October 2013 - Lamson Dugan & Murray LLP

29 Oct, 2013

Do Furloughs Harm Public Health?

John M. Walker2018-04-23T23:57:56-05:00October 29th, 2013|Health Care Law, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

The government shutdown impacted more than most people would think, including, as Sarah Macdissi noted in her last post, food safety. During the government shutdown, all inspections of domestic food except meat and poultry were halted: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention furloughed more than two-thirds of its workers. What did this mean? No issuing of daily updates on global outbreaks to world health officials; 9 of 10 global disease detection systems [...]

28 Oct, 2013

United Way’s Day of Caring

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:16-05:00October 28th, 2013|Construction Contractor Advisor|

I am blessed to work with great people. Last week we volunteered with the United Way of the Midland's Day of Caring. We cleared a park of overgrowth and planted trees. It was a great chance to get out of the office with co-workers and an opportunity to give back to the community. Thank you to the United Way of the Midlands for organizing this event, and thanks to the [...]

23 Oct, 2013

Brian Brislen and Jason Grams to Present at National Business Institute Seminar

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00October 23rd, 2013|Latest News, News|

LDM attorneys Brian Brislen and Jason Grams will be presenting portions of the National Business Institute’s “Representing Your Client in Federal Court” seminar on November 15, 2013, at the Scott Conference Center. The seminar is designed for lawyers and other legal professionals and will afford active licensed Nebraska attorneys six hours of continuing legal education credit in Nebraska. Mr. Brislen will present sections on “Developing a Successful Trial Strategy” and [...]

17 Oct, 2013

Challenging a Public Construction Bid Award? Think Again.

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:16-05:00October 17th, 2013|Construction Contractor Advisor, Public Contracts|

Today's post is by Doug Amen, one of our new associates at Lamson, Dugan and Murray LLP. With the competition for jobs today, the fight for lucrative government construction contracts is tougher than ever. Often contractors find themselves on the outside looking in and want to do something about it. Unfortunately, for anyone attempting to challenge a construction contract bid the cards are stacked against them. That’s because in order to [...]

15 Oct, 2013

Agreements to Agree Are Not Enforceable Contracts

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:16-05:00October 15th, 2013|Construction Contractor Advisor, Construction Contracts|

Sometimes contractors join forces to prepare a bid and enter into a teaming agreement. Under the teaming agreement, they agree that, at some future date, they will agree on the terms of the contract for the work. The problem arises when the general contractor, after winning the bid, tells the subcontractor that they will not be working together. Sometimes the subcontractor sues to enforce the teaming agreement. And usually, the [...]

12 Oct, 2013

WHAT DOES “ARISING OUT OF” REALLY MEAN?

Anne Marie O'Brien2018-04-23T20:59:44-05:00October 12th, 2013|Commercial General Liability (CGL), Midwest Insurance Law Guide, Property and casualty|

The phrase "arising out of" is an industry term of art consistently used in insurance policy forms. But what does it really mean? Both underwriters and courts answer that question differently. An underwriter would say that the phrase is intended to mean those acts or omissions of the policyholder that are explicitly covered by the terms of the policy. There must be a nexus between the act and coverage. Not just a tenous connection, [...]

11 Oct, 2013

The 411 on the Government Shut Down and the Healthcare Industry

Sarah Macdissi2018-04-23T23:52:19-05:00October 11th, 2013|Health Care Law, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

The obvious and immediate impacts of the government shut down are visible before everyone’s eyes – the closing of the national parks, federally owned museums, IRS call centers advising taxpayers and offices handling federal grants, and the furloughing of thousands of federal employees. What’s not so visible is the impact on America’s already vulnerable healthcare system. No, I am not talking about the hot button topic of Obamacare here. What [...]

10 Oct, 2013

The Engineers and Architects Board is Proposing Changes to the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:16-05:00October 10th, 2013|Architect/Engineer Regulation Act, Construction Contractor Advisor|

Nebraska’s Board of Engineers and Architects is proposing changes to the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act (§81-3401- § 81-3455) in next year’s legislative session. The Board has made available a red-line version of the proposed changes and a side by side comparison of the changes. One interesting proposal is in section 81-3447 which would require that all plans submitted for a building permit must either bear a seal of an [...]

9 Oct, 2013

Partners Present on Nursing Litigation

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00October 9th, 2013|Latest News, News|

On Sunday, June 23rd, Partner Denise Destache gave a 3 hour presentation, including lecture, case study analysis, and mock depositions, to nurses enrolled in the UNMC Nurse Leader/Executive Advanced Development (LEAD) Program. This is a Masters level program for nurse managers, administrators, and advanced practice nurses, aimed at developing their analytical skills with regard to legal, regulatory, risk management, and ethical issues, and to integrate these skills into their roles as [...]

