Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

The following is a guest post by Chicago wrongful death lawyers at Dolan Law Offices:

When we go to the doctor or the hospital emergency room, we expect the medical experts to be able to detect the cause of our distress, especially obvious medical problems.

In 1999, Michael Scarpa visited an emergency room in Scranton with complaints of chest pain and vomiting. The advice he received was to take cough medicine and go to his regular doctor the next business day. Unfortunately, Scarpa died two days later.

An autopsy revealed he had an ulcerated esophagus and died from sepsis, caused by food entering his pleural cavity through the hole in his esophagus. The doctors apparently never discovered his condition.

A jury awarded his widow $1.2 million on April 19,2010, after deliberating only four hours.The suit named the hospital and two doctors as defendants. The widow's attorney may additionally seek delay damages that could add another $700,000 to the recovery, and a Pennsylvania wrongful death action may also be an avenue to pursue.

The jury divided the negligence as follows: hospital 40 percent; one doctor, 30 percent; and the other doctor, 20 percent. Scarpa was assigned 10 percent of the fault, because he did not tell the doctors he had had surgery on his esophagus two years earlier.

Wrongful death attorneys can navigate these difficult waters and prove the necessary elements in a Pennsylvania medical malpractice case. To win such a case, you need to prove:

• that a doctor or hospital performed negligently (did not meet an accepted standard of care)


• that the patient suffered significant injury or damages


• that the doctor's or hospital's negligence caused the injury, i.e., was the causation

If the death of your loved one was caused by the negligent, careless or illegal conduct of another person, immediately seek an experienced wrongful death attorney who can help you with your case.

Dolan Law Offices is a Chicago law firm that is committed to provide excellent legal services to its clients. Its wrongful death lawyers represent families of wrongful death victims in Chicago and in the entire state of Illinois.

Dolan Law Offices
10 South Lasalle Street #3712
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 676-7600

A recent FDA food recall announcement stated that Rich Foods Corporation, of Buffalo, New York, issued a voluntary recall on June 18, 2010 of its Allen Bavarian Creme Filling. The filling may contain traces of pecans, milk, and coconut. Both pecans and milk are common allergens that must be listed on a food item's packaging. Allergies to coconut also exist, and all three types of allergies may be severe, and people who accidentally consume an item to which they are severely allergic may experience a life-threatening reaction.

Rich Foods Corporation announced that it had received no reports of anyone with an allergy to the undeclared milk, pecans, or coconut accidentally eating the crème filling. Instead, it issued the recall as a precautionary measure.

The crème filling was not sold in retail supermarkets. Instead, it was sold in 3.5-gallon pails to foodservice distributors and in-store bakeries nationwide, including stores in Pennsylvania. Rich Foods Corporation has recalled five separate batches of the filling due to undeclared allergens. The recalled batches bear production codes 11870137F21, F-22, F-23, F-24, and F-25. Businesses that purchased the filling are advised to remove it from their businesses and destroy it.

If you or someone you love has had an allergic reaction to a recalled or improperly labeled food, you may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer or business that prepared the food. The experienced Pennsylvania food recall injury lawyers at Anapol Schwartz can help you understand your legal rights and will fight for the compensation you deserve. Call Anapol Schwartz today at 866-735-2792 for a free case evaluation.

A recent PA Law Blogs post discusses a June 15, 2010 Death Notification Seminar in Conshohocken, PA in which personal injury trial attorney and managing partner of Anapol Schwartz, Joel Feldman, Esq., addressed helpful techniques for delivering news of a person’s death with compassion for the bereaved and with concern for the messenger in mind.

Informing family members about a sudden fatal accident that has taken the life of a beloved family member is not something that should be taken lightly. The way in which an individual is informed about a loved one’s death can greatly affect that individual in terms of coping with the loss. The seminar and its speakers, including Joel Feldman, Esq., hoped to offer guests a strong and broad understanding of what the needs are of someone who has recently lost a loved one in a tragic accident. Some of the issues addressed in the seminar related to:

• Coping Strategies


• Grief vs. Mourning


• Survivor Reactions Following Sudden Death


• Factors Which Influence Survivors’ Stress


• Who should notify

To read more about the seminar, please refer to the full blog post on PA Law Blogs.

Trial began recently in the case of a Cumberland Valley School District bus that hit a tree in Middlesex Township after an eight-year-old passenger put his hands over the bus driver's eyes according to The Patriot-News. The plaintiffs are the parents of a child injured in the crash. The defendants include the school district, the bus company Rohrer Inc. of Duncannon, and the driver, Chad Kovach.

In April 2006, the school bus involved in the accident was carrying the plaintiffs' three children and seven others when one of the children put his hands over the bus driver's eyes. The bus crashed into a tree, and the plaintiffs' youngest son, then in kindergarten, suffered a broken collarbone and cuts to his head. Police determined that the bus driver was not at fault for the crash.

