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Personal Injury
- New York state man recovers $200K for fingers lost to lawn mower
- Eight Powerful Reasons to Hire a Local Attorney
- Court Allows Claims For Emotional Distress After Alleged Breach Of Contract To Continue
- Wal-Mart Limits Subrogation Rights Against Workers
- Pennsylvania Worker recovers for fall from ladder bought at Home Depot
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- NYC to pay $2.75M for softball accident in school gym class
- New case law on slilp and fall on icey sidewalks owned by a City
- Worker who lost leg in construction accident receives $13M
- Boy blinded in ATV rollover gets $6M settlement
- ELMIRA ATTORNEY CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE OUTBREAK OF LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE AT THE FLANNERY TOWERS
Workers' Compensation
- New York Times article on biased "Independant" Medical Examiners
- No Work Jobs
- Prison Guard receives settlement in MRSA case
- New blog post at the Pa Injury Law blog about the effect Bush had on OSHA
- New post on the Pa Work Injury Law Blog about what to do when you're laid off
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Pennsylvania Car Accident Plaintiff's award of $400,000 Upheld On Appeal
- An unsafe intersection in Athens Township?
- Pennsylvania Superior Court Case Quashing Underinsured Motorist Carrier Appeal
- Pa. Superior Court Allows UIM And Bad Faith To Proceed At Same Time
- People injured in Springfield Township, Bradford County automobile crash
General
- Insurance company denials of benefits in Pennsylvania and New York
- CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND URGE SUPPORT FOR THE ARBITRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 2009
- Another ATV Death
- Bradford County, Pennsylvania has a new website
- No conflict of interest between Bradford County, Pennsylvania's new Judge and new District Attorney, despite them cousins
Legal News
Judge campaign candidates speak at dinner in Towanda
Judge Beirne unopposed in local race
Attorney General Tom Corbett to visit Bradford County
Beirne will run for full term as judge
Bradford County Employers Laying Off Workers
Death Benefits Not Mandatory for PA Car Insurance
Bradford County: Judge Beirne presiding
Pennsylvania Senate confirms Beirne as Bradford County judge
Legal Library
Personal Injury
- Questions for Your Doctor In Personal Injury Cases
- Traumatic Brain Injury: By The [Staggering] Numbers
- What is an Independent Medical Examination?
- Common Questions About the Legal Process
- The Wrongful Death Of A Child - Part Two
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- Cracked, Broken or Irregular Sidewalks Causing a Fall
- Dog Bites
- If You Have Been Bitten or Attacked by a Dog, Then You Need to Read This Article
- New Pennsylvania Superior Court Case on Dog Attack
- Lead Poisoning Threatens Pregnant Women
Workers' Compensation
- New York Times article on Independent Medical Exams
- Response to Time Magazine Article: "Doctor's View: Can Health Coverage Cause Pain?"
- Specific Loss Benefits
- Reimbursement for Travel Expenes in Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Cases
- Flow of Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Claim Documents Prior To Litigation
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Reducing The Impact of A Whiplash Injury
- Car Accident Injuries: Neck Pain
- Multi-Truck Accident in Susquehanna County Results in Hospitalization
- Repeat Offender Facing DUI Charges After Accident Lands Passenger in Hospital
- Driver Strikes Mother and Daughter in School Crossing Zone
Newsletters
General
Personal Injury
Ten Worst Toys
American Association of Justice members Edward and James Swartz released their “Ten Worst Toys List” (http://www.justice.org/WATCH_-_10_Worst_TOYS_-_NOVEMBER_2008.pdf ) and we added our own quick analysis and found a large majority of products—85 percent— recalled so far this year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) were produced in foreign countries and 57 percent were manufactured in China. Of the 354 products recalled by the CPSC, 302 were produced in foreign countries and 201 were produced in China according to CPSC’s posted recall notices.Recalled products Jan 1, 2008-Nov. 13, 2008
Total Recalled products –354
From the United States—52 or 15%
From China – 201 or 57%
From foreign countries –302 or 85%
This is significant because foreign manufacturers can set their prices lower because they are not subject to the equal prospect of restitution as U.S. manufacturers face if a consumer is injured by their product. Also, foreign manufacturers often face huge discrepancies in product liability insurance rates. Without the prospect of being held accountable through the U.S. civil justice system, a foreign producer has little incentive to maximize product quality and safety. We have more information on this issue with a release we put out on a paper on the topic, see http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/xchg/justice/hs.xsl/4771.htm .
Jury awards $20.5M Obstetrician, CMC held liable in botched birth
A Lackawanna County jury handed a Jermyn family $20.5 million in a medical malpractice suit stemming from a boy’s lasting medical problems caused by mistakes made at his birth. Judge Terrence Nealon said the award was the largest he has presided over in a medical malpractice case in his 10 years on the bench.See the whole story here.
