Hospitals’ suit against tobacco industry is large in every dimension

Missouri hospitals and the nation's largest tobacco companies have sparred for almost 10 years over pretrial details in a billion-dollar case. The hospitals say cigarettes cause illness, and want cigarette makers to reimburse them for caring for smokers who were uninsured or did not pay their bills. The case could set a big precedent, and experts say it already has leaped some legal hurdles that killed more than 160 similar cases in courts across the country.