This Week's Most Notable Personal Injury Stories

Happy Friday! ?? Welcome to this week's edition of Enjuris Briefs. Our team of dedicated attorney editors has hand-selected the most notable—and notably amusing—personal injury stories from the past week.

Top Legal Stories

Judge Clears Zuckerberg of Personal Liability in Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg won’t personally face liability in 25 lawsuits accusing his company of fostering social media addiction among children, as ruled by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. While plaintiffs argued Zuckerberg was the “guiding spirit” behind efforts to downplay the mental health risks of platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the judge found the claims lacked specific evidence tying Zuckerberg personally to these alleged actions.

This ruling only addresses claims against Zuckerberg, leaving Meta itself still on the hook in ongoing litigation. The lawsuits, part of a broader legal campaign involving hundreds of cases from parents, children, and schools, contend that Meta, alongside other tech giants like Google, TikTok, and Snapchat, has placed profits over the mental health and safety of young users.

Iowa Supreme Court Overturns Record $97M Malpractice Verdict

Iowa’s highest court overturned a $97.4 million medical malpractice award—the largest in state history—citing improper evidence and attorney misconduct. The ruling mandates a new trial in a case where the Kromphardt family sued after their baby suffered brain injuries during a forceps and vacuum-assisted delivery. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the trial court had improperly admitted the vacuum device’s warning label as evidence, deeming it hearsay.

The court also criticized the conduct of the family’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, who, during closing arguments, disparaged the defense's arguments rather than focusing on the merits of the case. Although this behavior was not the basis for the reversal, Chief Justice Christensen noted that it fell well below professional standards.

Read the full opinion here.?

Law Firms See Record-High Profits Amid Broad Demand for Legal Services

The legal industry is experiencing a profitable 2024, with the Law Firm Financial Index reaching its second-highest score ever at 71, trailing only 2021. Unlike the unsustainable boom of 2021, this year’s 3.6% increase in demand appears healthier and more diverse, according to Thomson Reuters’ latest report. Growth spans multiple practice areas, including litigation (+4%), real estate (+3.7%), and labor and employment (+2.9%), with only intellectual property showing a slight decline (-0.2%).

Productivity is also rebounding, with 64% of firms reporting gains in the third quarter, up 1.7% overall. This marks a turnaround from years of declining productivity and reflects both rising demand and modest hiring—particularly among midsize firms and those in the Second Hundred of Am Law 200 rankings, which saw the fastest demand growth.

Baltimore Jury Awards $266M in Opioid Crisis Lawsuit Against Drug Distributors

A Baltimore jury has ordered McKesson and AmerisourceBergen to pay over $266 million in damages for their role in fueling the city’s opioid crisis. The verdict, delivered Tuesday, adds to a series of settlements from other pharmaceutical companies, bringing Baltimore's total restitution to more than $668 million. Baltimore opted out of a national settlement six years ago, filing its own lawsuit instead, and has since reached individual settlements with companies like Walgreens, CVS, and Teva.

Mayor Brandon Scott hailed the jury’s decision, describing the award as a “game-changing” figure for the city’s opioid recovery efforts. Funds from these settlements will be directed toward evidence-based practices supporting organizations with a proven track record in addiction recovery, according to incoming City Council President-elect Zeke Cohen.

U.S. Jury Awards $42M to Former Abu Ghraib Detainees, Holding Defense Contractor Liable for Abuse

A U.S. jury awarded $42 million to three former detainees of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, finding Virginia-based defense contractor CACI Premier Technology liable for contributing to their abuse two decades ago. Plaintiffs Suhail al-Shimari, Salah al-Ejaili, and Asa’ad al-Zubae, who first filed suit in 2008, described harrowing abuse including beatings, forced nudity, and sexual humiliation during their detention.

Though CACI argued its employees had no direct role in the mistreatment, the jury found the company liable, citing evidence that its interrogators instructed military police to "soften up" detainees. This case, the first of its kind, holds a civilian contractor accountable for detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. Each plaintiff was awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $11 million in punitive damages, marking a long-awaited victory for the former detainees and a cautionary precedent for military contractors.

