Philadelphia Top Injury Lawyer Blog

Emotional damages are often an important part of my work as a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer. Cases involving injuries to infants and small children are emotionally compelling, of course -- and because the children are so young, there's no immediate income loss to claim as financial damages. However, when we handle this kind of case, it's almost always with emotional damages as a component of a claim for financial damages; an emotional claim alone is not typical. So I was very interested to see the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's ruling in Toney v. Chester County Hospital et al., in which Jeanelle Antoinette Toney filed what might be called a wrongful life case in other states. Toney sued for negligent infliction of emotional distress after an ultrasound failed to turn up severe physical abnormalities in her son.

Toney underwent her ultrasound four months before giving birth to a son with no limbs below his knees or elbows, a hernia, and deformations of the jaw, tongue and penis. All parties agree that the defendants -- including the doctor, the hospital and several medical organizations -- represented the results of the ultrasound as normal. Toney claimed in her lawsuit that this prevented her from preparing herself for the shock of seeing her son's abnormalities, leading to stress, anxiety, depression and other symptoms of emotional distress. She did not claim that the defendants caused the abnormalities; she clamed only damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Defendants successfully moved to dismiss the NIED claims, arguing that Toney failed to state a claim because her claims didn't fit existing theories of NIED and because the defendants did not cause bodily harm to her or the child.

The Superior Court reversed on appeal, finding that Toney adequately stated a claim for NIED based on a contractual or fiduciary duty -- the duty of care in the doctor-patient relationship. It also found that the distress to Toney was reasonably foreseeable and that physical symptoms from emotional distress meet the physical injury requirement. The defendants appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Making new law in Pennsylvania, the high court found for Toney. It divided the appeal into two questions. On the issue of whether NIED can be claimed based on a contractual or fiduciary relationship, the Supreme Court relied on the decisions of other states that have found a special-relationship basis for a NIED claim. This type of claim follows the lead of other NIED claims, in that it's limited to cases with a preexisting relationship with the potential for deep emotional harm from a breach; the potential emotional harm must be deep and extraordinary. In finding this implied duty for medical professionals, the court ruled that Toney's claim should survive summary judgment. On the issue of whether a physical effect was required, the court noted that caselaw has previously required this. However, it said, it has also allowed exceptions for the distress of bystanders or victims of near-misses, and sometimes awarded damages for negligible physical impacts masking serious emotional impacts. Concluding that physical impact is "a flawed tool," the court discarded the requirement. Thus, it found Toney had stated a claim and remanded her case for further proceedings.

As a Pennsylvania medical negligence lawyer, I am happy to see that my Pennsylvania clients will now be able to claim emotional damages even in the absence of physical harm. In cases like this, the emotional effect of the medical professionals' alleged failures is clear and obvious: Toney was confronted with an unexpected shock shortly after giving birth, not the healthy son she had come to expect. In addition, she was also likely asked to make difficult decisions about medical treatment for the child. Depression, which is already a risk for new mothers, must be substantially more likely in such a case. If the ultrasound had been misread in a way that prevented timely medical care, it would be an undisputed failure to meet basic standards of care in Pennsylvania. That the misreading did not create any physical harm in this case is nothing more than luck, and in my opinion as a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer, not something we should condone by removing liability.

Continue reading "Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Plaintiff May Claim Emotional Distress Only in Medical Case - Toney v. Chester County Hospital" »

As a Philadelphia accident lawyer, I was interested to see an insurance coverage dispute arising in neighboring Ohio over a serious auto accident. The Barbee family was traveling through Wisconsin when they were involved in a crash that was not their fault. They spent more than four years seeking full compensation from the at-fault driver's insurance company, but were unable to collect as much money as they needed to cover their injuries -- unfortunately not an uncommon situation. Thus, they sued their own insurer, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., which argued that the three-year deadline to sue had already passed. The trial court and an appeals court found in the Barbees' favor in Barbee v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., but the Ohio Supreme Court reversed, finding the contract unambiguous.

