West Virginia Record

Friday, September 20, 2019

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Opioid regulator Joe Rannazzisi, hero or villain?

What if Big Pharma is not to blame for the opioid crisis? What if it wasn’t the big bad drug companies that created and exacerbated the problem, but the politicians and government officials pretending to be the good guys?

By The West Virginia Record | Sep 11, 2019

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The VA needs to protect the medical records of veterans

The VA has a responsibility to ensure the confidentiality of all veteran records, and the persons responsible for any breach should be held accountable.

By The West Virginia Record | Sep 3, 2019

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Opioid ‘solution’ may be worse than the problem

By The West Virginia Record | Aug 28, 2019

Let’s hope West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's recent litigation on our behalf is not motivated by an opportunistic desire to exploit a crisis and swell state coffers by shaking down legitimate companies that may have had little or nothing to do with the crisis.

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Proud to be a coal miner’s warriors

By The West Virginia Record | Aug 20, 2019

Truth be told, those who have grown up in West Virginia and Kentucky are sons and daughters of coal miners in a way – if not genetically, then psychologically at least, as grateful beneficiaries of the hard work they’ve done throughout their lifetimes.

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When judges ignore the law

By The West Virginia Record | Aug 14, 2019

Plaintiffs attorneys governments across the country in a proposed opioid class action suit are trying to persuade U.S. District Judge Dan Polster to create a “negotiation class” that would empower them to act on behalf of every city and country government in the country and decide amongst themselves how settlement funds are distributed.

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Another pipeline to prosperity and national security

By The West Virginia Record | Aug 6, 2019

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading a 16-state group urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that halted construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. This project offers enormous economic and national security benefits.

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State Attorneys General should oversee opioid litigation

By The West Virginia Record | Jul 31, 2019

Do we want justice or a quick jackpot for trial attorneys? The negotiation class leads to the latter. And, more important, it’s unconstitutional and unfair. The states and their attorneys general are the parties empowered to protect the rights and welfare of their citizens.

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What teachers unions really care about

By The West Virginia Record | Jul 23, 2019

Every profession has good and bad practitioners. The majority will be somewhere in the middle, but the best will be superb and the worst, very bad. This is true of doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.

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Rebecca Chapman really stepped in it

By The West Virginia Record | Jul 15, 2019

People who file slip-and-fall lawsuits seem to operate on the assumption that they’re in no way responsible for the accident that led to their alleged injuries and that someone else – usually someone with enviable assets – is entirely to blame, but surely some of the plaintiffs must have contributed to their unfortunate falls.

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Another slip-and-fall story that doesn’t add up

By The West Virginia Record | Jul 10, 2019

Critical thinking seems to have gone out of style. Nowadays, facts and logic are considered irrelevant, even obscene. It’s all about feelings now: presumed entitlement and alleged victimhood.

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As usual, the MDL club negotiates in its own behalf

By The West Virginia Record | Jun 25, 2019

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster conceded that the issues being adjudicated in the multidistrict litigation he’s overseeing in Cleveland against opioid manufacturers and distributors “should be handled by the legislative and executive branches, our federal government, and our state governments.”

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‘Eighty percent of success is showing up’

By The West Virginia Record | Jun 18, 2019

Woody Allen wasn’t joking when he said that line we used as a headline. It was the essence of his advice to aspiring writers, many of whom never finish, or even begin, their first oeuvre. Having a completed manuscript is no guarantee of success, but not having one is a guarantee of failure.

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No more rubber stamps for class certification?

By The West Virginia Record | Jun 11, 2019

A recent ruling from our state high court suggests that it may have overcome its reluctance and decided to get with the program, stiffening the standards for class certification.

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It turns out that chicken nuggets may not be fool-proof

By The West Virginia Record | Jun 4, 2019

Believe it or not, fried chicken once had bones in it. There are people alive today who remember that – and how they used to eat it carefully so as not to swallow and choke on the smaller bones, having a piece of white bread nearby if they did choke, so they could wad it up and swallow it to make the bone go down. More daring old-timers still eat chicken that way.

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Get the science right before rushing to regulate

By The West Virginia Record | May 30, 2019

In most use cases, we are told, there exists no viable alternative to PFAS, which portends the real potential outrage here. In the end, banning PFAS would mean consumers would be deprived of their iPhones and pharmaceuticals; it would make air travel less safe and automobiles more polluting.

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'Give me transparency and accountability, but not yet'

By The West Virginia Record | May 21, 2019

The headline above is a reworking of a line from Augustine’s "Confessions" that succinctly summarizes a regretful roué’s desire (and reluctance) to give up a life of vice: “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Change two words and you capture the attitude of some judges toward online access to court records.

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Tabbatha Perdue might want to rethink this lawsuit

By The West Virginia Record | May 14, 2019

“We ask that you become familiar with and abide by the rules below and view the Sky Zone rules video and signage in park and at the Safety Zone. Remember, stay in your comfort zone. Do not attempt any activity, flip, jump, or trick you don’t think you can handle.”

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Workman made lots of money as a landlady

By The West Virginia Record | May 7, 2019

Remember the hilarious response of state Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman to the justified outrage when West Virginians found out about her and her fellow justices’ lavish use of taxpayer funds to make themselves more comfortable a​​​​​t our expense?

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Judge gets judged and goes to jail

By The West Virginia Record | Apr 30, 2019

As of Monday morning, South Central Regional Jail has a distinguished new inmate: former Kanawha County Magistrate Julie Yeager.