Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

A jury in Carlisle Pennsylvania listened attentively to the testimony of Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of the state Labor Department, who is accused of driving drunk and crashing his state issued vehicle with a parked car. The report stated that the 50-year-old secretary testified that he was completely sober and had absolutely nothing to drink prior to him running into a parked car at approximately 3 a.m. He did admit to having some drinks shortly afterwards, specifically three or four beers and two whiskey drinks. Cumberland County prosecutor strongly contended the deputy secretary’s testimony pointing out that his blood alcohol level was higher than twice the limit four hours after the crash.

Fortunately no one was injured in this car crash, but it does raise eyebrows in regards to the justice system. In this country, everyone has a right to a trial, but we hope that no one is given any special favors. In this case, it appears that the deputy secretary was completely intoxicated when he crashed and is now trying to save himself going as far as to lie under oath in the courtroom. The owner of the vehicle should be able to receive full compensation from the deputy secretary.

Continue reading " PA Official Testifies in Carlisle Courtroom that He Was Not Drunk Driving " »

A lawsuit alleges that the famous former Wrestler Hulk Hogan, his wife, and their son are culpable in the tragic car accident that left a friend of the Hogan son and Iraq veteran with a serious brain injury, the celebrity news website eonline.com reported. The 23-year-old friend was a passenger in Hogan’s son Toyota Supra that had been altered for racing. They were racing another friend who was driving a Dodge Viper that is also owned by Hulk Hogan. The race ended with the Supra crashing into a palm tree.

The lawsuit also alleges that the Hogan parents are responsible for their son driving “reckless and negligent” and that “they not only encouraged it, but they did not take appropriate action to stop it and to protect the safety of the public.”

Hogan’s son has had a history of speed driving since he acquired his license in 2005, including twice being pulled over for driving in excess of 100 miles per hour in 2006, and three separate speeding tickets in 2007. The lawsuit claims that Hogan’s son was a drift racer akin to the Movie The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Most implicating is the accusation that Mrs. Hogan was heard saying, “Oh, I love it. I love it. The rush, the speed on the road, stereo-blasting, heat-pounding, racing in between all the cars, dodging the cops. It’s awesome.”

In addition, the lawsuit claims that Mr. Hogan, the co-owner of the car, purchased the alcohol that was consumed on the day of the accident and furthermore Mr. Hogan was aware or should have been aware that his son had customized his car, in effect making it “exceedingly dangerous instrumentality for his son.”

Continue reading " Hulk Hogan and Wife Facing Lawsuit Alleging they Encouraged Son to Race " »

The news got a little bit worse for doctors in Pennsylvania. According to a post-gazette.com article, the money that doctors have been paying for a statewide fund to use in case of large medical malpractice lawsuits will be $100 million less, which represents two thirds of the total. This money will be transferred over to the state’s general fund because Pennsylvania is trying to balance its 3.2 billion deficit. Hopefully this action does not lead to poorer healthcare when the patient goes in to see a physician.

An aide to House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Hazleton said, “This is not an element of the budget that currently is in dispute. This money would be used as part of our overall strategy at plugging a $3.2 billion deficit that we face this year. If we don’t do this … we face a significant tax increase next year.”

Director of governmental affairs for the Pennsylvania Medical Society, said, “We believe we have a vested property right to that money.” Doctors have found it difficult to find insurance so they setup the fund in the 1970’s to protect them from Pennsylvania medical malpractice judgments. Doctors are mandated by state law to not only have their own insurance but to also pay money into the fund known as the Mcare insurance fund. The association also alleges the state of not transferring yearly surplus funds over to the next year, which they claim makes everything more expensive for everyone.

This is not the first time the medical society and the state have tangled in court as the medical association accused the state of withholding $616 million from going into the Mcare fund from money collected through a cigarette tax. The state went so far as to say they did not have to transfer the money. A Commonwealth Court ruled that the state’s motion to throw out the case was denied.

Continue reading " PA Will Take 100 Million of Doctor's Medical Malpractice Fund " »

Target has violated a ban on lead toys, which has been in place for 30 years, and has been fined $600,000 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for selling these toxic toys to our children. Many would think that this is just a drop in the bucket for a large corporation such as Target. The commission uncovered that Target “knowingly” imported and sold the toys in addition to neglecting to take adequate action to ensure that no toys or children’s products would bear lead-containing paint.

Target denies these awful and damaging allegations. The toys were made in China and sold between May 2006 and August 20007 for prices from $3 to $10 dollars in Target stores countrywide. Toys affected include Kool Toyz Products, Anima - Bamboo Collection Games, Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Sunny Patch Chair.

It is unacceptable that we still have to question stores that we trust to do the right thing and ensure that the products they are putting on their shelves are safe for consumers, especially products intended for our beloved children.

Continue reading " Shame on Target, U.S. Government Fines Them for Selling Toys with Toxic Levels of Lead " »

A news report on the wdtv.com website informed the public of a dreadful pedestrian accident involving an SUV which took the life of a Pennsylvania man in front of the Cottrrells Store in Morgantown. Sheriffs from the Mon County Department reported that at approximately 9:30 p.m. a 56 year old woman was behind the wheel of a Dodge Durango heading north on Point Marion Road when she ran over a the 43 year old man.

Emergency response teams transported the victim to Ruby Memorial Hospital via ambulance but it was too late, and doctors pronounced him dead. Authorities are investigating the circumstances that led up to the accident and urge the public with any relevant information regarding this case to call the sheriff’s department at (304) 291-7260.

Many of us enjoy eating foods that may not be to healthy for us, which in turn, leads many us to exercise to try to burn some of those pounds off. Many Americans choose to do their exercise outdoors in various fashions such as biking, jogging, or simply taking a stroll around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, each day in the United States, innocent pedestrians are injured by negligent motor vehicle drivers. The effects on injured pedestrians can be quite serious, including broken bones, comas, paralysis, brain injury, and even death as in this story.

Continue reading " Pennsylvania Pedestrian Killed by SUV in Morgantown " »

Even though the FDA has not issued a recall of popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin as of September 2009, it is understandable for many consumers to have various questions of concern regarding the serious medical conditions that can result from taking these medications. One of the main questions refers to what kinds of dangers are linked to Yaz and Yasmin.

First of all, both Yaz and Yasmin contain a type of hormone that most birth control pills do not contain. Drospirenone (DRSP) has been linked to be the cause of increasing a woman’s potassium levels, which can create health problems for a woman who has liver, adrenal, or kidney disease. There have also been multiple incidents of Yaz and Yasmin increasing the chances of a woman suffering deep vein thrombosis (blood clot), stroke, heart attack, and other serious medical issues.

Another major question that consumers have been asking is whether studies have been conducted to support claims that Yaz and Yasmin can inflict serious injury. One study performed in the Netherlands discovered that all birth control pills raise the risk of blot clots by five times. What is more shocking, however, is that due to containing DRSP, Yaz and Yasmin have been shown to increase the risk by 6.3 times. In recognizing these dangerous Yaz side effects, the FDA issued a letter of warning to Bayer, the drugs’ manufacturer, regarding questionable results from tests for key ingredients in the pills and said that many batches of the oral contraceptive should never have been given to the public.

Continue reading " Yaz and Yasmin Questions of Concern for Consumers " »