ABA Approves Test-Optional Admissions for Law Schools, Opening Doors for Alternative Pathways

Who wants to take a test?! No one. Literally, no one.?

The ABA's Section of Legal Education has approved a variance allowing law schools to admit students without requiring a standardized admissions test, such as the LSAT. Approved at the council’s Nov. 8 meeting, the new policy enables participating law schools to accept up to 100% of their students without test scores for three to five years. Schools using this variance must report on student performance, providing data on metrics like academic success, attrition, and bar passage rates to assess the policy’s impact.

The variance reflects a growing interest in alternative pathways to legal education, particularly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on race-conscious admissions. While other professional fields, such as medicine, often rely on standardized tests like the MCAT, accrediting bodies do not mandate these tests for admissions. Legal education, by contrast, has uniquely required an admissions test like the LSAT. The ABA’s decision highlights ongoing efforts to broaden access and promote diversity, acknowledging longstanding disparities in standardized testing.

Read more here.?

Colorado Court Rules Lime Scooters Not Liable for Injuries Caused by Riders

The Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a negligence lawsuit against Lime, the electric scooter rental company, concluding that simply renting scooters to the public does not make the company liable for injuries caused by riders. The case stemmed from an incident where plaintiff Josanna Harrington was hit by a scooter operated by an allegedly intoxicated rider in a Denver bike lane. The court found that Lime owed no duty of care to protect Harrington from the actions of third-party users.

Harrington argued that Lime failed to ensure safe operation of its scooters, citing alleged lapses like not preventing intoxicated users and failing to regulate scooter speeds. However, the court categorized these claims as "nonfeasance" and determined that Lime had no "special relationship" with Harrington that would impose a duty of care. Additionally, the court noted that Lime could not reasonably be expected to monitor or control all riders’ behavior.

Amusing Legal Story

South Carolina Man on Trial for Attempted Murder of Attorney, Allegedly Carried Out Hit for Friend

Travis Douglass has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the attempted murder of attorney JP Baum in an April 2023 shooting outside Baum’s Greenville, SC, law office. Prosecutors allege Douglass carried out the attack on behalf of his friend, architect David Smith, who was being sued for $1.7 million by Baum’s then-law firm. However, evidence suggests Baum wasn’t the intended target. Douglass’s Google searches reportedly focused on another attorney who was similar in size to Baum, leading to a case of mistaken identity.

Adding to the botched nature of this hit, Smith—who died the day after Douglass’s arrest in an unrelated high-speed crash—had Googled terms like "maximum sentence for accessory after the fact" before the attempted murder. Surveillance footage allegedly shows a man exiting a scratched RV, linked to Douglass, near Baum’s office and waiting for hours before the shooting. A bullet casing found in the RV, along with cell tower data and receipts, places Douglass at the scene.

Baum, who survived the shooting, described calling his wife during what he believed were his final moments, fearing he was dying as his lung collapsed. He has since left his previous firm and joined Campbell Teague, perhaps hoping to find lawyers of varying sizes this time around.

Quote of the Week

“You chose to blame your cat.” - Judge Michael Nachmanoff?

In a bizarre case involving privacy violations and curious excuses, Trent Russell, a former transplant coordinator from Bellevue, Nebraska, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for illegally accessing and sharing the medical records of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Russell, 34, claimed his access to Ginsburg’s data was accidental, going so far as to suggest his cat may have “walked across the keyboard,” inadvertently calling up the confidential files.

Russell published the records on forums rife with conspiracy theories. Prosecutors were unimpressed with his feline excuse, calling his explanations “completely implausible.” Judge Michael Nachmanoff, who handed down the sentence, described Russell’s actions as “truly despicable” and chastised him for lying, saying, “You chose to blame your cat.”

Russell’s defense sought probation or home detention, but the judge imposed the prison sentence, signaling a strong stance against such breaches of trust.

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