We've all been there: you call ABC Corporation to report a complaint you have with a product or service, are put on hold for half the day, get transferred from department to department and explain your issue ten times to ten different people. No one seems to know what you are talking about or has...
Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian Blog
New Study Suggests Taking Extra Antioxidants Can Hamper Body’s Natural Ability to Fight Cancer
The body is a complex place. We take in food and turn it into energy. During that process, the body creates oxygen molecules with an extra electron. These are the dreaded free radicals that we read so much about. This is the “oxidant” that the presumably wonderful antioxidants are supposed to ...
Alarm Fatigue Continues to Cause Patient Injuries in Hospitals
Ignoring sounding alarms continues to cause injuries to hospital patients.
Chinese Made Exploding Hover Boards Create Challenges to Fairly Compensating Injured Arizona Users
It is all over the news that cheap, imported hover boards are dramatically catching fire. These hover boards have been purchased from Chinese manufacturers and resold in the U.S.A. Investigations point to defective Chinese batteries as the cause of these fires and recommend they not be charged ...
Agency Between County and Nonprofit Performing Essential Govt’l Function
DBT Yuma, LLC v. Yuma County Airport Auth., 726 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 38 (November 24, 2015) (J. Pelander) COUNTY NOT LIABLE FOR ALLEGED BREACH OF SUBLEASE BY AIRPORT AUTHORITY—ARS §28-8424 The Yuma County Airport Authority [YCAA] leased property owned by Yuma County and operated the Yuma Internation...
Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases: Schenck v. US (1919)
The Gist: The Espionage Act of 1917 made it a criminal act to interfere with military operations or support U.S. enemies during wartime.During World War I, a couple of activists against the war were convicted for handing out fliers that discouraged people from complying with the draft. The Suprem...
Exploding E Cigarette Batteries -- Beware the Danger of Electronic Cigarettes.
Electronic cigarettes are everywhere. From kiosks in the mall to convenience stores to stand alone vendors, the E-cigarette business is booming. Upwards of 10% of high school students raise their hands when asked if they have tried E cigarettes, and it is estimated to be a 2.5 Billion dollar bu...
Torts—Govt’l Qualified Immunity—Ill Will/Objective Malice/Good Faith
Pinal County v. Cooper, 719 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7 (App. Div. I, October 20, 2015) (J. Swann) QUALIFIED IMMUNITY IS COMPLETE DEFENSE AND IS NOT DEFEATED BY SPITE OR ILL WILL—MUST SHOW OBJECTIVE MALICE Plaintiff Timothy Gaffney, Director of Communications with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office sued t...
Insurance: UIM Coverage While Operating Vehicle in Business
Gambrell v. IDS Property Cas. Ins. Co., __Ariz. Adv. Rep. __, 2CA-CV 2014-0147 (App. Div. II, September 9, 2015) (J. Miller) WHERE INSURER CLEARLY STATES THAT UIM COVERAGE IN A PERSONAL AUTO POLICY DOES NOT APPLY WHEN THE INSURED IS OCCUPYING A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ARS § 20-259.01 (C) REQUIRES A F...
Justice for Hazel!
We like to share our victories. And today I celebrate an important one. My clients share a common thread -- the need to access the justice system is thrust upon them. It is not of their choosing. While I am typically helping a client navigate the impact of a life-altering injury caused by som...
Ted Schmidt and the ACTL headed to Palau to teach advanced trial advocacy.
The American College of Trial Lawyers [ACTL] screens and vets trial lawyers in each state and province inviting only the best to fellowship in the organization (top 1% trial lawyers in North America). It then asks these champions to find ways to improve and preserve the civil and criminal justice...
Nonhospital Medical Lien Valid Preceding 30 Days and Prospectively
Premier Physicians Group, PLLC v. Navarro, 722 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 17 (App. Div. I, October 1, 2015) ()J. Norris) NONHOSPITAL LIENS MAY COVER 30 DAYS TREATMENT PRIOR TO FILING AND ALL FUTURE TREATMENT Premier treated a third party for injuries sustained in a car accident with Navarro. On September ...
