A purveyor of face-lifts unsuccessfully sued a consumer website that took a critical view of its offerings, and also had its “staffers post glowing reviews, comments and testimonials that appeared to come from clients”. Why is this combination of behaviors so unsurprising? [AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer via BoingBoing]
Author Archive
Medical privacy laws vs. adoption of electronic medical records
Nearly every policy wonk in the health care debate favors faster adoption of electronic medical records, but laws passed at the urging of other policy wonks seem to be getting in the way:
Hospitals have seen a decrease in EMR adoption in states where privacy laws restrict their ability to disclose patient information, according to a study published in the journal Management Science.
The study shows that states that have enacted medical privacy laws restricting the ability of hospitals to disclose patient information have seen a reduction in EMR adoption by 11 percent over a three-year period or 24 percent overall. States with no such regulations, on the other hand, experienced a 21 percent gain in hospital EMR adoption.
[Health Care IT News via HIPAABlog]
Kid isn’t his, homeless man in jail for nonsupport anyway
Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, both a special assistant state attorney general and a judge knew when sentencing Frank Hatley that he was not the biological father of the child born to an unmarried woman with whom he’d had a relationship. With the assistance of DNA results and a legal services lawyer Hatley had managed to get out from under future payments, but his arrearage on existing support (premised on his obligation to reimburse the state for its public assistance payouts on behalf of his supposed son) still left him in “deadbeat dad” status. “He’s dealing with a valid court order”, said one lawyer. So, as the paper notes, he’s “languished in a South Georgia debtor’s prison jail for more than a year”. More: Above the Law, Greenfield, CNN. Update Jul. 16: Hatley is freed.
Ukraine’s gift to the Cheney family
As a goodwill gesture, the president of the Eastern European nation gave the former Second Family some of the sorts of decorated blouses, wooden toys, and other crafted children’s items for which Ukrainian culture is renowned. But did Lynne Cheney risk flouting the intent of CPSIA by accepting them? [Carter Wood, ShopFloor; Al Kamen, Washington Post]
Regulation of yoga-instructor training
It’s leading to battles in New York and other states: “In March, Michigan gave schools a week to be certified by the state or cease operations. Virginia’s cumbersome licensing rules include a $2,500 fee — a big hit for modest studios that are often little more than one-room storefronts.” [NY Times]
Business wins a California ADA case
“The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in favor of the retailer, finding that plaintiff Byron Chapman does not have standing to pursue claims for alleged barriers that he had not personally encountered and where he was not deterred from entering the store.” [Cynthia Lambert, California Civil Justice; Byron Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.), Inc. opinion (PDF)]
On the radio
I’ve been appearing on a number of radio shows to comment on the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings. Yesterday I joined Jim Vicevich on WTIC (Hartford) for a preview of the Senate proceedings, and this morning I was a guest on “York Morning News” on WSBA (York, Pa.), the Wills and Snyder show on WTAM (Cleveland), the Morning News with Lana Hughes and J.P. Pritchard on KTRH (Houston), Helen Glover’s show on WHJJ (Providence), and “Morning News and More with Matt Ray and Kelly Sanchez” on KPAY (Chico, Calif.). If you’re interested in having me on your show, contact Hannah Martone at the Manhattan Institute: 212-599-7000.
John Avlon, “Sue City”
Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow John Avlon, in Forbes:
New York City spends more money on lawsuits than the next five largest American cities — Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and Philadelphia — combined. The city’s $568 million outlay in fiscal year 2008 was more than double what it spent 15 years ago and 20 times what it paid in 1977.
And the odd and extreme cases continue:
A Brooklyn insurance investigator won $2.3 million this year after he tumbled onto the subway tracks with a 0.18 blood-alcohol level and lost his right leg. (“They’re not allowed to hit you just because you’re drunk and on the track,” his lawyer explained.) A corrections officer received $7.25 million after unsuccessfully attempting suicide, on the grounds that the city should not have permitted her to have a gun. (“Ms. Jones could just have easily turned her city-authorized firearm on anyone,” her lawyer said.)
The piece is adapted from a contribution to a City Journal symposium, “New York’s Tomorrow”, and there’s also an associated podcast (cross-posted from Point of Law). More: Eric Turkewitz talks back from a plaintiff’s point of view (“when you account for inflation, there really hasn’t been much change at all” [compared with 15 years ago)] (& welcome Above the Law, WSJ Law Blog readers)
Welcome Instapundit and Above the Law readers
The two giant sites were among the many that linked to our Blawg Review #220, posted Monday.
DEA’s War on Cold Remedies
It’s taking a toll on liberty, per a Janice Rogers Brown dissent [Volokh; Novelty, Inc., v. DEA (PDF)]