Second opinions on HMOs; ERISA has long been a staple in managed care organizations' defense strategies. But now plaintiffs lawyers are opening up new theories of liability and expanding old ones

Article Abstract:

Plaintiffs in health care malpractice and denial of care litigation are no longer yielding to the health maintenance organizations' (HMOs) ERISA defense. Defenses used include agency theory, fiduciary duty, negligence, and federal disability and corruption laws. New managed care liability laws take several forms, others guaranteeing a patient's right to appeal a denial of care decision, and, most dangerous to HMOs, laws guaranteeing patients the right to sue their health plans.

Cases, Medical personnel, Managed care plans (Medical care), Malpractice, Medical malpractice

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Defending risky propositions; judges have never been reluctant to overturn referenda, to critics' dismay

Article Abstract:

Charges of judicial activism and interference with participatory democracy are usually the result when judges rule on voter referenda, and the Judicial Reform Act of 1997 would send voter-initiative lawsuits to a three-judge panel rather than a single judge. Judges have ruled on several controversial referenda in the 1990s, including one in Colorado banning gay-rights ordinances and an Oregon referendum granting residents the right to physician-assisted suicide.

Analysis, Judicial power, Judicial review

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Tough luck for the innocent man: as scientific breakthroughs help overturn more convictions of wrongly imprisoned people, the new crime is how little their lost lives are worth

Article Abstract:

Compensation to those wrongly convicted and imprisoned is minimal in most US states. Most states do not even have statutes to provide compensation and those that do limit the damages. Federal law only provides for $5000, Maine provides the highest at $300,000. Lawsuits often fail to gain higher compensation.

Remedies, Cover Story, Valuation, Restitution, False imprisonment

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