When you are hosting a private party, should you have to worry about the amount of alcohol your guests are drinking? Are you required to “cut them off?” Of course nobody ever wants anyone to get hurt, but is it your legal responsibility as a host to pay attention to everyone’s alcohol consumption?
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Category: Articles
Feb 4, 2021 - Allentown Car Accident Lawyer
TAKE A MINUTE. SAVE A LIFE.
As personal injury attorneys, this most recent snow storm, reminds us again of the dangers of snow and ice flying off the back of moving vehicles. The dash-cam video below shows how this dangerous this driving hazard can be.
Nov 25, 2020 - Articles
A Season of Thankfulness in a Time of Pandemic
Since celebrating that first Thanksgiving in 1621, our Nation has experienced many adversities and yet we have continued to find ways and reasons to be thankful. It is easy to be grateful when things are going our way. It is much harder, when life seems to be going badly. According to Dr. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, not only is a grateful attitude helpful in times of adversity, it is essential. “In the face of demoralization, gratitude has the power to energize. In the face of brokenness, gratitude has the power to heal. In the face of despair, gratitude has the power to bring hope. In other words, gratitude can help us cope in hard times.” Professor Emmons has offered several tips to help cultivate a grateful heart: 1) Remember the bad, then look to see where you are now; 2) Confront your own mortality, in order to reevaluate what is really important in life; 3) Realize the power you have to transform an obstacle into an opportunity; 4) Be grateful for that which is often overlooked; and 5) Gratitude is a choice, regardless of one’s situation or circumstances. Emmons went on to state that it is vital to make a distinction between feeling grateful and being grateful. We can’t will ourselves to feel grateful, however, being grateful is a choice. Gratitude can provide a perspective from which we can view life in its entirety and not be overwhelmed by temporary circumstances. […]
Just when toilet paper is finally back on the store shelves, a new shortage is facing the nation. Change. That’s right, there is now a national shortage of coins– quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. From Starbucks to Wawa, stores are asking customers to pay with exact change or to use credit or debit cards. Evidently, the nationwide shut-down due to the novel coronavirus has caused a “disruption in the coin supply chain.” (Who knew that there was a coin supply chain?) With more people shopping on-line, using credit for delivery or curb-side pick-up, less and less people have been paying with cash and the supply of coins from consumers to banks has been disrupted. Additionally, those coin collection kiosks in supermarkets evidently were not being utilized by the public during quarantine. Moreover, many facilities where coins were frequently used, such as laundromats, amusement parks, bars and bowling alleys were all shut down removing places where consumers would typically use coins. Finally, from January to April, production of coins fell by a little more than 1/3 at the U.S. Mint, as a result of a reduction in employees per shift due to the need to maintain social distancing on the production floor. Apparently, the absence of sufficient coins in the marketplace has caused the Federal Reserve to establish a “U.S. Coin Task Force.” This task force is encouraging the use of social media to promote the circulation of coin using the hashtag #getcoinmoving. Some may recall that back in 1999 there […]
May 5, 2020 - Articles
Bicycle Riding Resurgence Amid COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Orders. How to Stay Safe.
In an effort to stay active during the stay-at-home orders, many people are going into the garage to dust off their once-forgotten bicycle. Many bike shops are reporting an uptick in business as people are looking for ways to get outside and get exercise. Several years ago, we posted an article on “Six Tips for Sharing the Road with Bicycles“, however , with more and more people getting back on their bikes, a refresher on bicycle law and safety is in order. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, if riding a bike on the sidewalk, pedestrians have the right-of-way on sidewalks and bicycle paths. You must give an audible signal as you approach and pass a pedestrian. Automobiles are not required to yield to bicycles being ridden across a crosswalk (at a trail crossing for example) as the bicycle is treated as a vehicle. A better choice is to dismount and walk your bike across. You are not permitted to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk in a business district (except where permitted by official traffic control devices) or where there is a bicycle-only lane available. If you choose to ride your bike in the roadway, The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation states that bikes may be ridden on the shoulder of the road (in the same direction as the flow of traffic) but are not required to do so. Otherwise, the safest travel location for bicyclists is the center of the rightmost travel lane. Since it may have […]
by Tom Blackburn, Esq. aka “Joe Mundane” We are now in the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 virus quarantine. As the months pass, it will be interesting to determine the winners and losers of this historical anomaly. The obvious winner in my household is my 6 year old Golden Retriever, Bree. Bree has benefitted substantially from the forced return and mandated house arrest of my college kids; along with the escalating opportunities for her to escort her family members in a parade like fashion around the neighborhood. When you pay attention, all the dogs in the neighborhood seem to confidently nod at each other with particular contentment. This makes you wonder if Covid-19 is related to a sinister world-wide canine conspiracy. The newscasters speak of the bats, but have we thought about investigating Fido? Another winner is Netflix. Very few folks could look the other way, after hearing the names “Joe Exotic”, or “The Tiger King,” or for that matter, the lady named “Baskin,” “Baskin,” I guess, could’ve, might’ve, allegedly, fed her loving husband, 20 years her senior, to a few of her rescued, though apparently still hungry, tigers. Well, we really had no choice in the matter. We all had to left click on that tiger icon to peer into what we very quickly realized was a bizarre, fast moving, train wreck of a documentary. Yet, getting back to the title of this article, if my eyes were not deceiving me, there were quite a few humans in that […]
