Arizona Litigation

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How do I file a lawsuit against a mental health organization for medical malpractice?

In January 2005, Value Options of Phoenix, Arizona injected me with a long-acting dose of Prolixin, the result of which landed me in the Paradise Valley Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with Neuroleptic-Maglignant Syndrome-like symptoms (including severe muscular rigidity, cold sweats, fever and extreme physical weakness). I eventually was released, but not after a horrifying experience.

I am considering bringing litigation against Value Options of Phoenix, Arizona for extreme medical malpractice. How do I do so and at a reasonable cost (I do not have a lot of money)?

Paul

you may want to consult an attorney.

Arizona Gov. Brewer upset with Obama Admin. suit over Arizona’s SB 1070

The Smart Litigator: The Benefits of Deposition Summaries

 

A concise and well-articulated transcript summary is one of the most valuable tools a litigator can possess.  Yet with looming case deadlines and limited resources, many law firms and in-house legal departments do not have time to comb through and summarize lengthy transcripts.  For this reason, there is an increasing trend among litigators to outsource this task to a reputable legal support service that specializes in summarizing deposition testimony, hearing transcripts, arbitration/trial transcripts, and other voluminous documentation.

Among other things, the benefits of utilizing a support service include the following:

• CLIENT SAVES MONEY: Most importantly, the client saves an appreciable amount of money when outsourcing to a legal support service.  For example, it takes a paralegal or junior attorney an average of 8-10 hours to summarize a 200-page deposition, thus costing the client at least $1600 (assuming a blended billing rate of $200 per hour).  The cost the client must bear is even higher if it retains a large or prestigious firm.  By comparison, this 200-page transcript can be summarized for approximately $500 if outsourced, since support services usually charge a fixed cost of $2-3 per page.

 

• FASTER TURNAROUND TIME: Outsourced transcripts are summarized with greater speed and efficiency, for qualified support professionals are trained to do nothing but draft a succinct and well-articulated synopsis.  The top support services select their contractors among a significant talent pool and put each summarizer through rigorous training to guarantee superior work product.  Moreover, there are usually multiple levels of “quality control” review, meaning that summaries are proofed by one or more supervising attorneys before being returned to the client.

 

• FREES UP IN-HOUSE RESOURCES: Outsourcing transcripts enables junior attorneys, paralegals and staff to focus on other critical matters, such as motion work, case strategy, and trial preparation. 

 

• SAVES SENIOR ATTORNEY TIME: Obtaining quality summaries also saves senior attorneys significant time, for these documents present the facts in their most condensed format.  Although the transcript-to-summary ratio naturally depends upon the subject matter at hand, the average summary ratio is 10:1 (i.e. a 100-page transcript will be condensed to approximately 10 pages).  Accordingly, these summaries allow the reader to quickly spot a relevant section of testimony.  As all summaries have references to the page and line numbers in the original transcript, the reader can easily consult the corresponding portion of the original transcript if so desired.

 

• In addition, transcript summaries provide a cost-effective means for experts to review witness testimony.

 

• Transcript summaries are also an excellent method of refreshing the recollection of a witness prior to trial.

 

• Furthermore, transcript summaries should serve as a key document used for trial preparation.  Most summaries contain a topic column, making it easy for a legal team to quickly organize all the facts necessary for the big day in court.

 

Finally, courts recognize the benefits of introducing summaries into evidence at trial.  By way of example, in a Court Comment to Rule 32 of Arizona’s Rules of Civil Procedure, it is noted, in part: 

“The verbatim reading of deposition transcripts at trial can be a tedious exercise for the jury that greatly reduces juror comprehension and attention.  Deposition summaries are an effective means of giving a jury the information contained in deposition transcripts in an understandable and abbreviated form.  [Federal Rule of Evidence 1006] already encourages the use of summaries of documents that ‘cannot be conveniently examined in court.’”

“Parties are encouraged to agree upon and use a concise deposition summary instead of a verbatim reading of a deposition transcript.  When considered necessary for jury comprehension or an efficient trial, the court may require the use of deposition summaries. . .”

For further information regarding the benefits of deposition summaries, please visit: http://www.legaldiscoveryexperts.com

Michael Rapkine, Esq.

Legal Discovery Experts, LLC

http://www.legaldiscoveryexperts.com