Damage Claims Research Articles

Učestalost odštetne odgovornosti kod povrede pravnog standarda dužne pažnje u pedijatriji kao zdravstvenoj djelatnosti

Objective: The phenomenology of legal practice records emergence of the entire industry of medical liability lawsuits or litigation on global level. Consequently, there has been an increasing trend of legal proceedings against health care providers. Relevant research shows that the risk of exposure to compensation claims for doctors in paediatrics is higher than in other areas of medicine.Methods: In order to determine whether the aforementioned global trend was also reflected in Croatian legal practice, this researchproduces a survey of the frequency of final judicial decisions on compensation claims due to medical errors in the period from 2019 to 2023. The research also took into account the strongest correlation factor: malpractice. Methodologically research encompassedcase law of domestic courts in the mentioned period recorded in the Ius info database and recorded the number of decisions on medical error and malpractice by year, then narrowing the results down to paediatric cases, i.e. cases where a decision was made on the existence of a paediatrician’s medical error.Results: A total of 54 decisions on the existence or non-existence of a medical error were observed in the relevant period, of which the largest number (31.5%) was recorded in 2021. The total number of decisions on malpractice is half that (N=26), with the highest frequency (27%) recorded in the first year of the observed period. In the entire period of interesr, only one decision refers to a paediatric case (N=1).Conclusions: The results of this research show that in Croatia there is no significant increase in the number of compensation claims for damages due to medical errors in paediatrics. In other words, the trend in the Republic of Croatia does not follow the trends of global legal practice in that area.

Terraced landscapes: risk and liability

Terraced landscapes are preserved elements of the human-influenced environment, maintained by ongoing agricultural activities. Farmers are subject to the periodic collapse of terraces, which are repaired by means of traditional techniques. Unless it can be proven that the collapse was accidental, the owner is liable for the damage caused by the collapse of the terraces or landslides. This topic, applied to Minori (Amalfi Coast, Italy), is interesting for two reasons. First, with the advancement of scientific knowledge, the unpredictability of events diminishes and the liability increases. Second, the intensive construction at the base of the terraces and the economic value of the buildings, enhanced by the landscape context, expose the owners to claims for damages from third parties that are disproportionate to the agricultural income, including claims for amnestied illegal constructions. The result has been an increase in the renunciation of property rights by farmers in areas of high hydro-geological risk. However, the State, which becomes the owner, denies the validity of property relinquishments made by owners solely to transfer risk, cost, and liability to the state treasury. This paper discusses these issues, going beyond the Italian case study, and proposes a different risk allocation related to territorial governance. This study reveals a discrepancy in government decision making and suggests that the division of risk into multiple components could be a solution to this inconsistency.

Non-locality and spillover effects of residential flood damage on community recovery: Insights from high-resolution flood claim and mobility data

Examining the relationship between vulnerability of the built environment and community recovery is crucial for understanding disaster resilience. Yet, this relationship is rather neglected in the existing literature due to limitations in the availability of empirical datasets needed for such analysis. In this study, we combined fine-resolution flood damage claim data (composed of both insured and uninsured losses) and human mobility data (composed of millions of movement trajectories) during the 2017 Hurricane Harvey in Harris County, Texas, to specify the extent to which vulnerability of the built environment (i.e., residential flood damage) affects community recovery (based on the speed of human mobility recovery) locally and regionally. We examined such relationship using spatial lag, spatial reach, and spatial decay models to measure the extent of spillover effects of residential flood damage on community recovery. The results indicate that: first, the severity of residential flood damage significantly affects the speed of community recovery. A greater extent of residential flood damage suppresses community recovery not only locally but also in the surrounding areas; second, the spillover effects of residential flood damage on community recovery decay with distance from the highly damaged areas with a spatial reach of up to 31.2 miles (49.92 Km); third, areas display heterogeneous spatial decay coefficients, which are associated with urban form and structure features such as the density of facilities and roads. These findings provide a novel data-driven characterization of the spatial spillover effects of residential flood damage on community recovery and move us closer to a better understanding of complex spatial diffusion processes that shape community resilience to hazards. This study also provides valuable insights for emergency managers and public officials seeking to mitigate the non-local effects of flood damage.

