InjuryBoard Milwaukee Archives

• Truckers Hours of Service Rule Threatens Highway Safety

  David Lowe | February 28, 2006 8:09 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  "That (DOT) chose in both rules to expand driving hours is astounding given its statutory mandate to make safety its highest priority and Congress's specific directive to the agency to reduce fatigue-related incidents," said Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.Truck driver fatigue has wreaked havoc here in Wisconsin recently. In October, 2005, a truck driver...

• Malpractice Victims Would Lose Under Proposed Limits On Fees

  David Lowe | February 26, 2006 8:32 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  The hospital and insurance industries have come up with another way to insulate themselves from accountability to victims of medical malpractice: remove the incentives of attorneys to accept these cases by cutting their fees. A bill that would limit attorneys' fees in medical malpractice cases is set for hearing on Monday, February 27 in Madison. It would limit attorney fees in medical...

• Incentives to Avoid Misdiagnosis Lacking

  David Lowe | February 23, 2006 10:27 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  If we are to improve upon the alarming rate of physician misdiagnosis of illness, pay-for- performance is the way to go. But political will is going to be required to make this structural change in the health care system.A New York Times Story asks why doctors so often get it wrong in diagnosing illness. It appears that the answer lies in a failure of the health care system to reward success in...

• GOP Once Again Attempts to Impose Malpractice Caps

  David Lowe | February 21, 2006 9:21 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin are trying once again to circumvent the jury system by introducing legislation to impose caps on jury awards in medical malpractice cases. In July, 2005, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out the statutory limits on awards for pain, suffering and disability, emphasizing that the then-existing cap of $445,755 was arbirtary and unconstitutional. Citing concerns that...

• Cheney Mishap Puts Spotlight on Hunting Safety

  David Lowe | February 15, 2006 11:08 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Miscellaneous

  Vice President Cheney's hunting accident case parallels 1999 shotgun accident involving basketball coach Bobby Knight. Both cases involved the violation of basic rules of hunting safety.Vice President Richard Cheney's hunting accident on a private ranch in Corpus Christi, Texas, once again places needed attention on the topic of hunting safety. Hunting experts seem to agree that Cheney violated...

• Wisconsin Attorney Handles Olympic Slip and Fall

  David Lowe | February 13, 2006 6:36 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)

  While I am managing cases involving slips and falls on ice in Wisconsin, across the globe in Turin, Italy a classmate of mine is handling a much more high profile case. When U.S. Olympic figure skater and gold medal hopeful Michelle Kwan fell during practice in Turin, Italy, raising concerns that ultimately led to her withdrawal from the 2006 Winter games due to injury, she was seen being...

• Who Needs Tort Reform? WI Rates Among Lowest.

  David Lowe | February 12, 2006 7:25 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  The Wisconsin Insurance Alliance, the mouthpiece for the insurance industry in Wisconsin, has announced that liability insurance rates in Wisconsin are among the lowest in the nation. In a press release issued February 7, 2006, the WIA boasted that Wisconsin ranks 49th out of the 50 states for the combined cost of home and auto liability insurance, citing a study issued by the National...

• Car Accident Kills Milwaukee Couple

  David Lowe | February 09, 2006 2:47 PM | 0 Comments
  Category: Automobile Accidents

  A two-car crash in Ozaukee county claimed the lives of a Milwaukee couple yesterday when the car they were riding in was hit head-on by another car that crossed the median of I-43. The names of the victims were not immediately available. According to wfrv.com:The Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department said the crash happened in a southbound lane of I-43 south of state Highway 60 about 4:30 p.m.,...

• Another Run At Medical Malpractice Caps?

  Staff Writer | February 09, 2006 11:08 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Medical Malpractice

  It seems the $8.5 million verdict awarded to Jessica Greenfield in a medical malpractice lawsuit last week has sparked another push at attempts to cap awards on pain and suffereing. The Wisconsin Medical Society is supporting the push for caps and giving the standard lines about doctors being forced out of the state due to high med-mal insurance premiums. However, study after study continues to...

• Democrats Question Asbestos Fund

  Staff Writer | February 09, 2006 10:25 AM | 0 Comments
  Category: Wrongful Death

  The Senate began debating legislation yesterday which would end asbestos lawsuits and award victims $25,000 to $1.1 million, depending on how sick the toxic substance has made them. Fortunately Senate Democrats such as Kent Conrad from North Dakota are questioning the $140 billion fundand claiming it would run out of money after approximately 10 years and be about $150 billion short of enough...