Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

On March 2, a construction worker doing welding work in Cateret, NJ was injured when an explosion caused the doors of his pickup truck to fly off and smash into him.

According to this article on nj.com, the man was welding at a construction site at a Verizon Wireless data center when the explosion erupted. He was the only one injured in the blast.

Any worker who has sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of their employment has a potential workers’ compensation claim. The injury can occur while traveling on business, doing a work-related errand, attending a required business-related social function, or even while on a break or using restroom facilities and you are still legally covered by workers compensation. Some types of workers’ compensation injures include construction injuries, repetitive stress to a body part, and environmental hazards.

Continue reading " NJ Construction Worker is Injured in Explosion " »

A woman says that her 46-year-old husband died because an Erie hospital ran out of blood while treating him after a motorcycle crash. The man was a high school wrestling coach. According to this article by the Associated Press, the woman has sued Hamot Medical Center in Erie, PA saying the hospital had only 16 units of blood available when her husband died of pelvic bleeding after the crash on July 24, 2008.

The article stated that doctors wanted to operate on the man in Erie, but decided to transfer him to a Pittsburgh hospital because a radiologist wasn’t comfortable working on pelvic injuries. The lawsuit claims he died while waiting for a medical helicopter after the hospital ran out of blood.

Continue reading " Erie Hospital Ran Out of Blood, Death Lawsuit Says " »

The teenage daughter of a Pennsylvania family has been suffering with residual seizure disorder since she was 6-months-old, says UPI.com, and her parents believe the illness is due to a vaccination she received as an infant. The preventative was ordered in the mid-90s to shield the child from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. But instead of simply providing the family’s new daughter with immunity from disease, the vaccine allegedly had other negative physical, mental, and emotional side effects on the girl during her formative years. The childhood impacts caused irreversible damage and left the girl a life-long dependent.

In 2009, the Pennsylvania family sued the vaccine manufacturers, Wyeth, who had become a branch of larger brand Pfizer Inc. that same year. But the suit was overruled by federal legislation that cited a 1986 law, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act that protected vaccine manufacturers from product-liability lawsuits. The act stated that makers of an anti-body could not be brought to trial if their product caused immediate harm or long-term damage to recipients. However, on Monday, March 8, 2010, the Supreme Court took a harder look at the case to decide if the 1986 law did not actually interfere with the family’s lawsuit. The trial will go forth in spring or autumn 2010.

Continue reading " Supreme Court Reviews Pennsylvania Product-Liability Suit " »

A Western Pennsylvania family from Cranberry is seeking compensation from Target after their female toddler suffered a critical brain injury from a toy bin that the company had authorized for distribution. The Associated Press says the covering of the bin, made of wicker, had suddenly landed onto the two-year-old and obstructed her oxygen flow. She endured suffocation that allegedly left her comatose with severe brain damage.

Following the family’s injury claims, Target stopped selling the toy chest as well as a few comparable products. The Cranberry, Pennsylvania parents argue that the hard wicker product should have had a caution tag with age provisions or child friendly lid reinforcements. The family’s lawsuit cites recuperation costs and punitive charges. The suit was filed Monday, March 8, 2010 in an Allegheny County judicial circuit.

According to the Brain Injury Association for America, Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is the result of a heavy blow to the cranium or a skull-breaking injury that interrupts brain function. Nineteen percent of all TBIs are the result of a non-penetrating strike to the head, and the demographic at very high risk of TBI is children age 0 to 4. Additionally, an impaired respiratory system can cause severe brain damage by depriving the brain of oxygen. The consequences of a brain injury can be as mild as a concussion that needs no rehabilitation or as severe as paralysis that incurs life-long damage, and over 50,000 victims of brain injury will die each year.

Continue reading " Daughter of Pennsylvania Family Suffers Brain Injury " »

An early morning auto accident in Philadelphia on I-95 North left two state troopers and a tow truck operator with mild to severe injuries. News source philly.com reports that the pair of authorities had been working with the professional driver of a tow truck to remove a vacant car that had been obstructing a right highway lane near the Girard Avenue exit. As the three men were attaching the car to the driver’s tow truck, a 23-year-old man driving a Toyota Corolla full of passengers collided with the troopers’ patrol car, which was parked behind the abandoned vehicle.

