Personal Injury
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What Does it Mean to be a Certified Attorney?
Posted in Personal Injury
The answer to that question is not generally well-known outside of legal circles in New Jersey. You may be familiar with the term “board certified” or “board certification” as it applies to physicians. For the past several years in the medical field, many medical specialties have established boards, (i.e., American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, or American Board of Neuro-Surgery), which are managed by physicians within the specialty. These organizations establish standards for the practice of their specific specialty, and set minimum qualifications for a practitioner to meet in order to sit for an examination which tests their knowledge and skills. Successful completion of the process conveys the title “diplomate” of the board on the physician, who is thereafter “board certified” in that specialty. Continue reading
Social Security Death Benefits
Posted in Personal Injury
Social Security should be notified as soon as possible when a person dies. In most cases, the funeral director will report the person’s death to Social Security. You will need to furnish the funeral director with the deceased’s Social Security number so he or she can make the report. Continue reading
Licensee, or Not a Licensee- That is the Question: The Second Common Law ‘Status’ in Premises Liability, Part I
Posted in Personal Injury
Now that we have discussed the area of premises liability law in general terms in the first post of this series, and subsequently explored the status of ‘invitees’ in the second one, the present post will address the status of ‘licensees.’ To this end, seeing as the status classification of ‘licensee’ tends to turn on specific factual circumstances, as a person can be considered both an invitee and a licensee at different times within a single situation, attention to detail is important. Continue reading
Letters From Attorneys Regarding Your Recent Traffic Ticket
Posted in Personal Injury
If you’ve ever received a speeding ticket or other traffic citation, you probably know what is coming next: countless letters from attorneys stating that you recently were charged with a traffic offense and that you may need their help and representation in getting the matter sorted out in court. As the week goes by, more letters flood your mailbox, many with identical legal language. If you’re wondering how the previously unknown lawyers received your traffic citation information and address, you’re not alone. The same thing happened to me several years ago. Continue reading
Statute of Limitations in Pennsylvania – Discovery Rule
Posted in Personal Injury
Generally speaking a claim for any personal injury in Pennsylvania must be brought within two years of the day the injury occurred. There are some important exceptions to that general rule. This article addresses the deadline for bringing for injuries you did not know about right away. Continue reading
Omnibus Clauses and the Issue of Permissive Use
Posted in Personal Injury
A vast majority of auto insurance policies contain an omnibus clause serving to extend coverage to third parties driving an insured automobile so long as they are driving the vehicle with the permission of a named insured. While such a clause can prove helpful in obtaining a settlement from an insurance carrier in a situation where you are hit by a vehicle being driven by an individual that is not a named insured, insurance carriers may also attempt to deny coverage in reliance upon this clause, stating that the driver did not obtain the necessary permission from a named insured. Continue reading
Statute of Limitations for Minors in Pennsylvania
Posted in Personal Injury
Generally speaking a personal injury claim in Pennsylvania must be brought within two years of the day the injury occurred. However, there are some exceptions to that general rule. Pennsylvania law specifically extends the time to bring any type of lawsuit for a minor. For the purposes of this rule a minor is anyone under 18 who has not been emancipated. The statute of limitations for a minor does not start until they reach age 18. So, generally speaking, a minor has until age 20 to bring a lawsuit for personal injuries. Continue reading
Who needs a Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-aside Arrangement (WCMSA) ?
Posted in Personal Injury
On November 11, 2010 I was part of a seminar panel addressing this issue. The recommended method to protect Medicare’s interest when settling a workers’ compensation claim for a Medicare beneficiary is through a Medicare set-aside arrangement (WCMSA). This allocates a portion of the Workers’ Compensation settlement for future medical expenses. The amount of the set-aside is determined on a case by case basis, after review by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Once CMS determines the set aside amounts, the money is put into an account for use only towards medical bills related to the work injury. Continue reading
Pennsylvania Health Care Law: What Are “Never Events”?
Posted in Personal Injury
Just a few years ago, Pennsylvania was moving towards the monitoring of “preventable serious adverse events” or “never events” in acute care facilities in Pennsylvania. Progress on “preventable adverse events” has been inordinately slow but substantial in the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, the progress coincides with financial strains. The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council reported this year that Pennsylvania acute care hospitals experienced a reduction in net income of $865 million from FY08 to FY 09. The loss was largely due to losses in investment income and other non-operating income. Continue reading
Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine
Posted in Personal Injury
Last month I addressed the defense of “sudden emergency.” This month I would like to discuss the defense of “sudden medical emergency” or “unforseen unconsciousness” defense. This is a defense which is generally rarely used in motor vehicle cases. Under Pennsylvania law, the sudden medical emergency defense, also called the “unforseen unconsciousness” defense, is a complete defense to an action based on the asserted negligence of a defendant driver of a motor vehicle. Continue reading
