Negligence Tort Lawsuit - Article Example

?Harris Kamran Law Article Summaries 16 December Tort Lawsuit Article Summaries Lawsuit In Rypien v. NFL, former football player of the Redskins, Mark Rypien has sued NFL for head injuries which he has incurred during his eleven-season long career in football with the league (Fenno 2012). He is joined by a hundred and twenty five other football players of various teams who have filed for the same cause: repeated head injuries sustained as a result of playing with the league (Fenno 2012). The lawsuit claims that NFL intentionally hid the information from the players that repeated head injuries could be sustained, and could incur serious brain damage later in life, leading to neurologic disturbances and degeneration (Fenno 2012). Mr. Rypien, who is the lead plaintiff in the case, claims he is suffering from brain damage and disturbed mental functions as a direct result of this act by the League (Fenno 2012). The league, of course, denies any direct involvement, and contradicts the opinion that any vital information was intentionally kept from the players (Fenno 2012). This is an example of many such lawsuits against NFL for the same reasons (Fenno 2012). This is an example of a physical injury tort lawsuit, in which the defendant is blamed for intentional physical harm to the prosecutor. Lawsuit 2: In Perez v. Deitz, an Internet blogger and the user of the web platform, Yelp, is facing a lawsuit worth $750,000, due to her derogatory remarks about the company (Ferenstein 2012). Dietz Development is a home contractor company which is claiming to be losing customers after an Internet user, Jane Perez, published some defamatory remarks about the company on the website Yelp (Ferenstein 2012). Although the Internet company, Yelp, itself cannot be held liable for any remarks or claims made on its platform by the users due to its protection by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the information published has been found to have serious effects on small businesses, with the local customers giving a lot of heed to the ratings and remarks on the website (Ferenstein 2012). Therefore, a judge ordered Perez to edit her remarks about the company, in an injunction (Ferenstein 2012). This move itself has cost the company quite a few customers, as people have decided to stay away from a company which sues customers and Internet users for voicing their concerns and views (Ferenstein 2012). The Yelp lawyers and critics themselves are of the view that such lawsuits would hamper free speech and the expression of true opinions (Ferenstein 2012). On the other hand, the court seems to hold the Internet users responsible for their words, as their words and comments seem to be having a far-reaching effect, especially on businesses (Ferenstein 2012). This is an example of defamatory tort lawsuits, in which the reputation of the prosecution is at stake, while there is no physical harm. This particular case is, furthermore, an example of SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation-related lawsuits (Ferenstein 2012). Lawsuit 3: Advocate South Suburban Hospital, and an obstetrician named in the lawsuit, have been sued for negligence and personal physical injury while delivering a baby who is now nine years old when the case is settled (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). Maria Cavanaugh was born to Kari Cavanaugh through a normal delivery in the mentioned hospital, while the mother was taking the pill called Pitocin (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). This drug is currently widely popular among expecting mothers, who are prescribed this to hasten labor and reduce the labor period (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). Although relatively safe before delivery, it is supposed to be cut off near term to minimize its side effects (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). Kari was also prescribed this drug, however, the nurses and the doctor actually increased the dose of the drug instead of discontinuing it, leading to toxic side effects incurred to the baby, who developed cerebral palsy and intense brain damage (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). According to Kari’s attorney Schafer, this could have been avoided had the drug discontinued and the baby delivered through a C-section instead of a delivery (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). Kari, who is so severely handicapped as a result that she cannot perform even the basic personal hygiene tasks, and is completely confined to a wheelchair, is not expected by the doctors to live longer than fifty years (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). The hospital and the doctor settled the case at $12 million, with the hospital, including the nurses, paying $11 million and the doctor the rest (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). The hospital issued a formal statement saying that they have learned from their mistake and would use the lesson to make the hospital a safer environment for such procedures (Goldblatt and Smith 2012). This is an example of negligence tort lawsuit, in which the prosecutor sues the defendant for negligence in practice, which could lead to physical harm, as in this case, or other forms of harm such as emotional, defamatory, or otherwise. Lawsuit 4: A former freshman student, identified in the files as John Doe, has filed a lawsuit against his college, Sewanee: The University of the South, worth $3 million (South 2011). The case is filed on the grounds of breach of contract, in that Doe was let go by the university without