In 2016, the CDC released its newest numbers of autism among the nation's children. Based on those numbers, an estimated 1-1.2 million children have been diagnosed with autism, or 1 in 68 kids. Since the spectrum is so large many of the kids who are considered high functioning can blend in more ...
Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian Blog
Autism Explained--Part I
Imagine living in a world where not many people understood you. Where everything seemed brighter, louder, smells stronger. Where people stereotyped you, didn't think you were capable of doing much, or, expected you to be the next “Rain Man”. Unfortunately, this is the life for the millions of p...
Torts—Medical Malpractice Preliminary Expert Affidavit
Boswell v. Fintelmann, 760 Ariz. Adv. Rep 19 (App. Div. I, March 9, 2019) (J. Thompson) FAILURE TO FILE PRELIMINARY EXPERT AFFIDAVIT ESTABLISHING MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE SUIT HAS MERIT REQUIRES DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE Pro per plaintiff filed a medical malpractice claim certifying pursuant to A...
NEW RULES ON NEW DOCTOR WORK HOURS PLACE PATIENTS AND THE PUBLIC IN DANGER
New rules adopted by the entity that accredits medical schools allows new doctors to work up to 28 hours a shift. This is dangerous to patient safety and public health.
LSAT No More?
Remember the LSAT? To some attorneys, the Law School Admissions Test may be a faint memory; nothing more than their first step toward a legal career. For future attorneys, however, studying for months on end and cramming practice logic games in preparation for the LSAT may become nonexistent. La...
Long Term Opioid Use Contributed To By Liberal Prescribing Emergency Department Physicians
Some doctors prescribe narcotics three times as often as others, which increases the risk a patient will become a long term user of these dangerous drugs.
ARS §13-3620 Duty to Report Abuse of a Minor Explained
Arizona law requires that ALL adults responsible for the care or treatment of a minor IMMEDIATELY report any “reasonable belief or suspicion” that a child (anyone under 18 years of age) is the victim of sexual abuse, neglect or emotional abuse. This includes contact with a minor of a sexual natur...
10 Things Every Trial Lawyer Could Learn from Vincent La Guardia Gambini
The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) is celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the 1992 Joe Pesci/Marissa Tomei film, My Cousin Vinny. Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. wrote an excellent retrospective on the film titled '10 Things Every Trial Lawyer Could Learn from Vincent La G...
Smart Devices Can Track Your All Activity In Your Home For The Government, Do You Really Want That?
Smart home assistants potentially track all the activities in your home. Today, Amazon agreed to turn this information over to the government in a murder investigation. This removes a significant barrier of privacy from your home.
Emergency Department Care of Critically Ill Patients Loses Out To Corporate Marketing
Modern corporate hospitals put unrealistic time goals on their doctors, which results in doctors being forced to lessen the time they spent with their most needy, sick patients.
The Funeral Rule Explained
Our firm regularly works with families who are grieving the loss of a loved one. During this period of sadness, one consistent thing that comes up is trying to find any semblance of clarity, from the mountain of paperwork required to go through and the complex questions being asked to deeper, em...
Torts: Unconscionability of Arbitration Clause in Nursing Home Contract
Gullett v. Kindred Nursing Centers West, LLC, 758 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12 (App. Div. II, February 15, 2017) (J. Staring) AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE NOT SUBSTANTIVELY UNCONSCIONABLE WHERE REASONABLE THOUGH LIMITED DISCOVERY ALLOWED AND WHERE BOTH PARTY'S ARE ALLOWED INPUT ON WHO WILL ARBITRATE; LIMITED DI...
ARE MANUFACTURERS OF OPIOID MEDICATIONS ATTEMPTING TO BLOCK COMMON SENSE LIMITS ON PAIN MEDICATIONS?
Opioid overuse is a national tragedy, with increasing deaths and destruction caused by these potentially dangerous medications. The CDC's 2016 guidelines attempted to curb their use. In response, many medical organizations paid by opioid drug manufacturers were critical of this effort, and their payment sources were not disclosed. This raises serous ethical questions about opioid manufacturer's efforts to address this national problem.
