February 2013 - Lamson Dugan & Murray LLP

28 Feb, 2013

LATE NOTICE TO AN INSURANCE COMPANY IS NO BAR TO COVERAGE

Anne Marie O'Brien2018-04-23T20:59:45-05:00February 28th, 2013|Commercial General Liability (CGL), Midwest Insurance Law Guide|

All policies contain a provision which tells the policyholder how to inform the insurance company about a loss. The provisions are called “notice of loss” clauses. They are considered a condition precedent to payment under the policy. A condition precedent is an act that must occur before indemnity will arise under the insurance contract. In other words, the policyholder must follow the notice of loss requirements before he will get paid. Courts, however, are not so firm [...]

28 Feb, 2013

RAILROAD PROTECTIVE INSURANCE

Anne Marie O'Brien2018-04-23T20:59:45-05:00February 28th, 2013|Midwest Insurance Law Guide, Railroad protective insurance coverage|

Railroad protective liability insurance is a unique product to the rail industry. Contractors and vendors purchase it to protect their railroad clients. In fact, almost all railroads require some type of insurance before they will allow work to be done by others on their property. Railroad protective liability insurance is a common product used to satisfy the requirements of a railroad risk transference program. Congress has also mandated the use [...]

26 Feb, 2013

Hospital Employed Physicians May Face Conflicts of Interest

William R. Settles2018-04-24T00:10:06-05:00February 26th, 2013|Health Care Law, Medical Malpractice, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

Between 2000 and 2010, the number of doctors employed by hospitals grew by 32 percent, to 212,000. This unmistakeable trend raises serious questions about potential conflicts of interest that such employment arrangements may create. For example, some physicians have reported that their hospital employer requires them to use in house lab facilities when the physicians have received better results or better service from an outside lab. Others have reported that [...]

26 Feb, 2013

Can you Waive Lien Rights Before the Project Starts?

Craig Martin2013-02-26T09:00:21-06:00February 26th, 2013|Lien Rights|

Some construction contracts contain provisions that require contractors to waive their right to file a lien. Do your contracts have provisions like this? Is this legal? The short answer is yes they are legal and the provisions can greatly impact your ability to get paid for your work. Nebraska’s Construction Prompt Pay Act, §§45-1201 to 45-1210 , requires owners to pay contractors within 30 days after the owner or owner’s [...]

22 Feb, 2013

The Failure to Pass Board Examinations as Evidence in a Medical Malpractice Trial

Sarah Macdissi2018-04-23T23:52:20-05:00February 22nd, 2013|Litigation Tips, Medical Malpractice, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

So, you didn't pass your medical boards? Or you didn't pass your medical boards on your first try? Worried how it might affect your career as a physician? Well, you can rest easy when it comes to malpractice suits. Generally, a defendant physician's failure to pass board certifications is not admissible as to whether a physician complied with the standard of care. While performance on a board certifying examination might [...]

19 Feb, 2013

JoAnna Thomas Appointed as interim Vice Chair of Executive Committee for OBA Young Lawyers Division

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00February 19th, 2013|Latest News, News|

JoAnna Thomas was recently appointed as interim Vice Chair of the Executive Committee for the Omaha Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Ms. Thomas participated in the Omaha Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division Exploratory Committee from June through December, 2012. The exploratory committee examined areas in which a Young Lawyers Division could benefit newer members of the bar and encourage community involvement in Omaha and participation in the OBA. The exploratory [...]

18 Feb, 2013

Getting Paid for Your Work — Lunch & Learn

Craig Martin2013-02-18T08:00:58-06:00February 18th, 2013|Latest News|

Join us on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., to discuss best practices to make sure you get paid for your work. We will discuss how best to preserve your claim through: Contract language; Bond claims; and Liens. During this presentation, we will discuss best practices to negotiate contracts with owners and upstream contractors to preserve your right for payment. We will also discuss best practices for [...]

