Submitted by: Submitted by abccw
Views: 355
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Category: Other Topics
Date Submitted: 03/15/2012 10:39 AM
Question of fact unless…
Rule of 7s
Mental incapacity
Russo v. Griffin
Legal malpractice
Determining standard of care
Failed to get non-compete-brothers standard of care
Issue: what do we look at to determine standard of care?
Trial court’s conclusion:
The standard of care in the Rutland area in 1978 required of an attorney did not require him to suggest or recommend to a purchasing client that s non-compete agreement be obtained from a seller who is a relative and who has been a business associate for several years, the transaction not being one at arm’s length
Locality rule
If there are only two lawyers in a small town, and both are incompetent, they cannot set a standard of inferiority for a third who comes to town
Medical negligence
Number of civil filings in superior and district courts from 1998-2003?
1,268,495
Percentages of all civil filings that were medical negligence cases 1998-2003?
.0029 3700
How many of the 3700 medical negligence cases went to trial?
101
Of the 101 trials, how many were won by the doctor/medical care provider?
79
78%
Average jury verdict in the 22 cases won by the plaintiff/patient
$300,000
Number of jury verdicts of 1,000,000 or more among the 22 cases won by the plaintiff/patient
3
.0008% of all malpractice cases filed
Boyce v. Brown
Standard of care
Issue: Does the standard of care require a potentially fractured ankle to be x-rayed?
Determined by expert testimony
Do not allow the jury to infer the standard of care, deal with it in context of what experts tell them is supposed to happen
Expert testimony may differ as to what is the standard of care
Medical Negligence
The standard of medical practice in the community must be shown by affirmative evidence…
Departure from the accepted standard of care must be established by expert medical testimony…
The testimony of other physicians that they would have followed a different course of treatment than that followed by the defendant is not...