Patients who sue their healthcare providers in Iowa are required to file a certificate of merit from a qualified expert who attests the provider breached the standard of care. An Iowa statute requires them to file this certificate within sixty days of the provider’s answer, but before the start of discovery, or the patient’s case must be dismissed. The certificate of merit requirement has caused much consternation for [...]
Although an appeal comes after the trial is over, you should be thinking about hiring an appellate attorney long before the trial phase of a case. In fact, an appellate attorney can be a valuable resource throughout the pendency of your case in the trial court. How, you ask? First, you cannot appeal an error that has not been properly preserved. Appellate counsel can assist (both before and during trial) [...]
1. A Fresh Set of Eyes Even the most gifted trial attorney can develop blind spots in a case. An appellate specialist brings a fresh set of eyes to your case and see issues you do not see. Appellate attorneys can also bring a new perspective to the case. An appellate attorney with no stake in the arguments made in the trial court can take a more objective and dispassionate [...]
The common fund doctrine is alive and well in Nebraska, according to the Nebraska Supreme Court. In Hauptman, O’Brien v Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 310 Neb. 147, - - N.W.2d - - (September 17, 2021), an injured plaintiff’s law firm sued Auto-Owners, the plaintiff’s automobile insurer. The insurer refused to reduce its $1,000 medical payment subrogation interest pursuant to the common fund doctrine. Standard Practice The common practice in Nebraska is [...]
I was recently speaking with a member of the Nebraska Court of Appeals . During the discussion, the judge lamented how surprised he/she is that so few Nebraska attorneys file reply briefs. My jaw practically hit the floor. I simply could not believe attorneys forego a reply brief. Think about a reply brief the same way you would a rebuttal closing argument. As trial counsel, could you ever imagine yourself [...]
For some time, Nebraska case law on prejudgment interest has been a quagmire for both attorneys and litigants. Answers to whether, and under what circumstances, litigants could recover prejudgment interest on unliquidated breach-of-contract claims varied. Some cases said certain procedural processes had to be satisfied; others left the question open. It was also unclear how two statutes that both address prejudgment interest -- Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 45-103.02 and [...]
We all know the saying—“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” One of the ways that individuals with disabilities can “make lemonade” out of the endless financial burden of living with a disability is by taking advantage of unique tax deductions available to them. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the medical expense deduction floor of 26 U.S.C. § 213 was temporarily reduced from 10 percent to 7.5 percent. [...]
Imagine Plaintiff John Doe has sued your company in, of all places, Nebraska. After consulting Google and confirming Nebraska does, in fact, have more cattle than people (6.6 million cattle to 1.8 million residents), you realize your company and have done little business in the State of Nebraska and has had limited contact with the state or its residents. So are you required to defend yourself in a Nebraska court? [...]
At times, caregivers of elderly or disabled individuals, and family members of these individuals, may be at odds with each other. Among other struggles, caregivers may, at times, isolate the individuals from their loved ones. Nebraska recently enacted LB 122, a bill intended to prevent caregivers from arbitrarily denying visitation to a family member of a resident of a health care facility or an individual receiving care within any home [...]
