We recently obtained a favorable ruling from the Utah Supreme Court upholding the right of an inmate to sue for damages when guards failed to seat belt him prior to freeway travel. Kelvin Dexter was ejected from a Ford 15 passenger van when the van rolled over. Shackled at the wrists, waist and legs, Mr. Dexter could not fasten his own seat belt. The guard/driver refused to seat belt the inmates. Mr. Dexter was ejected when the guard/driver lost control of the vehicle while reaching for a soda or bag of chips at freeway speed. The van rolled several times, ejecting Mr. Dexter. The rollover severed Mr. Dexter's spinal cord, rendering him a quadriplegic. Eventually, Mr. Dexter developed complications as a result of his quadriplegia and died, leaving behind a wife and children. The Utah Supreme Court recognized that the Utah Constitution prohibits exposing inmates to "unreasonably harsh, strict, or severe treatment [or] unnecessarily exposed to an increased risk of serious harm." Because the failure to provide the fundamental and basic safety of a seat belt exposed Mr. Dexter to unreasonable and unnecessary risk of harm, the court held that the guards may be held liable for the harm caused by their refusal to seat belt Mr. Dexter. The full opinion can be read here: Dexter v. Bosko, et. al. (pdf).

Yet again, another study indicates that the whole 'medical malpractice crisis' is an overblown attempt by the insurance industry to support a crumbling argument for tort reform. Frequently we are told that physicians are fleeing the practice of medicine because trial lawyers have caused malpractice insurance premiums to skyrocket. Massachusetts has been described by the AMA as such crisis state, with settlement payments for victims of physician negligence the fourth highest in the United States.... Yet, surprise, "[m]ost physicians paid lower inflation-adjusted premiums in 2005 than in 1990." The reality, as always, is that the insurance companies pump up the malpractice crisis in order to pump up their own profits.
Study by Health Affairs here.

The Utah Supreme Court recently upheld a trial court decision that protects and shields general contractors from liability. In Begaye v. Big-D Construction, the court held that even when a general contractor has the ability to prevent injury to subcontractors, they need not do so. In other words, watch your own back, because no one else is going to stop you from getting hurt, even if you can't see it coming.

It doesn't happen often, so when it does, time to draw attention. A recent article on CNNMoney.com champions the much hated trial lawyer. Salient points include: Attorneys represent the last resort of employees wrongfully terminated or abused in the work place; Attorneys represent individuals against the greed of corporations willing to put out shoddy tires, tainted pet food and toothpaste and defective difibrillators. The only thing that keeps the corporate world turning is the knowledge that, if the corporate world tries to screw the individual, trial lawyers will be there to hold them accountable. "Simply put, what makes transactions possible is the knowledge that if trust is abused, the abuser will pay a penalty." Long live the trial lawyer, long live corporate accountability.

"Hospitals are terrible places for sick people." Reaffirming the idea that, if you've got humans involved, you will have human error, a recent Forbes article discusses the seven scariest hospital risks. The article does an excellent job of detailing the inherent problems in our hospital industry, and offers helpful advice on how to avoid becoming the victim of medical mistakes which include surgeon errors, infection, and incorrect medications. The article observes that: "between 40,000 and 100,000 people die every year because of doctors' mistakes, including surgical mishaps and drug mix-ups. One big problem: Hospital patients may get the wrong drug one time out of five, according to a study by Auburn University. The death toll from mistakes is at least as bad as that from car accidents or breast cancer, and maybe as bad as that from strokes."