Personal Injury Roundup No. 10 (10/3/08)

Reform, Legislation, Policy

• Illinois AG Lisa Madigan is calling on the CPSC to develop a plan to curb the sale of recalled products online and in second-hand shops.  (LegalNewsline)
• As of October 1st, Medicare will not reimburse hospitals for ten “reasonably preventable” conditions.  (HealthLawProf Blog)

New Lawsuits

• Florida joins eight other states in suing Merck to recoup payments for Vioxx.  (The Pop Tort)

Trials, Settlements & Other Ends

• Manchester United player awarded 4.5 million pounds for a career-ending tackle (Olson/Overlawyered)
• The family of a woman crushed to death in the 2006 collapse of Boston’s “Big Dig” tunnel ceiling collapse has settled with the remaining defendants.  The total settlements equal $28 million.  (ABA Journal)

Appeals

• The Court has scheduled several torts cases:  Altria Group v. Good (10/06/08) (Preemption), Wyeth v. Levine (11/03/08) (Preemption), Philip Morris USA v. Williams (12/03/08) (Punitive Damages).  (SCOTUS Blog)
• The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a state tort immunity act does not prevent a mother from suing the city of Park Ridge over its paramedics for the death of her son.  (LegalNewsline)

Miscellaneous

• Unilever recalls Lipton Milk Tea after discovering Melamine (Stier/Mass Tort Lit Blog)
• The Pop Tort reports about uranium-tainted water in New Hampshire here.
• Drug and Device Law provides an intermediate-level tutorial on the learned intermediary doctrine here.

–CJR