Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

Since November 19, 2007, when his healthy infant son and daughter were nearly killed by hospital negligence, actor Dennis Quaid has been campaigning hard to pressure hospitals to ramp up efforts to prevent medical errors and medical malpractice in Philadelphia and across the U.S. Hospitalized for treatment of a routine staph infection, Quaid's twins were just 12 days old when a hospital nurse inadvertently administered a massive overdose of the blood thinner heparin, placing the babies at severe risk of bleeding to death. Twice nurses had mistakenly administered an incorrect but similarly packaged drug, a frequent and often fatal medical error.

Quaid and wife Kimberly rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles where they found doctors hovering over their tiny infants in a room splattered with blood. Recalling the chilling event to AARP Magazine, Quaid said,

"Initially, I felt this really couldn't be happening. Then I felt fear -- and helplessness. They were bleeding out of every place where they'd been poked and prodded. We were in shock."

An anxious day and a half later, the Quaids' babies responded to rescue efforts and neurologists found no evidence of brain damage or impaired motor function. The Quaids are pursuing a medical malpractice suit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare Corp., for negligent product packaging. In a settlement agreement reached with the hospital, Cedars-Sinai has implemented multi-million dollar patient safety improvements that include drug bar coding and computerized physician-order entry.

His horrific medical malpractice experience compelled Quaid to embark on a mission to persuade hospitals in Philadelphia and across the country to step up efforts to prevent medical malpractice. While stumping for changes in hospital procedures and drug packaging, Quaid discovered that the same error that nearly killed his twins had proved fatal to three Indianapolis infants in 2006 -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Next time: How Philadelphia personal injury lawyers fight medical malpractice

Returning home after practice Saturday night, Pitt men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon helped rescue two victims of a violent motor vehicle accident that left two Pennsylvania women with serious personal injuries. While driving the I-279 loop around Pittsburg, Dixon saw a car in front of him veer off the highway and crash into a barrier. The car flipped several times before coming to a stop.

"It hit straight on and flipped a couple of times," Dixon told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "My initial thought was no one would survive this event."

Dixon was the first person to reach the smoking wreckage and pulled a woman through a hole in the windshield.

"Someone was kicking at the windshield. Eventually, the windshield cracked. Someone was fighting to get out of the car. I was trying to give a bigger opening for the person to slide out," Dixon recounted to the Post-Gazette.

Dixon could reach but was unable to remove a second victim from the auto, but he was able to touch and comfort her until rescue workers arrived. A rescue crew arrived on the scene in minutes and cut out the windshield to extract the second accident victim from the mangled vehicle. Both accident victims were transported to the hospital with serious personal injuries. Dixon was treated at the scene for cuts to his fingers caused while trying to rescue the two women.

In meeting with reporters the next day, Dixon downplayed his part in the rescue, noting that other motorists stopped to assist; he was just the first on the scene.

"I did what anyone else in Pittsburgh would have done given the situation. I just happened to be right behind the car," he said.

Kudos to Coach Dixon. He is one of many Pennsylvania heroes who come to the aid of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia car accident victims when tragedies occur.

Earlier this morning, a 45-year-old Philadelphia man suffered serious personal injuries when a garbage truck crashed into a truck-mounted construction crane at a Center City work site. It was about 8 a.m. when the truck collided with the crane's boom at the 4th and Market Street construction site, sending a heavy load of bricks tumbling to the ground. The Philadelphia construction accident injured one man, knocking him unconscious. The man was transported to the trauma unit at Jefferson University Hospital.

According to the U.S. Bureau of labor statistics, one in 10 Philadelphia construction workers are injured in job-related accidents each year. More than 150,000 U.S. workers are injured on construction sites every year and nearly 1,000 of them die from their injuries. Construction parts and materials account for the greatest number of accidents, followed closely by falls and equipment mishaps. Cranes are considered the single most dangerous piece of equipment on construction sites.

The bulk of Philadelphia construction injuries cause damage to the worker's trunk or back and can be debilitating, leaving the worker incapacitated for the rest of his life. Costly for both workers and their employers, construction site injuries force workers to miss at least 31 days of work and account for 15% of all workers' compensation payments. But this represents only a small part of the total cost to workers and their families when construction accidents cause incapacitating injuries.

Severe Philadelphia construction accidents can leave injured workers with chronic pain and life-long disabilities. The worker and his family can face a lifetime of doctors' bills, rehabilitation and physical therapy expenses and prescription medication costs. Loss of income and medical costs can take a serious financial and emotional toll on workers and their families. If you have been injured in a construction accident, ask an expert Philadelphia personal injury attorney to review your case.

When the Megabus left Philadelphia's bus station Friday night, passengers were looking forward to an entertaining weekend in Toronto. The fun ended early Saturday morning when the double-decker Philadelphia bus crashed into a railroad bridge near Syracuse, New York. Four passengers, including two from the Philadelphia area, were killed when the 13-foot high bus drove under a 10-foot, 9-inch CSX railroad bridge, demolishing the forward section of the upper deck of the bus. Among those killed in the bus accident were Temple University sophomore Kevin Coffey of Kansas and 18-year-old high school student Deanna Armstrong of Voorhees, New Jersey. The bus driver and several passengers, including a Philadelphia man and two other Pennsylvania residents were transported to local hospitals suffering from severe personal injuries.

Police are investigating the bus accident. It is unclear why the bus driver took a wrong turn off the exit ramp, putting the bus on a collision course with the low-head railroad bridge. Police noted that the bridge is well-marked with numerous warning signs and flashing yellow lights. A Megabus spokesman said the company has launched its own investigation into the fatal bus accident. They are attempting to ascertain why the driver, who had driven the Philadelphia-Toronto route numerous times, drove off course.

