Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

Toronto Star profiles New Orleans’ uphill battle

Published on: October 9, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

A nice quick read for those in New Orleans and abroad, the Toronto Star recently did a profile describing the recovery movement post-Katrina and what it means four years later. While common in its timeline of the days before and after Katrina, it does spotlight a lingering international interest in the disaster and shows, again, just how much help is still needed even after all that time.

John Goddard recounts

Some visitors seek out the city’s cemetery tombs. Some ride to nearby plantations and delta swamps. For many, however, the first choice is to survey Katrina’s devastation – not to gawk at other people’s misfortune but to understand what the city endured and appreciate its protracted recovery.

Chinese drywall homeowners worry about insurance cancellations

Published on: October 8, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The Bradenton Herald recently ran a piece that outlines just how complex the worries homeowners with Chinese drywall have when looking towards the future. While the health effects of the toxic wallboard are not fully understood, and the money to fix the problematic homes is often not yet available, still other troubles may loom. With the great risk of claims emerging from the faulty homes, insurance companies still might bail when policy holders need them the most.

The Herald reports

Aside from health concerns and displacing homeowners, toxic drywall can cause roadblocks in homeowners’ insurance policies. In most cases, insurance companies are likely to reject claims over Chinese drywall and, in some circumstances, insurers will not renew policies.

Chinese drywall illustrates problems in federal laws

Published on: October 7, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

In a very well written and important Times-Picayune article, writer Rebecca Mowbray reports that the recent problems being caused by Chinese drywall in courtrooms goes beyond simple construction or building code and law and into the depths of federal laws regarding international products. Because of this faulty imported wallboard, Mowbray points out, huge problems in the law and remedy for faulty products have been exposed. While many have followed this matter for its importance to builders and homeowners, business and legal experts now see it as a crucial, highly important matter that demonstrates work needs to be done on the United States’ federal legal system.

The article explains

International trade agreements treat health and safety standards as barriers to commerce, and make it possible for manufacturers to hawk products that fall short of the importing country’s standards. Meanwhile, foreign companies that sell products in U.S. markets aren’t required to participate in litigation in American courts, and even if they did, there’s no means of enforcing U.S. legal judgments against them.

News in short: Chinese manufacturers may ignore lawsuits

Published on: October 6, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The AP reports that Chinese manufacturers may flat out ignore the lawsuits filed against them by American homeowners. While it would not be the first time, Plaintiff parties are already aware of this possible outcome and are planning accordingly. Options can include those financial institutions who back the importing of the toxic wallboard, or even seizing the ships that brought the drywall into the country.

Lawyers representing homeowners and homebuilders who used drywall suspected of causing corrosion and possible health risks say they expect Chinese companies that made the wallboard to ignore hundreds of lawsuits filed against them in U.S. courts.

So, who’s going to be on the hook for any damages courts might award?

Chinese drywall maker held in default by Louisiana court

Published on: October 5, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The South Florida Business Journal reports that Judge Fallon, in charge of handling the pre-trial MDL issues in New Orleans, Louisiana, has held one of the Chinese manufacturers in default judgment for not responding to the class action lawsuit filed against them. The order comes as Plaintiffs look to find out what legal options they have for overseas defendants who refuse to respond to the class actions filed against them. The article notes

A Louisiana federal judge has declared Chinese company Taishan Gypsum Co. – one of the largest manufacturers of contaminated Chinese drywall imports – in default in a class action lawsuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon’s order holds the company in default for failing to respond to the lawsuit.

Louisiana law regarding embryo care

Published on: October 3, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

When handling frozen embryos, as previously discussed, there is a specific duty of care owed by the hospital to the parents to maintain the embryos properly and sufficiently so as to preserve them from harm and maintain them for usage by the donor couple. In Louisiana, lawyers have been filing lawsuits regarding a mixup at Ochsner Hospital Elmwood in which a mislabeling matter led to what may end up being a complete disposal of a number of embryos because of a lack of screening that also occurred.

