Clinical negligence litigation fell to its lowest level ever in 2017/18 as NHS Resolution mediated more claims in 12 months than in its entire previous history. But both the agency and the medical defence lobby are calling for urgent reform, after the change to the personal injury discount rate saw damages payouts soar 50% to £1.63bn. The figures are published in NHS Resolution’s annual report and accounts. The number of new clin neg claims plateaud in 2017/18 at 10,673 (10,686), while claimant legal costs fell for the first time in years (by 6.4% to £467m). Defence legal costs rose 2.5% […]

Photo Credit Shutterstock   Mass-tort product liability cases are particularly difficult to resolve because there are few adequate procedural devices to ensure finality through settlement. Parties interested in resolving mass-tort litigation often overlook that channeling injunction protections are not just available to debtors. In many contexts, non-debtors too can benefit from the same channeling injunction protections as settling non-debtors. A court-approved channeling injunction can direct—or channel—tort claims to a litigation trust funded by participating parties. Claimants must then look exclusively to the trust assets to satisfy their claims, which can provide them with an efficient claims-evaluation process that typically does […]

Divorce is stressful for everyone, but it’s especially so if you’ve never established an independent credit history. Splitting up can make it difficult for you to get loans or lines of credit on your own. And if you don’t close joint accounts, your ex-spouse’s actions can affect your credit long after the divorce papers are signed. If you want your new life to start off on the right foot, you have to make a plan, both independently and with your ex. Here’s some advice on how to do that. Image source: Getty Images. Take inventory of your finances Divorce often […]

Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations. This Privacy Policy describes how JD Supra, LLC (“JD Supra” or “we,” “us,” or “our“) collects, uses and shares personal data collected from visitors to our website (located at www.jdsupra.com) (our “Website“) who view only publicly-available content as well as subscribers to our services (such as our email digests or author tools)(our “Services“). By using our Website and registering for one of our Services, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy. […]

Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations. This Privacy Policy describes how JD Supra, LLC (“JD Supra” or “we,” “us,” or “our“) collects, uses and shares personal data collected from visitors to our website (located at www.jdsupra.com) (our “Website“) who view only publicly-available content as well as subscribers to our services (such as our email digests or author tools)(our “Services“). By using our Website and registering for one of our Services, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy. […]

Fitbit Google and Fitbit Inc. announced on April 30 that they are teaming up to leverage the widespread use of wearable technology to improve the quality of health care. According to the official press release, the deal provides Fitbit with access to Google’s Cloud Healthcare API, which will connect user data with a patient’s electronic medical records in real time. Samuel Britt, Weathington McGrew, Atlanta (Courtesy photo) Information regarding the patient’s movement, heart rate, sleep patterns, etc., will be stored in the Google Cloud Platform and integrated with a patient’s EMR. The hope is that arming clinicians with this objective […]