Posts Tagged ‘Northeastern Pennsylvania’

Police officers investigating auto and truck accidents in Pennsylvania regularly issue traffic citations to one or more of the drivers involved in the accident.  Most traffic citations are considered summary offenses such as speeding or careless driving.  The drivers to whom the investigating police officer issues a summary traffic citation are often deemed by the investigating police officer to be “at fault” in causing the accident.  However, in a civil action filed for injuries and damages arising out of an auto or truck accident in Pennsylvania, evidence that a driver was issued a summary traffic citation is not admissible.  The reason it is not admissible is because the person cited often decides not  to contest the citation due to expediency and convenience, not guilt, simply because the consequence of paying a relatively small fine is less burdensome than taking the time to appear in court to contest the charge. 

The attorneys at Dougherty, Leventhal & Price, L.L.P. regularly represent seriously injured truck accident victims in courts throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Our twelve lawyers represent accident victims in Lackawanna County, Luzerne County, Wayne County, Pike County, Wyoming County, Bradford County, Tioga County, Susquehanna County, Sullivan County, Lycoming County, Montour County, Monroe County, Carbon County, Columbia County and Susquehanna County.  If you need a lawyer to fight to get you the justice you deserve due to serious injuries you suffered in a an auto or truck accident, contact our office today for a free consultation.

Truck Accident may be caused by many different factors.  However, any in-depth study of truck accidents would likely determine that most truck accidents are caused by truck drivers violating regulations restricting the number of hours they are allowed to drive per day and per week.  Because the truck drivers are not complying with the regulations regarding the number of hours they may spend behind the wheel, they often fail to maintain accurate log books to document their driving time.  Failing to maintain accurate log books is also a violation of regulations that truck drivers are required to follow.  A truck driver’s failure to comply with the regulations often results in them driving without adequate rest leading them to be inattentive to the road conditions and traffic surrounding them.

The lawyers at DLP represent victims injured in serious truck accidents throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.  If you are injured in an accident caused by a negligent truck driver, call the attorneys at DLP for a free consultation regarding your rights and damage remedies.  We regularly handle negligence and injury cases in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Bradford, Tioga, Wayne, Wyoming, Pike, Schulykill, Lycoming, Montour, Sullivan, Monroe, Carbon and Susquehanna Counties.

The Pennsylvania Legislature is currently reviewing proposed legislation that would ban all cell phone use while driving in Pennsylvania, including talking and texting use of any PDA.  One of the main issues that remains to be determined is whether the ban would be considered a primary offense or a secondary offense.  A primary offense is one in which a police officer could stop a motorist for performing.  A secondary offense is only actionable by a police officer if the driver could be stopped for some other motor vehicle violation such as speeding or an inactive tail light.

As cell phone use has become more prevalent, their use by drivers has been the cause of  more and more accidents due to driver distraction.  If you are in an accident, you should try to determine if the other driver who caused the accident was using a cell phone that distracted his attention at the time of the accident.

If you are injured in an auto accident or a truck accident in Pennsylvania due to someone else’s negligence or carelessness, you should call the attorneys at Dougherty Leventhal & Price, L.L.P. for a free consultation regarding your rights.  The lawyers at DLP have been representing injured auto accident and truck accident victims for over 25 years in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including victims in Lackawanna County, Luzerne County, Monroe County, Pike County, Wayne County, Wyoming County, Bradford County, Sullivan County, Lycoming County, Susquehanna County, Schuylkill County, Montour County, Columbia County and Tioga County.  DLP has offices in Moosic, PA, Kingston, PA, Hazleton, PA and Honesdale, PA.

The attorneys at DLP are representing a driver seriously injured in a 24 vehicle chain reaction accident that occurred on Interstate 81 in Scranton, PA.  The accident was caused by the carelessness and negligence of two tractor trailer truck drivers who were driving too fast for conditions when they lost control of their vehicles on the icy roadway.  DLP will be fighting the tractor trailer drivers’ respective insurance companies to get their client the compensation he deserves for the serious injuries he suffered in the accident. 

If you have been injured by a negligent tractor trailer truck driver anywhere in Pennsylvania, contact the lawyers at DLP for a free no obligation consultation.  DLP attorneys represent injured accident victims in counties throughout northeastern Pennsylvania.  In addition to tractor trailer truck accidents, we also represent injured victims of  auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, product defect accidents, work accidents, professional negligence and medical malpractice.

A recent Department of Labor and Industry “Fast Facts” jobs report notes over 48,000 job hires by gas rig drilling industries to date.   9000 job hires happened in January, February and March 2011.  Many of the new gas drilling jobs have been created in Bradford, Susquehanna, Tioga, Sullivan and Wyoming Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

A Nanticoke couple has been awarded $1.96 million in a verdict returned by a Luzerne County jury against the Tennessee corporation that operates Dollar General stores. The couple, Joan and Jay Urbanski, was represented by personal injury Attorneys Patrick Dougherty, Joseph Price and Brian Walsh of the DLP law firm. Attorney Price believes the verdict to be a record in Luzerne County for that type of case. It also could go higher as a motion has been filed seeking delay damages against Dollar General.

Mrs. Urbanski, 40, was injured in the fall at a Dollar General Store in Hanover Township on Sept. 4, 2000. She fell after stepping on transparent plastic packaging material that had been left in the store aisle. The jury determined Mrs. Urbanski, a nurse, should receive $862,000 for economic damages, including lost income and the costs of ongoing medical treatment, and $1 million in punitive damages. Her husband was awarded $100,000 for loss of companionship. Dollar General admitted negligence relative to Mrs.Urbanski’s fall, but disputed the extent of her injuries and the diagnosis of reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a nerve disorder resulting from the fall, which disables Mrs. Urbanski. Mr. Price said the case and verdict have a component of deterrence. Attorney Price noted :”We wanted to tell this Tennessee corporation that, if they’re going to have outlets and make profits from people in Northeastern Pennsylvania, then they need to operate safe stores”.

Paul had worked for a Texas-based natural gas drilling company out of Texas for a number of years. The company started to develop drilling sites in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Paul was put up at a hotel close to the drilling site. Paul had never had an accident in the ten previous years he had worked, despite doing very physical types of activities while working with the various drills on the sites.

Paul’s good fortune ran out though, and he jammed his hand on one of the drill bits, seriously injuring the hand. Paul’s employer was insistent that since Paul was employed out of Texas and the employer was based out of Texas, that he would have to file his comp claim under Texas law.

Issue: Is Paul’s employer correct?

Answer: No. In Pennsylvania, regardless of where an employer is principally located and/or where a contract for hire was entered into, if an injury occurs in Pennsylvania, then Pennsylvania has jurisdiction and Paul will be entitled to benefits under Pennsylvania law. Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation benefits are, for the most part, far more generous, and the injured worker is provided far more protection than in other states, especially states in the South and Midwest.

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.