Cholecystectomy is the removal of the gallbladder and is usually performed because a patient is suffering from symptoms caused by an inflamed or infected gallbladder. Most cholecystectomies are completed laparoscopically (“lap chole”). To access the gallbladder during a lap chole, the surgeon places instruments through several small incisions and views the surgical field via a video camera. The surgeon then carefully removes the gallbladder from its attachment to the liver, clips and transects the cystic duct and artery, and removes the gallbladder through one of the incisions....
Law Articles
As late as 1998, some legal scholars were still warning against the use of "computerized ‘razzle-dazzle’ [which could be]... used to Disney-up the evidence."1Now there is a manual, Effective Use of Courtroom Technology: Judge’s Guide To Pretrial and Trial, published by the Federal Judicial Center and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy,2 which offers a guide to common objections that courtroom technology has raised thus far....
It should never hurt to be a spouse, child, sibling, or partner. The simple truth is, “there is no excuse for domestic violence.”Domestic or spousal abuse claims are one of the most challenging areas of tort law. Typical hurdles to pursuing these claims include factual disputes over an incident of physical violence, “she hit me first” accusations of being a co-batterer, lack of insurance coverage under homeowner’s policies, finding non-exempt assets to satisfy a judgment, and causation—particularly for emotional distress damages....
Representing clients under the age of 18 in civil litigation involves more resources and more procedural steps than representing adults. Intake and client management procedures used in working with adults are not good enough when attorneys are called upon to protect the interests of a child. To get the best possible result for a child, and to avoid trouble, special attention and a customized approach are necessary....
When a personal injury client’s medical bills are or may be paid by MaineCare, counsel must keep in mind the dual and sometimes conflicting goals of protecting the client’s eligibility for MaineCare insurance and maximizing the client’s cash recovery from the case. Succeeding in this endeavor will invariably require careful attention to a unique set of issues and problems, beginning at the very first meeting with the client....
Resolving Medicare lien repayment obligations in personal injury and workers compensation cases will be faster and easier in the future due to extensive efforts over the past three years by a broad coalition of injury victims, civil justice advocates, and business groups from across the United States. Working together, they drafted and promoted passage of a bill known as the “SMART Act” (Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act)....
One issue frequently faced in personal injury cases is the effect of payments made by an underinsured motorist or her liability insurance carrier upon our injured client’s claim against her own underinsured motorist coverage.Underinsured motorist carriers are quick to argue that any payment from the underinsured tortfeasor or his insurer is to be deducted from the uninsured motorist limits, without regard to the damages suffered by the insured. A closer look at the case law shows that things are not so clear-cut....
As plaintiff’s attorneys, we must always be aware of opportunities to extend the reach of the law in ways that will help our clients. At Berman & Simmons we pride ourselves on working at the frontier, pursuing justice creatively and aggressively in cases where that is possible....