A recent survey of almost 2000 physicians revealed that approximately one-third of all physicians did not completely agree with the concept that they should disclose a serious medical error to the patient. This means, that these physicians do not believe it is necessary when their patient has bee...
Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian Blog
Tucson Medical Malpractice: The Reality Of How Difficult It Is To Prove A Case
By: James D. Campbell -- Tucson Medical Malpractice Attorney The average Joe sitting in his armchair thinks that medical malpractice cases are a problem. There are too many of them and doctors can't practice medicine because insurance costs are driving them out of the business. I AM HERE TO TELL...
Arizona Personal Injury Law - Are You The Suing Type?
I have been a personal injury lawyer in Arizona for 30 years. Every now and then when I talk to a potential client they will say something like, "I'm not sure if I want to go through with this. I'm not really the suing type." I've been fortunate enough to represent more than 2,000 families in my...
Do I Have A Tucson Medical Malpractice Case? Part One: Standard of Care
Frequently, I get a call from a new potential Tucson or Arizona client, and one of the first things from their mouth is, "Do I have a malpractice case?" Frustratingly for the prospective Tucson client, I inevitably reply, "It depends." Unfortunately, it is very rare for me to be able to tell a p...
Understanding Insurance Policies: What's With all the Questions?
Insurance is confusing to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. When you apply for insurance, a homeowner's insurance policy for example, the insurance agent will ask you anywhere from what your roof is made of to whether you have a fire extinguisher to what type of breed your dog Spike is. After compil...
Black Friday: Dangerous Toy Alert -- Trouble in Toyland.
With the heart of the holiday shopping season only a day away, a child's safety advocacy group and allies including Tucson Medical Center and Phoenix Children's Hospital have published a report highlighting dangerous toys that should not be under the Christmas tree this year...or any year. The r...
New Supreme Court Ruling
Yesterday the Arizona Supreme Court issued an order amending Arizona Rule of Evidence 702 to conform almost identically to its Federal counterpart. This amendment renders the trial court a “gatekeeper” for expert witness testimony and is designed to restrict the admissibility of “junk science” an...
Concerns with Concierge Medicine
Concierge medicine is a new trend in medical care. When a patient signs up with a concierge physician, he pays an annual fee for special access to his doctor. Concierge physicians care for fewer patients than in a conventional practice, ranging from 100 patients per doctor to 1,000, instead of th...
What To Do If Your Car Breaks Down On The Side of the Road
Car accidents take all shapes. They don't always occur while you're driving. Stopping on the side of the road, or in a shoulder puts both drivers and passengers in a vulnerable position. The Arizona Republic reports on a vehicle accident in Phoenix on the shoulder of I-10. A commercial vehicle s...
Are Liability Releases Worth the Paper They Are Printed On?
he Arizona Daily Star talked to Ted Schmidt this week about the validity of liability releases or waivers. You know, the forms you see or sign before engaging in any number of activities ranging from roller skating to skydiving to horseback riding to going to a baseball game. The question, "Do th...
Heading to Mediation? What to Expect.
Truth is more than 95% of civil cases, including personal injury cases, settle before trial. Most often they are resolved in a proceeding called a mediation or settlement conference. There are many benefits to settlement including certainty, control and closure. You know what the result will be,...
It's Pool Season. Be Safe!
According to the Children's Safety Network, the leading cause of death of Arizona children ages one to four is drowning and the Center for Disease Control ranks Arizona second the nation for child drowning. Virtually all child drowning can be prevented by taking simple precautions. First, and mo...
Suit Challenges Brewer's Proposed Medicaid Cuts
A lawsuit filed today with the Arizona Supreme Court challenges Gov. Jan Brewer's plan to cut Medicaid programs and in the process eliminate health care coverage for thousands of Arizonans. The lawsuit calls the cuts unconstitutional, arguing that the cuts violate a 2000 voter approved referendum...
KSS Lawyers are Tucson's Top Lawyers
The June 2011 issue of Tucson Lifestyle profiles the Top Lawyers in Tucson as identified by an independent peer-review survey conducted by Professional Research Services, Inc., a Detroit based company that administers peer-review survey of doctors, dentists and lawyers. To put this together, mor...
What to do if You are Involved in an Auto Accident--Part II Injuries
If you are involved in a car accident and think you might need a lawyer to help you out, there are many things you can do at the scene of the accident to assist your lawyer in gathering evidence (see Part 1 of this article). This includes taking photos, getting a police report, taking down witnes...
What to Do if You are in an Auto Accident
What Should You Do if You Are Involved in a Car Accident? If you are involved in a car accident and think you may need a lawyer, there are many things you can do at the scene of the accident to help your lawyer analyze your case. However, under no circumstances should you ever attempt to do any ...
What is a Wrongful Death Action and Who can Bring It?
What is wrongful death? When people are killed in accidents, such as in vehicles or on the job, loved ones can be left with huge medical bills as well as overwhelming concern about what to do next. This is especially true when the breadwinner passes away. Wrongful death actions can help reduce a...
Insurance Bad Faith
When do I have a right to bring a claim against an insurance company for treating me unfairly? When an insurance company agrees to insure you, they have an implied obligation to be honest and fair in handling any insurance claims you may have; this is known as "good faith and fair dealing." In o...
Supreme Court Rules on "Reverse Discrimination."
This week the United States Supreme Court held that white firefighters in New Haven were unfairly discriminated against when the city would not promote two firefighters-even though they were qualified for the job- because they were white. In 2003, exams were taken by firefighters in New Haven fo...
Supreme Court Rules that Strip Search of 13-year-old Student was Unconstitutional
Supreme Court Rules that Strip Search of 13-year-old Student was Unconstitutional This week, the United States Supreme Court upheld (8-1) an Arizona state court decision that the strip search of a 13 year old girl by school officials who were looking for prescription-strength drugs violated her ...
Supreme Court's Decision a Stunning Blow for Partisan Judicial Elections
For more information on this topic, check out "Grisham Novel Imitates Real Life: Could it Happen in Arizona" by Ted Schmidt, which can be found in our most recent newsletter. Last week the Supreme Court ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that judges are prohibited from hearing cases that involve an inter...
Social Networking: Be Careful What You Share
Social Networking on sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter can be a very helpful tool in keeping in touch with friends, meeting new people, and sharing ideas. Be careful what you share, however, because it can become available to more people than you think and create damaging consequences to ...
Understanding Insurance Policies: What am I Buying?
Insurance is confusing to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. When you apply for insurance, a homeowner's insurance policy for example, the insurance agent will ask you anywhere from what your roof is made of to whether you have a fire extinguisher to what type of breed your dog Spike is. After compil...
Medical Negligence--The Standard of Care
Medical Malpractice: Standard of Care Black's Law Dictionary defines medical malpractice as “a doctor's failure to exercise the degree of care and skill that a physician or surgeon of the same medical specialty would use under similar circumstances.” Establishing a claim for medical malpractice ...
"Loser Pays" Law
For hundreds of years civil lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to make individuals or a family whole again. These lawsuits are filed knowing that if one were to lose their claim then they would not have to pay lawyer fees. This allows people with little or no money to enter the civil arena an...