The driver of the tow truck had been working underneath the abandoned automobile at the time of the collision and suffered injuries, but managed to escape quickly to help another who was clearly in pain.

One of the trooper pair had been standing behind the abandoned vehicle, and was immediately trapped between two cars as his patrol car was forced forward by the collision. The second trooper leaped out of the way of the reckless on-comer, but did not escape without his share of scratches and scrapes from the land.

The three men were rushed to a nearby hospital. The tow truck operator, who suffered damage to his upper-body, and second trooper were released early, but the remaining trooper was kept in the hospital for critical knee injuries.

Continue reading " Interstate Collision in Philadelphia Hospitalizes Three " »

Breaking news from the Associated Press reports that on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, the wife of a late Pennsylvania Senator testified in court against the alleged drunk driver who suddenly smashed into her and her husband’s car, killing the politician as they were on their way to an awards ceremony. The fatal car crash happened in autumn 2008 on Pennsylvania Route 209 between the traveling couple, who drove a Cadillac, and an auto mechanic who was driving a pickup truck.

The driver of the pickup rejects accusations of driving while intoxicated, but several witnesses say the mechanic’s breath reeked of alcohol and authorities report the man’s blood-alcohol levels tested 4 times beyond the state limit. Police also say the truck ran into the couple’s Cadillac so violently that the Cadillac spun around multiple times and caused damage to a minivan parked on the road’s shoulder. The minivan passengers were not physically harmed, but the Pennsylvania Senator reportedly died within 18 hours of the accident and his wife sustained critical injuries including a pierced lung, fragmented knee, and cracked ribcage.

Continue reading " Pennsylvania Senator Dies in Fatal Accident " »

Pennsylvania digest philly.com reports that yet another verdict against the owner of an aggressive Rhodesian ridgeback was overruled to most recently find the dog owner liable. The initial ruling did label the dog as a threat, but the dog’s keeper made an appeal to an administrative judge that claimed his animal had been provoked to attack. The Haddonfield man and Salem County property owner raises blue-ribbon show dogs, and in December 2009, a separate ridgeback was previously charged with disfiguring the ear of a female toddler.

The currently accused Rhodesian ridgeback dog owner is in trouble for a string of attacks against a few Haddonfield residents. The attacks happened between 2002 and 2004 and the total number that suffered injuries from the show dog is an unfortunate five people. Four of those victims were children, and all the incidents in question were unrelated.

According to the Center for Disease control, a dog is far more likely to bite a child, and an annual estimate of 4.7 million people across the United States will be harmed from a dog bite attack, which occur approximately once every minute. A dog does not have to be wandering the street to be threatening; even a domesticated companion or a dog secured on a leash can harm a person uninformed on how to behave around dogs. There are ways to prevent a dog bite, such as not approaching unfamiliar dogs, not attempting to pet a dog while it is off-guard or sleeping, and avoiding eye contact with the dog to avoid challenging it. If you are bitten, immediately report the bite to an authority, and you may want to seek the assistance of a Philly dog attack attorney.

Continue reading " Ridgeback Dog Bites Again - Haddonfield Dog Appeal Reversed " »

A 52-year-old contractor from King of Prussia, PA died on March 16, 2010 when he fell through a skylight at a warehouse in the East Frankford section of Philadelphia. According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the man fell 30 feet through the skylight of a warehouse building on the 4500 block of Worth Street. He died about an hour later at a nearby hospital.

The contractor’s family 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.” A "third party claim" in PA is 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 " Contractor Dies After Fall Through Skylight " »

On March 17, a Comcast worker was injured when he came in contact with power lines on Holland Road in Northampton, PA. According to an article from www.phillyburbs.com, the worker was repairing some cable lines when he accidentally came in contact with the power line.

The employee was using a ladder that was about 15 feet in the air, but it is unknown if he fell or not. He was found on the ground going in and out of consciousness.

