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Is Your Medical Care As Good As Your Golf Clubs?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Only a Washington bureaucrat would think to make a point about advances in health care by discussing his experiences in buying a new set of golf clubs. One can only assume the idea dawned on him during one of his midweek golf outings.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now publishing Secretary Mike Leavitt's Blog where this important analogy appears.

Defining Personalized Medicine

The term personalized health care is often used these days. It is an exciting outgrowth of our better understanding of the human genome. We now know that our genetic makeup impacts the way we respond to certain treatments.

I worry when we use the phrase personalized medicine, for some, it creates a mental picture of a patient having one-of-a-kind pharmacology developed specifically for them, based on their phenotype, environment and genetic make-up.

The vision we are moving toward, in my mind, is best described as mass personalization. Using a thorough understanding of a person's genetic and clinical history, a doctor will select a combination from a group of biological and chemical treatment tools.

Secretary Leavitt then moves on to the purchase of golf clubs.

I decided to buy new [golf clubs]. The technology has improved and there were several aspects of my game that would fall into the category of needing treatment.

The golf professional and I measured my height and arm extension (my phenotype) and inventoried my game (genetic and health history) until we knew what the best length and flexibility of the new golf clubs shaft should be, the angle of the housel, the weigh distribution of the club head and grips to fit my touch.

The golf professional said to me, "now that we know how you align your clubs (medication) with your game (ailments), we can fit you properly. We carry ten different models of club with different combinations; the X20 Long has most of the attributes you need."

I bought a set of clubs, off the shelf that was personalized to me. This company is now engaged in mass customization.

I get it, Mike. But, I feel you should take a triple bogey on this hole.

Influence-Peddling By Drug Manufacturers - A Little Sunshine Please

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Wouldn't you like to know your doctor was selecting the proper medication for you without any allegiance to a particular drug manufacturer?

Grassley, Kohl Say Public Should Know When Pharmaceutical Makers Give Money To Doctors, USA

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) are introducing legislation to require manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs, devices and biologics to disclose the amount of money they give to doctors through payments, gifts, honoraria, travel and other means.

"Right now the public has no way to know whether a doctor's been given money that might affect prescribing habits," Grassley said. "This bill is about letting the sun shine in so that the public can know. Whether it's dinner at a restaurant or tens of thousands of dollars or more in fees and travel, patients shouldn't be in the dark about whether their doctors are getting money from drug and device makers."

"At our June hearing, the pharmaceutical industry told the Aging Committee that they believe their practices are above-board. If that is the case, full disclosure will only serve to prove them right. If that is not the case, full disclosure will bring their influence-peddling out from the shadows. Either way, patients win," Kohl said.

Influence-peddling under the name of marketing, continuing medical education or research is still influence peddling. If my doctor just got back from a paid vacation, a.k.a. drug seminar, I would like access to that information. Maybe we could chat about the weather in Mexico. Or, the snow in Aspen.

Staying Alive In A Hospital Requires A Big Mouth

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Because of the serious risk of becoming infected while in the hospital there are many who recommend a hospital patient become a wise-ass (in the medical sense). Take a look at these suggestions and let me know how well this patient would be received in the typical hospital.

15 STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE YOUR RISK OF A HOSPITAL INFECTION

Most of us will have to go into the hospital some day. Here are specific steps you can follow to protect yourself from deadly hospital infections:

1. Ask that hospital staff clean their hands before treating you, and ask visitors to clean their hands too.

2. Before your doctor uses a stethoscope, ask that the diaphragm (the flat surface) be wiped with alcohol.

6. Ask your surgeon to have you tested for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at least one week before you come into the hospital.

8. On the day of your operation, remind your doctor that you may need an antibiotic one hour before the first incision.

12. Ask your doctor about monitoring your glucose (sugar) levels continuously during and after surgery, especially if you are having cardiac surgery.

14. If you must have an IV, make sure that it's inserted and removed under clean conditions and changed every 3 to 4 days.

Five Signs It May Be Time To Fire Your Doctor Or Lawyer

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

There it was. A perfect list of the signs that it may be time to leave your doctor. By substituting lawyer for doctor it was also a nearly perfect list of signs it may be time to move on to other legal representation.

