Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Medical malpractice lawyers with experience trying cases are very familiar with the problem of jurors researching the case on the internet. But it may make sense for trial lawyers to research the jurors on the internet. Consider this:

"A New Hampshire case involving a juror who posted entries about court duty on his blog has raised the issue of juror blogging, which legal experts said may soon become a regular part of voir dire and jury instructions. The case involves Stephen Goupil, who was convicted in 2005 on five counts of sexual assault and one count of theft. New Hampshire v. Goupil, No. 2005-444. (N.H.). The juror foreman, Scott Vachon, made an entry in his blog in early 2005, four days before jury selection, in which he said he would have to 'listen to the local riff-raff try and convince me of their innocence,' according to court documents."

Vesna Jaksic, National Law Journal, Law.com 3/12/07
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1173101897897

Medical malpractice claim payouts in Oregon are lower than those in all but seven other states despite the elimination of a cap on such awards in 1999, a new study shows. The study researchers tried to measure the effects of various malpractice changes and were surprised how little difference the changes made on the amount and frequency of malpractice awards."

Associated Press, OregonLive.com 3/11/07

Too often insurance company PR campaigns have blamed medical malpractice lawyers for the high cost of insurance. Congress needs to repeal the antitrust exemption the industry now enjoys. Consumers of insurance are paying more for their policies because insurers are able to compare notes on pricing unlike any other industry. Watch rates fall when companies can no longer compare notes on how much their competitors are charging.

An effort to end the insurance industry's exemption from antitrust laws got a boost Wednesday at a Senate hearing where two Gulf Coast lawmakers aired frustrations over how insurers handled Hurricane Katrina claims. Sens. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of legislation that would repeal a more than 60-year-old law that allows insurance companies to share information."

Ana Radelat, Gannet News Service, USA Today 3/070/07
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-07-insurance_N.htm