The Comcast worker would be well advised to contact an experienced Philly workers’ comp 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 " Comcast Worker Injured in Electrical Accident " »

On March 15, 2010, carbon monoxide from a propane-powered tile cutter being used in a grocery store renovation in Pennsylvania sickened at least six people.

According to this article on Philly.com, about 35 people were evacuated from the Giant supermarket in Easton, PA after construction workers complained of nausea and headaches.

The carbon monoxide levels were life-threatening in the construction area, which had been separated from the rest of the store by a tarp. The rest of the store had low levels of the odorless and colorless gas.

Giant resumed normal operation after being inspected by state and local officials.

The injured workers would be well advised to contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney in Pennsylvania 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 " Carbon Monoxide Sickens 6 at Eastern Pennsylvania Grocery " »

The government warned that baby slings can be dangerous, even deadly for little ones. According to this Associated Press article, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said it investigated at least 13 deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers over the last 20 years, including three deaths last year. One other case involving a fatality is still being investigated. Twelve of the deaths involved babies younger than four months of age.

The CPSC said that slings can pose a suffocation hazard in two different ways. A sling’s fabric can press against a baby’s nose and mouth, blocking the baby’s breathing and suffocating a baby within a minute or two. Also if the baby is cradled in a curved or “C-like” position, nestling the baby below mom’s chest or near her belly, it can cause a baby who doesn't have strong neck control to flop its head forward, chin-to-chest, restricting the infant's ability to breathe.
They are advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months. Many of the babies who died in slings were a low birth weight twin, were born prematurely, or had a cold.

In 2008, Consumer Reports raised concerns about slings and some two dozen serious injuries, such as skull fractures, mostly when a child fell out of the carrier.

The “SlingRider” by Infantino has been singled out for criticism because of the curved position that the baby can fall into while inside the sling.

The SlingRider was recalled in 2007 for problems with the plastic sliders on the sling’s strap. There have been no recalls because of a suffocation risk.

Continue reading " Infant Deaths Prompt Government Warning on Slings " »

A temporary worker from Rochester, N.H was injured on February 11, 2010 in an industrial accident at Stonewall Kitchen, in Maine. According to this article on www.seacoastline.com, the man received severe burns and lacerations to his left forearm and wrist when his arm was caught in the blade of a 150-gallon mixer.

The incident has been investigated and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified.

The article said that the man was on temporary assignment through Manpower Inc. of Dover, N.H.

A human resources director for Stonewall Kitchen said all workers go through training processes before working in the production environment.

Any worker who has sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of their employment has a potential workers’ compensation claim. The injury can occur while traveling on business, doing a work-related errand, attending a required business-related social function, or even while on a break or using restroom facilities and you are still legally covered by workers compensation. Some types of workers’ compensation injures include construction injuries, repetitive stress to a body part, and environmental hazards.

By law, it is required that every company in Pennsylvania carry Worker’s Compensation Insurance in the case an employee is injured on the job, becomes ill due to circumstances surrounding their job, or even if death results from their job.

Whether your injury was a simple slip and fall, or involves serious injuries and property damage, the skilled Philadelphia workers' compensation lawyers at Cherry, Fieger & Marciano can help you to get the monetary compensation that is owed to you to help pay for medical bills, physical therapy, loss of work, and more.

On March 7, a man from Colwyn and a woman from Upper Darby, PA were critically injured when an alleged drunken driver slammed into them as they crossed MacDade Boulevard. The victims are hospitalized are undergoing treatment for severe injuries.

According to this article in the Delaware County Times, as the man and woman crossed MacDade Blvd., a woman was driving toward them at a high rate of speed.

The police chief said the female victim initially landed on the car, bounced off, then fell to the ground where the motorist ran over her again.

The driver also struck an SUV with two people inside after she hit the pedestrians. It is not known if anyone inside of the SUV was injured.

Both victims have compound fractures to their legs and many serious injuries. The article reported that the victims will likely survive, but their recovery will likely take a long time.

The female driver is charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license, careless and reckless driving.

Continue reading " Woman Charged with DUI after Running Down Pedestrians in Darby " »

Two men died at a refinery explosion and fire last week at Navajo Refinery in New Mexico. According to this Associated Press article on Philly.com, authorities located the body of the first worker immediately after the March 2, 2010 fire. A second man was missing and presumed dead. A parent company of the refinery confirmed his death.

Two other workers were injured in the blaze, which was confined to a new asphalt storage tank under construction away from the refinery’s main operations.

All four workers were employed by a refinery contractor, Northwest Insulation.

The families of the workers who died, as well as the injured workers, 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 Philly workers comp 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 Deaths at New Mexico Refinery Confirmed " »

Hundreds of people nationwide said they were poisoned by their denture cream. According to this article in the Philadelphia Daily News, lawsuits filed against GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Poligrip, and Procter & Gamble, manufacturers of Fixodent, allege that the companies knew their products were dangerous and did not protect consumers.

The suits allege that adding zinc to the products had adverse health effects on some users. Zinc helps bond dentures to gums.

Among the lawsuits is a woman who is now classified as a quadriplegic and others whose hands have deteriorated and look like claws.

According to the article, GSK launched a voluntary recall of Poligrip EX in Japan last week. However, the product was not recalled in the U.S.

A larger suit involving 75 plaintiffs is in federal court in Miami.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuits allege that they were unclear about how much product was safe to use until it was too late and their bodies had been damaged.

Late last year, GSK began including an insert in its denture packaging, noting that even the smallest size tube (0.75 oz). is meant to last about three weeks.

By the time the insert was released, many people’s bodies were already damaged.

Continue reading " Zinc in Dental Adhesives Can Cause Injuries " »

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania reported a possible radiation error involving the treatment of a man for prostate cancer. According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, a patient underwent a prostate brachytherapy procedure on Jan. 21 to implant 65 radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells in the acorn-size gland. On a follow-up scan on Feb. 23, doctors saw that the seeds were “outside the intended target.”

The incident is similar to problems at the Penn-run brachytherapy program at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.

From February 2002 until June 2008, 97 veterans got incorrect radiation doses.

The article stated that the incident at Penn was reported to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the medical use of radioactive materials in Pennsylvania for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The incident may have been caused by a malfunction in a new ultrasound unit, which guides the needles used to place the radioactive seeds.

The problems at the Philadelphia VA raised questions about the Penn program’s quality.

Continue reading " Possible Prostate Case Error at Penn Hospital " »

According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was sued in federal court for allegedly refusing to accept Marcus Murray because he lacked health insurance.

Murray needed emergency surgery to treat a tear in a major artery. Marcus and his wife, Jean, claim that Penn initially said it would accept Mr. Murray’s transfer from Underwood Memorial Hospital in Gloucester County, NJ. Then, Penn refused after learning he had no health insurance.

The article stated that the suit named a Penn cardiothoracic surgeon, Underwood, and its emergency-room doctor on the case, alleging that Underwood failed to properly diagnose Murray’s condition and did not transfer him to a hospital capable of dealing with his problem soon enough.

Murray was experiencing chest pain and weakness and went by ambulance to the Underwood ER.

A CT scan revealed a “complex dissection of the thoracic and abdominal aorta” that would require treatment by a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Underwood does not have open-heart-surgery capability, so Murray needed to be transferred to another hospital.

According to Murray’s Underwood records, Penn had agreed to accept Murray, and he would get a helicopter to transport him to Philadelphia. Records showed that after speaking with the Penn surgeon, they were told Mr. Murray was not accepted. Nurse’s notes indicated that the reason for refusal was lack of medical insurance.

Continue reading " PA Hospital Sued Over Failure to Admit Patient " »

A Philadelphia jury ordered Pfizer Inc.’s Wyeth unit to pay $9.45 million to an Alabama woman who claimed that the company’s hormone-replacement drug caused her breast cancer. According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the woman was awarded $3.25 million in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages. The verdict also included $200,000 to the woman’s husband for loss of consortium.