Know when it's time to fire your doctor

Here are five ways to know when it's time to think about leaving your doctor...

1. When your doctor [lawyer] doesn't like it when you ask questions

2. When your doctor [lawyer] doesn't listen to you

3. If your doctor [lawyer] can't explain your illness [case] to you in terms you understand

4. If you feel bad when you leave your doctor's [lawyer's] office

5. If you feel your doctor [lawyer] just doesn't like you -- or if you don't like him or her

By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN

I have a proviso to Sign No. 5: I have successfully represented clients who are simply not likeable. In fact, I have informed some of them that even I, their advocate, find them to be annoying, whining, unpleasant...you get the idea. I have told them to disabuse themselves of the notion that jurors will likely develop a warm and fuzzy feeling about them despite our creative efforts at trial. Not one of the unlikeables has ever terminated our attorney-client relationship. In fact, in most instances, I believe the relationship was improved by putting the matter on the table.

Yard Art That Saves Lives

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

I have never been much of a fan of yard art. But, there is this homeowner in Ohio whose yard art deserves an award.

Life-Size Cut-Outs Of Kids Make Speeding Drivers Slow Down

A man has resorted to using life-size posters of his children to make stubborn drivers slow down on a busy street.

Mike Wood of West Salem, Ohio took pictures of his children, blew them up into life-size and had the pictures mounted in his yard along North Main Street. So far Mike said the pictures have been effective, motorists do slow down and some even yelled at him for allowing his children to play so close to the street.

His idea has been posted on some law enforcement websites around the country. His cut-outs are available at www.25kids.com.

In Texas "Pro Bono" Means "Good For The Pros"

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

For my entire career I have had the mistaken impression pro bono work had to be performed on behalf of charities or the poor. You know...you take on a landlord-tenant dispute for some downtrodden soul with five children and no job who is being evicted the week before Christmas.

Now, I discover pro bono recipients can include Supreme Court justices. Who knew?

Complaints Filed Over Discounted Fees for Texas Justice Caught in Miers Nomination Flap

Mary Alice Robbins, Texas Lawyer

Travis County, Texas, prosecutors are investigating whether Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht received an illegal gift when Jackson Walker discounted its legal fees for representing him in his 2006 fight with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

On July 24, the citizens' group Texas Watch filed complaints about the reduction in Hecht's legal bill with three agencies, including the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney's Office, which investigates and prosecutes alleged wrongdoing by public officials. Jackson Walker represented Hecht in his successful challenge of the judicial conduct commission's public admonition of him for his support in 2005 of then-White House counsel Harriet Miers' failed nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Miers has been a member of Locke Liddell & Sapp in Dallas since May.

Gregg Cox, chief of the Public Integrity Unit, says the unit was aware of the situation involving the discounted legal fees for Hecht before Texas Watch filed its complaint. "It's under review and has been under review," Cox says, but declines further comment.

Jackson Walker Houston partner Charles "Chip" Babcock, Hecht's lead counsel in the appeal of the commission's public admonishment of the justice, says the firm provided 25 percent of its services to Hecht as pro bono work.

Texas Watch alleges in its complaints that Hecht may have broken the law or violated judicial canons in accepting the firm's discount, which the group estimates was worth about $100,000.

From Law.com

Does the Supreme Court justice get to reciprocate by doing a little pro bono work for the Jackson Walker firm? (Letter from Justice Hecht to "Chip": Dear Chip...It was my pleasure to vote in your favor on your last appeal. Isn't this mutual pro bono stuff great! I feel so good. Your buddy in good deeds, Nathan)

A New Lawyer Website Or Comedy Act?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Twice in the past few days I have read about brick walls, not usually a hot topic. One reference to brick walls was in articles regarding the hungry i, a legendary San Francisco comedy club which apparently pioneered the use of the brick wall as a backdrop for comedians. Then, I read the posting below which expressed puzzlement over the use of the brick wall approach to lawyer marketing.