The Civil Law Aspects of Informed Consent to Medical Procedures

Introduction: Informed consent is a communication process between healthcare providers and patients regarding the medical procedures to be performed. Its aim is to provide sufficient information so that patients can make informed decisions, and it is regulated by various laws and regulations in Indonesia.Purpose of the Research: The purpose of this research is to analyze the legal position of informed consent from the perspective of Indonesian civil law and to examine the civil law implications that arise if there is a violation of the informed consent principle in medical procedures.Method of Research: This research uses normative legal methods with legislative and conceptual approaches, analyzing primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials through literature study, and applying descriptive qualitative analysis.Results of Research: Research findings indicate that informed consent holds a strong legal position within the perspective of Indonesian civil law, being viewed as a manifestation of a therapeutic agreement that must meet the valid agreement requirements according to the Civil Code (KUHPerdata) and be supported by various regulations. Violations of the principles of informed consent can lead to significant civil legal implications, including claims for damages on the grounds of breach of contract or unlawful acts, cancellation of the therapeutic agreement, liability for breach of professional standards, and claims based on consumer protection law. These implications can involve healthcare professionals and healthcare institutions, with consequences that include payment of material and immaterial damages, the burden of proof in court, and impacts on reputation and medical practice.

No Time for Justice? Obstetric Violence, Damages Claims and Prescription Periods in South African Law

Obstetric violence is currently not acknowledged as a form of gender-based violence in South African law. In this article I deal with the various issues associated with this failure to correctly categorise obstetric violence. One of the issues relates to access to legal recourse for survivors through delictual claims (torts). Delictual claims are wrongful acts or limitations of rights that can lead to legal liability in the form of monetary compensation. The current framing of obstetric violence as medical malpractice limits women's time to launch a case to only three years after the violation. To show how this issue of prescription (a legal principle where an outstanding debt can be extinguished after a prescribed time period) plays out, I focus on the 2020 report by the South African Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) on the forced or coerced sterilisation of women living with HIV at state healthcare facilities. I also examine the current case of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), a university-based human rights law clinic, which represents over 40 women who have experienced different forms of obstetric violence at state-run facilities. In both of these examples, I explain how justice through legal recourse is denied to these victims or survivors through the mischaracterisation of obstetric violence as medical malpractice in current South African law. To show that the three-year ‘limit’ or prescription period to institute a legal claim is unjustifiable, I explore three reasons why women may not choose to or be able to proceed with a legal claim within that time period. The first of these relates to the ‘personal’ barrier women face around acknowledging they have experienced obstetric violence and bringing a claim against the state. The second, the ‘political’ barrier, includes the general and prevalent systemic gender discrimination experienced by women in South Africa and the specific barriers women face around access to dignified treatment in the country's public healthcare system. Finally, an ‘economic’ barrier is the general inaccessibility of legal representation for economically disadvantaged people in the country. Proceeding from the above, I then argue that by acknowledging obstetric violence as a form of gender-based violence and aligning it with legislation around prescription periods for other forms of gender-based violence (such as sexual offences), the burdens related to access to justice (at least in delict) can be lightened for survivors.

