William Plyler | July 7, 2010
In order for a plaintiff to recover damages for permanent injury in a bodily injury case, a doctor must testify that the injury is permanent. This is the take-away from yesterday’s North Carolina Court of Appeals decision in Littleton v. Willis, (No. COA09-732, filed July 6, 2010).
In Littleton, the plaintiff’s vehicle was hit head-on by [...]
William Plyler | May 24, 2010
Five long years. I am not referring to the old Eddie Boyd blues ballad, covered best by Buddy Guy. No, I am referring to last week’s godsend from the North Carolina Court of Appeals, in Medkiff v. Compton, (No. COA09-254, filed May 18, 2010). The appellate court sanctioned, albeit somewhat indirectly, a five year cut-off [...]
William Plyler | April 1, 2010
The fire which destroyed the Chatham County Courthouse last week brought back memories of a Chatham County trip-and-fall case which settled last year. In that case, my client tripped and fell over a four inch step at a business in Siler City. She broke both her ankles in the process. The step was located inside [...]
William Plyler | March 17, 2010
Attorneys representing injured patients should be very careful in selecting expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases, and in preparing those experts for depositions. That is the take-away from yesterday’s North Carolina Court of Appeals decision in Campbell v. Duke University Health System, Inc., et al, (No. COA09-581, filed March 16, 2010). In Campbell, the plaintiff [...]
William Plyler | March 17, 2010
Attorneys representing injured patients should be very careful in selecting expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases, and in preparing those experts for depositions. That is the take-away from yesterday’s North Carolina Court of Appeals decision in Campbell v. Duke University Health System, Inc., et al, (No. COA09-581, filed March 16, 2010). In Campbell, the plaintiff [...]
William Plyler | February 2, 2010
The North Carolina Court of Appeals, in Beckles-Palomares v. Logan et al, (No. COA09-567, filed Feb. 2, 2010) held that the City of Winston-Salem may be liable for failing to keep its streets free of unnecessary obstructions. A seven year old boy on his bicycle was killed when a drunk driver struck him on a [...]
William Plyler | December 23, 2009
At 10:00 p.m. on July 3, 2008, a Wilson County jury began its deliberations it a medical malpractice case. At 10:45 p.m., the jury returned a verdict which found that the defendants were not negligent. The trial judge granted the plaintiff’s motion for a new trial, pursuant to Rule 59(a)(9), on the grounds that the [...]
William Plyler | November 13, 2009
The instructor who taught my bar examination review course in 1982 announced that the multiple choice answer “violates due process” would never be a correct answer on the exam. He correctly forecast that “violates due process” would be one of the proffered answers to many of the questions, but he strongly urged us to always [...]
William Plyler | November 7, 2009
The North Carolina Department of Correction may be liable where a probation officer placed a known sex offender in a home with two children who were subsequently sexually assaulted by the sex offender. Blaylock v. N.C. Department of Correction – Division of Community Corrections, (No. COA09-65, filed November 3, 2009), holds that the public duty [...]
William Plyler | November 1, 2009
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals provided the widow of a motorcyclist a second chance in her lawsuit filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (the “FTCA”). The key issue in Kern v. United States of America, (4th Circuit, No. 08-1287, decided October 29, 2009), was whether federal employee Debra Scott was acting in the course [...]