Lawyer Marketing Site Hits Brick Wall

Would someone hire a lawyer based on an ad pasted to a wall? What about a digital ad pasted to a virtual wall on the Web? In either case, the answer seems obvious to me. Thus, I do not understand why any lawyer would shell out good money to purchase advertising space on the new Web site, The Lawyers Wall. Set to launch Aug. 1, the site consists of five "walls" -- the front wall, west wall, east wall, north wall and south wall. Each wall is a Web page criss-crossed with a grid. Each empty square on the grid is 20 x 20 pixels (or 400 pixels) and represents available wall space that you can purchase to post your ad.

But what you end up with, assuming some of this space gets sold, is your ad stuck in among other lawyers' ads on this virtual wall. Unless you buy a huge space, your ad would be just one of the crowd. Since the point of marketing is to make yourself stand out from the crowd, this site makes no sense to me. On top of that, I don't see anything here to draw traffic. Why would a consumer come to this site in the first place?

From Robert Amgrogi's Lawsites

Is it possible The Lawyers Wall is a tongue-in-cheek, subliminal message about the mentality of any lawyer who would choose to post an ad on a wall papered with other attorney ads? Are the posters merely a running joke?

My Doc Has Five Stars

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

J.D. Power, which gives ratings to hospitals, pharmacies and health insurance plans, needs to add doctors to its ratings business. We might all be better off with a Power rating than one provided by our friendly insurance company.

Insurers Put Money Behind Doctor Ratings

Insurers across the country are crunching data on the performance of individual physicians, and they're beginning to steer patients to certain docs -- and away from others -- based on the results, the Washington Post reports.

The industry says the effort will lead to better care at lower cost. Doctors say the ratings are often based on faulty data, and could lead doctors to cherry-pick healthy patients who are easiest to treat.

Despite the controversy, a doctor at a benefits-consulting firm says physician ratings are here to stay. "In every industry, consumers have a thirst for performance information," he tells the Post. "People don't want to go to a movie or buy a book or buy a car or go to a restaurant without some ability to assess value for dollar. What's taking place here is inevitable."

From the Health Blog of The Wall Street Journal

We can only hope all of this leads to better waiting room magazines.

Are Cash Customers The Answer To Dysfunctional Health Care System?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

A doctor, writing at The Wall Street Journal Online, puts his finger on patient churning as one of the major problems in health care today. Next, he describes America's health care situation as a fragmented health system. Then, he says some insurers' referral processes and the hoops the patients and I have to jump through to get basic things done are ridiculous. Next, he has had to turn insurance contracts down because of inadequate reimbursement and let some patients find a new doctor.

Dr. Benjamin Brewer certainly describes a dysfunctional and unhealthy health care system in the U.S.

Doctor-Patient Relationship Is an Endangered Species

BENJAMIN BREWER, M.D.

Now primary-care doctors are pressured to churn patients through the office, to the detriment of relationship-building and possibly the health of their patients. At the same time, patients may have to switch doctors because of changes in their insurance.

I try to avoid the worst situations that I feel the fragmented health system can create. When deciding whether to be part of an insurer's network, I weigh whether the insurer's contract interferes too much with my shared decision-making with a patient. Some programs have interfered more with my care of patients than I bargained for when I signed up -- referral processes and the hoops the patients and I have to jump through to get basic things done are ridiculous and can undermine patients' confidence in me. I wouldn't sign up again for such programs knowing what I do now.

As much as I hate to do it to my patients, I've had to turn insurance contracts down because of inadequate reimbursement and let some patients find a new doctor.

Patients pay for the churning in terms of lack of adequate follow up, lost health histories, lower quality of service and possibly poorer health outcomes, especially those with chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

What does Dr. Brewer suggest we do to correct these horrible circumstances?

As we consider proposals to improve our health-care system we need to rebuild and preserve the relationship between the patient and the physician.

It's good for patients, and business.

Still wondering exactly what he has in mind? Here is a clue from his article:

The doctor-patient relationship started to go downhill when patients stopped paying their own office bills for routine care and third-party insurance and Medicare became the driving forces.

Dr. Brewer wants us to show up at his office with cash.

It Is Time To Yell "Fire" In Our Courtrooms

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire (or, more precisely, warming with warming).

