Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

A devastated father and mother have filed a lawsuit against a 24-year-old New Florence driver who killed their 15-year-old son after visiting two bars, reports dailyamerican.com. The parents will be utilizing Pennsylvania’s “Dram Shop” law that permits victims to sue a liquor serving establishment. Under this law, any business or private host can be held responsible if they served to a minor, or to an individual who is already clearly intoxicated, who, later proceeds to cause an accident, as is the case in this story. The driver is being charged with a myriad of charges including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault while driving drunk, homicide by vehicle, drunken driving, multiple counts of recklessly endangering another person and motor vehicle offenses.

The 15-year-old boy was travelling home after attending a Brittney Spears concert at approximately 1:40 a.m. when the car he was in was struck by a pickup. It turned out the driver had been at one bar from about 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. At midnight, he went to another bar and left only to return again, staying there until 1 a.m. The lawsuit alleges that both bars served the man drinks even though he was already drunk, and they should have prevented him from leaving their businesses.

Continue reading " Parents of Teenager File Suit Citing "Dram Shop" Law " »

On November 23, a 16-year-old crashed his SUV and killed two teenage friends. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, he is accused of being under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash.

The Chester County Court Juvenile Master decided that the teen should remain at the Chester County Youth Center until an adjudication hearing.

The Assistant District Attorney argued that the male teenager recently posted entries on Facebook indicating that he was unremorseful and still getting high. According to the article, the young man described using marijuana and getting drunk on New Year’s Eve.

A 17-year-old male and a 16-year-old male, both 11th graders at Pottsgrove, died in the crash.
The teen driver was charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, six counts of reckless endangerment, and driving without proper insurance.

The young man was traveling westbound on Route 724 with five friends on November 23. He veered into the eastbound lane and traveled up an embankment. The SUV rolled over and landed in the eastbound lane, colliding with a Nissan sedan.

The teen motorist and three passengers were injured. The Nissan’s driver also was injured.

Continue reading " Teen Driver in Deadly Crash to Remain in Custody " »

A 33-year-old construction worker died in Southhampton Village, New York on January 4, 2010 when a foundation wall at a worksite collapsed and pinned him underneath. According to a report, the accident may have been the result of poor workmanship and attempts to cut corners.

The worker was trapped beneath the fallen concrete wall.

According the article, the victim was digging under the wall before the collapse to install footings, structural supports that should have been in place before the concrete wall was poured and the forms were removed.

An inspector for the Southampton Village commented that the concrete wall should have been reinforced with steel, but was not reinforced at all.

The construction site is being investigated by the Village Building department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The family of this deceased worker would be well advised to contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing. An experienced attorney would also look into a “third party claim.” These are claims that are filed against parties that are not the worker’s employer. It could be a contractor, a sub-contractor, or even the manufacturer of a defective product. If it is determined that one of those parties was responsible for the accident and any injuries, then they could be held liable.

Continue reading " Worker Killed in Job Site Accident " »

Former NFL linebacker Ted Johnson suffered more than 100 concussions. According to an article on CNN.com, he got back-to-back concussions in 2002 and that is when his problems began. He began suffering from depression, sleep disorders, and mental fatigue.

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University is studying concussions in the brain. They have found that concussions confer tremendous brain damage, called Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). So far CTE has been found in the brains of six out of six former NFL players.

The damage affects the parts of the brain that control emotion, rage, hypersexuality, and even breathing. It is also a progressive disease that kills brain cells.

100 athletes have consented to have their brains studied after they die.

The NFL is planning its own independent medical study of retired NFL players on the long-term effects of concussion.

Continue reading " Dead Athletes' Brains Show Damage from Concussions " »

A man fell 25 feet and landed on concrete at a Waste Treatment plant in Oregon. According to an article, the man fell from what fire crews estimated to be at least 25 feet from a ladder into a concrete wall that was built on site.

The article reported that the worker was conscious when crews arrived, but suffered serious injuries.

The construction workers used a crane to lift their coworker out of the vault and were able to transfer him to an ambulance.

The worker here is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits through the employer. These benefits often are inadequate and may not be enough to cover a worker and his family, especially if the incident involves serious injuries that could keep the worker away from his/her job for a long time. It may be in the worker’s best interest, however, to also contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing. An experienced attorney would also look into a “third party claim.” These are claims that are filed against parties that are not the worker’s employer. It could be a contractor, a sub-contractor, or even the manufacturer of a defective product. If it is determined that one of those parties was responsible for the accident and any injuries, then they could be held liable.

