Wheeled to the hospital exit

The site My OB Said WHAT?!? sums up a paradox that many hospital visitors have noticed:

“You’re not ready to leave until you can walk out of here.” – L&D Nurse to mom being wheeled out upon discharge.

Many hospitals do hold to a formal policy on the subject. Thus Methodist Hospital of Houston: “When your doctor has discharged you and you are ready to leave, you will be escorted out in a wheelchair by hospital staff.” Why necessarily in a wheelchair, when you may be perfectly capable of walking?

The Chamber-backed Southeast Texas Record has a theory. It’s the same theory endorsed at Yahoo Answers. As for whether patients actually fall and hurt themselves on the way out of the hospital, it appears from this Eastern District of Pennsylvania case (PDF) that, yes, it happens.

Filed under: hospitals, slip and fall

“Woman chasing ex-husband loses slip-and-fall lawsuit”

Jonesboro, Ga.: the defense lawyer called it “a fun fact pattern” involving “quite a cast of characters,” while the plaintiff’s lawyer acknowledged taking the case to trial even while knowing “that there was a less than 10 percent chance of winning on liability. … I never turn down the chance to take a case to trial when there is a real injury involved, no matter how tough the liability picture.” Does that imply that he represents other clients whose injury isn’t as “real”? [Fulton County Daily Report]

Filed under: Georgia, personal responsibility, slip and fall

Canada: lender’s inspection may create liability to third parties

A British Columbia court has allowed a suit to proceed arguing that a government lending program which included inspection of the property to be renovated could incur a duty to third persons who might later fall on a staircase whose faults allegedly would have been detected had inspection not been negligent. [Erik Magraken; Benoit v. Banfield]

Filed under: Canada, mortgages, real estate, slip and fall

Judge: blind plaintiff can sue landlord, guide-dog provider over fall

A judge has ruled that an elderly Manhattan woman can sue her landlord and a guide-dog provider over a fall she suffered on a step at her building. Gloria Clark argues that her earlier guide dogs had always guided her around a dangerous step over 26 years of living in the building but that while she was auditioning a new guide dog the dog’s trainer did not properly take care against the hazard. [New York Daily News]

Filed under: service animals, slip and fall

November 14 roundup

Seeking to address widespread pharmaceutical shortages, Obama executive order downplays government role in causing them [Fair Warning, WSJ editorial, earlier here, here, here, here, etc.]
“The school has a strict no-hugging policy….” [WKMG Orlando]
Retired Justice John Paul Stevens isn’t buying the “Thomas should recuse” meme [USA Today via Legal Ethics Forum]
Not COPPA-cetic: among other unintended consequences, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act has encouraged parents to help kids to falsify ages online [Danah Boyd via Jim Harper, Suderman, Reason, Stewart Baker, earlier]
Lawmaking from the bench: Maryland high court strikes down law limiting landlords’ lead paint liability [Ronald Miller] “Maryland court sides with plaintiffs in slip-and-fall cases” [Emily Babay, Examiner]
Trial lawyers help bail out Bexar County Democratic party [San Antonio Express-News]
Supreme Court agrees to hear case arguing that aggressive enforcement of local housing code violates federal Fair Housing Act [Magner v. Gallagher, SCOTUSBlog, Illinois Municipal League, Daniel Fisher, Inverse Condemnation]

Filed under: Clarence Thomas, fair housing, lead paint, Maryland, Mikal Watts, pharmaceuticals, privacy, slip and fall

The dangers of corn shucking

British Columbia lawyer Erik Magraken shares this photo.

Filed under: agriculture and farming, Canada, slip and fall

March 30 roundup

“Woman Sues Adidas After Fall She Blames on Sticky Shoes” [Lowering the Bar]
Texas lawmakers file loser pays proposals [SE Tex Record] Actual scope of proposals hard to discern through funhouse lens of NYT reporting [PoL] Marie Gryphon testimony on loser-pays proposals in Arkansas [Manhattan Institute, related]
Google awarded patent on changing of logo for special days [Engadget via Coyote]
“Civil Gideon in Deadbeat Dad Cases Would Be ‘Massive’ Change, Lawyer Tells Justices” [Weiss, ABA Journal, Legal Ethics Forum]
Amateur-hour crash-fakers in Bronx didn’t reckon on store surveillance camera [NY Post]
“Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in Cobell Defend $223M Fee Request” [BLT]
Show of harm not needed: FDA kicks another 500 or so legacy drugs off market, this time in the cold-and-cough area [WaPo]
“Wal-Mart v. Dukes: Rough Justice Without Due Process” [Andrew Trask, WLF]

Filed under: Arkansas, civil gideon, crash faking, FDA, Google, loser pays, patent quality, product liability, slip and fall, Texas, Wal-Mart v. Dukes

“Let us know of a slippery location”

A Wisconsin personal injury firm wants locals to send them word of icy conditions in shopping walkways and suchlike places — as part of a public service campaign, it goes without saying. [Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Warshafsky law firm Spread the Sand]

Filed under: chasing clients, slip and fall, Wisconsin

Slipping in the grocery aisle, accidentally on purpose

CBS News takes a look at some instances in which in-store cameras captured footage of, e.g., victims carefully positioning the spills on which they intended to slip. More: Legal Blog Watch.

Filed under: claims fraud, premises liability, slip and fall

August 30 roundup

Ghastly CPSIA law reaches two-year anniversary [AmendTheCPSIA; related, CPSC Commissioner Northup]
Longtime Overlawyered mentionee Andrew Thomas in GOP primary cliffhanger for Arizona AG [Coyote, background]
Biased bar-b-q? “Suit challenges air pollution from restaurant as civil rights violation” [Alexandria, Va. Gazette-Packet via Mystal/AtL]
Canada: “Lawyer Awarded $6M for Fall on Dance Floor After Firm-Sponsored Dinner” [ABA Journal]
San Diego taxpayers rub their eyes and ask what went wrong with municipal-employee pensions [Union-Tribune via Alkon; more from Steven Greenhut and Megan McArdle]
FM radio phone mandate? “Dying industry tries to regulate its way back into your life” [Freddoso/Examiner]
“Judge assailed for fraud in Kentucky fen-phen case” [Andrew Wolfson, Louisville Courier-Journal]
Taco Bell not liable for cost of Ganges purification pilgrimage after devout vegetarians inadvertently consume meat [eleven years ago on Overlawyered]

Filed under: Arizona, Canada, CPSIA, Kentucky fen-phen settlement fraud, public employment, San Diego, slip and fall