Psychiatrists arise!

Dr. Steven Moffic, Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in a MedGenMed video editorial:

Therefore, instead of using psychiatric insight and techniques to reduce excessive anxiety, shame, and guilt for global warming these emotions will need to be increased in the unconcerned. This kind of 'help' runs counter to our usual goal of not making people feel worse!

From Notes from Dr. RW

This may be the technique being employed by Michael Chertoff of our Department of Homeland Security when he said he had a "gut feeling" that the United States faced a heightened risk of attack this summer.

In the same spirit, I must announce that the Republicans have a secret plan to dismantle our entire system of civil justice. I feel it in my gut.

Execute One, Save Many - China's Product Safety Program

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

In China, defective products can kill...government officials who head safety departments.

Sad Follow up: China Executes Drug and Food Safety Administrator

A few days ago, I wrote that Cao Wenzhuang, a Chinese drug and food safety department head had been sentenced to death, suspended for two years. His sentence could have been commuted if he had shown he had reformed. Reuters reports that, today, the Chinese government executed him. Zheng Xiaoyu (as spelled by the Xinhua new agency) was executed for taking bribes and dereliction of duty, according to the Xinhua.

The Supreme People's Court said the sentence was imposed due to "Zheng Xiaoyu's grave irresponsibility in pharmaceutical safety inspection and failure to conscientiously carry out his duties seriously damaged the interests of the state and people."

Reuters speculated that the unusually harsh sentence and its prompt enforcement reflect pressure on Beijing from domestic and international alarm about consumer product safety. Several products have recently faced recall in the United States over safety concerns.

From Total Injury

Sounds like a plan that could motivate the U.S. FDA - at least, the head of the FDA.

Is SiCKO A Terrorist Plot?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

In order to win the War on Terror we may need to dismantle the U.S. Government. Draining the entire bureaucratic swamp would prevent the breeding of terrorists if we follow the logic of National Review Online columnist Jerry Bowyer. We can only imagine the number of sleeper terrorists who are lurking in or using the IRS or the FDA.

Fox News: Universal health care breeds terrorists.

Today on Fox News's Your World With Neil Cavuto, National Review Online columnist Jerry Bowyer attacked Michael Moore's movie SiCKO and its positive portrayal of the health care in countries such as Britain and France. He argued that national health care systems are breeding grounds for terrorists because they are "bureaucratic." "I think the terrorists have shown over and over again...they're very good at gaming the system with bureaucracies," said Bowyer.

Transcript:

A state run health care enterprise is bureaucratic, and I think the terrorists have shown over and over again, whether it's dealing with INS or whether it's dealing with airport security, they're very good at gaming the system with bureaucracies. They're very good at getting around bureaucracies. [...]

And if one of your guys is a jihadist, if one of your doctors is spending all the time online reading Osama bin Laden fatwas, someone's going to notice that. But the National Health Service is more like the post office, you know there's a lot of anonymity, it's easy to hide in the bureaucracy.

From Think Progress

Correct/Guilty Parties In Liability Claims Determined By Investment Blogger

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

A major contribution to the efficiency and fairness of the American civil justice system has been made by blogger Todd Sullivan. According to a post at Law And More, which summarizes Todd's approach to litigation, it appears Todd is willing to name the guilty parties who deserve to be sued or, when he is unable to provide this service on behalf of the corporate and business community, to allow the legal system to determine both accountability and the remedy.

Sometimes, Yeah, It's Okay To File Lawsuits

Value investor Todd Sullivan, who contributes to FORBES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and his own blog Value Plays:

"It think there is a perception that because we are against what we call frivolous lawsuits, we are against ALL lawsuits when nothing could be further from the truth. What we want are the correct parties targeted, not those with the deepest pockets.

"In lead paint, the guilty parties are property owners. With these imported toys and trinkets with high contents of lead the legal system will have to determine accountability and the remedy."

Todd and his staff of incredibly talented truth-seekers are probably reviewing thousands of lawsuits and potential lawsuits daily to determine, if possible, the real guilty parties. A weekly list of Todd's Guilty Parties will be published. It is anticipated the designated guilty parties will accept their designation and pony up just compensation.