In December 2009, a Cumberland County court ruled that the school district could not invoke governmental immunity to protect itself from the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs seek damages of $100,000. They claim that the bus should have had seat belts, that better discipline should have been maintained, and that a barrier should have separated the driver from the students. They say that they told the school district about their previous concerns about discipline on the bus and the long bus route, but were ignored.

In this case, the plaintiffs state that the bus company, the school district, and the bus driver all played a role in the events that caused their son's injuries. In bus accidents, the negligence of multiple parties may combine to create injuries that would never have occurred had all parties been exercising reasonable care. If you've been injured in an accident and you suspect multiple parties are at fault, please don't hesitate to contact the experienced Pennsylvania bus accident attorneys at Anapol Schwartz. Our attorneys will carefully review your case and seek to hold every responsible party accountable for its actions. Call Anapol Schwartz at (866) 735-2792 for a free and confidential consultation.

A sixteen-year-old boy drowned in a section of the Beaver River upstream from Fallston Bridge in New Brighton recently, according to Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE. The boy was swimming in the river with friends when he was pulled underwater by an underlying current. The remaining teenagers immediately called local emergency services for help.

The first responder to the scene was a Fallston firefighter, who tied a rope around his waist and entered the river in search of the missing swimmer. However, recent rains had stirred up sediment in the river, making the water murky and reducing visibility. The firefighter was unable to find the sixteen-year-old during his search and had to return to shore. Additional search crews searched for about an hour before they recovered the swimmer's body from the scene. Police are investigating the incident.

Swimming is a highly popular activity in the hot summer months. But swimming in moving water or waters not specifically indicated for swimming, like a river, can be dangerous. Fast-moving water can hide strong currents or hazards like rocks. It is important to heed any warnings posted by local authorities or by private landowners.

If you or someone you love has been injured while swimming, the experienced Pennsylvania drowning accident attorneys at Anapol Schwartz may be able to help. Our attorneys are committed to protecting your rights as we fight to win you the compensation you need to recover from an accident. If you have been injured due to another's negligence, please don't hesitate to call Anapol Schwartz today at 866-735-2792 to schedule a free and confidential consultation.

Work has resumed at two Pennsylvania natural gas wells owned by Houston-based EOG Resources, Inc. after the company resolved a blowout at a third natural gas well nearby. Based on an Associated Press report, inspectors from Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection examined the two wells but did not find any safety or environmental violations. Several other wells owned by EOG Resources remain closed.

The Department of Environmental Protection ordered work to stop at all three wells after an accident occurred at one well located on the grounds of the Punxsutawney Hunt Club in Clearfield County. On June 3, this well suffered a “blowout,” discharging natural gas and brine into the surrounding air for sixteen hours before workers managed to cap the well. Although the well did not catch fire and no one was injured, EOG Resources was ordered to close down operations until all three of its wells could be inspected.

The blowout consisted of both natural gas and a mixture of sand, water, and chemicals, which are inserted into a well to bring the gas to the surface. These chemicals are dangerous to humans and can kill fish and other wildlife if they are discharged into waterways. The Department of Environmental Protection is also taking water samples from nearby creeks to determine whether the well's discharge has damaged local waterways, but so far no contamination has been found.

Dangerous workplaces like natural gas wells pose risks to workers. Pennsylvania law requires employers to be sensitive to these risks, both by maintaining a safe workplace and by providing workers' compensation to injured employees. If you have been injured in a workplace accident, you may be entitled to workers' compensation and to other benefits, depending on the circumstances of your case. The experienced Pennsylvania workers' compensation attorneys at Anapol Schwartz can help you recover the compensation you deserve. Call (866) 735-2792 for a free and confidential consultation.

A teenager fell down a manhole while texting on her cell phone, according to a recent article released by NBC's Philadelphia affiliate. The fifteen-year-old girl fell four or five feet to the bottom of an open manhole while her vision was obscured by her cell phone. She suffered some scrapes on her arms and back. The girl was also severely shaken up by both the surprise of the fall and the unpleasant experience of landing in a sewer pipe. She was examined at a nearby hospital and then released.

The manhole cover had been removed by the Department of Environmental Protection, which planned to do some work in the area. Apparently, the employee who opened the manhole had turned his back to fetch some orange road cones intended to warn pedestrians about the hole. None of the department employees were watching at the moment that the teenager fell into the manhole, though they removed her promptly after her fall.

