Posts Tagged ‘Sullivan’

It is widely recognized that the use of seat belts saves lives and lessens the extent of injuries suffered in motor vehicle accidents.  Because of the increased safety afforded by the use of seat belts, many states including Pennsylvania have enacted laws requiring occupants of autos and trucks to wear seat belts. 

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.

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.