Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

Dogs may be man's best friend but that doesn't mean your dog won't bite the hand that feeds him. When dogs feel threatened, frightened or cornered, they react instinctually, They are likely to revert to the raw, primitive animal instincts of their ancestors, exhibiting the highly aggressive, territorial behavior that has helped the species survive. Even the most even-tempered dog can bite. The files of Philadelphia personal injury lawyers are full of dog bite cases where someone's sweet little Rover savagely bit a child, neighbor or the postman.

Dogs bite to protect themselves, their pups and sometimes their owners. Dogs bite to protect their territory (your home and yard) from invaders, exhibiting particular vigilance when mailmen or deliverymen come to your door. Dogs bite when they are removed from the safety and familiarity of their home environment. Dogs that have no experience with young children may consider them to be pack competitors and attack to protect their place in the pack hierarchy. In most dog bite cases that involve serious personal injury, dog owners are surprised and horrified by their pet's behavior.

Philadelphia dog attacks can cause catastrophic injuries that can permanently scar victims physically and emotionally and even kill them. Earlier this year an Ohio man was mauled and killed by his family pets. Police reports said the man was bitten hundreds of times and died in his driveway from blood loss. Last September there were more than 40 dog bite incidents in Pennsylvania that resulted in serious personal injuries.

Every 40 seconds someone enters a U.S. emergency room for treatment of a dog-related injury. According to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), approximately 800,000 dog bite victims receive medical attention each year and at least a dozen dog attack victims die. More than half of dog bite victims are children bitten in the face. If someone in your family is bitten by a dog, seek help from an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney immediately.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority is settling the final of four sexual harassment claims against its executive director, Carl Greene, for a reported $250,000, bringing the total settlement amount to nearly $900,000, according to today's Philadelphia Inquirer. Sexual harassment claims by two Philadelphia women were settled in 2004 for $200,000 and $98,000. A third woman was paid a settlement of $350,000 in 2008. The final sexual harassment suit against the Philadelphia Housing Authority director is reported to be close to a settlement of $250,000.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority chairman, former mayor John Street, and members of the PHA board have come under repeated attack by Mayor Nutter and other community leaders who have raised questions about the PHA's leadership, charging a "lack of appropriate oversight." The PHA board, which has so far resisted growing public demands that Greene be fired, is scheduled to meet today to decide the director's fate. Greene is expected to be placed on suspension while the board conducts an internal investigation. PHA sexual harassment policies and training procedures will also be reviewed.

According to documents obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer, sexual harassment lawsuits filed against PHA's director say Greene discriminated "against attractive young women" who rebuffed his advances. In their suits, the women say they were subjected to public humiliation, verbal abuse, inappropriate touching under protest, inappropriate demands, threats to deny promotions, unpleasant job assignments and unjust dismissal. The Philadelphia Housing Authority has repeatedly denied the accusations and denied liability.

The PHA lawsuits illustrate the difficulty of litigating sexual harassment claims. Had only a single individual come forward with allegations against Greene, the outcome might have been different. Sexual harassment often takes place in privacy and may extend beyond the workplace. Victims are often too embarrassed by inappropriate advances or too frightened of losing their job to complain. If you are being sexually harassed at work, click here to find out what to do.

If you're in a Philadelphia car accident, you'll be physically and emotionally shaken. You or your passengers may have suffered serious personal injuries. Your vehicle may be damaged. It can be hard to keep your head and know what to do to protect yourself after a car accident.

Experienced Philadelphia personal injury lawyers suggest taking the following steps to protect your rights when you are involved in any car accident, but especially when personal injuries occur.

1. Emergency kit. Keep an emergency kit in your car that contains: cell phone, pen and paper, disposable camera (unless your cell phone has a camera), flashlight, warning triangles or flares, emergency medical and allergy information, contact info and insurance card.

