Court says Guam man can sue gov't over surgery

Recent Cases

The Supreme Court says a Guam man can sue the government for a Navy surgeon's unsuccessful cataract surgery.

A unanimous court ruled on Monday for Steven Alan Levin, who was operated on in March 2003 at the United States Naval Hospital in Guam, a U.S. territory. Levin said he withdrew his consent before the operation began but doctors proceeded anyway. Levin suffered complications, which require ongoing treatment.

Levin sued for medical malpractice and battery. The courts threw out the medical malpractice complaint and kept the battery charge. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the government is also immune from being sued for battery.

The Supreme Court reversed that decision, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writing for the court that Levin's battery lawsuit against the government can move forward.

Related listings

  • Ex-Mass. chemist pleads not guilty to obstruction

    Ex-Mass. chemist pleads not guilty to obstruction

    Recent Cases 02/01/2013

    A former Massachusetts chemist accused of faking test results at a state drug lab has pleaded not guilty to four counts of obstruction of justice in a scandal that could jeopardize thousands of drug convictions. Annie Dookhan was indicted on a total ...

  • Court upholds removing man from death row

    Court upholds removing man from death row

    Recent Cases 01/22/2013

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that a Pittsburgh-area man who stabbed his wife then dismembered her body should not be on death row because his low IQ makes him mentally disabled. Allegheny County Judge Lawrence O'Tool...

  • Mo. high court hears arguments on incentive fund

    Mo. high court hears arguments on incentive fund

    Recent Cases 09/22/2012

    Missouri Supreme Court judges are weighing two potentially contradictory sections of legislation while deciding whether a new law creating an incentive fund for high-tech businesses can take effect. Arguments Wednesday before the high court focused o...

Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.