Announcements | | | Share with your FB friends! | | Injured patients discover hospitals seeking a piece of their accident settlements By Mary Ann Roser, Austin American Statesman, 3-28-11. Liens often are much higher than what hospital would normally be paid for services, lawyers charge. Personal injury lawyers and some patient advocates say hospital liens — which have been permitted by Texas law since the 1930s — by themselves are not bad. It makes sense for hospitals to try to get paid, they said. But they see hospitals abusing liens by seeking drastically higher payments from accident victims than they would otherwise get. Click on headline to read more. | TEXAS SUPREME COURT ELECTRONIC-FILING EFFECTIVE TODAY | | Effective today, you may electronically file documents with the Texas Supreme Court, pay your fees, and serve opposing counsel using the Texas.gov electronic-filing system. To use the electronic-filing system you must first choose an electronic-filing service provider and register. You must send two paper copies of your filing to the Court when you use the electronic-filing system. | Upcoming Seminars & Events. | | Road Rules: A CRASH Course: March 29, Houston and April 6, San Antonio.******The Persuasive Edge: The Art of Communication and Influence, with Eric Oliver. April 29-30, Houston.******TTLA Annual Conference (formerly Midyear). June 1-3, Austin. Learn more at www.TTLA.com | Products | | | Surgical Wound Drainers Recalled | | Johnson & Johnson has announced a recall of 360,000 surgical wound draining devices due to the possibility that the sterilized packaging could be compromised. The products were produced by the company's Ethicon unit and no complaints of adverse effects have been reported by customers or patients. Jonathan D. Rockoff, WSJ Blogs 03/24/2011 | Read Article: WSJ Blogs | Laws/Cases | | | Suit Against Open Meetings Act Ruled Against | | A federal judge in Texas ruled last week against a group of city officials from across the state who had filed a lawsuit against the Texas Open Meetings Act. The judge said the act "does not violate the free speech rights of politicians" but instead merely guarantees a citizen’s right to open government. Open meetings, the judge said, “enable public discussion and discourage government secrecy and fraud." Chuck Lindell, Austin American Statesman 03/28/2011 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman | McDonald's Employee Exposure Suit Settled | | A settlement has been reached in a suit filed against a Florida McDonald's after an employee exposed himself to a young female customer inside the restaurant. The lawsuit claimed proper hiring supervision rules were not in place, allowing the restaurant to hire a sex offender with an extensive criminal history. The suit claimed the incident caused the young girl to have anxiety attacks and an inability to main normal relationships with males. The terms of the settlement were undisclosed. Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel 03/26/2011 | Read Article: Orlando Sentinel | Justice Department Files Suit Against California Landlord | | The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against a Bakersfield, Calif., landlord accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliating against those who refused his advances. According to the lawsuit, over the last nine years, the landlord made sexual advances and inappropriate comments, among other things, to many of his female tenants and evicted some of the women who refused his sexual advances. The suit is representing an unnamed amount of plaintiffs and is seeking monetary damages for each. Wire Report, San Jose Mercury News 03/25/2011 | Read Article: San Jose Mercury News | Class Action | | | Kentucky Farmers File Suit Against Tobacco Co. | | A group of Kentucky farmers have filed a lawsuit against Universal Leaf North America (ULNA) claiming the company "failed to honor contracts to purchase burley tobacco from them at the end of the 2010 crop year." The suit claims the tobacco crop was rejected by ULNA without inspection, a violation of contracts the company held with local farmers. The suit says hundreds of Kentucky farmers have lost millions of dollars. Shawntaye Hopkins, Lexington Herald-Leader 03/28/2011 | Read Article: Lexington Herald-Leader | | | | |