Sarah Solon

TortDeform Blog Stroll

Washington Trial Law Blog has an interesting post on how advertising might be bad for the tort system, arguing that "While the advertising is great for individual lawyers it has the effect of poisoning the jury pool. It plays right into the insurance industry's campaign to make trial lawyers look like ambulance chasers. This summer or the year before at the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association summer convention, David Ball reportedly hit on this topic and told the crowd that in the public's eye 'they had no credibility' due in large part to advertising."

Women's Enews announces that Erin Brockovich is hosting her own show, beginning tonight, profiling women seeking justice. As a "file clerk at the law firm of Masry and Vititoe in Southern California, launched an investigation that revealed toxins leaked from a Pacific Gas and Electric Company facility caused severe health problems among the residents of Hinkley, Calif. Her research led to a $333 million dollar settlement--the largest toxic tort injury settlement in U.S. history. The reality-based TV show, "Final Justice," which premieres tonight on Lifetime Television at 8 p.m. EST.

Women's Enews also ran an opinion piece yesterday from Annie Tummino, the lead plaintiff in Tummino v. von Eschenbach, a suit charging the FDA Commissioner with sex discrimination, and arguing that the FDA applies a sexist double standard to its approval of Plan B for over the counter sales by imposing an age restriction that it does not apply to other drugs of comparable safety or comparable purpose. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed this suit on behalf 9 women associated with the Morning-After Pill Conspiracy, a grassroots feminist organization, as well as the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, and suggests that while Plan B is now available over the counter for women over 18, these restrictions will still do damage to young women who need the contraceptive and are political in nature. (DMI named the refusal to make Plan B available over the counter one of the worst policies of 2005, and I blogged about the success of finally making Plan B available over the counter in 2006).

Cross-Posted from TortDeform.com

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Posted at 6:53 AM, Oct 26, 2006 in Blog Stroll
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