Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

Many times clients involved in a potential Philadelphia personal injury lawsuit cannot wait many years for a case to go to a Philadelphia jury verdict and then be fought on appeal. Edith Pearce, a well-known personal injury and trial attorney in Philadelphia and recently again named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer by Philadelphia Magazine in its June 2008 issue, sometimes recommends sending a case to mediation.

This happened in a recent personal injury case headed to trial in Philadelphia. The result of the mediation was a total settlement for Plaintiff of over a million dollars. The Philadelphia personal injury lawsuit arose out of severe personal injuries suffered by a minor at the time of the incident, when his hand was pulled into a defective machine. There were numerous parties and many issues which may have taken many years before going to trial in Philadelphia and many years thereafter on appeal to the Pennsylvania Appellate Courts. The main issues involved which of the parties was in control of the defective equipment and factory at the time and whether the personal injury lawsuit was barred in Philadelphia because of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act formerly known as the Workman’s Compensation Act. Lastly, as often occurs in these type cases, the defendants argued that the Plaintiff was at fault for negligently having his hand too close to the machine. This defense, known as contributory negligence has been discussed in detail in a former article.

Philadelphia injury lawyer Edith Pearce decided to recommend mediation so that her client, who was in college at the time, could obtain a quick and speedy recovery and not fight the case on appeal for years. As highlighted on the Philadelphia personal injury attorney website of the firm, Edith’s motto is “Working Towards Settlement While Aggressively Preparing for Trial.” Edith believes that some cases are appropriate to submit to mediation. As noted by the Dispute Resolution Institute, mediation consistently saves the parties significant time and litigation costs in a Philadelphia personal injury lawsuit without reducing their ability to effectively present their case. Through the submission of medical and other expert reports instead of live testimony in front of a jury, there are significant trial cost savings of $25,000 or more which are common in a Philadelphia jury trial. Cases referred to mediation are usually resolved within a couple months from the date the parties agree to submit their case. Also, once the case is settled, there will be no appeals which will further delay recovery. Also, unlike litigation where parties have minimal, if any, participation in selecting the judge and/or jury deciding their case, parties to a mediation proceeding jointly select their mediator. Many times the arbitrator or mediator may be a former judge who is now retired.

In summary, Edith was able to negotiate a million dollar settlement through mediation, and her client was able to receive the money immediately to pay for his college tuition and put money away for savings. While it may sound impressive when one reads that a lawyer obtained a jury verdict in a Philadelphia personal injury case of millions of dollars, the Plaintiff may never receive this money for years. In most cases, the defendant has the right to appeal the verdict and need not pay the Plaintiff any money while the case is on appeal. Thus, mediation might be a good alternative to trial in many cases. If you have any questions about your Pennsylvanian or New Jersey injury claim being submitted to mediation, please contact our firm so we can discuss all of your choices.

Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer Edith Pearce has once again been named in Philadelphia Magazine as a "Super Lawyer" in its June 2008 issue. This is the third time Edith has received this honor being voted by her peers as one of the top attorneys in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Edith is one of a select few women solo practitioners selected for this honor in Pennsylvania. In also being a member of MENSA and having received an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating for a lawyer by another independent rating service, Edith's clients can feel confident they have working for them one of the most highly ranked, smartest and best personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

The selection of Pennsylvania's Super Lawyers was conducted by Law and Politics, the publisher of Philadelphia Magazine. Law and Politics recently published its list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and described the process as follows:

Law & Politics strictly adheres to a rigorous selection process directed at casting as wide a net as possible, evaluating quality in the most objective possible terms and verifying and validating all data. Different attorney practice areas are separated out, including: civil rights, first amendment, class actions, mass torts, construction accident litigation, employment law, personal injury defense, personal injury law plaintiff, personal injury general, medical malpractice, products liability, workers' compensation and many others.

The only way a lawyer can be listed in Super Lawyers and Philadelphia Magazine is through this selection process. The determination of whether a lawyer will be placed on the Super Lawyers list is independent of advertising or any other payments. No other legal publisher identifies qualified candidates by using a multi-step evaluation process that incorporates peer recognition and professional achievement. Law & Politics uses a system of nominations, peer evaluation and internal research, which acts as a system of checks and balances. The resulting product is a diverse and comprehensive listing of outstanding lawyers.
In selecting Edith Pearce as one of the top Pennsylvania and Philadelphia attorneys, Law & Politics invited more than 38,000 Pennsylvania lawyers to participate in the nomination process. Lawyers were asked to nominate the best attorneys they've personally observed in action. After the vote was tallied, Law & Politics' research department also searched for outstanding Pennsylvania lawyers by reviewing national and local periodicals as well as legal trade journals, searching professional databases and online sources, and conducting in-person and telephonic meetings with law firms. Then Law & Politics' research department examined the background and experience of the attorneys, evaluating indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. The factors considered in evaluating candidates were large verdicts and settlements, bar and/or other professional activity, representative clients, pro bono and community service, experience, scholarly lectures and writings, honors and awards, education and employment background, special licenses and certifications, and other outstanding achievements. Law & Politics divided candidates according to their firm size: large, medium and small (size categories vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction), and selected those with the highest point totals from each category. Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in Pennsylvania are listed in Super Lawyers.

While this may not be the only way to choose an attorney, it certainly provides a method for consumers to feel comfortable in selecting a Philadelphia injury attorney such as Edith Pearce and The Pearce Law Firm for their case.

Philadelphia personal injury lawyer, Edith Pearce recently negotiated a million dollar settlement for the victim of a dangerous and defective machine that caused a severe injury to his hand. The case involved a 16-year old boy at that time, who was temporarily placed by his employer, a staffing company, to work at a sheet metal forming facility outside Philadelphia. The facility had been cited previously by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, of the U.S. Department of Labor for safety violations within the plant. While temporarily working at the facility on a machine used to bend sheets of metal, the boy's glove and hand were drawn into the rollers causing severe injury to his hand. The matter become quite complex as there was a dispute as to whom, if anyone was in control of the premises and who, if anyone, could be considered Plaintiff’s employer at the time of the accident. Also, since the Plaintiff was under 18 years old and considered a child, there were additional violations of the child labor laws.

Edith Pearce, a well-known Philadelphia injury attorney sued both the temporary agency for placing the Plaintiff at the dangerous factory without any training and the owner of the dangerous machine. Through discovery, Edith obtained records showing that the machine had been cited by OSHA for various safety violations. Because Edith specializes in the Philadelphia area as both a personal injury lawyer and an employment lawyer, she was able to understand all the claims and pursue a large settlement. Not only was a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation settlement obtained earlier for over $100,000, but Edith negotiated a settlement with the owners of the property and the machine for $975,000, making the total settlement over a million dollars.