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...
Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian Blog
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...
Negligence--failure to use reasonable care
What Does it Mean When Someone is Liable for Negligence? In general, people normally characterize a negligent person as someone who is irresponsible, careless, or who makes bad choices. Although this characterization is not wrong, it is only part of what is required legally to maintain a lawsuit...
Topic Healthcare Reform 101: What is it Exactly that Capitol Hill is Trying to Change About Our Healthcare System?
The world of healthcare can be confusing and the idea of reforming it even more so. So what is it exactly that the government is trying to do to change our current healthcare system? Below are the answers to a few of the most commonly asked questions about this subject. Q: What would healthcare ...
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...
Failure to Warn and Federal Preemption
The United States Supreme Court has taken on the question of federal preemption in the products liablility arena in a big way. By next summer significant limitations may be created to the right of an individual to sue product manufacturers, especially drug and medical manufacturers, for failing t...
The "Eggshell Rule" In Negligence Actions
In the usual case of negligence an award for damages is given according to the foreseeability of the injury which occurred. In such instances a person is not guilty of negligence unless the harm that occurred was reasonably foreseeable given the negligent act. For example, in Abrams v. City of Ch...
Damages
Damages when someone's wrongful act causes injury to you or your loved ones, it is important to know what kind of damages you're entitled to so that you can evaluate what your case might be worth and whether it is even worth hiring a lawyer. After all, litigation can be extremely expensive, so if...
Consumer Safety - Pre-Emption
Bush Administration Policies Show Disdain for Consumer Safety In a report released today, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concludes that Bush Administration political appointees have worked hard to frustrate consumer rights for the sole purpose of protecting big businesses fr...