Continue reading " Crane Used to Rescue Injured Worker " »

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has announced on its website that a record number of drivers are utilizing their seatbelts while on Pennsylvania roads, a whopping 88% of them. The previous high was reported in 2007 when 87% of drivers reported buckling up.

Secretary of Pennsylvania DOT, Allen D. Biehler, P.E., said, “The simple act of putting on a seat belt or properly restraining your child is the one step you can take to increase your chances of surviving a crash. PennDOT will continue to encourage every driver to buckle up and make sure everyone else in their vehicle does, too.”

Another factor for the record seatbelt use is that law enforcement has been boosted with 450 municipal and Pennsylvania State Police taking part in the statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaigns. Officials reported that more than 10,000 seatbelt citations were given this past year. Federal Funding provided the $2.5 million for the program that also included education in K-12 schools. Approximately 47,000 students are believed to have been reached.

Continue reading " Pennsylvania Buckles Up " »

The New York Times reported that former NHL player Reggie Fleming, who played for the Flyers among five other teams and died in July, had brain damage due to repeated head trauma. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Times said that this links hockey for the first time to a condition usually found in boxers.

Fleming, who spent 12 seasons in the NHL, was found by Boston University researchers to have had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disease that causes cognitive decline, behavioral abnormalities and ultimately dementia. Fleming is the first hockey player known to have been tested for the disease, which was also found in several former NFL players recently.
A neuropathologist at Boston University who also diagnosed CTE in the former football players, told the New York times that repetitive head injuries can have very serious long-term consequences, regardless of how you get them.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 300,000 sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) of mild to moderate severity (1), most of which can be classified as concussions (i.e., conditions of temporarily altered mental status as a result of head trauma), occur in the United States each year. The proportion of these concussions that are repeat injuries is unknown; however, there is an increased risk for subsequent TBI among persons who have had at least one previous TBI (2,3). Repeated mild brain injuries occurring over an extended period (i.e., months or years) can result in cumulative neurologic and cognitive deficits (4,5), but repeated mild brain injuries occurring within a short period (i.e., hours, days, or weeks) can be catastrophic or fatal. The latter phenomenon, termed “second impact syndrome.”

Continue reading " Hockey Player's Brain Damage Report " »

A 45-year-old emergency worker was killed on January 11 as he helped a stranded motorist on I-76 in Camden County. According to an article by the Associated Press on Philly.com, the New Jersey Department of Transportation employee was assisting the driver of a broken-down minivan near the I-295 interchange when he was struck by a Dodge Magnum.

The Dodge was driven by a 28-year-old woman from Berlin, NJ. She also hit the broken down mini-van, injuring that vehicle’s driver and a passenger.

The worker was pronounced dead at Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey.

The family of this NJ DOT worker would be well advised to contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing. An experienced attorney would also look into a “third party claim.” These are claims that are filed against parties that are not the worker’s employer. It could be a contractor, a sub-contractor, or even the manufacturer of a defective product. If it is determined that one of those parties was responsible for the accident and any injuries, then they could be held liable.

Continue reading " Worker Killed Aiding Motorist " »

On January 7, a Philadelphia law firm filed 10 lawsuits on behalf of boys and young men who developed serious side effects (including the growth of breasts) while taking the antipsychotic medications Risperdal and Invega. According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the suits were filed in Philadelphia and one attorney said he expected to file an additional 20 to 30 similar cases in Philadelphia in the next two months. There are also cases involving boys who took Risperdal and another medication pending in New Jersey.

The drugs in the cases are made by Janssen (of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals) and are part Johnson & Johnson. All of the companies are based in New Jersey, but Ortho-McNeil-Janssen is incorporated in Pennsylvania.

One young man from Philadelphia took Risperdal in his teens. The lawsuit says he experienced rapid weight gain and developed breasts that will require surgical removal.
Some of the clients grew significant bosoms, a fact their doctors may not have taken seriously enough because of the weight gain.

The suits also named Excerpta Medica, Inc. and Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc. because the companies were involved in publishing ghostwritten studies that were misleading or exaggerated.

Continue reading " Lawsuits Filed Over Drug Side Effects " »

Auto accidents on Pennsylvania roads happen on a regular basis and it takes a confident and savvy investigator to evaluate all types of the accidents, ranging from a simple fender bender to multiple -car wrecks involving fatalities. The website timesleader.com reported that a 39-year-old patrol sergeant for the state police accident reconstruction unit at the Wyoming barracks was in Forty Fort, PA to train members of the Pennsylvania State Police Citizen’s Police Academy. In addition to his car accident expertise, he has been certified as an inspection mechanic.

