejudicial under Rule 403. See generally Patton v. Rose, 892 S.W.2d 418 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1991).

The Wells case holds that this information is not unfairly prejudicial and allows it into evidence.

Miles Per Hour to Feet Per Second, Etc.

Here's a useful Web site that allows you to make conversion from, for example, miles per hour to feet per second, etc.

Here's the link: http://www.onlineconversion.com/speed_all.htm

P.S. Yes, we all know the formula: 30 mi/hr x 5,280ft/mi x 1 hr/3600 sec. = 44 ft/sec. This site just does the calculations for you.

Irregularities in Depostion Notices Waived

In Tennessee, did you know that all errors and irregularities in a deposition notice are waived if not objected to in a timely manner? They are. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 32.04(1).

This prevents you from being ambushed at or during your deposition by an opponent who has sat on any objection he or she has to any defect in your notice. See id.

Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Sept. 11, 2001

I hope that you all take the time to remember what happened on this date six years ago. It was -- and remains -- one of the saddest days in history. It was truly a tragedy.

My mother says it reminds her of when JFK was assassinated. She says, "You will always remember where and what you were doing when you heard what happened."

This whole thing, this great American experiment in democracy, should never be taken for granted. I am fond of saying: "Nothing worth having comes easy." This is especially true when it comes to preserving our way of life; a way of life that has meant so much, for so many. It is up to all of us, as stewards of our nation, to see that we remain true to the spirit of our founding fathers by ensuring that all people are free in their pursuits of life, liberty, and happiness.

My two cents' worth.

New Book About Avoiding Common Surgical Errors

Want to see what surgical errors should be prevented and why? If you do, this book is for you. The book is called Avoiding Common Surgical Errors, by Lisa Marcucci, M.D. et al. Here's the Amazon link for the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Avoiding-Common-Surgical-Errors-Marcucci/dp/0781747422

In the quest for patient safety, this book is a step in the right direction.

I hope it helps.

2007 Workers' Compensation Legislative Changes

Here's a link to the 2007 Tennessee's Worker's Compensation Legislative Changes:

http://www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd/wc_2007legislation.pdf

Some Words From Gerry Spence

Read this that Gerry Spence wrote. If you don't read it all, read the very last paragraph. If it doesn't move you, something's wrong.

Here's the link:

http://www.gerryspence.com/killalllawyers.pdf

Wartburg, Tennessee

Wartburg, Tennessee is where I spent a lot of my time growing up (my parents actually live in a place closer to Oak Ridge, Tennessee called Petros). It's where I went to high school.

Wartburg is a rural community in East Tennessee. It's surrounded by huge, rolling mountains. It's a great place for a kid to grow up. There's even a a state park there, Frozen Head State Park, http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/FrozenHead/.

I catch a lot of grief over the name. People always ask, "Wart-burg? Where's that?" Well, you already know where it is. And you need to know that the town was settled by people of German descent. Here's where the name came from (read the quote):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartburg

To some, those mountains are also a castle. As Paul Harvey says: "Now you know, the rest of the story."

New Book on Tennessee Automobile Liability Insurance

Thomson West has the 2006 edition out of Tennessee Automobile Liability Insurance. Here's the link to purchase the new book (even though they have the old book picutred):

http://west.thomson.com/store/product.aspx?r=137934&product_id=40121148

This book is easy to use and will save you a lot of time and headaches.

Online ICD-9 Codes

This is a useful site for ICD-9 codes:

http://icd9cm.chrisendres.com/

Hope it helps.

The National Quality Forum

The National Quality Forum ("NQF") Web site states that it "is a not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting. " (See http://www.qualityforum.org/about/, lasted visited July 23, 2007.)

The site has a list of member organizations (e.g., hospitals, etc.)

NQF's site has books for sale, specifically: Serious Reportable Events in Healthcare 2006 Update. That book contains a "never" list. The list indicates things that should never happen in a hospital, for example: surgery on the wrong body part (a.k.a wrong-site surgery); surgery on the wrong patient; and surgical instruments left in a person's body, etc. (See http://www.qualityforum.org/publications/reports/sre_2006.asp, lasted visited July 23, 2007.) These types of events are also referred to as "serious reportable events."

This book offers good information for both the medical and legal community.

Iliad Software: Do You Know About It?

Iliad software is a "thinking" form of technology that offers expert diagnostic consults, etc. It is useful in solving what is wrong with a patient.

To quote from the product's Web site: "Iliad attempts to standardize medical terminology and diagnostic criteria in an electronically readable form and is a step in the process in the management of real-patients."

Here's the link to the site: http://www.firstsoftware.com/iliad4.htm

The software can be purchased from the site too.

AAJ Convention in Chicago

Folks,

I just got back from Chicago and the American Association for Justice's Convention. Wow! It was super. I learned a lot and got to see a great city ( I had never been to Chicago before).

Sunday we went to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs and the Astros play -- and the Cubs win -- a great game. I will definitely go back there soon.

Also, most importantly, I learned some new things that I will share in the weeks to come on my blog.

Enjoy your summer.

TB Traveler Sued: 1.3 Million Sought

Well, you knew this was coming. Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta lawyer who traveled with TB, has been sued for exposing others to the disease. Here's the link to the story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19734910/

The lawsuit seeks 1.3 million dollars in damages.

I'm not sure what to think about Mr. Speaker. Did he just disregard the safety of others to get back home? Or were there other, possibly valid, reasons why he did what he did? Let's see how this plays out.

Tennessee's Governmental Tort Liability

Here's a good case to start your research on governmental tort liability in Tennessee: Bowers by Bowers v. City of Chattanooga, 826 S.W.2d 427 (Tenn. 1992).

Although it's from 1992, it's still the law in Tennessee.

This was my friend, an immediate past-president of the Tennessee Association of Justice, Steve Greer's case.

Medical Acronyms in Tennessee

Here's a link to the 2006 edition of the Tennessee Hospital Association's Healthcare Acronym Guide:

http://www.tha.com/pdffiles/Acronyms%2006-final.pdf