ABC recently profiled a series of mishaps, including that in Louisiana, occurring in the world of in vitro fertilization. With loose regulations, there is a huge possibility of error, as is the case here.

Louisiana law clearly stipulate facets involved in the adoption or change of possession regarding frozen embryos. It does this to try to protect families from the improper transfer of an embryo to another individual, among other reasons. The law states

Name mixup possible reason for wrong embryo implantation

Published on: October 1, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The news has widely covered the story of how one woman, Carolyn Savage, of Toledo, Ohio, found out during her pregnancy that the embryo she had been impregnated with was, in fact, from another couple. Mrs. Savage gave birth to that child and, in an act of extreme charity and kindness, turned it over to its biological parents, Shannon and Paul Morell. The story, found here, has received so much attention because of the extreme amount of compassion it would take for a couple like the Savages, who are themselves looking to have their own child, to give birth to a child that is not theirs, let alone readily hand that child over upon birth. It also shows the possibility for mistakes that recently occurred in New Orleans most recently.

In the case of the Morells and Savages, a name-error may have caused the mislabeling, or incorrect usage, of the embryo that was used to impregnate Mrs. Savage. The American Chronicle reports

In an interview with The Blade yesterday afternoon, Carolyn’s husband, Sean Savage, said it’s possible the error occurred because the mothers share a name, and when it was mentioned that it seems to be a very odd coincidence, he commented “which makes it probably not a coincidence.”

Lab tech responsible for embryo mixup may not have been certified

Published on: October 1, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

A recent twist to Ochsner Elmwood’s recent embryonic disaster regarding the mislabeling and invalidation of an unknown number of frozen embryos complicates the matter even further. It is now alleged that the individual responsible for the mixup may not have even been an employee of the hospital and, further, even certified to be working in the professional capacity he was working in.

While contracting out medical specialists is not new for hospitals, this new kink adds fuel to the fire of the argument some have regarding the lack of concrete regulation in regards to fertilization and embryonic storage.

The Times-Picayune reports

Louisiana embryo law clear on patient rights

Published on: September 30, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

In order to help readers understand more about the embryo debacle and ensuing lawsuits that recently occurred at Ochsner Hospital Elmwood, outside New Orleans, an explanation of relevant Louisiana statutory law is a helpful tool. The Louisiana law provides a specific comprehension for lawyers and citizens to understand regarding embryos frozen at facilities and does not fail to mention the proprietary rights that go with the storage. While a couple may freeze embryos and store them with a hospital, they do not give up any of their rights over those embryos and they are handled as if they were never removed from the woman.

Louisiana law states

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:126 An in vitro fertilized human ovum is a biological human being which is not the property of the physician which acts as an agent of fertilization, or the facility which employs him or the donors of the sperm and ovum. If the in vitro fertilization patients express their identity, then their rights as parents as provided under the Louisiana Civil Code will be preserved. If the in vitro fertilization patients fail to express their identity, then the physician shall be deemed to be temporary guardian of the in vitro fertilized human ovum until adoptive implantation can occur. A court in the parish where the in vitro fertilized ovum is located may appoint a curator, upon motion of the in vitro fertilization patients, their heirs, or physicians who caused in vitro fertilization to be performed, to protect the in vitro fertilized human ovum’s rights.

Condo owner moving tenants for Chinese drywall repair

Published on: September 29, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The owner of 140 condos in Florida is moving its tenants around so as to complete repairs on various units that were unfortunately built with the toxic wallboard from China. The Palm Beach Post reports

The company that owns 140 condominiums at The Whitney has alerted its tenants they may be moved into different units within the building to make way for replacement of tainted drywall.

USO Norge Whitney LLC has sent a letter to its renters in the downtown West Palm Beach condo outlining what it will do should the company “need to remediate a drywall issue in your unit.”