The Final Episode of a (Never-Ending) Series? CFSP Damages Claims and the ECHR Accession

The Final Episode of a (Never-Ending) Series? CFSP Damages Claims and the ECHR Accession

Injuries at the Work Place: An Examination of the Basis for Claim Under Nigeria’s Employees Compensation Act (ECA) 2010

The Employer employee relationship has been in existence since the time immemorial, Master servant relationship was initially practiced up to the time where such relationship was abolished, which was replaced with an institutionalized relation i.e. Employer employee relations, where each of the parties has his own rights and duties spelt out by the Laws establishing and guiding their relationship. In most cases during the course of this relationship, parties may sustain an injury of different degrees, ranging from partial or permanent disabilities, at some instances to the extent of even loss of life in the course of that employment, depending on the nature of the employment. This work will explore the available statutes ranging from the International treaties which Nigeria happened to be a signatory to, and the other Nigerian legislations, and Case Laws regulating the Employee employer relationship with a view to examining such injuries based on their compensability and what will qualify them to be so i.e. the basis for the claim of damages based on the injuries sustained under the Employee’s Compensation Act 2010, and also to examine how such claims could be made appropriately in accordance with the law. At the end of this work, the Employer and employee would be better educated in the nature of the injuries that attracts compensation as well as what qualified them to be so, and how it could be done in accordance with the law

Maladaptive behaviors in disasters: case study evaluation of Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake.

Maladaptive behaviors during a disaster refer to actions that do not benefit the individual or society. Quarantelli highlights several maladaptive behaviors myths associated with disasters: widespread antisocial behavior, passivity, role conflict or abandonment, and sudden widespread mental health breakdowns (1). Despite early work reporting these myths, the common perception is that maladaptive behaviors such as rioting, looting, panic, and criminal conduct are prevalent in the wake of disasters. This is despite research by de Ville de Goyet and Arnold which has called on public officials and the media to stop propagating false disaster myths (2, 3). The classic academic response has been that this is a misconception and that, in fact, such behaviors are a very small part of the overall disaster and are mostly non-existent. Misconceptions about the prevalence of maladaptive behaviors can lead to inappropriate resource allocation, such as allocating extra police officers to prevent looting when the overall crime rate for the most part, decreases during disasters (4). Furthermore, while there are several persistent maladaptive behaviors myths, this is confounded by the presence of actual negative behaviors post disaster: false damage claims, insurance fraud, illegally obtaining relief supplies, failure to provide contracted repair services, hoarding of essential items, psychological trauma (which can lead to intergenerational transmission of the disaster memory) and medications and price gouging (5).When reading lay-press articles about recent disasters, it appears that these behaviors are on the rise. This raises the question: Has there been a change in the basic human reaction to disasters and are maladaptive behaviors on the rise? This review article focuses on case studies from three natural disasters: Hurricanes Hugo and Katrina, and the Haiti Earthquake. The goal of this review article is to evaluate these three natural disasters for evidence of maladaptive behaviors.

The increasing medicolegal cost in the care of high-level athletes

BackgroundMedical malpractice represents a significant economic cost in healthcare. Increasingly large damage claims by professional athletes against physicians have raised concerns about the medicolegal challenges in caring for high-level athletes. MethodsAn online proprietary legal research database was queried for lawsuits related to malpractice in the care of professional and amateur athletes from 1992-2023. Demographics of plaintiffs and defendants, details of lawsuit filings and damages claimed were recorded for all cases, settlements, and jury verdicts. Descriptive statistics, linear regression, as well as univariate analysis of demographic factors and damage claims in inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars was performed. ResultsEighty-eight lawsuits were recorded from 1992-2023. The sum of indemnities exceeded 186 million in 2023 inflation-adjusted United States Dollars. Football players were the most commonly represented athletes (n=26) and represented 49% of total financial awards. Fourteen cases (16%) involved treatment of the upper extremity. Professional and collegiate level of play was associated with higher damages in favor of plaintiffs when compared to other levels of play. No other demographic was associated with higher financial awards. Linear regression showed a significant positive trend with an increasing inflation-adjusted compensation for plaintiff verdicts in the last 30 years. ConclusionsThere is an increasing medicolegal financial risk associated with the care of athletes. This is higher in collegiate and professional levels of play. As physicians, insurers and institutions adjust to these financial risks, care must be taken to avoid ramifications on the availability and quality of care provided to athletes. Shoulder and elbow surgeons may consider additional preoperative counseling, legal waiver forms regarding malpractice claims and advocacy for medical malpractice reforms in the care of athletes with high earning potential to mitigate these increasing financial risks.