18 Feb, 2013

Don’t Let Your Medical Record Invite Litigation

William R. Settles2018-04-24T00:10:06-05:00February 18th, 2013|Litigation Tips, Medical Malpractice, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor, Risk Management|

The medical record can be your best friend or your worst enemy in litigation. More than that, a well documented record can prevent a lawsuit altogether. In order to see how, one must understand the process of how a lawsuit comes to pass. Whenever there is an unexpected or untoward outcome, the patient or the patient's family will have many questions. The first and best source to answer those questions [...]

15 Feb, 2013

High-low Agreements in the Medical Malpractice Context

John M. Walker2018-04-23T23:57:57-05:00February 15th, 2013|Litigation Tips, Medical Malpractice, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor, Nebraska Hospital-Medical Liability Act, Risk Management|

In negotiating a high-low agreement in the medical malpractice context, there are any number of issues to consider, including whether a settlement pursuant to such an agreement is reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank (“NPDB”), whether to waive post-trial motions and the right to appeal, how to deal with comparative fault, taxation of costs, and a hung jury. Generally speaking, a high-low agreement is a contract used to limit [...]

14 Feb, 2013

Key Construction Contract Provisions, Part I

Craig Martin2013-02-14T08:00:08-06:00February 14th, 2013|Construction Contracts|

Negotiating construction contracts can sometimes seem more difficult than the work itself. Knowing what to look for can help you in your contract negotiations. While there are any number of key contract provisions, this blog will address two: indemnity and delays. Indemnity Indemnity shifts loss from one party to another. In construction contracts, the parties can agree to shift responsibility, and more often than not, the owner or up-stream contactors [...]

13 Feb, 2013

Three Partners Chosen as The Best Lawyers in America

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00February 13th, 2013|Latest News, News|

Lamson, Dugan and Murray is pleased to announce that three of its partners have once again been chosen as The Best Lawyers in America: Bill Lamson for company litigation, commercial litigation, litigation – regulatory enforcement (SEC, telecom, energy), medical malpractice and personal injury litigation; Bob Murray for corporate and tax law; and Pat Vipond for commercial litigation and plaintiff and defendant professional malpractice law.

13 Feb, 2013

Mark Novotny Presents a Speech on Health Care Professional Negligence Litigation and Licensure Discipline Actions

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00February 13th, 2013|Latest News, News|

LDM partner Mark Novotny recently spoke to the Omaha Dental Group on the topics of professional malpractice civil litigation, licensure investigations and proceedings, controlling risks and risk management. The audience consisted of practicing dentists and oral maxillofacial surgeons from the Omaha area. The presentation included outlining current case law, a step-by-step discussion of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services disciplinary review process and highlighting recent claims and lawsuit [...]

13 Feb, 2013

Court Allows LDM Client’s $42 Million Dollar Breach of Fiduciary Duty to Be Decided By a Jury

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00February 13th, 2013|Latest News, News|

LDM attorneys, led by brief writers Stacy Morris and Cathy Trent-Vilim, successfully defeated the summary judgment attempts of a defendant securities lending bank and its parent company in a $42 million action LDM brought on behalf of its insurance company client. The underlying lawsuit, brought by LDM attorneys Pat Vipond and Mark Novotny, centers on actions of the securities lending agent in investing the insurance company’s assets in inappropriate and [...]

12 Feb, 2013

Agricultural Law Abroad; Pt. II: Hello Hong Kong

Sean Minahan2018-04-23T18:22:22-05:00February 12th, 2013|Construction Contractor Advisor, Midwest Agricultural Law|

If you love skyscrapers and city skylines, Hong Kong is the place for you. The morning after arriving in Hong Kong was spent acclimating to our surroundings (i.e. figuring out breakfast (fried monk fish) and exchange rates). Fortunately, we did not have to figure out lunch, which was served and sponsored by Pet-Link Co. Ltd. Pet-Link Co. is a distributor of small animal pet products produced by Oxbow Animal Health in Murdock, Nebraska. [...]