The sergeant explained that following an accident, investigators must spot every tire mark and every bit of evidence along the road with paint. Accident reconstruction specialists must also, establish resistance and speed, plot out the scene, and of course write down and record everything. The sergeant stated that a state police general investigation report should include a summary, field notes, vehicles and persons involved, measurements, conclusions, and aerial shots. Prior to concluding the first part of his training, the sergeant explained how investigators can find out the speed of a vehicle involved in an accident.

Continue reading " Pennsylvania State Police Citizens' Police Academy Hosts Accident Scene Sergeant " »

According to an Associated Press article on Philly.com, Oxmoor House is recalling nearly 1 million home improvement books because of errors that could lead people to make risky mistakes while installing or repairing their electrical wiring themselves.

Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission said no incidents have been reported so far, the errors in diagrams and wiring instructions could cause people to be shocked or create a fire hazard.

The 951,000 recalled books have nine different titles, including “Lowe’s Complete Home Improvement and Repair” and “Sunset You Can Build, Wiring.”

They have been sold at bookstores and home improvement stores nationwide for as many as three decades.

Continue reading " Books with Bad Do-It-Yourself Advice Recalled " »

A man working as part of a construction company at Calise & Son’s Bakery in Lincoln, Rhode Island, was rushed to the hospital after an accident partially severed his leg on December 29. According to an article, the local Fire District Chief said that the victim is 50-years-old, and was working on a hole in the ground that was getting ready to be filled with concrete when he was injured.

The man was taken to a nearby hospital and police have turned the investigation over to Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Continue reading " Construction Accident Severs Man's Leg " »

A 30-year-old man from Connelly Springs, North Carolina, died at a construction site on December 24 when he fell in a hole and dirt collapsed around him.

According to an article, he was working for Neill Grading Co. of Hickory, NC when he died at a sewer line construction site near Shelby, NC.

Workers dug the man out and Emergency Medical Services workers took him to a Medical Center. He was pronounced dead about an hour after the accident.

A witness said he was changing some equipment when he heard a construction foreman yell out that the worker had fallen into the hole.

According to the article, workers were not ready to put a pipe in the hole. They do not yet know why the victim was in the area where he was.

An investigator from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also was summoned to the site.

The family of this deceased worker would be well advised to contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing. An experienced attorney would also look into a “third party claim.” These are claims that are filed against parties that are not the worker’s employer. It could be a contractor, a sub-contractor, or even the manufacturer of a defective product. If it is determined that one of those parties was responsible for the accident and any injuries, then they could be held liable.

Continue reading " North Carolina Man Dies at Construction Site " »

Last Spring, legislation was passed in Washington State that prohibits young players who show signs of concussion from participating in sports unless they receive clearance from a doctor. The NFL also began running public service announcements addressing the issue.

According to this article in The Philadelphia Daily News, efforts like these are being embraced by the Team Comcast Youth Hockey Club. The club has received funding from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to develop a concussion-management program. More than 120 players participated in an “ImPACT” neurocognitive test, administered at CHOP Specialty care in Vorhees, NJ.

The Coach of the Comcast Youth Hockey club, and former Philadelphia Flyer, Keith Primeau said that he was comforted to know that boys have been tested and he would have information to fall back on if he has to decide if a player can play again. Primeau also said if he has a doubt, he errs on the side of caution.

The parents and the players themselves have also become educated in what to look for.

Continue reading " Promoting Concussion Awareness in Hockey " »

A 16-year-old football player from San Jose, CA has been hospitalized since Thanksgiving when he sustained a hairline fracture of his skull during a traditional rival game. According to this article on a cbsSportsline.com website, he required life-saving surgery that day that included placing him into a drug-induced coma. He was in critical condition for one week until doctors took him out of the coma. Doctors say it is too soon to know if neurological damage that the teen sustained will be permanent.

Some of football’s most visible stars have also recently suffered head traumas.

Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner have all experienced head injuries this season.

The head injuries sparked a national awareness about the dangers, complexities and frequency of concussions in football.

According to the article, between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions occur annually in the United States or that 12 % of all high school sports injuries involve head trauma. Another 3.5 million concussions that occur annually go undetected.

About 1.2 million youth play football with the chance of a catastrophic neurological disability such as paralysis at 1.65 and death at 0.7 per 100,000.

High school and youth athletes, whose skulls and brains aren’t fully developed, risk serious injury by coming back to soon.

A large portion of the catastrophic head injuries occur following an unsafe amount of time from a previous head injury.

Continue reading " High School Football Player Suffers Head Injury " »

A news story on the latimes.com website reported that the California attorney general’s office has settled a toxic tort lawsuit with Toys R Us, Kmart, and Target. They were found to be guilty of selling toys with high levels of lead, exposure to which can be dangerous especially in young children whose nervous systems are developing.