SHOULD A COMPANY’S DIGNITY BE PROTECTED UNDER SECTION 10 OF THE CONSTITUTION? THE QUESTION IN Reddell v Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Limited [2022] ZACC 38

In Reddell v Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd ([2022] ZACC 38) (Reddell), the Constitutional Court considered whether section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution), as read with section 8(4), should be interpreted to protect the dignity of juristic persons (in this case, mining companies). The majority and minority judgments arrived at conflicting decisions on the point. Unterhalter AJ, for the minority, held that juristic persons should be protected under section 10, while Majiedt J, for the majority, held otherwise. The majority also developed the common law of defamation to limit the circumstances in which a juristic person may succeed in a claim for general damages for non-patrimonial loss.The authors make two claims. First, it is argued that the minority judgment correctly interpreted the nature and purpose of section 10 (the guarantee of human dignity) when read with section 8(4) of the Constitution, which provides that juristic persons are entitled to bear the rights in the Bill of Rights as required by the nature of the right and the nature of the juristic person in issue. It is asserted that the two sections can be interpreted to entitle companies to rely on section 10 of the Constitution to protect their right to dignity, encompassing their good name and reputation. Secondly, it is argued that the majority’s development of the common law of defamation – to create a special exception for cases where a juristic person sues for general damages – was unnecessary, and has created legal uncertainty.The case note proceeds as follows. First, the authors introduce the facts of the case, and then explore the ratione decidendi of both judgments. Secondly, the note addresses the ambit and scope of human dignity as a constitutional right, followed by the applicable principles governing constitutional interpretation, including the role of the heading of a statutory provision. This is followed by a discussion of the law of defamation concerning whether a juristic person can claim damages for an infringement to its reputation under the actio iniuriarum. The legal position prior to the judgment in Reddell is compared to that which now applies. Finally, the decision is evaluated with reference both to the reasoning used by the majority and minority respectively and the significance of the outcome of the case for our law.A detailed discussion of the constitutionality of awarding general damages to corporations for defamation on the basis that such claims unjustifiably limit section 16 of the Constitution (the right to freedom of expression) falls outside the scope of this case note.

Review on the Implementation of the Consumer Act of the Philippines: Insights to Its Plausible Future

As a developing Southeast Asian nation, the Philippines have experienced economic growth, leading to challenges in ensuring consumer protection. This study reviewed the level of implementation of Consumer Act of the Philippines (Act) and explored insights to its plausible future. This used both quantitative and qualitative components. This was conducted in Capiz. For the survey, respondents comprised of consumers buying in Roxas City supermarkets and grocery stores selling basic commodities. For Focus Group Discussion (FGD), business owner representative, Department of Trade and Industry implementers, and consumer organization members participated. For the challenges encountered in Act’s implementation, respondents believed that the law protects their rights, but they lacked awareness of how to enforce it with perceived weaknesses on Act’s effectiveness in enforcing penalties. For the level of implementation, respondents believed that the Act effectively ensured the quality and safety of consumer products in the market, reduced deceptive, unfair, and conscionable sales acts or practices, provided efficient resolution for valid warranty claims, protected against misleading or deceptive packaging techniques, holds businesses accountable for product and service imperfection, prevents misleading advertisements and fraudulent sales promotion practices, regulates service and repair enterprises, and ensures effective consumer complaints handling. Consumers perceived that Act's provision on penalties was inadequate, ineffective in addressing broader issues, inadequately implements provision on warranties, labeling, and fair packaging, no provision on claims for damages, with gaps in addressing issues on sales promotion, service, and consumer complaints handling. Participants highlighted the need to promote consumer education, clearer guidelines on acceptable sales practices, and areas for improvement in online marketplaces, consumer awareness, and enhanced enforcement capabilities. Overall, strengthened consumer advocacy, enforcement training, and education, provision of harsher penalties, collaboration with other stakeholders, enhanced screening measures on online shopping platforms, and streamlined online dispute resolutions.