Should We Salute Attorney Bruce Cutler For His Jury Duty Service?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Many Americans face jury duty each year. For some, it is a hardship. For others, it is educational. And, for some, it is entertaining. I am not sure where to put this instance of jury duty. You decide if this juror should even show up.

Spector's lawyer skips trial to tape TV show

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Just when we thought we'd seen it all in celebrity trials, Phil Spector's bombastic lead attorney has decided the record producer's murder case can continue just fine without jurors seeing one key element -- himself.

Bruce Cutler, the New York lawyer who opened the proceedings in April as the star performer, has taken a time out from the 10-week-old trial to film a new courtroom TV show, Jury Duty.

Promotional clips from the show's website depict people pleading their small-claims cases to Judge Cutler and a jury of three celebrities. If the celebrities -- producers promise appearances by Phyllis Diller, Dick Van Patten and assorted lesser lights -- can't decide the case, "Judge Cutler will render the verdict."

Cutler vowed Monday to deliver the closing argument in the Spector trial even though he will not have been in court for much of the defense case. He said he has been watching the trial on TV and reading transcripts of testimony.

"I'm not doing it to deprecate the significance of the case," Cutler said. "I don't need to be there every day."

Nurses Conclude More Nurses Needed To Avoid Medication Errors

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Nurses know why injectable medication errors occur in medical facilities. And, they even know what would do the most to avoid the errors: To help reduce injectable medication errors, the vast majority of nurses (81 percent) believe their healthcare facility should ensure sufficient staff is available for timely and efficient administration. Bottom line - hire more nurses!!

Medication Errors and Syringe Safety Are Top Concerns for Nurses According to New National Study

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) (www.nursingworld.org) today announced the findings of the 2007 Study of Injectable Medication Errors, an independent nationwide survey of 1,039 nurses. According to the research, the overwhelming majority of nurses (97 percent) say they "worry" about medication errors, and more than two-thirds (68 percent) believe medication errors can be reduced with more consistent syringe labeling.

The 2007 Study of Injectable Medication Errors was developed and co-sponsored by ANA and Inviro Medical Devices (www.inviromedical.com), It was designed to capture opinions, concerns and experiences about challenges related to labeling on syringes, which has been a Joint Commission recommendation since 2006. Results of the study can be downloaded at: www.nursingworld.org.

Injectable medication errors

When asked about the point in the process medication errors are most likely to occur, the majority of nurses say either during the preparation and administering of medication to patients (48 percent), or during the transcription of the initial order (47 percent).

Nurses indicate the most common factors contributing to injectable medication errors are:

* Too rushed / busy environment (78 percent)

* Poor / illegible handwriting (68 percent)

* Missed or mistaken physician's orders (62 percent)

* Similar drug names or medication appearance (56 percent)

* Working with too many medications (60 percent)

Suggesting My Way To The Really Big Claims

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

The power of suggestion is one skill I have never honed. However, as a personal injury trial attorney I have used it to the detriment of my clients. That is the suspicion of JAMES M. BECK and MARK HERRMANN at Drug and Device Law.

BECK/HERRMANN are onto something very promising for my law practice.

How Lawyers' Ads Hurt Patients

Yes, lawyer ads may cause patients to stop taking medications that they need. But we think plaintiffs' lawyers also sometimes actually cause their clients to suffer pain.

We're thinking about cases where plaintiffs' lawyers suggest to their clients that they may be in pain:

Did you receive breast implants? They can cause your joints to ache. Do your joints ache?

Were pedicle screws used in your spinal fusion surgery? They can cause people's backs to hurt. Does your back hurt?

We're big believers in the power of suggestion.

We suspect -- although we can't prove it -- that many people read lawyers' ads disparaging a certain medical treatment, visit lawyers, and then legitimately become convinced (through the power of suggestion) that they're ill.

My advertising and interviewing have been woefully inefficient at developing the really big cases that are out there among the suggestibles in our society. Henceforth I will be disparaging the conduct of only extremely well-insured or mega-rich corporations (such as, Coca Cola or Microsoft) and asking only about quadriplegia. No more joint pain or backaches for me.