2. Stay safe. When Philadelphia auto accidents are minor and do not involve serious personal injuries, cars should be moved to the side of the road. If cars cannot be moved, set warning triangles, return to your vehicle, keep your safety belt buckled and activate hazard lights.

3. Information exchange. Exchange information with other drivers involved, including name, address, phone number, insurance company, policy number, driver's license number, license plate number and the contact information of any passengers.

4. Don't volunteer. Be polite and courteous to police and the other driver but do not say that the accident was your fault, even if you think it was.

5. Document. Write down a description of each car including year, make, model, color and accident damage. Sketch the scene indicating vehicle locations and travel paths. Note street names, traffic signals and roadway hazards. Take pictures of the scene and vehicle damage.

6. Witnesses. Get the contact information of any witnesses to the accident. When accident accounts conflict, Philadelphia personal injury attorneys can use eyewitness testimony to support your version of what happened.

7. Accident report. File a state vehicle accident report even if police do not require one. Accident reports facilitate insurance payments.

8. Protect yourself. If you suffer serious personal injuries, contact a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer to protect your rights.

While amusement park rides can be a great family adventure over the summer, they can also be the cause of serious injuries, according to Edith Pearce, the founder of the Philadelphia injury law firm, The Pearce Law Firm. A story out of Wisconsin is a reminder to Philadelphia parents to be cautious at amusement parks to prevent child injuries. An amusement park worker in Wisconsin has been charged with first-degree reckless injury following a severe personal injury accident this summer at a Wisconsin Dells amusement park. If convicted, 33-year-old Charles Carnell could face up to 25 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. That's small consolation for the parents of a 12-year-old Florida girl severely injured in a 100-foot plunge from a free-fall ride and may be paralyzed. According to newspaper reports, the ride operator told police he "blanked out" as the safety catch net was not properly raised.

Similar free fall rides and bungee jumping offered at Philadelphia area fairs and festivals, amusement parks and vacation spots are a popular draw for thrill-seeking teens. Safety ropes and harnesses and the ride's longevity on carnival midways make the potential risk seem negligible to parents out for a day of fun with their kids. While the appearance of danger may heighten the thrill of carnival and amusement park rides, parents expect -- and have a right to expect -- rides to be operated safely and their children to return home safe and sound. They do not expect 2 minutes of excitement to end in critical, life-threatening injuries as it did for 12-year-old Teagan Marti.

Teagan landed on her back, suffering multiple fractures to her spine and pelvis that have resulted in paralysis of her legs and lower body. She has already weathered several surgeries to repair fractures and faces additional surgery and extended rehabilitation at American Family Children's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. It will be months before Teagan can return home to Florida. In addition to medical, medication, hospital and rehabilitation bills, Teagan's parents must shoulder considerable hotel and traveling expenses to be near their daughter so far from home.

When severe amusement ride accidents like Teagan's occur in the Philly area, Philadelphia personal injury lawyers fight aggressively to protect the rights of accident victims and their families and see that they are justly compensated for current and future losses.

In a bizarre twist, a Montana teen charged with deliberately killing a woman and her son in a horrific 2009 motor vehicle accident is now suing the estate of the woman she killed. The personal injury accident case in Montana illustrates the complexities and convolutions auto accident litigation can take when people die or suffer serious personal injuries. It also illustrates the advantages of being represented by an expert Philadelphia personal injury attorney if you are ever involved in a serious car accident.

It will take expert legal skills to untangle the personal injury lawsuits swirling around the 2009 Montana car accident in which a 16-year-old teen slammed her car head-on into another auto. After fighting with her boyfriend, Justine Winter texted her intention to commit suicide. An hour later, she drove across the Highway 93 centerline at 85 mph and crashed her car into an auto driven by a pregnant Erin Thompson and her 13-year-old son, killing them.