일상생활배상책임보험의 보상요건 및 설명의무에 관한 종합적 고찰 - 청주지법 2022. 12. 22. 선고 2021나55269 판결을 중심으로

Daily life liability insurance is a personal liability insurance sold in the form of a special agreement in addition to long-term insurance products. It is a very useful insurance product that covers damages due to general activities that can occur widely in everyday life with an inexpensive insurance premium of less than 1,000 won. At this time, the concept of 'daily life' means life in 'normal times', and is distinguished from 'job performance' that is for 'maintaining a living' or requires professional knowledge, experience, and skills. Of course, the scope of 'daily life' will be determined according to specific circumstances, but at least in the process of determining it, the group performance and homogeneity of the risk consisting of a large number of unspecified general policyholders should not be impaired. In the case where the insured, who usually suffered from depression and paranoid schizophrenia, jumped from a high-rise building and shocked the victim (plaintiff), who just happened to pass under it, the damage caused by the insured's actions was judged as an accidental accident in the first trial. However, in the target judgment, it was judged that the act of the insured jumping out of the building with the intention of suicide or jumping off was not the “general act that may occur in everyday life” mentioned above, but was difficult to regard as being included in the category of “daily life”. The target judgment rejected the plaintiff's claim for damages, considering that it did not meet the former requirements among the usual life and accidental accidents, which are the representative compensation requirements of the daily life liability special agreement. The insured's above actions outside the certain boundaries of daily life are very valid in that they harm the homogeneity of insurance groups. Furthermore, in this paper, an analysis is conducted to clearly distinguish the concepts of 'daily life' and 'job performance' of the special agreement for daily life liability through various lower court rulings, and the purpose and meaning of a number of reasons for indemnification are considered for each type. The results of this review are linked to the obligation to explain the terms and conditions, which are sharp disputes between the insurer and the insured in the stage of exemption and liability for compensation after an insurance accident. Most of the reasons for exemption from the Special Agreement on Daily Liability for Compensation are subject to the obligation to explain as it directly affects the interests of the policyholder and determines whether or not to conclude a contract depending on whether or not to explain it. However, 'daily life' is a concept accepted by social norms as a daily activity of the general public. Even if the insurer does not explain separately, it is reasonable to assume that the insured can fully predict or understand the contents and is not subject to the obligation to explain. This is especially true considering that the Special Agreement on Daily Liability for Compensation, which is a liability guarantee incidental to long-term non-life insurance products, guarantees various risks in daily life with an insurance premium of less than 100 million won per month.

Quantifying the Impact of Risk Factors on Direct Compensation Property Damage in Canadian Automobile Insurance

This study presents a statistical analysis assessing the impact of various risk factors on direct compensation property damage (DCPD) claims in private passenger vehicle accidents. Using automobile insurance data in Ontario, Canada for the decade years period between 2003 and 2012, a statistical model of property damage was explored via a generalized linear binary logit mixed model and considered the imbalance between the classes of insureds. The results indicate that several risk factors have a significant impact on the likelihood of DCPD claims, including usage, training, outstanding loss, and incurred loss. The effects of these risk factors were observed under the weights — the number of trials used to generate each success proportion — in the different classes of insureds. The generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) analysis provides a powerful tool for quantifying the impact of risk factors on binary outcomes, which are called DCPD claims and property damage (PD) claims covered by third-party liability (TPL) insurance. These models can also inform insurance underwriting and policy design, focusing on identifying the most significant risk factors. The performance metrics calculated by considering the class imbalance in binary outcomes verify the resulting model’s ability to accurately predict classes. The F1 score, an evaluation metric to measure the performance of classification, was calculated as 0.934. In addition, PR AUC, which is the area under the Precision-Recall (PR) curve, was computed as 0.953. These high scores indicate that the resulting model performs well in the classification. The other metrics also support the classification accuracy of this model. The findings of the analysis can help insurers better understand the underlying drivers of property damages and develop more accurate and effective strategies for risk mitigation. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of developing class-specific risk assessment models to account for the imbalance across different classes.

