The AAJ, citing the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, reported today that ” The House Judiciary Committee has approved a bill to give active duty members of the military the right to file medical malpractice suits against the government. In a 14-12 vote along strict party lines, the Democratic controlled panel Wednesday sent the bill to the full House where supporters contend the measure to repeal the so-called Feres Doctrine stands a good chance of winning approval. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-NY), whose subcommittee backed the bill, said eliminating the lawsuit ban was a question of fundamental fairness. “

Court Seals Documents at Expense of Consumer Safety
An AAJ article June 4, 2009 looks at the practice of courts sealing litigation documents to the advantage of manufacturers in certain product cases. For example, Bausch & Lomb settled hundreds of cases involving contact solution that involved blindness where the court ordered the documents to be sealed.