Posts Tagged ‘client’

DLP was recently retained by a clint working in the natural gas drilling industry who was involved in a serious automobile accident in Susquehanna County.  DLP is currently investigating the matter on behalf of its new client.  The twelve lawyers at DLP handle serious truck accident and automobile accident cases throughout Nortest  and Central Pennsylvania.

Dougherty, Leventhal and Price personal injury Attorneys Patrick E Dougherty, Joseph G. Price and Paul T. Oven settled a motor vehicle accident case against a paving company winning $14.5 million for their client. The client sustained traumatic injuries in the one car crash.

The client turned out of a driveway and traveled about a half mile when the passenger side tires left the road and dropped six inches in an open and exposed dirt shoulder. Traveling at about 45 mph, the tires ran along the dirt shoulder. The client then over-steered the vehicle back into the road, yawed and then struck two trees. The impact of the crash nearly threw the plaintiff through the rear window.

The paving company contracted with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to pave and shoulder more than 40 miles on a number of roads.

Shouldering and paving is a process whereby the edges of the road are prepared and two layers of surface are laid. Afterward, steps are to be taken to immediately restore the shoulders of the road or to protect or warn the public about the open road edge and drop off.

Despite completing the edge and paving work, the paving company did not shoulder the road or protect or warn the public about it at any time prior to completing the shoulder work.

Now a quadriplegic, the client spent months in various hospitals for intensive physical therapy and rehabilitation. A life care plan was prepared outlining the extensive costs associated with future medical care and medical management. The client is now at home under 24 hour care.

On July 7, 2006, Governor Rendell signed Senate Bill 1205 which requires all lawyers to certify that before a client receives a personal injury award or lump sum workers’ comp award, the client does not owe back child support. This law effects all settlements, judgments, arbitration awards, and workers’ compensation awards with net proceeds in excess of $5,000.
The new law effectively permits the Department of Public Welfare to intercept overdue child support from lump sum monetary awards or settlements paid by insurers and workers’ compensation carriers. Any award is stayed in the amount of the child support lien pending payment of the lien.
Before distributing any payments from an award or settlement, the attorney must be provided by the client with a statement setting forth the client’s name, address, date of birth, and social security number along with the amount of any child support arrearages. If there are no arrearages, then the attorney must confirm that no arrearages exist.
To determine if there is a child support arrearage/lien, a free search can be conducted on the child support section of the DPW website at: www.humanservices.state.pa.us/csws

Thomas P. Cummings, Esq. January 3, 2007