Misfilled Prescription Cases
Recently, my dad, Jere Beasley, and I tried the case of Deal v. Rite Aid Corp. for the second time in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. The first trial ended in a mistrial after one juror refused to discuss the case and would not return a verdict in favor of the Plaintiffs under any circumstance. The case involved a misfilled prescription which Rite Aid gave to Mrs. Jewell Deal of Andalusia, Alabama.
How Subrogation Affects Your Client
How do you protect your client in negotiating personal injury settlements in view of Powell v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Alabama, 581 So. 2d 772 (Ala. 1990)? This question arises in a majority of personal injury lawsuits today. Consequently, lawyers for both plaintiffs and defendants must consider and address the issue of subrogation early in each case. In this article, I will briefly discuss the various aspects of the insurer's "subrogation claim" and how to prepare for a Powell hearing.
Taking the Case to Trial
The opening statement is the springboard from which the plaintiff's attorney educates the jury on a nursing home's liability and persuades the jury that a verdict in favor of the plaintiff is the only way to serve justice. While an opening statement has several important goals, the ultimate goal of a successful opening statement is to marshal the significant points of the case, and develop the bond of trust created with the jurors in voir dire into a vehicle through which to express your theory of liability in such a way as to create a paradigm in the juror's minds that the only just and fair resolution of the case is a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. This vehicle is created by (1) conveying a particular theme to the jury from the beginning until the end of trial; and (2) highlighting faults in key defense issues and common defense ploys intended to shift liability away from the nursing home.
Nursing Home Litigation - Presuit Preparation
Approximately twenty-five thousand people in Alabama wake up everyday in a nursing home, dependent on others to meet most or all of their needs. They are a helpless, vulnerable population whose numbers will increase dramatically in coming years as the baby boomers begin entering retirement. This oncoming growth will require that the quality and quantity of care offered by nursing homes be increased proportionately.
Jury Selection
As you voir dire and pick your next jury in a nursing home trial, you should be mindful of the fact that in recent years the jurors sitting in front of you have likely been bombarded by a national tort reform campaign that has convinced many that our country is in crisis due to frivolous litigation.
Cox-2 Drugs
The modern pharmaceutical era was born in 1897 when the German chemist Felix Hoffman, an employee of Bayer Industries, synthesized acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin, in the laboratory. For decades aspirin was one of the few non-narcotic analgesic choices that physicians and patients possessed for the relief of fever, pain and inflammation. While not perfectly safe, aspirin was practically devoid of the much more serious side effects associated with the use of narcotic analgesics.
Technology as a Storyteller's Tool
No doubt, great trial lawyers are remembered most fondly by their closing arguments. The closing argument is the trial lawyer’s single opportunity for pure oratory in the trial process. By the time trial counsel rises to deliver his closing arguments, there is no longer an issue of a “burden of proof.” Instead, the concern is now focused on the “burden of persuasion.” However, it is a rare case that can be salvaged through even the most eloquent of closing arguments if the foundation or building blocks of persuasion have not been firmly established throughout the preceding stages of trial.