9 Oct, 2013

Bill Settles Speaks at 8th Annual Midwest Regional NICU Conference

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00October 9th, 2013|Latest News, News|

Partner Bill Settles presented to the 8th Annual Midwest Regional NICU Conference on August 22, 2013. This conference was sponsored by the Nebraska Neonatal Advanced Practice Association and was attended by nurses, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants who practice in the neonatal intensive care setting. The subject matter dealt with common charting errors and their role in litigation as well as emerging problems with the use of social media in [...]

9 Oct, 2013

Iowa DNR and EPA Come Together on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Regulations

Sean Minahan2018-04-23T18:22:21-05:00October 9th, 2013|Construction Contractor Advisor, Government Regulations, Midwest Agricultural Law|

Fall Into Line! A year ago the EPA threatened to pull Iowa's police power over Iowa's Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) due to perceived shortcomings of Iowa's inspection and permitting process. On September 11, 2013 Iowa DNR (IDNR) and the EPA came to an agreement on actions the IDNR would take to bring their inspection and permitting process in line with EPA's requirements. Iowa agreed to the following: - [...]

8 Oct, 2013

LDM Welcomes Three New Associates to the Firm

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00October 8th, 2013|Latest News, News|

Katie French has joined our Business Department as an associate attorney after clerking for the Firm for several years. Ms. French graduated from Creighton University School of Law. She also received her bachelor’s degree from Creighton University, majoring in Economics. While at Creighton, she was selected as research assistant to Professor Catherine Brooks. Ms. French participated in the Street Law program, where she taught legal topics to seventh grade students [...]

8 Oct, 2013

LDM Clients Successfully Develop MIPPA Plans

Staff2018-07-11T18:17:17-05:00October 8th, 2013|Latest News, News|

LDM would like to recognize the accomplishments of two of its clients, Midwest Independent Practice Physicians Association and Midwest Independent Physicians, LLC, for the successful development of its health care insurance plans. The insurance plans are identified as “MIPPA” with Coventry as the company provider and all of their plans are currently available for enrollment on the Nebraska health insurance exchange with options under Bronze, Silver and Gold plans.

8 Oct, 2013

What Is Your Accident Investigation Procedure?

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:16-05:00October 8th, 2013|Accident Investigation, Construction Contractor Advisor|

Even though everyone has safety measures in place, accidents on construction sites do happen. When accidents do happen, contractors must respond to (a) the accident victims, (b) governmental authorities, such as OSHA, and (c) the media. In order to effectively manage the response, contractors must have a post-accident or disaster response plan and employees trained in how to implement the plan. Post-accident or disaster response plans will vary by trade [...]

3 Oct, 2013

Government Shutdown—What it Means for Construction Companies

Craig Martin2018-04-23T23:55:16-05:00October 3rd, 2013|Construction Contractor Advisor, Government Contracting|

We are again in the midst of governmental shutdown. And again, construction companies are concerned about how the shutdown will impact their operations. A number of agencies, including Homeland Security, Department of Labor, OSHA, and the OFCCP have shut down significant portions of their operations. Governmental agencies submitted their contingency plans to the Office of Management and Budget, which in turn posted them on its website. Associated General Contractors (AGC) [...]

1 Oct, 2013

Health Care Exchanges Go Live (Or Not?)

Matthew J. Bock2018-04-24T00:08:02-05:00October 1st, 2013|Health Care Law, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

October 1, 2013 marks the anticipated start of open enrollment for health care products offered on state health care exchanges. The federal government has a website to help potential health insurance buyers choose an insurance plan. Expect the Internet's version of a long line (delays, error messages and glitches). It took me 30 minutes to get past the following message: We have a lot of visitors on our site right [...]

1 Oct, 2013

Living in a Post Antibiotic Era? Part II

Sarah Macdissi2018-04-23T23:52:19-05:00October 1st, 2013|Health Care Law, Midwest Medical Legal Advisor|

Diagram published by the CDC. Last week I discussed a report issued by the Centers for Diseases Control (“CDC”) that addressed the ever increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. One author, commenting on the potential demise of antibiotics, went as far as to compare a modern post antibiotic era to the plight of our ancestors during the “Black Death.” Piling on, the CDC declared antimicrobial resistance to be “one [...]