Even P.I.M.P.'s Have Feelings

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

There are Pimps and then there are P.I.M.P.s. I have spent much more time in the company of the latter (which will make my wife happy), but they do have a lot in common.

Simmering doctor-lawyer feud hits boiling point in suits

Being labeled a P.I.M.P. for the insurance industry by Palm Beach County trial lawyers didn't sit well with Dr. Michael Zeide.

P.I.M.P. is an acronym the group came up with to describe doctors who testify on behalf of insurance companies defending themselves against lawsuits from people seeking millions for injuries in auto accidents, from poorly maintained sidewalks, nursing home abuse, bad doctors and the like. The acronym stands for Professional Independent Medical Practitioners.

The rest of this story makes interesting reading at PalmBeachPost.com.

Outsourcing Trial Practice - Indian Doctors On The Line

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Outsourcing backroom aspects of the practice of law is increasing monthly. The economies of using workers in India to do certain law office tasks are the selling point.

Bob Kraft's P.I.S.S.D., however, highlights a type of outsourcing which seems to provide a service not easily or commonly available in the U.S.

Link of the Day - MD In A Box

"MD in a Box" sounds like a new health care clinic at Wal-Mart, but is something completely different. The brainchild of Florida lawyer Dorothy Clay Sims, who became frustrated with the testimony of insurance company medical experts during depositions in her personal injury claims, MD in a Box is intended to give plaintiff lawyers an edge when deposing a defense expert.

The idea in a nutshell is that a lawyer taking a medical deposition is on a live feed with a doctor in India, who give the lawyer tips via instant messaging on what questions to ask, and whether the testifying expert is properly explaining medical tests and studies.

Do you suppose an Indian attorney/M.D. could actually take the deposition via video link? If so, is it time to avoid the middleman, the U.S. Trial Lawyer?

The "Busy-Bee Plaintiff Bar" - What's Not To Like About That?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

The nicest thing said about personal injury trial lawyers lately was in a post at Law And More.

Doylestown - Wisconsin's Liability Crisis

Had Governor Jim Boyle signed Senate Bill 402, City of Milwaukee v NL Industries might not be taking place. Neither would a whole industry have to brace to the coming "Thomas" trial [Thomas v Mallett, 701 N.W.2d 523 (Wis. 2005].

In 2005, the American Tort Reform Association voted the Wisconsin Supreme Court as one of the major Judicial Hellholes in the U.S. Mississippi was also in a similar category until it badly needed a major industry to come to the state. Toyota contacted the governor and made some suggestions. Unlike Doyle, that governor cleaned up the tort system so that Toyota and other businesses would feel safe from the busy-bee plaintiff bar. Toyota has announced its new plant will be in Mississippi.

It is somehow exhilarating to be a member of the busy-bee plaintiff bar. It sounds much more positive and altruistic than greedy trial lawyers.

Judicial Climate Deserves Evening Weathercast

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Kiplinger has opened my eyes to the need for expanded television weather reports each evening.

What's the Liability Climate in Your State?

Which state has the fairest litigation environment? Which has the most unfair juries? Get a fix on the judicial climate for business, state by state.

Litigation is an ever-increasing cost of doing business, so when a company is thinking of starting up, expanding or relocating, it only makes sense that it give some consideration to a state's judicial climate. What are state rules like on noneconomic damages and class-action lawsuits? How fair are its judges? Is corruption a problem?

In fact, 57 percent of surveyed businesses said it was very likely or somewhat likely that "the litigation environment in a state could affect an important business decision ... such as where to locate or do business," according to "Lawsuit Climate 2007: Rating the States," an annual survey by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) and Harris Interactive. Delaware was ranked as the state with the most favorable overall litigation environment, with Minnesota and Nebraska holding down the No. 2 and 3 spots. West Virginia was ranked the worst, with Mississippi second from the bottom and Louisiana third.

Right after the traditional weather report I envision a segment dealing with the judicial climate. The weather person can stand before a map of the U.S. on which are displayed icons for judicial hellholes, unfair jury verdicts, punitive damage awards and other important measurements of regional and local judicial climate conditions.