단기 시효기간의 전용 가능성과 판단 방법에 관한 소고 - 직접고용의무에 관한 대법원 2023. 4. 27. 선고 2021다229618 판결을 출발점으로 -

When multiple claims for damages arise simultaneously in the same case, and when the prescription period for each claim is different, the question arises as to whether the short prescription period of one claim can be diverted to another claim. This recently became an issue in a case regarding the direct employment obligation under the dispatch law. After the Dispatch Act went into effect, when workers who were in an illegal dispatch relationship claimed fulfillment of their direct employment obligations and claimed compensation for damages, the short-term 3-year statute of limitations applicable to wage claims was applied without any question. However, since the regulations deemed as employment were revised to obligatory employment regulations, it became possible to view the violation of the relevant Dispatch Act provisions as non-performance of legal obligations and claim a 10-year statute of limitations. The short-term statute of limitations on wage claims cannot be diverted to the right to claim compensation for damages resulting from a violation of the direct employment obligation simply by asserting that wages were not received as a result of a violation of the direct employment obligation, or that wages could have been received if the direct employment obligation had not been violated. Rather, it is necessary to examine whether there is a substantive and economic closeness between the two bonds. At this time, the similarity between the amount of compensation and the amount of wages, which is the result of calculating damages, cannot be an important criterion for judgment. Rather, practical and economic relevance should be reviewed taking into account the purpose of the legal obligations. Since the practical and economic closeness between the two bonds is only the first step in examining whether the purpose of defining the short-term prescription period is similar, it is natural to reexamine whether the purpose of the short-term prescription period can be applied equally. As a result, it is difficult to recognize a practical and economic closeness between the right to claim damages resulting from a violation of the direct employment obligation and the wage claim. In addition, the purpose of the short prescription period for wage claims does not correspond to the right to claim damages due to violation of direct employment obligations.

Avon products forced into Chapter 11 by talc-related claims for health damages

Avon products forced into Chapter 11 by talc-related claims for health damages

Psychiatric Illness and Clinical Negligence: When Can "Secondary Victims" Successfully Claim for Damages? Recent Developments from the United Kingdom.

On January 11, 2024, the United Kingdom (U.K.) Supreme Court rendered its judgment in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, restricting the circumstances in which "secondary victims" can successfully claim for damages in clinical negligence cases. This ruling has provided welcome clarity regarding the scope of negligently caused "pure" psychiatric illness claims, but the judgment may well prove controversial. In this article, I trace the facts and opinion from the majority and also discuss an important dissenting opinion. I then reflect on what the ruling means for psychiatric illness claims by secondary victims, and more broadly on the implications for clinical negligence law. I suggest that while much-needed clarity has been injected in this area of the law, it is difficult, reading the majority of the Supreme Court's emphasis on the restricted scope of a medical practitioner's duty, to envision a scenario in which secondary victim could ever succeed in a clinical negligence context.

Formation of secondary aerosol by 222 nm Far-UVC irradiation on SO2

222 nm UV indoor disinfection using KrCl* excimer lamps has been gaining popularity due to claims of minimal ocular and skin damage from direct irradiation. However, the secondary aerosol formation under irradiation of KrCl* excimer lamps, which could be an inhalation hazard, is less explored. SO2, a well-known precursor of outdoor sulfate aerosol, is also ubiquitous in indoor environments in urban cities in northern China where coal is used for domestic heating and cooking. In this work, we studied secondary aerosol formation by 222 nm irradiation on SO2, using a Go: PAM flow reactor, a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), and a time-of-flight aerosol chemical composition monitor (ToF-ACSM). The formation of sulfate nanoparticles was found much more effective at 222 nm than at 254 nm and under fluorescent lamp (FL) irradiation at the same UV doses and RH, likely due to different SO2 oxidation mechanisms. We have also found that NH3 and cooking volatile organic compounds (CVOC), as other indoor-relevant gases, promoted the formation of secondary aerosols by 222 nm radiation on SO2. Overall, 222 nm disinfection can generate secondary pollutants in indoor environments. Caution should be taken during its indoor applications, especially in areas with high SO2 concentrations such as coal-fueled households.