1.6 million cribs recalled after 2 infant deaths
Drop-side beds were made by Delta Enterprises between 1995 and 2007A recall of nearly 1.6 million cribs, triggered by the suffocations of two 8-month-old infants, has prompted a government agency to urge parents to inspect older drop-side cribs for safety problems.
Both of the suffocations involved infants who got stuck in a gap created when the movable side came off of its guide track.
The incidents, which involved Delta Enterprises cribs, involved safety pegs that are intended to prevent the drop side from lowering too far and slipping off the track. If these pegs are not installed, or if they fail to engage, the drop-side can detach and create a dangerous gap where babies can get stuck.
To see the full article go here at MSNBC.com.
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
Boy blinded in ATV rollover gets $6M settlement
A 9-year-old boy blinded in an ATV (all terrain vehicle) accident received a $6 million settlement from his grandfather and his grandfather's businesses.In 2005, Thomas Richard Stewart V was operating an adult-size ATV on a hunting preserve owned by his grandfather, Thomas Richard Stewart III, when the boy became startled and lost control of the vehicle. It flipped over and its handlebar lodged into Thomas' left eye, blinding him in both eyes.
Thomas and his mother sued Stewart and his businesses, claiming they should not have allowed the boy to operate an ATV unsupervised. The defendants contended they weren't liable and argued that Thomas' father was responsible for the ATV at the time of the accident. The settlement was reached through mediation. The case was out of Fayette County which is south of Pittsburgh.
The see the entire report on this case, go to VerdictSearch.com.
I've blogged about ATV accidents many times before. See here and here. If not careful, these "toys" can be very dangerous.
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
SUV's Not Safer for Kids
Researchers writing in the current issue of Pediatrics--(click for link to this research) say they have found little difference in injuries looking at crashes involving passenger cars and S.U.V.'s. The lead author of the study was Dr. Lauren Daly of the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del.
Many parents believe that S.U.V.'s are safer and buy them to protect their children.
This belief, however, was not the case when the researchers looked at data from crashes in which almost 4,000 children were traveling in either S.U.V.'s or cars.
Rollovers occurred twice as often in S.U.V.'s, the study found, and children were three times as likely to be injured in rollovers than in other kinds of accidents. Use of proper restraining devices is important in all cars and especially important in S.U.V.'s because of the greater incidence of rollovers.
The study does suggest that pediatricians should advise S.U.V.-owning parents to make sure their children are properly restrained.
With S.U.V.'s, the new study reports, whatever benefits come with the added weight are erased by the higher risk of rolling over.General
No cough or cold medicine for kids under 4
Don't give over-the-counter cold remedies to children under 4, drug companies said yesterday. What sniffling little ones need, doctors said, are plenty of fluids and loving care."The best thing a parent can do is comfort their children," said Laura Herrera, a Baltimore family practitioner and mother of two. "Keeping them as comfortable as possible is certainly better than giving cough and cold medicines."
In a concession to pediatricians, who doubt the drugs do much good for children and worry about risks, the companies that make over-the-counter remedies like Dimetapp and Pediacare announced they had changed their advice to parents for the second cold season in a row.
Besides recommending against cold medicines off drugstore and grocery shelves, the companies say not to give antihistamines to kids to help them sleep. The new instructions are on packages that started hitting stores this week.
Last year, the industry went against cough and cold medicines for children under 2. The latest changes came after discussions between drug companies and the Food and Drug Administration. The talks were kept quiet for months as federal health officials debated how to respond to a pediatricians' petition seeking to ban the medications for children under 6.
At a public hearing last week, neither industry officials nor regulators gave any hint of an impending announcement.
Cough and cold products have been given to children for decades, but it turns out the medicines were never scientifically tested to see how well they work in children. And recent research has found some untoward side effects, such as accidental overdoses.
Pediatricians who support a ban for children under 6 nonetheless said they were pleased with the industry announcement.
"It's a huge step forward," said Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner. "There is no evidence that these products work in kids, and there is definitely evidence of serious side effects."
Problems with over-the-counter cough and cold medicines send 7,000 children to emergency rooms each year, with symptoms including hives, drowsiness and unsteady walking. Many children overdose by taking medicines when their parents are not looking.
"The 2- and 3-year-olds are definitely the highest risk," Sharfstein said. "More than 50 percent of the problem is with these kids. If they don't have this stuff around the home, they're less likely to grab it and ingest it."
See the article here from Philly.com.Quick Contact
FAQs
Personal Injury
- How long is all this going to take?
- The insurance company offered me a settlement almost immediately after my serious accident. Should I accept it?
- The insurance company says that I don’t need a lawyer to settle this. What do you think?
- What is my case worth?
- What factors determine who is at fault in a car accident?
Workers' Compensation
- What happens if I return to a modified duty job and then I am laid off?
- If I am unable to return to the type of work I did before I was injured, what happens?
- If I am injured on the job can I choose the doctor who treats me?
- Should an injured worker apply for unemployment benefits?
- What medical benefits does the Act provide to a worker after they have sustained an on-the-job injury?
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