Miscellaneous

• Group Polarization Could Be Impacting Your Jury

  Bob Carroll | October 15, 2005 5:47 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  If you are going to one day hear what a jury is going to say about your case it may be a good idea for you to learn about group polarization. Juries have been shown to polarize; in experimental settings, juries generate punitive damage awards that are systematically higher than the predeliberation median of jurors. Whether you are a litigant or an attoney, if you are going to hear one day what...

• Is It Time To Bury The Impact Rule?

  Bob Carroll | October 14, 2005 7:54 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The Impact Rule in Floida needs to be buried. It is a doctrine that makes no sense and is preventing compensation of some very real, albeit, emotional inuries. The Impact Rule: before a plaintiff can recover damages for emotional distress caused by negligence, the distress must flow from physical injuries the plaintiff sustained in an impact. The Impact Rule in Floida, created by the courts,...

• Are Arnold Schwarzenegger And Jeb Bush Big Business Twins?

  Bob Carroll | October 13, 2005 4:14 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Dan Walters, in a detailed article appearing in the Sacramento Bee, puts the Schwarzenegger administration into proper perspective- it is merely an extention of big business. This is particularly harmful for the victims of medical malpractice and accidents. Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, might be Arnold Schwarzenegger twin brother.They may not look alike, but they certainly act alike. And,...

• Do We Really Need A Talking Pen That Says: You Guys Are Retarded?

  Bob Carroll | October 03, 2005 7:07 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  New pens may offend children. The talking pens, a spinoff from the popular film Napoleon Dynamite, say, "You guys are retarded." Technology now allows our writing instruments to talk. What should they say? They probably will have the same free speech rights as you and I. Melissa Hart, a Wethersfield mother of three, who has a 3-year-old with Down syndrome, is angry about new pens that may...

• The Word From Wichita: Greedy Trial Lawyers Are Not So Greedy After All

  Bob Carroll | October 02, 2005 8:13 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Kevin Mark Smith of Wichita defends trial lawyers in the Right Wing Agenda. In a balanced article Mark supports the efforts of attorneys seeking to take on insurance companies trying to deny benefits to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Tort reform has gone too far when it hampers rights to seek redress in our Courts.From the heartland of America comes the voice of Kevin Mark Smith of Wichita,...

• An Evidence-Destroying Expert Witness And Sealed Court Findings

  Bob Carroll | October 01, 2005 7:13 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A Court may seal a file or a portion of a file to prevent it from being viewed by the public. What if it protects the reputation of an expert witness who had been found by the Court to have destroyed evidence? The Sacramento Bee reports on a public interest law firm seeking to unseal a judge's finding that an automaker's defense expert destroyed evidence. A Court has the power to seal a file...

• The Knucklehead of the Day Award

  Bob Carroll | September 29, 2005 6:27 AM | 1 CommentTampa Bay, FL

  The Florida Masochist has just awarded the knucklehead of the day award to the Florida Department of Transportation or DOT. for the design of woefully inadequate interchange in the Jacknsoville Florida area that cost taxpayers 107 million. The Florida Masochist has just awarded the knucklehead of the day award to the Florida Department of Transportation or DOT. "They get today's award for their...

• Ringers On The Jury

  Bob Carroll | September 29, 2005 5:53 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Would you feel comfortable if a juror hearing your medical malpractice case was the personal banker for the doctor defendant? My client and I didn't.Would you feel comfortable if a juror hearing your medical malpractice case were the personal banker for the doctor defendant? My client and I didn't.I worry that too many obvious prejudices are permitted to lurk in the back of the minds of many...

• Tourists To Be Warned About Itchy Trigger Fingers In Florida

  Bob Carroll | September 29, 2005 5:09 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A new Florida law allows the use of deally force in self-defense. An intrernational campaign aimed at travelers to Florida is about to be launched. Can this be a good thing? A new Florida law allows the use of deally force in self-defense. An intrernational campaign to warn travelers to Florida is about to be launched. Can this be a good thing?A Florida newspaper reports gun-control advocates...

• Lawsuit Funding - Not Always A Good Idea

  Bob Carroll | September 28, 2005 8:38 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  I do not like "Lawsuit Funding." I understand its appeal, I do not like what I have seen. Best advice is to seek money or loans from all other sources before considering the Lawsuit Funding industry. Let me get this off my chest. I do not like "Lawsuit Funding."I understand the appeal of the offer of money now instead of down the road when a settlement or verdict occurs. I understand the...