The family has announced that it intends to sue the Department of Environmental Protection for their daughter's injuries and suffering from the fall. Department workers who open manholes are supposed to block the sidewalk with warning signs in order to prevent pedestrian accidents such as these.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian accident in Philadelphia, it pays to know your rights. The experienced Pennsylvania pedestrian accident attorneys at Anapol Schwartz can help you understand your legal options after your accident and help you choose the best course of action. Our skilled legal team will help you hold negligent parties accountable. Call Anapol Schwartz today at 1-866-735-2792 to schedule a free and confidential consultation.

Slip and fall accidents in Pennsylvania can happen anywhere, even in the workplace. If you suffer a fall while at work and are injured, be prepared with a few simple steps you can take to protect yourself.

• Tell your supervisor as soon as possible. Include the fact that you were injured while at work, the type of injury, and the date and place you were injured. Your supervisor is required to report the injury to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers' Compensation once you have missed a day, a shift, or a turn of work. The faster you report your injury, the faster you can obtain needed workers' compensation benefits.


• Seek medical treatment. If your slip and fall has caused an injury, Pennsylvania law requires your employer to pay for reasonable and necessary medical treatment. If your employer has posted a list of physicians, you must choose your physician from this list and continue treatment with your chosen physician, or another from the list, for at least 90 days.


• Document your injury. Write down everything you can remember about where you fell, including the time of day, condition of the floor, the amount of lighting, and whether anything was on the floor that may have caused you to slip and fall. If someone else saw you fall, get that person's contact information and have him or her write down what he or she saw. The better you document your injury, the more protection you will have if you later have a dispute with your employer.

Pennsylvania state and federal law requires employers to provide a safe workplace, which includes minimizing slip and fall hazards. Nevertheless, falls at work happen. If you fall at work, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits, and a third party whose equipment may have lead to your fall may also be liable. If you or a loved one has been injured in a fall at work, please don't hesitate to contact a skilled Central Pennsylvania fall at work injury attorney at Anapol Schwartz. Our experienced lawyers will examine the details of your case and fight to protect your rights. Call Anapol Schwartz at 866-735-2792 to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.

Employees have a right to a safe workplace, even before an injury or accident occurs. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) gives workers the right to a safe workplace. Employees may review safety guidelines and report unsafe conditions either to their employer or to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) itself. Employees may also inform OSHA if they have been discriminated against or harassed at work because they pointed out an unsafe condition.

OSHA complaints can be filed online, on paper, or by calling your regional OSHA office. OSHA recommends calling the regional office if a workplace hazard is creating an emergency or is immediately life-threatening. It may also be wise to call 911 or your local emergency number in this situation as well.

Before reporting a hazard to OSHA, first report it to your employer. Your employer may be able to correct the hazard without delay. Employees can, however, contact OSHA at any time “if they believe there is a violation of a safety or health standard, or if there is any danger that threatens physical harm, or if an ‘imminent danger’ exists.” You can also contact OSHA either before or after a workplace accident occurs.

Preventing accidents on the job in Pennsylvania is one of the best ways to avoid them, and laws require safe workplaces to exist for exactly this reason. If you or a loved one is injured in a Philadelphia workplace accident, however, you have certain legal rights. To discuss your legal rights and options after a workplace accident and take steps to protect them, call the skilled Philadelphia hurt at work attorneys at Anapol Schwartz today. Please call 1-866-735-2792 to schedule a free and confidential consultation.

Truck accidents are often caused by driver mistakes and inattention, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)'s Large Truck Crash Causation Study. The study reviewed data from truck crashes that caused death or injury between 2001 and 2003.

The study found that brake problems in trucks accounted for nearly one-third of truck crashes during those years. Following close behind were speeding drivers, who were responsible for 23 percent of the crashes. Drivers who were unfamiliar with upcoming road conditions accounted for 20 percent of the total, and drivers using over-the-counter drugs made up another 17 percent. Drivers' failure to pay proper attention to the road, fatigue, and feeling under pressure from their employers, all accounted for another large share of big rig crashes. FMCSA notes that many truck crashes may have had multiple causes.

FMCSA also compared the truck driver data with information about passenger cars that had collided with the trucks in the study. The data showed that alcohol use, fatigue, and illness on the part of the cars' drivers made collisions with an improperly operated truck even more likely, since such drivers were less able to drive defensively to protect themselves from the accident.
Federal regulations make it clear that truck drivers should not drive when they are fatigued, sick, or under the influence of drugs. Nevertheless, some drivers operate large trucks under these conditions, and sometimes, tragedy results.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a collision with a large truck, you need to stay informed of your legal rights. A skilled Harrisburg truck accident attorney at Anapol Schwartz is prepared to help. Our experienced injury attorneys will review the details of your case and fight to protect your legal rights after a tractor-trailer accident in Pennsylvania. Call Anapol Schwartz today at 1-866-735-2792 to schedule a free and confidential consultation.