The Barbees' insurance contract contained a provision requiring any lawsuit to be filed within three days of the accident. Other provisions required insureds to fully exhaust all other liability insurance before payment, and said insureds may not sue until they have fully complied with the contract. The Barbees put Nationwide on notice of potential claims after the crash, but Nationwide itself sued the unnamed tortfeasors first, to recover the cost of the family's medical care. More than two years after the crash, the Barbees sued in Wisconsin federal court. They eventually won, but because most of the fault was attributed to a deceased person, the estate could not cover all of their costs. More than four years after the crash, the Barbees sued Nationwide in Ohio state court to collect on underinsured motorist coverage. Nationwide moved for summary judgment because of the three-year provision, but the court denied this because of the exhaustion provision. Nationwide appealed to Ohio's Ninth District Court of Appeals, which agreed -- finding that the two provisions together were ambiguous, and ambiguities in insurance contracts should be construed in favor of the insured.

Nationwide's appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court was more successful. In essence, the court said, the dispute was over when the three-year period starts: at the time of the accident or when the insureds exhaust all other liability insurance limits in service of subrogation rights. While ambiguous contracts are generally construed against the drafter, the Ohio Supreme Court said, caselaw removes some of the ambiguity. Under Ross v. Farmers Insurance Group, the high court found that the right to payment may be limited until after other claims are exhausted, but that does not affect the accrual of the claim itself. The limits of the tortfeasors' policies never changed, the court noted, and there was no other special circumstance. The exhaustion provision limits the insured's right to receive payment, the court said, but does not require the insured to exhaust other avenues before filing suit. The high court rejected the argument that this would create a flood of unnecessary lawsuits, saying it seems to be common practice to file an uninsured motorist suit before the suit against the tortfeasor is finished, with many of these suits being stayed. Judges Pfeifer and McGee Brown dissented, arguing that requiring insureds to sue before knowing that they need the coverage is a waste of everyone's time and money.

As a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer, I must agree. Requiring plaintiffs to sue insurance companies before establishing the need for the coverage makes more work for attorneys like me, so it could be considered a win. But for my injured clients, who are generally not wealthy, it is very much a loss. More lawsuits require more time and money. Both of those are especially precious commodities to people who have suffered a serious injury or a loss in the family, because they are often saddled with huge medical bills and aren't able to earn as much money as they once did. In that situation, drawing out the case creates more unpaid bills and more anxiety and may even delay medical treatment. It may also be considered unfair in situations like the Barbees', where they had no reason to believe they needed uninsured motorist coverage until well into their first case. I agree that it's more efficient as well as more fair to start the three-year waiting period once this is discovered.

Continue reading "Deadline to Sue Insurance Company Applies Even When Policy Not Exhausted, Court Rules - Barbee v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance" »

A personal injury lawsuit was recently filed against one Philadelphia police officer after a man claimed that he fired his weapon during an off duty night of drinking. Philadelphia Daily News reported that the lawsuit charges Officer Thomas Schaffling with firing his weapon "wildly around 3 a.m. on March 26 after leaving an after-hours club in the Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia."

It is alleged that Schaffling began firing the weapon after becoming upset that he could not locate his car in the parking lot. Two men who were in the parking lot claimed that Schaffling threatened to kill them before he started shooting and later injured them.
One of the men was grazed by a bullet under his arm and was later treated for injury at Aria Health's Frankfort campus before being released. The other, who also reportedly suffered personal injury at the hands of Schaffling, has not yet had his identity or injuries released.

Schaffling is reported to have been reprimanded for drunken and disorderly conduct prior to the incident this Spring as well. If you have been the victim of personal injury or if you or a loved one has been the victim of wrongful death or personal injury, contact a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer or a Philadelphia accident lawyer immediately.

A deadly motorcycle crash in East Falls Philadelphia was a tragic start to this Memorial Day weekend. Two motorcycle riders who were riding their bikes around Roosevelt Boulevard and Ridge Avenue early Saturday morning, have now been pronounced dead.

Police say the crash occurred around the early morning hours Saturday, approximately at 1 a.m. One of the drivers who has now been identified as Willie Singletary, 54, of Yeadon, Delaware County, lost control of his motorcycle after striking a guard rail. Singletary was ejected from the vehicle and suffered such serious injuries that he was soon pronounced dead at Albert Einstein Medical Center just one hour later around 2 a.m.

More details about this crash are under investigation. According to reports, Teresa Gibson of Philadelphia was also killed in the Saturday morning crash. Northbound Route One was closed for several hours after Saturday's accident. There is still no word on the exact cause of the crash.

Many motorcyclists become injured or are killed each year while riding their bikes on main roads, sometimes at no fault of their own. Often times, actions caused by other drivers, particularly those in cars and other larger vehicles cause injuries to motorcycle riders. If your loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident or other motor vehicle accident, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer or a Philadelphia accident lawyer right away.

Several young Philadelphia residents protested at a Center City hotel today with signs in hand that read things like "Killer Coal Pollution" and "Protect Philadelphia, No Toxic Mercury." These protestors are looking to protect Philadelphians from the injuries and fatal health conditions they may face from unsafe coal emissions that come out of the many smoke stacks atop the city.

The sign holders came out to protest in the wake of the hearing in Philadelphia about proposed new power plant regulations. These regulations have been needed for years according to city environmentalists and health advocates.

The regulations have been put off thus far due to the high costs of changing operations at the city's power plants, but Dr. Devin Osterhoudt of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reminded reportes that "we're paying anyway." In 2007 Philadelphia spent $56 billion in health care for asthma exacerbations that can be blamed in part by the pollution, he told today's panel. According to many, this pollution poses injury and health risks especially to children and elderly Philadelphia residents.

If you or a loved one has been injured in the Philadelphia area or has been a victim of medical malpractice, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer of a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible.

Philadelphia police are investigating a tragic accident this evening. They are still looking into just what circumstances caused a car to slam into a home early Monday morning. Both the car and the home in this accident were badly damaged.

According to CBS Philly the crash happened when a car crashed into a home between 61st and Sansom Streets in West Philadelphia. Investigators say that the driver of the car may have lost control and slammed into the house hitting both an exterior wall and the front steps.
Luckily, there have been no injuries reported at this time, but the condition of the home owner and the driver of the car both remain under investigation.

More than 6 million car accidents occur in the United States each year, many in Pennsylvania and the areas surrounding Philadelphia. Some sources have even reported that one death occurs due to a car accident occurs every 13 minutes. These terrifying statistics remind us that we must protect ourselves and our love ones and fight to ensure that they are taken care of after sustaining injuries from a car crash that was no fault of their own. If you've been involved in a car accident, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer or a Philadelphia accident lawyer today.

A recent case of medical malpractice reminds us that doctor negligence should be looked out for not only in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania area, but also anywhere throughout the country. In this near fatal case of medical professional negligence, the Illinois based plaintiff, a 61-year-old female, visited her primary care physician in April 2008 complaining of pneumonia-like symptoms.

After taking a chest x-ray, her physician gave her a clean bill of health, failing to diagnose and inform her of the presence of a large mass that appeared on her chest x-ray. The physician did not perform any follow up testing.

The physician's lack of action, which was later found to be negligent by a court of law, caused the patient's lung cancer to not be identified until it had progressed to Stage IV lung cancer, 22 months after her initial complaints and visit, according to reports. Failure to diagnose and treat certain cancers at an early stage can make prognosis much more dismal than if diagnosed in earlier stages.

If you suspect you were not given the proper care and follow up by a doctor or medical professional or that you were not given the treatment you needed, contact a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer or a Philadelphia injury lawyer today.

A Florida man driving a tour bus in New York City is being charged with DWI and vehicular manslaughter after an accident that occurred just before 10 p.m. on Saturday evening. The man ran over pedestrian Timothy White, a Philadelphia resident who was visiting New York City that day. The tour bus struck the victim as it was headed from West 47th Street and making a turn onto 9th Avenue.

Police say the tour bus driver carelessly ran over the victim, who was just 29 years old and found unconscious and severely injured underneath the tour bus after the accident. Victim Timothy White was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he died from the injuries sustained.
Although the tour bus was carrying passengers, none of them were reportedly injured from the accident. It has not yet been reported where the tour bus was coming from or where it was headed.

Fifty-seven-year-old Steve Drappel of West Palm Beach, Florida has been arrested and charged in this case. This incident is sadly one of the many suspected to be caused by the negligence of drivers of mass transit vehicles that has occurred over the past few months in the Philadelphia and New York areas.

Drivers of commercial vehicles, if found guilty, as well as the company they work for may be responsible for providing serious compensation to the victims and their families in order to pay for the injury and tragic losses caused. If you or a loved one has been involved in a similar case, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer or a Philadelphia accident lawyer right away.

Early Wednesday morning in Philadelphia, a driver and SEPTA trolley collided at 39th Street and Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia.

According to reports from police, the driver was driving in the trolley lane at the time of the accident. The driver side-swiped the oncoming trolley causing serious damage to his car and minor damage to the Philadelphia SEPTA trolley.

The driver was taken to the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital after reporting neck and back pain. It is not yet known if anyone who was riding on the trolley has suffered any injuries from the crash.

The accident is still under investigation, but Philadelphia injury lawyers urge that parties involved in accidents like this to be sure to see a Philadelphia accident lawyer or a Philadelphia injury lawyer right away. Within the last several years, there have been several accidents in Philadelphia and surrounding areas of Pennsylvania involving SEPTA service vehicles.

When it is uncertain at the scene just who may have caused an auto accident, an innocent party could be at risk of being wrongly convicted or not receiving the damages they may be entitled to. In order to help prevent such undesirable outcomes, it is recommended that you call an expert Philadelphia attorney immediately.

Police are speculating that a 20 year old suspect was high on heroin when he caused a terrible car crash that proved fatal for Amari Clark a 12 year old girl from Illinois. The suspect, Andrew Fraticelli is being charged with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide.

Police are saying Fraticelli was under the influence at about 8:30 p.m. on Friday night when he crossed the centerline and crashed head on into a Taurus being driven by Apryl Sherrod, the victim's mother. Sherrod was also injured in the crash and was unconscious at the scene.

Currently Fraticelli is being held on $250 thousand bond. Although the suspect is not believed to have a prior criminal record, these charges are severe enough to put him behind bars for a long time.

Accidents like these in which innocent victims lose their life or are seriously injured occur too often across the Philadelphia area. Victims' families often have a hard enough time coping with the emotional grief, let alone navigating the logistics of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. It is important to call a Philadelphia injury lawyer right away, if you should find yourself or a loved one to be a victim. The Philadelphia injury lawyer will see that your case is handled while you take the necessary time to deal with the emotional burdens of this type of case.

There has been a great deal in the news lately about charter bus accidents. Recent tragic accidents involving charter busses have sadly injured and killed many Philadelphia residents as well as citizens from surrounding cities.

Recent events make us take a look back at the tragic Septa Philadelphia bus crash of 2008. On September 13th of 2008 an overnight accident involving a Septa bus injured 20 people in West Philadelphia. The driver of a car traveling on 51st Street was said to have struck the Route 21 bus. The collision forced the bus to veer of the road and into a tree around the 5100 block of Chestnut Street.

After the crash, it was found that 20 people including the bus driver suffered mild to moderate injuries. Fortunately, in this case, none of the injuries were life threatening. The driver of the vehicle that struck the bus, who also suffered minor injuries, was charged with DUI after being treated at a Philadelphia area hospital.

In the case of a commercial auto accident, finding out who is responsible for compensation the victims so that their medical and financial needs are taken care of after the accident can be tricky. Similar complications could be seen in the recent Ride the Ducks accident in Philadelphia in which families of the victims filed suits against multiple parties involved.

Those who find themselves confused about who might be responsible for their injury can contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer. A Philadelphia injury lawyer will be will help you to decipher who just may be responsible.

Medical malpractice is defined as any act or failure to act by a health care professional diminishing or deviating the accepted standards of services and practices of the medical community. Some also define it simply as professional negligence.

As in every lawsuit, medical malpractice lawsuits are comprised of the plaintiff and the defendant. Medical malpractice lawsuits, however, are different than other law suits in a few distinct ways. This holds true in Pennsylvania and from state to state.

One major difference is that the cause might be more daunting and drawn out than a usual case. This is because it can sometimes be hard to prove whether or not medical malpractice really occurred. A successful case must prove that a legal duty of medical care and treatment was supposed to be undertaken by a health care officer or health care institution on the patient or plaintiff's behalf and wasn't.

For a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff will need a highly specialized lawyer such as a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer. Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers know state law intimately and can help to navigate your case as smoothly as possible to reach a settlement.

In some medical malpractice cases, a power of attorney or loved one, may have to act on behalf the patient, who may have suffered death or debilitating injury due to the medical malpractice at hand. If you suspect you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, you'll need to act right away by taking the first step and calling a lawyer.

In a tragic case of hit and run, a Philadelphia bicyclist was seriously injured after being hit by a motorist this weekend. Meurig James, a Philadelphia area resident, is being called a "lucky" survivor of such a serious accident.

Mr. James is an award winning amateur cyclist who can no longer walk at this time. His injuries include bleeding into the lungs, a broken right collarbone, a fractured ankle, fractured patella (knee cap), and a collection of blood in his abdomen. Doctors at the University of Penn, where he is being treated, feel that James will need months of rehabilitation just to get strength back in his legs, hopefully enough to walk again.

According to reports, he was hit riding his bicycle Friday evening just after 7 p.m. near the Please Touch Museum. The driver of the car, likely a white SUV, never stopped. Mr. Jame's employer is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the driver, who, according to the victims girlfriend, knew he hit someone and just drove off. The Philadelphia accident is under investigation as police are using car parts found on the scene in hopes that they may be lead to the driver.

Cases like these are extraordinarily sad. Accident victims suffer months, possibly even much longer out of work, lost wages, financial damages, emotional hardship and more due to their injuries. If you or a loved one has been the victim of an accident, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer or a Philadelphia accident lawyer right away.

It's been a rough winter for those in in Philadelphia and along the entire East Coast. Record levels of snow, ice, and freezing rain have fallen throughout the region and become quite the challenge for those who live, work, commute, and walk around the Philadelphia area.

This week, several inches of ice and freezing rain fell across a large region of the country again. This storm left several business parking lots, town sidewalks, and streets icy and unplowed as already cash strapped businesses slacked on taking care of the ice on their property. With so many storms this year, several businesses are running low on snow and ice removal funds.

A Philadelphia injury lawyer advises you to be careful, as what this could mean to you or a loved one is a slip and fall accident as a result of ice or slick snow. If you have become injured due to a slip and fall on ice or snow you may be able to receive compensation from whoever is determined to be responsible.

This all will depend on where you fell, when you fell, what the weather conditions were like when you fell and more. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries from a slip and fall, do not hesitate to contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer to find out what you may be entitled to today.

A gas and water main break at the 6900 block of Torresdale Avenue in Philadelphia occurred last night around 7.19 p.m. and turned out to cause much more destruction than ever expected. The leak caused a 50 foot tall fireball to explode resulting in a three alarm fire. The blast set fire to at least two homes and several cars including a PGW truck. The horrific incident, according to one witness, caused homes in the neighborhood to shake and sknocked a man over who was standing next to him.

Several firefighters were injured in last night's gas explosion and sadly, the blast has left one 19 year old PGW worker dead. Several Philadelphia residents lost all of their belongings as a result of the leak and resulting fire and fire ball explosion. Those injured were treated at Torresdale Hospital. At least one victim was taken to the burn center having suffered serious burns. Fortunately several dozen residents as well as individuals who were working at nearby businesses were evacuated from the surround structures as soon as authorities were aware that the water main had been breached.

The cause of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania gas explosion is still underway while several alarmed residents are wondering just who is responsible for this tragedy. Similar incidents have been linked to a gas company's failure to accurately install, maintain, or replace gas mains. If you are the victim of this tragic accident or a similar accident in which you were injured, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer or a Philadelphia accident lawyer right away.