When your case rests on the X-rays and you learn the X-rays were thrown away, that's not a good day. Loss or destruction of evidence -- "spoliation" (one of my favorite legal terms) -- can make it impossible to bring or defend a lawsuit.

One option when that happens is to sue for spoliation of evidence, a bona fide tort in its own right. Another is to seek sanctions against the offender(s), and that's the option Judge Barb Crowder explores in the latest Trial Briefs, newsletter of the ISBA Civil Practice and Procedure Section. "[K]nowing the potential and most frequently used sanctions will assist counsel in evaluating what steps to take" when evidence is lost or destroyed, she writes. Read her analysis.