Following this segment I suggest the weather person can launch into the tsunami of unnecessary deaths and serious injuries at the hands of doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, drug manufacturers, liquor-serving establishments and the tobacco industry. To complete the expanded climate report would then come the typhoon of unconscionable insurance company practices and the fraud on all citizens called tort reform.

Not Quite A Jury Of Your Peers

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

A jury of your peers may not always mean you get the young ones.

Review launched over stale jurors list in St. John's

A mistrial ordered Wednesday in Newfoundland Supreme Court over an outdated jury list has prompted the provincial justice minister to launch a review of the sheriff's office, with one defence lawyer already planning an appeal on a murder case.

Justice William Adams declared a mistrial for Sean Buckingham, a St. John's physician facing 23 charges of trafficking and sexual assault, when his lawyer, Randy Piercey, argued that the local jurors list is woefully out of date.

"I suppose the central issue was that no one under the age of 28 could sit on a jury in Newfoundland, because of the way the jury system was working," Piercey said.

The list of potential jurors has not been updated since 1999, and is based on data collected by the motor vehicle registration system.

John McDonald, the acting high sheriff, said the only explanation he could offer was a breakdown in communications.

"I couldn't believe when I looked at the list, and discovered that no one born after 1980 was on the jury list," he said. "It was just luck that we found it."

Now, if we could only leave out the Rush Limbaugh ditto-heads.

Mandatory Helmets And Wigs For Bicyclists?

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

See if you can spot the error in this thinking.

Bike helmets inspire unsafe driving

Scientific American.com recently posted an article about Ian Walker, a psychologist in Bath, England, where he rode his bike around either helmeted or naked-headed to gauge how motorists behave in both situations. Ian had heard several complaints from fellow riders that wearing a helmet seemed to result in bike riders receiving far less room to maneuver--effectively increasing the chances of an accident. So, Walker attached ultrasonic sensors to his bike and rode around Bath. After being overtaken by more than 2300 cars he found that helmeted cyclists inspire more dangerous driving from the cars around them, while bareheaded cyclists are treated with greater respect.

His findings, published in the March 2007 issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention, state that when Walker wore a helmet drivers typically drove an average of 3.35 inches closer to his bike than when his noggin wasn't covered. But, if he wore a wig of long, brown locks--appearing to be a woman from behind--he was granted 2.2 inches more room to ride

"The implication," Walker says, "is that any protection helmets give is canceled out by other mechanisms, such as riders possibly taking more risks and/or changes in how other road users behave towards cyclists."

Bicycle helmets are not designed to prevent accidents. They are designed to prevent head injuries. The protection against head injuries is not canceled out by any of Walker's findings.

I believe the implication from Walker's study is that bicyclists should wear long hair wigs on top of their helmets.

"Lifelong" Memberships For Sale

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

There is a real need for lifelong membership programs in America. These memberships would allow all of us to come rather belatedly to a cause or organization and signify today that, despite our lifetime of disinterest, neglect and non-membership, we really, really care. Structured properly, Vice President Dick Cheney, for example, could now obtain a lifelong membership in the National Gay And Lesbian Task Force.

The lifelong membership concept received national exposure recently on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos.

"Lifelong" NRA Member Mitt Romney

BC, writing on Cliff Schecter's blog, finds a rather interesting exchange between Multiple Choice Mitt and George Stephanopoulos.

You see, Mitt-flop once again showed how shallow he was this weekend. In an interview with George Stephetal., Mitt was asked about his support for the assault weapons ban and his quote "I don't line up with the NRA." Romney, of course, said his disagreements with the NRA are minimal and that he is a lifetime member of the NRA. Here's what followed

Yes, Mitt-flop believed so much in the NRA that he became a lifelong member (last year). His ridiculous reversals have become embarrassing, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Thanks to Emboldened.

Sometimes The Train Of Thought Leaves The Station Early

Category: Why Didn't I Think Of That?

When a trial is going really badly you find yourself wondering if there were some way to make this nightmare end. It is possible that this experienced defense attorney has come up with a dandy exit strategy. It may only work for g