2013 Legends CLE: "Tales From the Crypt" October 30 - 31 in Austin | Back by popular demand, our Second Annual Legends Seminar brings you "Tales From the Crypt," October 30 - 31, 2013 in Austin at the Four Seasons Hotel. This year's underwriters - Fibich, Hampton, Leebron, Briggs & Josephson; The Gallagher Law Firm; Payne Mitchell Law Group and Watts Guerra - dug deep to bring you the power of over 800 years of legal experience to add to your cauldron of trial strategies. Click on the headline to learn more and register. | Second Wrongful Death Suit Filed over Helicopter Crash | | A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a victim in a helicopter crash that occurred this February. Three men were killed in the crash while filming a reality television show for the Discovery Channel. A suit was filed by the family of one of the men who died in Los Angeles this week which names the pilot, the owners of the helicopter and show producers as defendants. The mother of another victim in the crash filed a similar suit earlier this year. Wire Report, The Sacramento Bee 08/29/2013 | Read Article: The Sacramento Bee | Civil Rights Suit Filed After Jailed Woman's Beating Caught on Video | | A woman from Jasper, Texas, has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Jasper Police Department and the city over an alleged beating she sustained while in custody at the city jail. The May 2013 incident, in which two Jasper officers beat the plaintiff and pulled out a chunk of her hair, was caught on video and ended in the termination of the two officers. The suit alleges excessive force, racial discrimination and conspiracy and seeks a jury trial and damages for physical harm, mental anguish, medical expenses and attorney's fees. Robert Stanton, Houston Chronicle 08/29/2013 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Alleged Sexual Abuse of Boy Scouts Spurs Lawsuit | | A dozen men in Washington have filed suit against the Boy Scouts of America and 13 former leaders alleging sexual abuse. Those named in the suit include a scoutmaster, a camp cook and a business manager. The lawsuit claims that churches and schools were negligent in not protecting the boys from said abuse. The case cites problems over a 30 year period from the 1960s to early 1990s. Staff Report, The Spokesman-Review 08/30/2013 | Read Article: The Spokesman-Review | Texas Family Awarded $32M in Suit Against Domino's | | The family of a Southeast Texas couple involved in a deadly crash caused by a Domino's Pizza delivery driver was awarded $32 million this week after a jury determined the pizza chain shared responsibility for the accident by not enforcing a policy that its drivers' vehicles be inspected. The August 2012 crash in Beaumont happened after the driver lost control of his car while delivering a pizza, hitting another vehicle carrying 65-year-old Ruth Christopher and her husband, Devavaram Christopher. Juan a. Lozano, Associated Press, Yahoo News 09/03/2013 | Read Article: Yahoo News | Medical Board Last Chance for Some Injured Patients | | Since sweeping changes to TX medical malpractice law in 2003, the Texas Medical Board has become the court of last resort for some injured patients and surviving family members who could not find a lawyer to sue the doctor. The board doesn’t mete out damage awards to victims, but its decisions are public, enabling it to call out doctors who violate patient-care standards. It can take away their licenses in the most egregious cases. That can take time to accomplish. According to a Austin medical malpractice lawyer it takes too long. Mary Ann Roser, Austin American Statesman 09/03/2013 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman | 10 Years Later, ‘Tort Reform’ Debate Continues | | Ten years after a Texas law capped damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, the law called “tort reform†is hailed and reviled for this: It has sharply cut the number of suits and the amounts losers must pay. TDI data show that medical malpractice claims, including lawsuits, resolved in a year fell by nearly two-thirds between 2003 and 2011 (the most recent year for which data is available), to 450. The average payout dropped 22 percent, to $198,673. Defenders and opponents still fiercely debate whether the law has been good for Texans and whether it increased access to physicians. Mary Ann Roser, Austin American Statesman 09/03/2013 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman | Study: Hospital Infections Cost $9.8B a Year | | Americans could save billions of dollars in health care costs each year if hospitals did a better job of curbing preventable infections, according to a new study. Research released today by JAMA Internal Medicine found that infections acquired during the course of medical treatment cost $9.8 billion annually. Researchers reviewed published data from 1998 through April 2013 and adjusted the costs for inflation in 2012 dollars. The problem is so common that it has its own acronym: healthcare-associated infections, or HAI. CBS News, CBSNews.com 09/02/2013 | Read Article: CBSNews.com | KY Man Misdiagnosed with HIV Files Suit | | A man from Kentucky is filing suit after learning he was misdiagnosed with HIV by doctors at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. The plaintiff went through eight years of treatment for HIV before he learned that he did not have the virus. The suit names "doctors and others at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, the UK-affiliated Bluegrass Care Clinic, and the Fayette County Health Department" as defendants and seeks compensatory damages and “all other relief†a jury deems appropriate. Greg Kocher, Lexington Herald-Leader 09/01/2013 | Read Article: Lexington Herald-Leader | | |