Posts by Frank Verderame
Family of Paralyzed High School Football Player Sues School District, Coach and Trainer
The family of Robert Beck, an 18 year-old quadriplegic former football player, has filed suit in Montana against Beck’s coach, athletic trainer, and school district. Beck suffered an on-field concussion in September of 2014, and his doctors ordered that he stay off the field. The lawsuit claims that Beck’s coach and trainer ignored the doctor’s…
Read MorePresident Obama Nominates US Supreme Court Justice
What Happened: Judge Merrick Garland was announced by President Obama last week as the President’s nominee to fill the current vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States (often referred to as “SCOTUS”). If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Garland would be the 113th Supreme Court Justice and fill the vacancy created when Justice Antonin Scalia…
Read MorePop Warner Settles Lawsuit for Suicide
Pop Warner Football settled a lawsuit with a Wisconsin woman whose son committed suicide allegedly due to head injuries incurred while he played football as a child. Debra Pyka filed the suit against Pop Warner because her son, Joseph Chernach, played in the league as a child and thereafter suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). …
Read MoreDeflategate – Legal Terms Defined
By Randall Hinsch During my commute to and from the office I usually listen to sports talk radio or Howard Stern. It depends on what is going on in the world. Lately, I’ve been listening to more sports radio. Deflategate has been the hot topic. I have my opinions as a sports fan listening, but…
Read MoreGerman Wings Flight 9525 Tragedy
Germanwings Flight 9525 Tragedy We extend our condolences to the families of the victims of the recent airplane crash in France. Family members of the crash victims who would like to investigate and potentially prosecute the claim against the companies that provide the training and the airlines that hire them to do so, may find that the best…
Read MoreMalpractice Situation Not Dire
Analysis of Texas Claims Finds ‘Sea of Calm,’ Overall Stability in Tort System by Ceci Connolly, Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, March 10, 2005; Page A08 In his pitch for legislation imposing a “hard cap of $250,000” on medical malpractice awards for non-economic damages, President Bush points the finger at what he calls “a broken medical liability…
Read MoreLocking The Courthouse Door
Big business and big government seek to deny consumers access to our courts by restricting contingent fees. by Richard S. Plattner Institutional defendants have spent millions of dollars to limit the right of individual Americans to get justice in court when they are maimed or killed by negligence or defective products. Government entities and large corporations…
Read MoreDiscovery Czar 2004
DISCOVERY DISPUTES: HOW TO RUN THE RAILROAD WITHOUT RAILROADING ANYBODY (An open letter to trial judges) Over the approximately 75 years since the legal system moved from “trial by ambush” to an ever-expanding scope of pretrial information exchange, lawyers have complained about the way judges handle discovery disputes, with inconsistency of outcomes as the major…
Read MoreWife of County Supervisor Facing New Sex Offense Charges
In October, Susan Marie Brock, the wife of Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock, was arrested on charges of having a long-term sexual relationship with a teenage boy. The teen, who is now 17, told police that the sexual abuse began when he was 14 years old. Frank VerderamePartner Frank Verderame is a seasoned trial attorney,…
Read MoreWhat The Government Doesn’t Know Can Hurt You
Suing the state or federal government for the actions of a governmental employee is often much more difficult than suing a private citizen. The state of Arizona and the federal government both have what is referred to as sovereign immunity – these governmental entities are shielded from lawsuits by private citizens in many instances. This…
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