Butalbital

ATLA's Professional Negligence Law Reporter includes a broad range of professional liability cases. Here are examples of the kinds of cases appearing in each issue of PNLR.

ADOPTION

Failure to disclose birth mother's medical history

Settlement for the parents of an adopted child who suffers from developmental and behavioral problems. The couple sued an adoption agency, alleging failure to properly disclose the birth mother's medical history, which included physical and speech problems. *Stanley K. Jacobs and *Thomas F. Borcher, both of Los Angeles, Cal., represented plaintiffs.

Byrnes v. Children's Home Society of Cal., Cal., Los Angeles County Super. Ct., No. BC 207 751, Mar. 27, 2003.

Comment: For another case involving failure to disclose the backgrounds of an adopted child's birth parents, see Nihill v. Cradle Soc'y, 18 PNLR 23 (Mar. 2003). *Edward J. Walsh, Wheaton, Ill., represented plaintiffs. Documents in Nihill are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Walsh.

CLERGY

Church may be liable for defamation where letter allegedly described congregant as "spirit of Satan"

The Iowa Supreme Court held that a church may be liable for defamation where one of its officials allegedly sent a letter to congregants and other community members describing a congregant as having "the spirit of Satan." Plaintiffs in this case were represented by *Thomas C. Verhulst, Waterloo, Iowa.

Kliebenstein v. Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, 663 N.W.2d 404 (Iowa 2003).

DENTISTRY

Failure to timely diagnose infection

Settlements for a woman who suffered a brain infection requiring surgery after an oral surgeon diagnosed her as having posttraumatic edema and trismus following a burn incident. She sued the oral surgeon, alleging failure to diagnose the infection by performing a CT-scan, among other things. Suit also alleged a general dentist was liable for inadequate followup. *Edwin Zinman, San Francisco, Cal., represented plaintiff.

Bergeron v. Lee, Cal., San Francisco County Super. Ct., No. 324344, Jan. 7, 2003.

LAW

Out-of-state attorney may be liable for failing to file Louisiana lawsuit for client involved in accident there

The Supreme Court of Louisiana held that Louisiana had personal jurisdiction over an Alabama attorney who allegedly failed to timely file suit in Louisiana on behalf of a client involved in an automobile accident there. *Edward J. Walter Jr. and *Darrel J. Papillion, both of Baton Rouge, La., represented plaintiff. Documents in this case are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Papillion.

Alonso v. Line, 846 So. 2d 745 (La. 2003).

PHARMACY

Unauthorized filling of prescriptions

Verdict for the children of a man who committed suicide after receiving unauthorized prescriptions of Butalbital and Darvocet from a pharmacy. Plaintiffs sued a pharmacist, alleging he had (1) refilled the prescriptions without a physician's authorization, and (2) provided the drugs to the man at the same time, which is medically contraindicated. *John Booth, Pensacola, Fla., represented plaintiffs.

Kubitz v. Winkles, Fla., Santa Rosa County Cir. Ct., No. 57-2000-CA-000192, July 16, 2003.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

Rape by fellow patient at psychiatric hospital

Verdict for a teenager who suffered emotional distress after allegedly being raped by a fellow patient at a psychiatric hospital. She sued the hospital, alleging inadequate staffing and failure to protect her while she was a patient there. *Walter R. Simpson, *Michael Fletcher, and Sophie Woodworth, all of Kansas City, Mo., represented plaintiff.

Doe v. Two Rivers Psychiatric Hosp., Mo., Jackson County Qr. Ct., No. 00CV-219966, Mar. 14, 2003.

Comment: For another case involving the rape of a woman on a psychiatric unit, see Doe v. Methodist Hosp., 46 ATLA L. Rep. 132 (May 2003). *W. Scott Montross, Indianapolis, Ind., represented plaintiff. Documents in Doe v. Methodist Hosp, are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Montross.

Copyright Association of Trial Lawyers of America Oct 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved