Articles Posted in Pennsylvania

Truck accident claims are markedly different than standard car accident lawsuits.  Truck accident lawyers face complexity with these claims that you do not see in car accident lawsuits.  If there is any takeaway from this page that you get, it should begin with someone with a history of handling car accident claims and is not necessarily a truck accident lawyer.  If you are in a truck accident, you need an experienced lawyer who knows how to handle the unique challenges of these cases to put you in the best position to maximize any truck accident settlement amount you may get as compensation for your injuries or the death of a loved one. See below for Pennsylvania truck accident news & updates.

Pennsylvania Truck Accident Laws

In Pennsylvania, the motor vehicle laws follow a “no-fault” system for minor accidents. This means that regardless of who is at fault, individuals involved in minor accidents must turn to their own insurance companies for compensation of medical expenses and certain other economic losses, up to the limits of their personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.

The term “birth injury” generally refers to a physical injury suffered by a baby during childbirth. A very high percentage of birth injuries are caused by negligent medical care during labor and delivery. Hundreds of birth injuries occur from medical negligence in Pennsylvania hospitals annually. The good news is that Pennsylvania law allows the parents of injured children to seek financial compensation. This page will look at Pennsylvania’s most common categories of birth injuries and (2) the types of medical negligence that cause them.

Common Types of Birth Injuries in Pennsylvania

Brachial Plexus Nerve Damage

This page will explain Pennsylvania wrongful death lawsuits.  We will explain how the Pennsylvania wrongful death statute works and who is eligible to bring a wrongful death lawsuit and get settlement compensation. We also explain the second cause of action in death cases, a survival action which provides a second path of compensation for the victim’s family

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Pennsylvania Personal Injury Law & Settlements

In Charlton v. Troy, a Pennsylvania Superior Court nixed a $40 million verdict, ordering a new trial in a birth injury lawsuit alleging excessive traction caused a severe spinal injury.

Facts of Charlton v. Troy

The case revolves around the events that occurred during the birth of the Charlton twins. Mrs. Charlton underwent routine prenatal testing at the hospital when she was 37 and a half weeks pregnant with twins. The ultrasound revealed that “Twin B” was 25 percent smaller than “Twin A,” indicating discordant growth and some tachycardia in Twin B.

Statutes of limitations can be very unfair.  But as harsh as the SOL can be, a statute of repose can far more Draconian, closing the courthouse steps on cases where the victims did everything they could to bring a timely action.

What is a statute of repose?  It is amazing how many tort lawyers do not know until they learn the hard way.   A statute of repose provides a date certain by which a claim must be brought.  In most states, there are no excuses.   Unlike a statute of limitations, it often cannot be tolled by the date the injury should have been discovered.

I can’t deny there is a purpose to the statute of repose.  The legislature wants to create some outer time limit where a claim is just too old to be pursued, no matter what.  But some states have these short statutes of repose, seven years in Pennsylvania, and only five in Maryland for medical malpractice cases that are just unfair.

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Max Kennerly writes about a lot of new bills being proposed in Pennsylvania. Any legislature can propose a bill and there is always someone in every legislature – on both sides of the aisle – who likes to put out radical bills so they can brag to their constituents about how crazy they are. Still, these proposed bills do not give you a warm fuzzy feeling about the political climate right now for injury victims.

Ultimately, I think the problem is that people want jobs or more stability in their jobs and that fear distracts them from thinking about the unlikely possibility that they will be seriously injured and want to be compensated for those injuries. Politicians love blaming personal injury lawyers because they are an easy target. Often, the people throwing the punches don’t really feel like oppressing tort victims is going to solve anything but they can’t resist grabbing the low hanging fruit of blaming lawyers. To make matters worse, we have a minority of personal injury lawyers who are more than willing to live up to the stereotype.

The average verdict in a Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit where the jury awards damages is $749,973, according to a recent Jury Verdict Research study. The median jury verdict Pennsylvania paints a little different picture: $36,400.