Many journalists talk about frivolous lawsuits. These words were coined by insurance companies, oil companies, big tobacco and other large corporations who have spent millions of dollars promoting the idea that most people are “sue happy” and that lawyers frequently do file frivolous cases. But in fact, any attorney who is paid on a contingency…
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Category: News
New MRI may help people with traumatic brain injuries
Doctors are currently working on an experimental MRI based test at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center. High Definition Fiber Tracking allows doctors to actually see a representation of the brain fibers responsible for different parts of the body, which helps doctors understand what happened to the brain’s white matter (the connective parts) in a…
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Sue the “John”: stopping the demand that drives sex trafficking
On November 28, 2011, a victim of human trafficking filed a lawsuit against a “john”—the man who sexually assaulted her after paying a pimp to get access to her. This is the first lawsuit to make this kind of claim in the US, and is a huge step forward in helping victims of human trafficking…
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Why compensate injured people?
The most common questions people ask about personal injury cases are: Why do we punish someone who didn’t mean to hurt someone else? and Why are damages for pain and suffering okay? Punishment v. Personal Responsibility Deeply embedded in the values of this country is the idea of personal responsibility. The roots of the American…
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Home Caregivers: Warning Signs
“A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” This idea is attributed variously to Churchill, Pope John Paul II, Dostoyevsky, Truman, Gandhi, Jesus, and others. In the United States right now, there is a rampant problem with how we are caring for the elderly, particularly for those suffering from dementia and…
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Concussions are Serious Injuries
Concussions can occur in car collisions or accidents, from falls in nursing homes, or many other scenarios. Concussions are serious injuries and can create long term problems and require expensive medical care. Public awareness of the seriousness of these injuries is growing, in part due to veterans coming back with concussion injuries, and the…
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New SaferCar App by the National Highway Safety Administration
The National Highway Safety Administration released a new app last week that “will provide real-time vehicle safety information to consumers from NHTSA’s SaferCar.gov site.” The app will allow users to: * Search NHSA Safety Ratings for vehicles by make and model; * Locate car seat installation help; * File a vehicle safety complaint with NHSA; * Find…
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HB 2821
The Oregon Legislature is considering House Bill (HB) 2821. This bill changes the way auto insurance works in Oregon in a couple different ways to protect the consumer who buys the insurance rather than the insurance company. This bill deals with PIP (personal injury protection) which pays for your medical bills after an auto collision…
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Are Frivolous Lawsuits Driving Out Businesses?
“Cost and frequency of lawsuits/threatened lawsuits” was ranked 71st out of 75 business concerns according to the August 2012 National Federation of Independent Businesses publication Small Business Problems and Priorities (8th ed.). How to use Twitter was ranked as a more pressing concern for small businesses (the 70th ranking concern was “using social media to promote business”). Based on the…
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New Documentary: Hot Coffee
A new movie focused on access to the civil justice system and tort reform efforts has received a lot of attention lately. Hot Coffee, produced and directed by Ashland, Oregon resident Susan Saladoff, showcases four legal cases, including the infamous McDonald’s coffee case, and explores what really happened and what was going on behind the…
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