More than six million women took the pills to treat symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings before a 2002 study highlighted the drugs’ links to cancer.

Before 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Pfizer’s Pharmacia & Upjohn unit. Wyeth combined the two hormones in Prempro.

Approximately 8,000 people who used Pfizer’s and Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drugs filed suit against the company. Many were filed as suits for dangerous drugs in Philadelphia.

The woman in this particular case, a mother of three, began taking Prempro in August 1997. Results of a mammogram at that time were normal. She stopped taking the drug in January 2004 after her breast cancer diagnosis.

Continue reading " Philadelphia Jury Awards $9.45 Million in Wyeth-Hormone Suit to Alabama Woman " »

State authorities suspended Kermit B. Gosnell’s medical license, a doctor whose practice in West Philadelphia was raided by federal drug agents. According to an article on Philly.com, the suspension was issued by the State Board of Medicine and came after a search of Women’s Medical Society practice.

The suspension order says the conditions of the clinic were “deplorable and unsanitary.”

The order called Gosnell’s continued practice of medicine a danger to the public health and safety.

Law enforcement sources said the FBI, DEA, and state drug agents who executed the search warrant had been investigating Gosnell, who is in his late 60s, on suspicion of illegal distribution of prescription painkillers.

The suspension order also alleges that on or about Nov. 20, a patient died after being treated at the clinic by an unlicensed employee. The woman was in the clinic for an abortion and was given 10 mg of Demerol and 12.5 mg of promethazine. When the patient began experiencing cramping, she asked for more pain medication, and Gosnell told the unlicensed employee to administer it.

The woman allegedly was given 75 mg of Demerol, 12.5 mg of promethazine, and 10 mg of diazepam, and later more anesthetic in preparation for the abortion.

Continue reading " Philadelphia Doctor's License Suspended after Patient Dies " »

On February 17, 2010, a 38-year-old school bus driver was driving a Perkiomen Valley school bus in Montgomery County when it collided with an oncoming car, killing a passenger in the car and seriously injuring its driver.

According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the school bus driver had previous citations and was involved in a fatal accident.

When a prospective employer checked the school bus motorist’s driving record, there were only two 1999 citations listed, careless driving and failing to heed a stop sign.

But, in November 1999, the male school bus driver had been on his cell phone when his Ford Explorer went through a stop sign in Bucks County and caused an accident that killed a 2-year-old girl and injured her mother. The fatal car accident in Pennsylvania led to a lawsuit resulting in a six-figure settlement.

The November of 1999 accident resulted in two violations for the 38-year-old man, one of which carried points. Neither the criminal nor motor-vehicle reports showed any record of the man being charged with a crime or any details about the 1999 accident.

The February 17th accident killed a 27-year-old man and seriously injured a 41-year-old man.
The article said that the bus carrying 45 children was turning across traffic into the Perkiomen Valley Middle School West parking lot when it collided with a Honda Civic carrying the two aforementioned men.

The 38-year old school bus driver was not hurt, but five students were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Continue reading " School Bus Driver in Montgomery County Fatal Crash Has Bad Record " »

Toyota and the government are looking into complaints that the Corolla is difficult to steer straight. This is raising another safety concern before the upcoming congressional hearing about the automaker’s recalls.

According to an article on Philly.com, the Toyota executive in charge of quality control said the company was reviewing about 100 complaints about power steering in the Corolla.

The executive said drivers may feel as though they were losing control over the steering, but it was unclear why. He mentioned problems with the braking system or tires as possible underlying causes. U.S. officials are also investigating.

The article stated that the company was prepared to fix any defects it found and that it would install a backup safety system in all future models worldwide that will override the accelerator if the gas and brake pedals are pressed at the same time. Acceleration problems are behind most of the 8.5 million vehicles recalled by the automaker since November of 2009.

Consumers have the right to assume that products they purchase or use have been produced in a manner that would ensure that they are safe and free from unreasonable risks. If a company manufactures a product that is hazardous to the user, the company must be held liable for any injuries or fatalities that occurred due to the faulty product.

Continue reading " Corollas Pose New Concern for Toyota " »