Charged as an adult with two counts of deliberate homicide, Winter faces life in prison if convicted. At first glance, it would appear the Thompson family survivors would bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the teen driver. However, in a bizarre twist that prosecutors believe is tied to her defense, Winter and her father have filed a personal injury lawsuit against Thompson's estate, claiming that the slain woman's negligent driving caused the crash. This seems to be at total odds with the prosecutor, who alleges Winter crossed the centerline of the highway in an attempted suicide. In her lawsuit, Winter claims to have suffered permanent personal injuries in the accident and lost the capacity to enjoy life. Her suit asks compensation for future loss of income and past, present and future medical expenses.

This suit also illustrates the investigation that must be done in an auto accident. In this type of case, an expert in accident reconstruction may well be hired along with a private investigatgor. Also, an experienced personal injury lawyer will work with police in gathering legal evidence.

Philadelphia attorneys experienced in personal injury accident and wrongful death litigation know how to properly investigate car accidents so that your legal rights and right to compensation are fully protected. Expert Philadelphia personal injury lawyers understand the injury insurance process and will work aggressively to protect your rights and obtain fair compensation so that accident victims and their families can focus on recovery.

The parents of a Uniontown, Pennsylvania high school cheerleader were awarded a $235,000 settlement for severe personal injuries their daughter suffered when school bleachers collapsed during a 2008 cheerleading practice at Uniontown High School. Taylor Wrona, then 14, was pinned under the bleachers with another girl when the bleachers collapsed. She and other cheerleaders had been told to push the heavy wood and metal bleachers out of the way and into their storage position to create practice room.

Both of the trapped teens suffered severe personal injuries and permanent scarring in the accident. Taylor sustained a broken nose, broken teeth, broken ankles and facial scratches that have permanently scarred her young face. The other girl suffered a broken leg, broken ankle, nerve damage and permanent scarring. The school district agreed to pay Taylor and her parents a $235,000 settlement, the court ordering that $137,989 of that amount be held in a federally insured account until Taylor turns 18. The Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit filed by the other girl and her family is still pending.

Participating in school sports is an important part of a teenager's life. Team sports are considered healthy and desirable activities that provide myriad physical, social and emotional benefits to developing teenagers. Yet, any sport involves inherent risk of possible injury. Many of these injuries are considered the nature of the game -- twisted ankles, torn knee cartilage, bumps and bruises happen. However, when negligence on the part of the school or coach contribute to or cause a child's injuries, schools and their employees should be held accountable. When serious personal injuries occur on the playing field or in the school gymnasium, Philadelphia personal injury lawyers can protect the rights of the student and her parents and work aggressively to see that they are adequately compensated for medical and rehabilitation bills, lost mobility and capability, and pain and suffering.

When a personal injury occurs due to the negligence of a doctor or hospital, it is referred to as a medical malpractice case according to Edith Pearce, the founder of the Philadelphia personal injury law firm, The Pearce Law Firm. A case in Ohio reminds us of how devastating these types of personal injury cases can be. A jury has awarded an Ohio couple $2 million in compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving the tragic deaths of their 3-year-old infant sons. The twin boys died at home the night after undergoing tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies at Memorial Hospital of Union County in Marysville, Ohio. The toddlers spent just 5 hours in the hospital before being discharged and sent home. Less than 12 hours later, the two boys were dead. The Legges' personal injury lawsuit charged the doctor with medical malpractice and wrongful death. An Ohio jury found the physician who performed the surgeries to be responsible for the twin boys' deaths and ordered the doctor to pay the family $2 million in compensation. The twins' grieving parents, Shannon and Jenny Legge, told reporters for the Columbus Dispatch that no amount of money will bring their boys back. "All we have in our heads, in our hearts is the pain of that night," the boy's father said. "We can't get over the pain, so we can't remember being happy."

The death of a child is every parent's worst nightmare, but to lose both of your children at the same time creates unimaginable pain. In their medical malpractice suit, personal injury attorneys for the Legges argued that the doctor should have exercised his authority to keep the twins in the hospital overnight where their oxygen levels and breathing could have been continuously monitored and their deaths prevented.