The last Friday in April, is National Arbor Day, a day set aside to celebrate the role of trees in our lives and to promote tree planting and care. J. Sterling Morton is considered the founder of Arbor Day. In 1854 Morton and his wife moved from Detroit to the virtually treeless plains of Nebraska. The Nebraska pioneers needed trees for windbreaking, fuel, building materials, and shade from the hot prairie sun. Morton decided to use his role as editor of Nebraska’s first newspaper to promote tree planting in Nebraska. In 1872, the Nebraska Board of Agriculture accepted Morton’s resolution to set aside one day to plant trees. The Board declared April 10, 1872 to be Arbor Day, and offered prizes to both counties and individuals for the largest number of trees properly planted. On that day alone, 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska. Shortly thereafter the rest of the states began passing legislation to observe Arbor Day, with the actual date in April determined by the best time to plant trees in each particular state. While trees add to the visual landscape and provide many helpful benefits to people and the environment, they can present as hazards to motorists. Trees that are not properly maintained can block road signs and roadways. According to the Insurance Information Institute, in 2017, 1,581 fatal crashes in the United States were caused by obscured vision, including poorly maintained trees and shrubbery. Dead and diseased trees can also fall on cars and roadways, […]
Apr 11, 2020 - Articles
BEWARE OF COVID -19 SCAMS
When we as a nation face challenging times, most of us pull together to help one another out. Unfortunately, some people see any crisis as an opportunity for personal advantage. The current pandemic is no exception. Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Small Business Administration have issued warnings alerting consumers to the nature of certain scams that are being used by criminals during this time of crisis. Listed below are some helpful tips for all of us. Ignore Online and Door-to-Door Solicitations For Vaccinations And Home Test Kits There are no products proven to treat or prevent COVID-19 at this time. The FDA has stated that there are no approved vaccines, drugs or treatment products currently available to cure or prevent the virus. The FTC and FDA have issued joint warning letters to various sellers of products including teas, essential oils, and colloidal silver. Hang up on Robocalls Scammers are using illegal robocalls to pitch everything from low-priced health insurance to work-at-home schemes to help in processing your coronavirus stimulus check. A robocall trying to sell you something is illegal unless the company has your written permission to call you that way. Watch For Emails Claiming to Be From the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) or WHO (World Health Organization) Use sites like coronavirus.gov and usa.gov/coronavirus to get the latest information. And don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal […]
This past Sunday was National Pizza Day, but who knew a slice of pizza could be so dangerous? The number of hospitalizations in the United States involving pizza increased more than 50% in 2018, when compared to 2017. These statistics came from medical service provider Babylon Health and mark the highest number of injuries since the company started keeping track. Babylon analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which is run by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to this data nearly 4,000 people were hospitalized with pizza-related injuries in 2018. The injuries ranged from falling up stairs while carrying a delivery; to slashing a finger with a pizza cutter; to swallowing a tongue ring; to being stabbed in the mouth with a fork; to sustaining serious burns from eating pizza that was too hot. The average American eats 46 slices of pizzas a year– over a lifetime the average American will have eaten 6,000 slices. So be careful out there. Since 1985, the personal injury attorneys at Drake, Hileman & Davis, have been concerned for the safety of those in our community. Safety is no accident. We have a proven track record of results and satisfied clients. We’re ready to answer your questions and provide you with the legal help you need, when accidents happen. Contact us on-line or call us at 1-888-777-7098 to schedule your free consultation in the convenience of your home or at one of our five offices located throughout the region.
Nov 1, 2019 - Articles
TURNING OUR CLOCKS BACK INCREASES THE RISKS OF DRIVING AT NIGHT– Here Are Ten Tips to Stay Alive
This Sunday morning, at 2 AM, Daylight Savings Time will end. We will move our clocks back one hour. While many will welcome the extra hour of sleep we gain, when Daylight Saving Time ends, many people will find themselves spending more time driving in the dark. According to the National Safety Council, traffic fatalities are 3 times greater at night than during the day. Fatigue, compromised night vision, and impaired drivers are some of the risks we face when driving at night. These risks become especially pronounced moving into the weekend, with fatal crashes peaking on Saturday nights, according to NSC analysis of NHTSA data. Depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision can be compromised in the dark and the glare of headlights from an oncoming vehicle can temporarily blind a driver. Even with high-beam headlights on, visibility is limited to about 500 feet (250 feet for normal headlights) creating less time to react, especially when driving at higher speeds. Ninety percent of your reaction time depends on your ability to see what’s around you. Since your depth perception, color recognition, and peripheral vision decrease after sundown, your chances for a car accident tend to increase. According to the American Optometric Association, as we age, we have greater difficulty seeing at night. A 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year-old. At age 60 and older, driving can become even more difficult due to compromised vision as a result of cataracts […]
