ISSUE:          Does Paul’s wife and his child have a claim against Paul for his negligence?

ANSWER:     Yes. Despite the family relationship here, Paul’s wife and child will be able to bring an action against Paul’s insurance company to recover for their pain and suffering as well as medical coverage above and beyond that which is already contracted for under Paul’s insurance policy. This will be important because both Paul’s wife and his one child will have medical bills far in excess of the $5,000.00 coverage that Paul has.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column. 

            As it turned out, the car that struck Carol and Dave’s vehicle had minimum insurance with only $15,000.00 in coverage. That amount would have been grossly inadequate to cover the injuries of any one of the victims let alone all four. It was also unfortunate that neither Carol and Dave nor Jim and Sue had underinsurance on their own vehicles. Thus the four injured victims would have to split up the $15,000.00.

ISSUE:          How will the money be split?

ANSWER:     The insurance company for the negligent driver will simply pay the money into court and allow the court to divide up the money. Unfortunately, no matter how the division occurs, none of the four victims will be compensated even closely for the amount of damages that they sustained physically and economically. Every insured driver should make sure they have adequate underinsurance coverage on their policy and carry at least $100,000.00 in coverage.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column. 

Although seat belt use is required by law in Pennsylvania, it is considered a secondary offense.  As a secondary offense, a motorist can not be stopped by the police and cited simply for not wearing a seat belt.   Tne police can only stop a vehicle if there is a primary offense observed.  If the police stop a vehicle based on a primary offense (such as speeding) and the police also observe that the driver was  not wearing a seat belt, the driver could then be charged with both speeding and failure to wear a seat belt.

If a negligence claim is filed for personal injuries suffered as a result of a motor vehicle accident (auto or truck), the question of whether the injured party was wearing a seat belt is often raised.  The reason the question arises is because the defendant driver wants to argue that if the injured party had been wearing a seat belt, he may not have been injured or his injuries may not have been as serious.  Thus, seat belt use goes to the issue of an injured person’s contributory/comparative negligence.  However, evidence of seat belt use (or the lack thereof) is strictly prohibited by 75 Pa.C.S.A. 4581 (e) in court.

The attorneys at Dougherty, Leventhal & Price, L.L.P. represent auto and truck (tractor-trailer) accident injury victims throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.  DLP regularly represents clients injured due to the negligence of others in the following counties: Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, Schuylkill, Wyoming, Montour, Lycoming, Sullivan, Monroe, Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga and Columbia.  If you or anyone you know needs legal representation for serious injuries suffered in an automobile or tractor-trailer accident, call (or advise them to call) a lawyer at DLP as soon as possible after the accident for a free no-obligation consultation.

ISSUE:          Should Tammy submit her medical bills to her health care insurance or through her employer’s Workers’ Compensation insurance?

ANSWER:     Tammy’s employer’s Workers’ Compensation carrier will be responsible to pay all of Tammy’s bills as well as her lost time benefits. The fact that Tammy had not actually started working makes no difference. Since Tammy fell in her employer’s parking lot on her way into work, she would be covered. Likewise, if Tammy was in a car accident on her employer’s property when she was arriving at or leaving work, she would be covered as well.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column. 

ISSUE:          Is Tom’s attorney correct?

ANSWER:     No. Our Motor Vehicle Act defines serious injury as “an injury resulting in death, serious impairment to a bodily function, or permanent disfigurement.” Several factors must be considered to determine if the claimed injury is serious: (1) The extent of the impairment; (2)  The length of time the impairment lasted; (3) The treatment required to correct the impairment; and (4) any other relevant factors. Our courts have held that an injury  need not be permanent to be serious. What the court will focus on is not only the injuries but how the injuries affected a particular bodily function.

            As a result of his neck injury, Mike will be prevented from performing some of the functions of his job as a linesman and in all likelihood will need some type of medication for the rest of his life.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column. 

In the meantime, Tony kept on waiting for payment of his compensation benefit checks. Despite numerous calls to the insurance carrier, the payments were not made. Tony was forced to retain a lawyer to intercede on his behalf and institute litigation.

Normally an attorney charges a 20% fee against compensation that is due and owing to an individual upon the successful completion of the compensation case. The attorney cannot charge a fee before the Administrative judge approves the same. There are situations where the compensation carrier, as in Tony’s case, has no reasonable basis to deny the claim. This is referred to as an unreasonable contest. In those situations the Workers’ Compensation Judge can order the Workers’ Compensation carrier to pay Tony’s legal fees in addition to paying Tony his workers compensation checks. In essence, the 20% will not come out of Tony’s past compensation, but rather will be paid by the compensation carrier.

In addition the Administrative Judge, if he finds there has been an unreasonable delay in the payment of Tony’s compensation, can order up to a 50% penalty against the compensation carrier of all amounts that are owed in the past.

When one adds up the assessment of a 20% attorney fee and the 50% penalty and then tax on an additional 10% for interest on all outstanding compensation, the Workers’ Compensation carrier can end up paying an extra 80% more than they would have paid had they abided by the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.

On one occasion though, Paula had to go downtown to pick up some medication and asked Pam to loan her the car to take her on this very short trip. Pam knew that Paula’s license had been suspended but for some reason, since it was such a short trip, she said it was ok.

Unfortunately for both ladies, Paula’s bad luck continued and she rear ended another vehicle on Main Street. A law suit ensued and Pam’s insurance company denied coverage.

ISSUE: Is Pam’s insurance company obligated to defend with the auto accident that Paula was involved in?

ANSWER: No. Insurance policies on automobiles almost always have a provision that if the owner of the policy allows a non-licensed or impaired driver to drive their vehicle, then that insurance company will no longer be responsible if an accident occurs. Under no circumstances should an owner or family member of an auto ever allow an individual to drive a vehicle who is not legally allowed to do so.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.

ISSUE: Sandy quickly found out that her lawyer had no legal malpractice insurance and she wondered if a lawyer can practice without legal malpractice insurance.

ANSWER: Yes. Legal malpractice insurance is not required in Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, a lawyer that does not carry professional liability insurance, is required to inform all new clients, in writing, that he or she does not have professional liability insurance or at least $100,000.00 per occurrence or $300,000.00 total. This is required under the rules of professional conduct. It has also been in effect for about three years.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.

Tammy sought legal advice to see if she could bring an action against the limousine company because she had broken her arm in the accident, as well as sustaining some other deep bruises. The insurance company for the limousine company took the position that since Tammy had only limited tort on her own insurance, she could not bring a lawsuit.

Issue: Is the limousine company correct?

Answer: No. Since Tammy was in a commercial vehicle at the time of the accident, regardless of what type of personal coverage she has on her own vehicle be it full tort or limited tort, she would be allowed to bring a lawsuit against any party that caused her injuries.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.