Category: Torts

Academia, Constitutional Law, Society, Torts

Jury Deadlocks On Bias Lawsuit Against Iowa By Former Law Professor

There was an interesting mistrial announced this month in a discrimination case against the University of Iowa law school. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on a 14th amendment claim by the part-time legal writing professor who claims that she was passed over for a full-time position and then lost her adjunct position due to hiring bias against conservatives. Teresa Wagner (left) worked for pro-life causes and says that law professor Randall Bezanson (right), a former law clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun, campaigned against her hiring (Blackmun wrote the Roe v. Wade decision). She further noted that only one faculty member at Iowa is a registered Republican.

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Animals, Bizarre, Religion, Society, Torts

Divine or Negligent Judgment? Cows and Crucifix Strike Down The Faithful In Religious Devotions

We have had some bizarre religious injuries this week among both the Christian and Muslim faithful. In Newburgh, New York, David Jimenez was grateful to God for curing his wife of cancer, particularly he believed due to his devotion of a large crucifix outside the Church of St. Patrick in Newburgh. So he received permission to paint the crucifix to show his thanks, but it proceeded to fall and crush his leg in a rather mixed message. In the meantime, Muslims have reported a spate of injuries and deaths from people being trampled by animals during annual sacrifice Islamic rituals this week.

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Criminal law, International, Torts

Man In Sweden Caught On Tape Robbing Unconscious Man And Then Leaving Him on Track To Be Run Over By Train

Tunisan Nadar Khiari, 28, will soon be back on his way to Tunisia and should consider himself fortunate that he avoided a longer stay in Sweden after an despicable crime caught on camera. Khiari was waiting for a train when he saw a drunk man fall on to the train tracks. At first, the video below suggests that Khiari is coming to the man’s aid. Instead, Khiari jumps down and robs the unconscious man and leaves him on the tracks where the man is struck and lost his foot (but miraculously survived).

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Society, Torts

Ask Not What Your Doctor Can Do For You . . . : Patients Charged For Asking Too Many Questions

There is an interesting story about patients who are charged more if they ask too many questions of their doctors. In the case of Susan Krantz, a doctor charged her for two visits because she asked too many questions about his diagnosis. It is an interesting trend since consent is the common defense to malpractice. However, if you ask too many questions before giving consent, you are charged by some doctors.

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Animals, Criminal law, Environment, Torts

Man Shoots Eight-Year-Old Cousin in Halloween Costume After Mistaking Her For A Skunk At A Family Bonfire

There is a bizarre case out of Pennsylvania that raises both potential tort and criminal liability. At a family Halloween bonfire, Janet Grant spotted a skunk and told her son Thomas Grant to fetch a shotgun and shoot it. When he returned, Janet Grant shined a flashlight on the animal while her son shot it. It was only then that they discovered that Thomas Grant had just shot his eight-year-old cousin in her black and white Halloween costume. What is amazing is that authorities say that they are considering possible animal gaming charges.

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Academia, Animals, Science, Torts

Study: Older Mice Given Blood From Younger Mice Increase Memory and Brain Cell Activity

I will look at my students in a whole different light after reading this article of how older mice receiving the blood from younger mice had improved learning and memory. The change from an academic to a vampiric interest in my students is due to these surprising findings in the effect of younger blood on brain cells. As the Guardian reports below, the late Kim Jong-il reportedly injected himself with blood from healthy young virgins in a bid to slow the aging process.

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Criminal law, Society, Torts

Cleveland Bus Driver Suspended After Decking Passenger On YouTube Video

The video below shows a disturbing scene where a Cleveland municipal bus driver decked an obnoxious female passenger after a loud and profane shouting match. It is equally disturbing to hear the laughing of some of the other passengers on the bus — a shocking example of a moral abyss in our society.

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Torts

Professional Negligence? Club Sued For Negligent Lap Dance

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Here’s a novel lawsuit. Lansdale, Pennsylvania’s Patrick Gallagher was enjoying a prenuptial night out with his buddies at a gentleman’s club. As part of the “Bachelor’s Package,” the husband-to-be was invited to lie prostrate on stage while an unnamed exotic dancer shimmied up the dance pole above him. Then, according to his lawyer, Neil T. Murray, Esq., the limber young lass “from a great height … launched herself down onto his abdomen.” The blow was so severe that it ruptured Gallagher’s bladder and caused back and hip injuries. Gallagher is suing the establishment, the aptly named Penthouse Club,for $50,000.00 for medical costs, pain, and humiliation. Big emphasis on the latter, I suspect.

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International, Society, Torts

Woman Dies Of Cancer After Doctors Allegedly Failed 30 Times to Detect Her Cervical Cancer

In my torts class, we often discussed the factual and proximate causation issues concerning the failure to diagnose illness like types of cancer before they metastasize.   Those causation questions are a bit more severe in the case of  Jeannine Harvey, a mother of four who died after doctors missed her advanced cervical cancer 30 times according to her family.

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Bizarre, International, Politics, Society, Torts

The Eagle Dad Has Landed: Chinese Father and Children Rescued After Climbing Mount Fuji With Only A Cup of Water and Chocolate Bar

We have previously discussed the growing trend to charge people for rescues in parks and remote areas — particularly where there is evidence of negligence. While I have opposed this trend, defenders of the policy could now cite to He Liesheng, known as the “Eagle Dad.” The father had to be rescued from the top of Mount Fuji after taking nothing more than a cup of water and a chocolate bar for the three of them. This is not the first bad landing for the Eagle Dad.
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Bizarre, International, Torts

Elderly Woman Reportedly Dies After Being Injected With Soup At Hospital

There is a shocking report out of Brazil where an elderly woman reportedly died after being given an injection with soup. Yes, soup. The stories sent to me remain in Spanish or Portuguese only though the image of this hospital on television reports in Brazil does not fill one with confidence. [Warning graphic description below]

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Animals, Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Torts

Pug Mugs: Miami Considers Dangerous Dog Registry and Mug Shot Gallery

There is an interesting law that has been proposed in Miami-Dade to require online registry of “dangerous dogs.” The law would require registration of any dogs or other pets that attack or bite people in the same way that sex offenders register to public disclosure. The registry could have significant implications for tort law and the liability for dog bites. One commissioner is even proposing a dog mug shot gallery.

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