CIVIL LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION DURING URBAN TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION CAUSED BY PROPRIETY DAMAGE

Tunnel construction has to interact with many complex variables, both in the design phase and in the construction phase, especially in urban areas with high population density. Thus, building a new metro line inevitably involves disputes. Even if companies have appropriate guarantees provided in the contract, the initiation of a claim normally involves a dispute, which can be resolved, through confrontation of the parties, or it can incur court proceedings. During the construction of Milan's new subway line, Metro Blu, a great deal of effort was devoted to the management of damage complaints, induced mainly during the excavation phases and beyond. Thanks to the effort and commitment of numerous insurance companies, which supported the contractors, damage claims were collected and managed, almost always in conjunction with construction. Some disputes have been settled; others have resulted in court disputes. Although the most frequent claims have been for damage to the existing building (fractures and deformations), some disputes have involved claims for damages in relation to property rights and compensation for property expropriation. The authors expose two cases history of recurring disputes involving the construction of the new subway line, with the aim of reflecting on the patterns of large-scale litigation.

CIVIL LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION DURING URBAN TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION CAUSED BY PROPRIETY DAMAGE

Tunnel construction has to interact with many complex variables, both in the design phase and in the construction phase, especially in urban areas with high population density. Thus, building a new metro line inevitably involves disputes. Even if companies have appropriate guarantees provided in the contract, the initiation of a claim normally involves a dispute, which can be resolved, through confrontation of the parties, or it can incur court proceedings. During the construction of Milan's new subway line, Metro Blu, a great deal of effort was devoted to the management of damage complaints, induced mainly during the excavation phases and beyond. Thanks to the effort and commitment of numerous insurance companies, which supported the contractors, damage claims were collected and managed, almost always in conjunction with construction. Some disputes have been settled; others have resulted in court disputes. Although the most frequent claims have been for damage to the existing building (fractures and deformations), some disputes have involved claims for damages in relation to property rights and compensation for property expropriation. The authors expose two cases history of recurring disputes involving the construction of the new subway line, with the aim of reflecting on the patterns of large-scale litigation.

Variations of the Traditional Life Care Plan

A staple in assessing and valuing injury and related monetary damages claims, life care plans have traditionally encapsulated damages computations associated with present and anticipated future rehabilitation interventions related to contested events, the most common involving personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability. The needs and sophistication of the injury claims assessment process have continued to evolve since the inception of life care plans and accordingly affect the services life care planners contribute to resolve disputes over the need for and value of litigated future rehabilitation interventions. After a brief history and overview of life care planning, this article describes how the discipline evolved to its current state. The authors then discuss how lawyers’ discernments in prosecuting cases have led to the need for three variations/derivatives of the traditional life care plan: the life care plan cost comparison, the interpolated life care plan, and the international life care plan. Standards of practice considerations follow. According to the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), life care planning is a career pathway for certified rehabilitation counselors (CRCs). Rehabilitation counselors encounter a myriad of physical and psychosocial factors that affect the rehabilitation process. CRC certification and training prepares counselors to holistically address complex areas of rehabilitation following a catastrophic illness or injury. According to the CRCC Code of Ethics, CRCs have a responsibility to the public to engage in practices that are based on accepted research methodologies and evidence-based practices. They need to remain current with developments in evidence-based practice. Notably, the three variations/derivatives of the traditional life care plan presented in this article address pertinent standards of practice considerations.