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Full-Text Articles in Medical Jurisprudence
Consciousness And Futility: A Proposal For A Legal Redefinition Of Death, Christopher Smith
Consciousness And Futility: A Proposal For A Legal Redefinition Of Death, Christopher Smith
Christopher R Smith
Recent controversies in Texas (with the Marlise Muñoz case) and in California (with the Jahi McMath case) have highlighted a lamentable flaw in the current legal conception of human death, and the difficulty of defining when death finally occurs. The unworkable notion of “brain-death” remains the law in every state in the union, yet the philosophical and scientific foundations of this notion remain open to attack. This article posits that death is a fundamentally social construct, and that it is society at large (through its laws, public opinions, religious attitudes, etc.) that actually defines death. This essay then argues that …
Rescuing Access To Patented Essential Medicines: Pharmaceutical Companies As Tortfeasors Under The Prevented Rescue Tort Theory, Richard Cameron Gower
Rescuing Access To Patented Essential Medicines: Pharmaceutical Companies As Tortfeasors Under The Prevented Rescue Tort Theory, Richard Cameron Gower
Richard Cameron Gower
Despite some difficulties, state tort law can be argued to create a unique exception to patent law. Specifically, the prevented rescue doctrine suggests that charities and others can circumvent patents on certain critical medications when such actions are necessary to save individuals from death or serious harm. Although this Article finds that the prevented rescue tort doctrines is preempted by federal patent law, all hope is not lost. A federal substantive due process claim may be brought that uses the common law to demonstrate a fundamental right that has long been protected by our Nation’s legal traditions. Moreover, this Article …
The Tort Of Betrayal Of Trust, Caroline Forell, Anna Sortun
The Tort Of Betrayal Of Trust, Caroline Forell, Anna Sortun
Caroline A Forell
Fiduciary betrayal is a serious harm. When the fiduciary is a doctor or a lawyer, and the entrustor is a patient or client, this harm frequently goes unremedied. Betrayals arise out of disloyalty and conflicts of interest where the lawyer or doctor puts his or her interest above that of his or her client or patient. It causes dignitary harm that is different from the harm flowing from negligent malpractice. Nevertheless, courts, concerned with overdeterrence, have for the most part refused to allow a separate claim for betrayal. In this Article, we suggest that betrayal deserves a remedy and propose …
English Translation Of Judgment Of Cannon J In Montreal Tramways Co. V. Léveillé [1933] S.C.R. 456, Neil J. Foster
English Translation Of Judgment Of Cannon J In Montreal Tramways Co. V. Léveillé [1933] S.C.R. 456, Neil J. Foster
Neil J Foster
This is an English translation of the judgment of Cannon J in the Supreme Court of Canada decision of Montreal Tramways Co. v. Léveillé [1933] S.C.R. 456, a seminal decision on liability for antenatal torts. The English translation was prepared by the parties in the Supreme Court of Victoria decision of Watt v Rama [1972] VR 353 (see 357 for a summary). The full translation was located at the request of a student of mine in 2011 by the Registry of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and is made available here for general interest of scholars researching this area.