Tort Trends

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Tort Law

ISBA Members, please login to join this section

2012 Articles

Amending “under a legal disability” to toll the statute of limitations for plaintiffs with locked-in syndrome By James P. Looby December 2012 Plaintiffs in personal injury actions who suffer from locked-in syndrome are not necessarily afforded the same protections as plaintiffs with other known disabilities. 
The amendment to the Health Care Services Lien Act By Bridget Duignan December 2012 The amended Act provides certainty and a more level playing field for insurance companies and individual insureds within the context of bodily injury and death claims.
7 comments (Most recent July 2, 2013)
Authoritative texts: Expert witnesses are allowed to read to the jury the contents of inadmissible scientific and medical literature as the basis for an opinion By Kurt D. Lloyd November 2012 This article provides a thorough and thoughtful analysis of an interesting evidentiary issue in cases involving expert witnesses.
Bankruptcy issues relating to personal injury cases By Brett J. Swanson May 2012 In the recent case of Berge v. Kuno Mader and DMG America, Inc., the First District found that the doctrine of judicial estoppel bars a plaintiff from proceeding with a cause of action in state court where the plaintiff fails to disclose the action as an asset in a bankruptcy petition.
1 comment (Most recent May 19, 2012)
Editor’s note By John L. Nisivaco December 2012 An introduction to the issue from Editor John Nisivaco.
Editor’s note By John L. Nisivaco November 2012 An introduction to the issue from Editor John Nisivaco.
Editor’s note By John L. Nisivaco June 2012 An introduction to the issue from Editor John Nisivaco.
Editor’s note By John L. Nisivaco March 2012 An introduction to the issue from Editor John Nisivaco.
Editor’s note By John L. Nisivaco February 2012 An introduction to the issue from Editor John Nisivaco.
Editor’s notes By John L. Nisivaco May 2012 An introduction to the issue from Editor John Nisivaco.
Fifth District issues new Forum Non Conveniens opinion By David Cates June 2012 A summary of the decision in Fennell v. Illinois Central Railroad Company, issued earlier this year.
How to obtain a “Zero Interest Letter” from Medicare in a wrongful death action By Scott D. Lane June 2012 A sample letter to assist Plaintiff’s counsel in obtaining a rapid response from Medicare and facilitate distribution of the proceeds recovered.
Jablonski v. Ford: Is the Illinois Supreme Court crafting a new approach to duty analysis and proof in negligent-product-design cases? By George S. Bellas & A. Patrick Andes March 2012 The Illinois Supreme Court's recent decision in Jablonski et al. v. Ford Motor Co. appears to illustrate a shift in how Illinois courts are deciding cases involving negligent-product-design claims.
Letter to the Editor By Hon. Eugene G. Doherty December 2012 A reader's response to “Authoritative texts: Expert witnesses are allowed to read to the jury the contents of inadmissible scientific and medical literature as the basis for an opinion” which was published in the November issue of this newsletter.
O’Connell v. Turner Construction, Inc. and Section 414 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts By Bridget Duignan February 2012 The demarcation between retained control and the lack thereof is not clear-cut and the Illinois Supreme Court has not revisited this issue since it first recognized Section 414 as a statement of Illinois law, over 45 years ago.
Pre-trial conference—A defense perspective By John R. Bailen May 2012 Some points to consider when determining whether or not to request a pre-trial.
A strategy for dealing with medical providers who refuse to submit their bills to health insurance By Dennis L. Berkbigler February 2012 There are a number of situations where the personal injury client may benefit more by having his or her medical expenses paid by health insurance rather than out of the tort recovery. The following letter, or some variation of it, may be used in an attempt to induce the recalcitrant provider to comply with the demand to submit the client’s bills to his or her health insurance.
1 comment (Most recent February 10, 2012)
Using the Freedom of Information Act before and during litigation, where it concerns a named party By Martin A. Dolan & Robert Ennis March 2012 A judicious litigant familiar with FOIA procedures and policies can use the FOIA to great effect to supplement their discovery efforts before and during litigation and consequently strengthen their overall case.
Wayback machine: Unraveling the evidentiary path to the Internet Archive service By Bradley N. Pollock & Anne K. Knight November 2012 The Wayback Machine, which surfs the Internet and automatically captures and preserves copies of Web pages, can be an excellent source of evidentiary material. But once this information is found, how does a practitioner go about admitting it into evidence?