The Legges' tragedy serves as a warning to Philadelphia parents. Surgery to remove the tonsils and adenoids is a common treatment when young children exhibit snoring or breathing problems or suffer chronic earaches. Hundreds of thousands of tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies are performed in Philadelphia and across the U.S. every year. They are among the most common surgeries performed on children. When medical malpractice occurs, an experience Philadelphia personal injury attorney will fight aggressively to protect your rights and obtain just compensation.

Toyota is back in the news, this time as one of 13 defendants charged in a wrongful death and product liability suit filed in Philadelphia this week. Personal injury attorneys are suing Toyota, BP America Inc. and others on behalf of a Camp Hill, Pennsylvania mother whose teen-aged son died in a gas pump fire last March. Nineteen-year-old Luther Byers suffocated when static electricity ignited gasoline fumes at a Harrisburg BP gas station where he was pumping gas into his Toyota Yaris. According to fire department investigators, hot gas created by the fire robbed the air of oxygen, causing the teen to suffocate. In addition to Toyota and BP Philadelphia personal injury attorneys are suing the gas station franchisee and the manufacturer of the gas pump nozzle, among others.

Wrongful death occurs when a company or individual's act, omission or misconduct is responsible for an individual's death. Poor design, defective manufacturing or inadequate usage instructions can result in faulty products that can potentially cause serious personal injuries or, as in the case of Luther Byers, wrongful death. Product liability cases can be complex to litigate and require intense investigation and preparation by personal injury attorneys.

Product defects can occur during any phase of the manufacturing process with most product issues involving multiple contributing factors. Among the many variables that can contribute to the defective performance of a product -- all of which must be thoroughly investigated by personal injury attorneys before a case goes to court -- are raw product suppliers, product design, the manufacturing process including manufacturing equipment and facilities and worker training and oversight, parts or technology provided by suppliers or subcontractors, effectiveness and availability of product use instructions, and the degree of human direction or oversight provided during the product's use. For example, in the Philadelphia gas pump case described above, personal injury attorneys are exploring design and use of the gas pump nozzle as one contributing factor to the accident. The fact that the gas station did not have an attendant on duty at the time of the accident is another issue in the wrongful death suit.

When personal injury or wrongful death occurs during use of a defective product, Philadelphia personal injury lawyers can protect your rights and obtain just compensation.

A 26-year-old Philadelphia man was killed in a severe personal injury auto accident on U.S. I-70 while driving through Ohio last week. Philadelphia resident Carlos Salazar died at the scene of the bizarre pre-dawn multi-car accident. According to accident reports, Salazar's car struck a van which caused his vehicle to veer off the roadway, flip over a cable barrier in the median and plow into oncoming traffic on the other side of the divided highway. Thrown from his vehicle during the crash, Salazar died at the site.

When auto accidents occur, Philadelphia personal injury attorneys help protect the rights of accident victims and their families to ensure that they receive the financial compensation they are entitled to. When Philadelphia motor vehicle accidents result in serious personal injuries or fatalities, insurance companies can inundate accident victims or surviving families with mounds of paperwork. Insurance companies are dedicated to settling accident injury and damage claims for the least amount of money in the shortest amount of time. Pressure from insurance companies can cause accident victims and their families who are unfamiliar with claim procedures to settle for far less compensation that they might have obtained if they were fairly represented by a knowledgeable Philadephia personal injury lawyer.

A Philadelphia personal injury attorney with considerable experience in handling auto accidents and accident insurance claims can take the burden off recovering or grieving families and fight for benefits to which they are entitled. Pennsylvania insurance law presents some distinct challenges in obtaining full compensation for accident victims. Differences between full and limited tort insurance coverage, the specifics of your policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, whether your policy includes income loss protection and other critical considerations can affect the amount of compensation accident victims are entitled to. If you are in a personal injury car accident, consult an experience Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.