allow AAJ communications to target
specific audiences with specific messages. twitter and facebook help push
key facts and information out and help
followers stay informed about AAJ news
and activities. they also let AAJ respond
instantly to negative attacks on trial lawyers, debunk incorrect statements, and
reiterate the importance of a strong civil
justice system.
Members may become “fans” of AAJ
on facebook by going to www.facebook.
com/JusticeDotorg. to sign up to follow
AAJ’s twitter feed, go to www.twitter.
com/JusticeDotorg.
For more information about
AAJ Communications, call (202)
965-3500, ext. 8369, or e-mail media.
replies@justice.org.
eDucAtion
May seminar
focuses on
Brain injury
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT of
traumatic brain injury (tBi) continue to evolve rapidly, and lawyers who represent brain-injured
clients and their families need to be familiar with current changes. to help, AAJ’s
traumatic Brain injury litigation Group
will cosponsor the Litigating Traumatic
Brain Injury Cases Seminar, May 20–21,
2010, at the hotel Allegro in chicago.
Designed for lawyers at every level,
this program will explore the latest
advances in research and care, as well as
the nuts and bolts of handling a tBi case.
in addition, the seminar, which features
experienced trial lawyers and experts, is
divided into two parts—one focusing on
exploring and learning about the injury
and the injured person, and the other
focusing on case development.
Attendees will earn approximately
13.5 hours of cle credits, including
one hour of ethics credit, which can be
applied toward AAJ’s professional recognition programs.
For more information or to
register, call (800) 622-1791 or (202)
965-3500, ext. 8612, or visit www.
justice.org/education.
exchAnGe
help Available for
cases of Delayed
cancer Diagnosis
THE AAJ EXCHANGE has resources
designed for lawyers representing
clients who have been harmed
by a missed or delayed cancer
diagnosis.
Despite the obvious benefits of early
detection—less-invasive treatments and
survival rates of 98 percent for patients
with breast and skin cancer when diag-
nosed early—medical errors can delay
a cancer diagnosis. Misread biopsies,
x-rays, and ct scans and improperly
performed mammograms and other
screenings are some common reasons
for a delayed cancer diagnosis.
the recently updated Failure to Diag-
nose Breast Cancer litigation packet and
the Failure to Diagnose Skin Cancer liti-
gation packet offer a variety of materi-
als, including deposition summaries and
transcripts of treating physicians, medi-
cal experts, and nurses.
Both packets contain sample com-
plaints, interrogatories, requests for
production, and motions as well as AAJ
education speaker papers addressing
issues such as loss of chance, doubling
time, damages, and causation.
to view the table of contents, or to
order these or other medical negligence
litigation packets, visit www.justice.org/
exchange and click on “litigation pack-
ets,” or call the exchange at (800) 344-
3023, ext. 8615.
MEMBERS in Motion
It’s a MADD,
MADD World for
Little Rock Lawyer
Gary Green of Little Rock has frequently
represented the victims of drunk-driving
accidents in court. While
doing so, he noticed that
in every case, the organization Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) would send
a representative to observe
the trial as part of its court-watching program.
“I was impressed by what
they were able to accomplish, merely by their presence,” Green said, referring
to their impact on criminal
trials, which they also observed. “They
never spoke or participated in the trial, but
it seemed clear that when they were present, there was less chance that the judge
would impose a lenient sentence.”
In 1994, Green approached the local
chapter of MADD to propose a partnership:
Every time he represented someone who’d
been hurt in an alcohol-related car crash, he
would make a donation to MADD.
“It didn’t matter if I won or lost the case,”
he said. “I made the commitment to make
the contribution and to do it every time.”
Green estimates that his firm has contributed roughly $90,000 to the Irving, Texas-based organization.
“I like working with people who are advocates,” he said. “They are single-minded
and serious in their mission.”
Green said he was deeply moved when
he visited MADD’s headquarters and saw
the wall where people have posted photographs of their loved ones who were killed
in drunk-driving accidents.
This year, MADD acknowledged Green’s
firm as a national corporate sponsor. Green
has also produced several TV and radio
public service announcements (PSAs) for
MADD, paying production costs and, in
some cases, serving as spokesman.
“In the states where we’ve done the
PSAs, drunk-driving deaths are going down,”
Green said. “Now, I know all about correlation and causation, so this is probably
purely coincidental—but it makes me feel
good anyway.”
