Resources

It bothers us sometimes when we hear advertisements in the media which are designed to scare people about our legal system. These advertisements are paid for by those who are trying to influence public opinion against accident victims, usually the insurance industry. The problem with this is that accident victims have no voice and in most cases their accidents haven’t even happened yet. The truth is that you may be the next accident victim. The truth is that you may need our legal system to work for you. You may be one of those jurors the ads claim are giving ridiculously high awards. The truth is it is not in your interest for there to be any change in the legal system. The jury system has worked in America since our country was founded. It is one of the pillars upon which our democracy is based. Twelve people from all walks of life, without any knowledge or interest in the case, hear the evidence presented by both sides and reach a fair verdict. It is a rare case where justice is not done. Media reports tend to focus on those rare cases, such as the McDonald’s coffee case, and make it seem that all cases are like that. The truth is that there is no litigation explosion. From 1995 to 1999, the number of civil cases filed in Pennsylvania dropped substantially from 31,582 to 23,965. Of those, personal injury suits are the third leading type of suit. First (one-third) of […]

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No issue in recent years has created as much controversy as much as the so called “medical malpractice crisis”. As you can imagine, we follow the issue with interest, and are particularly concerned about what we see as the unfair vilification of trial attorneys, even by our own President. Although the issue has been cast as doctors vs. trial attorneys, we see it more as doctors vs. their own insurance companies. The marked increase in many physician’s malpractice insurance premiums has rightfully upset physicians, particularly those who have never had a malpractice claim, and caused many to speak out in the public forum as they never have before. We feel their angry outbursts against trial attorneys should be directed instead to the insurance industry which has their practices caught in an economic vise. The increase in medical malpractice insurance is due to a number of factors having nothing to do with jury verdicts in malpractice cases. The truth is that the liability insurance industry as a whole has been hit hard by two factors affecting their underwriting of liability insurance: the declines in the stock market which have caused tremendous losses for everyone, and the payout of claims following the terrorist attack on September 11th. Professional liability rates for attorneys are expected to increase between 35% and 75%. If you check your own liability insurance, you will likely find similar increases. That is because insurance companies have the ability to pass their losses onto their insureds by way of higher […]

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This case involved a low speed rear end impact on Route 22 near the Whitehall exit in Lehigh County, with minimal property damage to either vehicle. The defendant claimed that the accident was not his fault, but that he had been hit from behind by another vehicle which fled the scene. Our client did not initially realize that she was injured so did not call the police or go to the hospital. This made it difficult to prove that her severe back pain was caused by the accident. Our client was a 32 year old single mother who did have a history of prior back problems and fibromyalgia. Despite these problems with the case, the client made a compelling witness. Plus, her doctors went to bat for her and felt strongly that her injuries and disability were caused by the accident. She was diagnosed with a herniated disc and ended up needing two back surgeries. Unfortunately, she needed a third surgery, but when she lost her job, she lost her health insurance and had no way to pay for the treatment. Following her surgeries, she had a series of injections, which did not improve her constant back and leg pain. She tried to work, but was unable to do so, due to the severity of her pain. Even though she had a sedentary job, she was not able to sit long enough to accomplish any meaningful tasks. Our vocational expert estimated her wage loss and reduction in earning capacity to […]

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This was the headline in the Allentown Morning Call on April 12, 2001. The week before, Pete Hileman, attorney for the Plaintiff, had completed presentation of the case, which involved serious injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. Courthouse observers felt the verdict to be one of the largest in the history of Lehigh County, which is known for its low jury verdicts. According to cases published in Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly, the verdict was one of the 50 largest verdicts in Pennsylvania in 2001. The Plaintiff was a passenger in a Lehigh County van, which was on its way to the prison when it was broadsided by a UGI gas utility van, which had run a red traffic light. The Plaintiff developed chronic back pain and was diagnosed with an internal disc disruption, which eventually required a two level fusion. He remained in chronic pain and unable to work or to engage in any meaningful activity without significant pain. UGI admitted negligence but argued that the Plaintiff had a pre-existing back condition and sustained only minor injuries in the accident and should have been able to work. Mr. Hileman presented the testimony of the orthopedic surgeon who showed the jury how the accident caused the disc disruption and debilitating pain. Vocational experts described why the Plaintiff would never be able to return to work at his previous job and would be forced to work at much lower paying jobs. The jury’s verdict awarded the Plaintiff the exact […]

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According to The Wireless Association, over 170 billion text messages are in the United States. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know how many of those were sent from a cell phone being used while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that, nationally, several thousand people are killed each year due to distracted driving. Moreover, an estimated 421,000 people sustain personal injuries in motor vehicle accidents involving a distracted driver. Texting is not the only distracted-driving behavior. Distracted driving is broadly defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as any non-driving activity a person engages in while operating a motor vehicle which has the potential to distract the person from the primary task of driving and which increases the risk of crashing. In fact, because distracted driving has become more and more prevalent with the use of cell phones and GPS systems, the DOT has declared that reducing distracted driving is now a top traffic safety priority, indicating that it is a dangerous behavior that has “no place on our roadways.” In hopes of curbing this dangerous behavior, the DOT has plans to construct and advance programs designed to educate and convince the public that distracted driving is extremely dangerous, and that taking certain steps to ensure you are giving your full attention to the roadway can save lives. Additionally, there will be more vigorous law enforcement efforts geared toward discouraging distracted driving. The DOT observes that, statistically, distracted driving accounts for at least 10 percent of all Pennsylvania […]

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