In the News

Recent advertising figures indicate the makers of the heartburn drug Zantac and its generic equivalents will soon be facing an onslaught of lawsuits, as personal injury lawyers have begun the process of rounding up clients.

Businesses across the board are paying more in insurance premiums. One of the main drivers is an increase in the size of jury verdict awards that are overwhelming the commercial auto industry. Industries particularly hard hit, such as commercial trucking, saw rates jump 100% or even quadruple over the last three to five years.

Texas elects judges, relying on voters to sort through pages and pages of ballot undergrowth, figuring out which candidates are fit to put on the judicial robes. It’s a grab bag, evidenced whenever a party sweep clears a courthouse full of incumbents.

In one notable personal injury case, a medical provider billed more than $14,000 for a procedure that’s typically reimbursed by insurance at less than $400. Grossly inflated claims are costing the industry dearly and in some cases are driving trucking companies out of the marketplace because they can no longer afford insurance.

Escalating a campaign to make corporations responsible for the waste they produce, an environmental group filed suit against some of the world’s biggest food, beverage and consumer goods companies in a California court, arguing they should be held responsible for plastic packaging that is fouling the state’s oceans, rivers and streams.

Texas is one of only six states in the country that holds partisan judicial elections. With more than 1,000 elected judges at all levels of the judiciary, it is often difficult for voters to make informed decisions about these races. As a result, many decisions in judicial races are based on party affiliation position on the ballot or a candidate’s name. This has led to partisan sweeps in recent years, with many talented judges in both major parties losing at the ballot.

Nuclear verdicts have been a consistently increasing theme in trucking over the past several years and the heat and pressure on carriers from rising insurance premiums appears to have no end in sight. This is despite the fact that the number of deaths and injuries from accidents involving large trucks have been declining (down double digits year-over-year as of the latest count).

Soaring insurance costs are taking a toll on the trucking business, adding a financial drag for carriers already contending with weakening freight demand. Trucking companies were hit with double-digit-percentage coverage increases last year, and rate hikes are expected to continue in 2020.

Last January, an appellate court heard arguments on whether ExxonMobil can use Texas courts to pursue counter-litigation against the public officials and private lawyers who teamed up to sue the oil industry in California over the alleged effects of climate change.  And although a year has already elapsed without a ruling, that doesn’t mean the case has come to a complete standstill.

One day in 2011, Dave Pebley and his wife were in their motor home on the side of the highway with a flat tire when a big rig slammed into them. The jolt sent Mr. Pebley to the hospital with injuries to his face, neck and lower back. The California resident sued the driver and his employer. But instead of using his Kaiser health insurance to continue treatment, Mr. Pebley enlisted medical specialists who treated him for no upfront cost. Instead, they agreed to recoup their fees only once his lawsuit resolved.