The attorney general’s office and the Los Angeles city attorney filed a lawsuit against the three retailers, along with Mattel Inc. when it was discovered that they were selling or making toys with excessive amounts of lead paint.

The contaminated toys broke federal toy safety standards and California law Proposition 65, that deals with toxic substances, prompting a wave of recalls.

The California State deputy attorney said, “Our enforcement action will serve as a reminder to companies that they have a responsibility to make sure that children aren’t exposed to harmful chemicals from their toys.

Continue reading " Toys R Us, Kmart, and Target Will Pay Fines for Selling Lead Toys " »

According to this article on MSN.com, a criminal investigation may be launched to look into whether negligence was a factor in a fatal construction accident in Toronto, Canada. Four workers died and one was seriously injured in the accident that happened on December 24 at an apartment building. The work platform they were using to repair balconies split in two. The platform, also called a swing stage, was 13 stories up.

The president of the Ontario Federation of Labour said that a criminal probe might determine if the four workers who died were provided proper safety equipment and supervision.

A fifth worker suffered fractured legs and a broken spine and was in intensive care. The Toronto Star reported that this worker regained consciousness.

Continue reading " Workers' Deaths Need Criminal Probe " »

Construction is the second-most dangerous occupation in the nation. A Philadelphia worker’s fatal fall in October from 125 feet as his aerial lift toppled is one example.

According to a Philadelphia Inquirer article, the worker who fell was a highly trained union journeyman with an expertise in high work. However, the type of equipment he was using in Center City can pose problems on construction sites.

It carries the risks of any large piece of machinery, yet is used by all sorts of tradesmen.
The man was working on the stone exterior of a Philadelphia Church on October 12 when a wheel of his aerial lift broke through a utility panel on the sidewalk.

The lift swayed and then crashed to the street. He was killed by the impact.

Aerial lifts act as a mechanical and movable alternative to scaffolding.

Most apprentice programs offer basic training in using the lifts, which includes routine instructions on being harnessed properly, checking the ground surface, and not moving the lifts while they are extended.

Specific training on each machine is usually provided by the contractor or rental company. Sometimes the training is not extensive and OSHA regulations do not specify how much training is enough. Training costs can also be a factor.

The Inquirer reported that in 2008, 969 workers died in construction accidents nationally. Of those, 332 died in falls and 201 in contact with objects and equipment. Transportation accidents and exposure to dangerous environments killed most of the rest.

In the Philadelphia area, 15 construction workers died in 2008 — five from falls, four in transportation accidents, three from contact with equipment, and three from exposure to dangerous environments.

Continue reading " Center City Death Shows Hazards of Aerial Lifts " »

On December 18, a baby product manufacturer recalled about 447,000 of its infant car seat carriers, including some branded with Eddie Bauer and Disney logos, after dozens of reports of the carrier’s handle coming loose.

According to an Associated Press article on Philly.com, there have been at least three injuries to babies, including bumps, bruises, and a head injury. There have been 77 reports of the child restraint handle fully or partially coming off the products.

The government told consumers to immediately stop using the seat’s carrying handle. The bolts that attach the handle to the seat can loosen, causing the handle to possibly separate and create a fall hazard for babies.

The recall involves Safety 1st, Cosco, Eddie Bauer, and Disney branded infant car seat carriers with certain model numbers. They were sold at department and children’s product stores nationwide from January 2008 through this month.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Dorel Juvenile Group announced the recall.

Consumers should not use the handle until a repair kit has been installed.

Continue reading " Baby Car Seat Carriers Recalled " »

The biggest city in America sets precedent on bike ridership which is great news to many of us who ride regularly. The examiner.com website reports that the New York Department of Transportation has released news that bike ridership in the city has gone up 26% in the last year. As we can imagine, parking a bike in the city could be a major issue for riders. New York City voters have made a great effort to make this problem a thing of the past by passing the “Bicycle Access to Buildings Law” in July which just went into effect on December 11th. Under this new law, riders who work in buildings that mainly consist of offices and have a freight elevator on the premises can ask for the building to allow the bicycle in.

After a building manager receives a request by a commuter or tenant, they have 30 days to allow access or deny by means of requesting an exemption. Although the new law allows bikes into buildings, individual offices are not forced to allow them.

New York City commissioner said, "While commuter cycling continues to grow, this new law unlocks a barrier that has stopped an untold number of bike commutes before they even started. While we launch a new era in bike commuting, we also recognize businesses that are making cycling a commuting and business priority for their employees."

Continue reading " Record Number of Bicyclists on the Road " »