Torts: Federal Hold Tariffs Limit Economic Damages Against Public Utility & Its Contractors
US Airways, Inc. v. Qwest Corp., 722 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12 (App. Div. I, October 1, 2015) (J. Portley) DAMAGE LIMITATIONS IN FEDERAL TARIFFS ENFORCEABLE AGAINST CLAIMS FOR ECONOMIC LOSS Plaintiff claimed nearly two million dollars in damages related to business interruption when it lost internet c...
Evidence & Civil Procedure: Mediation Privilege Protects Mediator & Attorneys
Grubagh v. Blomo (Lawrence), 722 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 23 (App. Div. I , September 22, 2015) (J. Gemmill) COMMUNICATIONS BY MEDIATOR, ATTORNEYS & CLIENTS PRIVILIGED AND PRIVILEGE IS NOT WAIVED BY FILING MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT AGAINST ATTORNEY Plaintiff sues her attorney for negligent advice which le...
Why Can't I Sign Up for Draft Kings? (And Can You Make the Ads Stop?!)
The allure of fantasy sports has captured everyone's imagination. Suddenly even casual sports fans are speaking the language of metrics and moneyball. My neighbor's kid is 12 and in three fantasy leagues. What was once the realm of die-hards looking to geek out on sports has now gone mainstream...
Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases: NY Times v. Sullivan (1964)
The Gist: The New York Times published and ad defending Martin Luther King, Jr. and criticizing civil rights protesters, including public officials from Alabama. Some of the criticisms were inaccurate, yet minor. One public official, L.B. Sullivan, sued the paper for libel. Though Sullivan won hi...
Physicians Hate Electronic Medical Records Too
80% of doctors now use some form of Electronic Medical Records. I am sure you have noticed that when you are in the doctor's office, your doctor is likely looking at a screen and asking you questions. Or, when you or a loved one is in the hospital, you have 5 different people asking you the sam...
Beware: A Car Maker's Latest Ploy
Car makers, always on the cutting edge of making what should be an easy and exciting purchase stressful and unpleasant, have come up with a new way to steal something away. In this case, it's your 7th Amendment right. A quick Civics refresher -- The 7th Amendment of the United States Constitu...
Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases: Korematsu v. United States (1944)
The Gist: During World War II and following Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered (Executive Order 9066) 110,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps, arguing it was to protect the nation from its war enemies. The Supreme Court held that Executive Order 9066 was constitutional...
Study Confirms That Patients At Greater Risk For Medical Malpractice When They Go to the Hospital On The Weekend
Have you ever worried that the care you get at a hospital during the weekend is substandard. Well, you have reason to. A recent study from the BMJ Quality and Safety Journal looked at the rates of mortality (death) for patients admitted into the hospital during the weekend. They found that for...
Stop the Madness: The Latest Facebook Privacy Hoax
The latest Facebook privacy hoax is upon us. They seem to surface every year or two. And one is back, today. Like a bag of microwave popcorn, it starts with a few pops here and there before building to a rapid fire crescendo. You probably started seeing the hyper-technical posts earlier today...
Insurance—Portability & Scope of Statutorily Required UIM Coverage—Commercial Vehicle
Bambrell v. IDS Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 721 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 24 (App. Div. II, September 9, 2015) (J. Miller) UIM COVERAGE IN PERSONAL AUTO POLICY IS NOT PORTABLE AS TO INJURY IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLE In 2011, Frank Gambrell was driving a semi-tractor tanker, transporting milk for his employ...
Medical Malpractice Expert May Be Asked About Personal Practices/Deadline to File Motion For New Trial/Final Appealable Judgment
Jaynes v. McConnell, 721 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 20 (App. Div. I, September 15, 2015) (J. Gemmill) DEADLINE FOR FILING MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL NOT TRIGGERED UNTIL FINAL APPEALABLE JUDGMENT ENTERED/DEFENDANT'S MEDICAL EXPERT MAY BE ASKED ABOUT PERSONAL PRACTICES Plaintiff sued her colorectal surgeons for n...
Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases: Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
The Gist: To regulate racial discrimination, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 required historically discriminatory local and state governments to get federal approval before changing any of their voting laws or protocols. Selection of which states and local governments had to abide by this was deter...
1 in 5 Female Undergraduates Report Being Sexually Assaulted or Harrassed
More than 20 percent of female undergraduates at wide sample of top-rated universities said this year that they were victims of sexual assault and misconduct, re-affirming findings elsewhere, according to one of the largest studies ever of college sexual violence. The American Association of Univ...