12 Feb, 2013

President Obama’s Recess Appointments to the NLRB Were Unconstitutional

Craig Martin2013-02-12T08:00:07-06:00February 12th, 2013|NLRB|

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently ruled that President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were unconstitutional because the Senate was not in “recess” at the time the appointments were made. You can read a copy of the Court’s opinion here. This means that from January 4, 2012, the NLRB did not have a quorum and did not have the authority to [...]

8 Feb, 2013

Court Hears Argument on Whether Physical Therapists are Professionals

John M. Walker2018-04-23T23:57:57-05:00February 8th, 2013|Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

"Eyes and ears are poor witnesses when the soul is barbarous." This is the quote that stares down at those presenting oral argument before the Nebraska Supreme Court. In a dimly lit room, with wood paneled ceiling, concrete walls, seemingly ancient tapestries, and seven learned judges just waiting for their opportunity to test the merits of a position, this quote completes the ambience of this hall of higher jurisprudence. In [...]

7 Feb, 2013

Would Streamlining the Malpractice System Reduce Defensive Medicine?

William R. Settles2018-04-24T00:10:06-05:00February 7th, 2013|Health Care Law, Medical Malpractice, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor, Tort Reform|

Dr. Robert Glattner posted a very interesting article on Forbes.com yesterday that discusses the need for malpractice reform. It is well worth the read. I do have a couple of criticisms of his thesis, however. First, Dr. Glattner cites a recent RAND Corporation study for the proposition that "waiting for the resolution of [malpractice] claims can take up more than 10 percent of the average medical career." While the study [...]

7 Feb, 2013

Can Design Professionals Be Liable to Third-Party Purchasers?

Craig Martin2013-02-07T08:00:23-06:00February 7th, 2013|Limit Liability|

In California they can. In a recent case, Beacon Residential Community Association v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, copy here design professional provided architectural and engineering services for a large residential condominium project. After the project was completed, the condominium association sued the design professionals asserting that the design caused water infiltration, structural cracks and solar heat gain. The condo owners went so far as to say the heat gain [...]

5 Feb, 2013

Stolen Laptop Costs Idaho Hospice $50,000

William R. Settles2018-04-24T00:10:06-05:00February 5th, 2013|Health Care Law, HIPAA, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

Last month the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a first-of-its-kind settlement involving a breach of unsecured electronic protected health information. The Hospice of North Idaho agreed to pay HHS $50,000 to settle potential violations of the HIPAA security rule. The case arose when the hospice reported to HHS that an unencrypted laptop computer containing the electronic protected health information of 441 patients had been stolen. During its investigation, [...]

5 Feb, 2013

Proposed Changes to Prompt Pay Act

Craig Martin2013-02-05T07:44:27-06:00February 5th, 2013|Prompt Pay Act|

Senators Lathrop and Mello introduced legislation to amend the Nebraska Construction Prompt Pay Act in Legislative Bill 373. A copy of the bill can be found here. The main changes include: A definition of substantially complete is added and is defined as the state of a construction project when the project is sufficiently complete in accordance with the contract to be used for its intended purpose. A limit on [...]

2 Feb, 2013

Falling on Your Scalpel: Admitting Fault in Medical Malpractice

William R. Settles2018-04-24T00:10:06-05:00February 2nd, 2013|Litigation Tips, Medical Malpractice, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor, Risk Management|

In a previous post, I discussed the potential use of an apology to head off medical malpractice litigation. In this post, I will discuss situations where a complete admission of fault may help bring about a more favorable outcome in such litigation. Before I do so, however, I want to direct you to a superb article on the subject of physician apologies that was published last week by the Boston [...]

1 Feb, 2013

LDM Successfully Defend Physician’s Assistant in License Revocation Hearing

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:18-05:00February 1st, 2013|Latest News, News|

LDM attorneys last week secured the dismissal of a disciplinary action against a physician's assistant who practices in Lincoln, NE. The Petition for Disciplinary Action alleged that the physician's assistant had practiced while her ability to practice was impaired by prescription medication, had improperly treated family members, and had failed to keep appropriate records of patient treatment. Bill Lamson, Bill Settles and Denise Destache disputed these allegations in a contested [...]