fulfilling the due formalities and procedures, and without giving Doe a chance (South 2011). On the 28 of August, 2008, Doe had sexual relations with a college freshman, identified as A.B. in the legal papers, in his dorm room. A.B. stayed for a while before leaving the room (South 2011). On the 16 of September, she went to the dean of the college and reported the event as a rape accusation on Doe, claiming that it was all against her will (South 2011). Doe’s attorney claim that A.B. later left the college for rehab due to drugs and alcohol, and did not pursue the case against Doe (South 2011). However, the college hurriedly tried to settle the case by expelling Doe. According to the college, all the proper procedure and formalities were fulfilled (South 2011). Doe was given a written notice to attend a disciplinary committee session after two days, in which it was decided that Doe was guilty beyond doubt (South 2011). According to Doe, the dean asked him to feign drunkenness on the day of the event, destroy all evidence, and claim that he had no recollection of the sexual relations (South 2011). Doe was given a choice of action; he could either leave the college for the semester and then apply again with the case in his records, or he could take a year off and apply again with a clean record (South 2011). Doe initially decided to take the latter option, but then gave up on the decision to apply again, and instead he and his parents sued the college for breach of contract (South 2011). The case is in its trial and hearing days yet, with nothing decided or settled. This is an example of a contract tort lawsuit, in which the prosecutor claims that the defendant violated the terms of the contract, causing harm to the prosecutor. This harm could be physical, emotional, defamation, or otherwise. Lawsuit 5: A Sacramento based basketball team, The Kings, and the injured player Francisco Garcia, sued a plastic manufacturing company named Ledraplastic S.p.a. for faulty product leading to personal injury, asking for $4 million in damages (Walsh 2012). Garcia was practicing and exercising with the company’s Gymnic ball which was supposed to withstand the pressures of up to 600 pounds, and was of the no-bursting quality, as claimed by the company (Walsh 2012). Garcia had ninety-pound weights in both hands, when suddenly the ball burst and Garcia fell to the ground, forcibly, in his own words, with the weights in his hands, leading to forearm fracture and other serious injuries (Walsh 2012). The total weight withstood by the ball was only four hundred pounds (Walsh 2012). This led Garcia to miss out on four months of a five-year contract worth almost thirty million dollars, and later, due to an aggravation of his forearm injury, he was forced to miss two games in March of this year (Walsh 2012). The team and Garcia sued the company for physical damage, as well as loss of future earning capability (Walsh 2012). Although the case has been settled now with a remarkably satisfactory sum of money in the settlement, as stated by Garcia’s attorney, the exact sum is kept confidential as per the request of Ledraplastic (Walsh 2012). The company now issues a warning letter with it Gymnic balls about the weight limitations when used (Walsh 2012). This is an example of a product liability tort lawsuit, in which the faulty or defective product leads to physical harm to the prosecutor. Lawsuit 6: The famous Hollywood actor Johnny Depp was involved in a case of injury lawsuit when his security guards roughly handled a fan in a concert stadium, not only disheveling her clothes and shoes, but also exposing her body to the general public (Gardner 2012). Robin Eckert, the plaintiff in the case, sued not only the actor but also the security company that had provided him with the guards, called Live Nation, for personal injury as well as punitive damages (Gardner 2012). Although initially a judge dismissed her right to cover attorney fee as there was no case of criminal misconduct on the part of the guards, and advised her to restructure her lawsuit, in a later session he granted Eckert the permission to pursue punitive damages against the actor and the company as their claims of keeping an over-enthusiastic fan were ill-found in this situation (Gardner 2012). The punitive damages and battery lawsuit can only be won in favor of the plaintiff if she can prove a case of negligence and misconduct on the part of the security guards (Gardner 2012). This is an example of punitive damages tort lawsuit, in which the defendant is charged an extra fee as a punishment to restrict any similar future events. Works Cited Fenno, Nathan. “Mark Rypien is lead plaintiff in lawsuit against NFL over head injuries.” The Washington Times, 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. Ferenstein, Gregory. “Yelp Reviewer Gets SLAPPed With 750K Lawsuit And Order To Alter Comments.” AOL. Tech Crunch, 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. Gardner, Eriq. “Johnny Depp Facing Punitive Damages in Lawsuit Over Hollywood Palladium Altercation.” Esq. The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. Goldblatt, Jeff, and Lindsay Smith. “Hospital Settles $12 Million Negligence Lawsuit.” NBC Universal. NBC Chicago, 30 Jun. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. South, Todd. “Sewanee $3 million breach-of-contract lawsuit trial begins.” Chattanooga Publishing Company. Times Free Press, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. Walsh, Denny. “Kings, Garcia settle product liability lawsuit.” Kings, NBA. The Sacramento Bee, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. Read More