Sexual Abuse on a TUSD School Bus
This is a tragic and stomach churning case. We represent a 6 year old boy who was sexually abused by a 12 year old boy on board their Tucson Unified School District bus. The boys were the only two passengers aboard an afternoon elementary school bus. In violation of TUSD policy, they were allow...
Key Points From the 9th Circuit's Ruling, Which Puts a Temporary Freeze on Trump's Immigration Order
Last week the 9th Circuit kept in place a nationwide Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on President Trump's controversial Executive Order on immigration, a broad order that in part includes banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and that would significantly affect certain families, st...
KSS in the News -- Brian Lynch and the Scott Roofing Fatality
I represent the family of a Santa Fe bicyclist who came to Tucson with a group of fellow riders to enjoy several days of friendship and bike rides in our beautiful community. Unfortunately, a roofer named Brian Lynch crashed his work truck into their group at the intersection of La Canada and Ha...
Evidence: Application of Rule of Exclusion to Expert Witnesses
Spring v. Bradford, __Ariz. Adv. Rep. __, 1 CA-CV 15-0505 (App. Div. I, January 12, 2017) (J. Cattani) WHERE PARTIES AGREE TO APPLY RULE OF EXCLUDING WITNESSES DURING TRIAL IT IS IMPROPER TO ALLOW EXPERT WITNESSES TO READ TRIAL TRANSCRIPT OF OTHER WITNESSES WITHOUT FIRST GETTING COURT'S PERMISS...
CFSD 2017 Teacher of the Year on the Power of Kindness
Manzanita Elementary School has a pretty big role in the lives of the folks at our firm. It educated one of our lawyers - Matt Schmidt - along with five firm kids. Two youngsters are on deck, and will they start kindergarten there in the blink of an eye. We proudly support Manzanita, and we we...
Trial: Scope of Voir Dire & Curative Instruction
Zuluaga v. Bashas'Inc., 757 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12 (App. Div. I, February 3, 2017) (J. Vasquez) ABSENT PROOF OF PREJUDICE BY JURY TRIAL JUDGE'S ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN LIMITING SCOPE OF VOIR DIRE IS NOT REVERSIBLE/CURATIVE INSTRUCTION WITHIN BROAD DISCRETION OF TRIAL COURT WHERE POTENTIAL MISLEADING ...
Civil Procedure: Computing Sanctions on Two Offers of Judgment/Taxation of Costs re Private Process Server
Orosco v. Maricopa County Special Health Care Dist., 757 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 11 (App. Div. I, February 2, 2017) (J. Johnsen) SANCTIONS FOR ACQUIRING JUDGMENT IN EXCESS OF OFFER OF JUDGMENT ARE CALCULATED FROM FIRST OF TWO OFFERS AND COSTS OF SERVICE BY PRIVATE PROCESS SERVER ARE TAXABLE Plaintiffs ...
Virtual Reality changing the landscapes of professions everywhere, including medical and legal.
Take a look outside and you'll see students zipping around campus on “hover boards”, cars maneuvering parallel parking and driving themselves, and personal drones taking to the skies for the ultimate “selfie”. Take a closer look indoors and you'll find people plugging into unexplored realms of vi...
Keeping a "New Year" Resolution
Every New Year people come up with a resolution to better themselves. Most pick things which are difficult to achieve like losing weight or quitting smoking. These are not that difficult to achieve when taken step by step, but we live in a society where we want everything done as fast as possible...
Managing Your Caseload and Your Time
Matt Schmidt's presentation to U of A law school students on Tuesday, January 31st 2017 regarding managing their time and caseload.
A Recent Investigation Points To Overly Aggressive Patient Scheduling And Lack Of Uniformity As Continued Causes Of Surgical Errors
Despite efforts, preventable surgical errors continue. Overly aggressive scheduling of surgeries and lack of uniformity in the OR are two causes of these errors. Errors will continue as long as hopsitals continue to put profit over patient safety by scheduling too many surgeries in a day. Also, surgeons need to buy into hospital staff's need for uniformity.
Tucson Rodeo Parade Announces Jeannette Mare Grand Marshal
Last week I had the privilege of introducing Jeannette Mare as Grand Marshal of the 2017 Tucson Rodeo Parade. This is the parade's 92nd year. It is the oldest and largest non-motorized parade in America. Her selection was top secret, and it was so much fun presenting the "kindness lady" to a fu...