Bus accident personal injury claims are more complex to litigate than car accidents because many more variables and multiple defendants are usually involved, including the bus company, bus manufacturer, bus driver's license and competence, the municipality where the accident occurred, state or county agencies responsible for roadway maintenance, and others. On behalf of their clients, Philadelphia personal injury attorneys thoroughly investigate each and every party and circumstance that might have contributed to an accident in order to determine who is responsible for its cause. In the Megabus accident, Philadelphia personal injury lawyers would also investigate railroad bridge markings and signage to determine whether railroad negligence might have contributed to the bus accident.

2009 turned out to be a big year for Employment Law in Philadelphia and every other part of the country. 2010 is proving to be just as dramatic. In 2009, the first bill signed into law by President Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, extending the time limits on which an employee can sue for discrimination. Also in 2009, Congress passed COBRA assistance, for unemployed workers in need of health insurance. Congress also passed expanded provisions for military family leave. Meanwhile, workers with disabilities enjoyed broader protections under an amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA), while in another arena, rules against employment discrimination based on genetic Information were set down with the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). For 2010, the employment laws for Philadelphia and the rest of the country are no less formative.

Among the most anticipated bills in 2010 is the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of unlawful discriminations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII. Labor unions are in the spotlight, as well, in 2010. The Employee Free Choice Act is being considered in Congress, which seeks to allow employees to form or partake in labor unions with protected rights. Employee leave rights are yet another top order of business, with several bills in process, including the Healthy Families Act for paid sick leave.

The list goes on. Other issues in the mix include employer and employee Internet rights, enforcement of classifications between employee vs. Independent Contractor - and of course, the complex issues around healthcare reform. How the fast-paced, unfolding national drama interacts with and impacts Philadelphia employment law requires diligence from the most experienced Philadelphia employment law lawyer.

Philadelphia parents are understandably upset by the recall of 11 million defective Fisher-Price highchairs, tricycles and toys sold for use by young children. Infants and toddlers were injured in 24 reported accidents before Fisher-Price initiated the voluntary product recall under pressure from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The majority of the personal injury accidents involved children falling from highchairs or tricycles with a number of the injured toddlers suffering injuries severe enough to require stitches.

Philadelphia personal injury attorneys joined Fisher-Price and the Consumer Product Safety Commission in warning parents to stop using the recalled products immediately and contact Fisher-Price at 1-800-432-5437 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday) for a free replacement or repair kit. A complete list of the recalled items can be found on the company's website at www.fisher-price.com.

This is the largest Fisher-Price recall since 1998 when the company recalled 10 million Power Wheels cars after it was discovered that the wheels could come off and present a choking hazard to young children. Nationwide, the current recall is the largest since 2008 when toy manufacturers were forced to recall millions of toys painted with lead paint by Chinese suppliers. That recall cost Mattel, Fisher Price's parent company, $2.3 million for violation of U.S. laws prohibiting the use of lead paint. It was the largest civil fine ever meted out by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The lead paint recall led to enactment of tougher federal safety laws for children's toys.

Too often, manufacturers and federal watchdogs fail to act until after children are seriously injured. If your child is injured while playing with a toy, contact an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney to protect your rights and fight for compensation. Product liability lawsuits serve to inform the public of product defects and help get dangerous products off store shelves before they injure others.

Under siege himself, the man at the helm when a disabled duck boat was rammed by a city barge in a tragic Philadelphia personal injury accident that killed two young tourists has filed a negligence lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia and the tugboat company hired to pilot the barge. The sensational personal injury accident, which occurred on a sunny summer afternoon in front of scores of waterfront sightseers, called a halt to duck boat tours in Philadelphia and sparked a national debate about the safety of the popular World War II-era land/water vessels that have become a tourist staple in many U.S. cities.

In the July accident, a duck boat carrying 35 passengers became disabled after suffering engine trouble and came to a stop on the Delaware River. The captain radioed for rescue and dropped anchor to keep his craft from drifting before shutting down the smoking electrical system. Reported investigation indicates that, despite repeated radioed warnings from the duck boat, crew members of the tugboat pushing a city garbage barge down the river did not see the duck boat and ran it over. Crew and passengers trapped underwater struggled to escape by swimming through the duck boat's windows. Two Hungarian tourists, ages 16 and 20, never made it and drowned.

The Philadelphia negligence lawsuit brought by the duck boat captain says he suffered severe emotional trauma and severe injuries to his back, neck, head, arms and legs during the accident. Like many of his passengers, the captain was trapped under water and could see the barge passing above him as he struggled to escape from the submerged craft. His attorney said the captain is still haunted by the "horror" of that day.

A Best Western hotel near Allentown, Pennsylvania has agreed to pay an unspecified settlement amount to the family of a South Carolina man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at the hotel in 2008. In the tragic personal injury accident, a plastic construction canopy being used to contain construction debris from a remodeling project funneled carbon monoxide into the hotel room where the man and his wife were sleeping, killing the man. His wife survived.

Six months after the man's death, his family initiated a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel and several contractors involved in the remodeling project. Experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorneys note that, in cases of wrongful death, it is not unusual for there to be a time gap between a fatal accident and the filing of a lawsuit. It can take several months for the completion of police, coroner and insurance investigations and the filing of their reports. Grief-stricken families also need time to find the strength to cope with their loss and decide to act.

Hiring an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney immediately after an accident occurs can relieve a family of much of the burden of dealing with legal requests and insurance inquiries. An attorney expert in the handling of wrongful death lawsuits will also ensure that the family's rights are fully protected and will fight to compensate the family for its loss. In the Allentown hotel case, the man's family sued for $350,000 in compensation for the loss of household services, Social Security benefits and health insurance, as well as compensation for the emotional and physical pain the wife suffered when her husband died at her side.