Legal update: Young children and window blind safety

In the United States since 1999, one child a month dies from accidental strangulation after becoming entangled in the cords of household window blinds, according to statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). For parents who have had to somehow survive after such a tragedy, that number is entirely too large. In a story last week in The New York Times the issue of accidental deaths involving children from seven months old up...

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Tenants beware: foreclosure doesn’t just affect homeowners

If you rent a house or apartment, you may not think that the foreclosure crisis that has plagued the U.S. can affect you at all. If you think that, then you are very wrong. Across the nation, foreclosures suffered by the owners of properties from rental homes to apartment complexes have been causing massive problems for renters who can find utilities shut off and eviction notices – even if they have what they think are...

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Texting and driving don’t mix – when will the Pennsylvania legislature move to ban texting while driving?

Almost every day, someone in the U.S. is injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident involving a distracted driver who is texting while driving on a public road. Earlier this week, a Minnesota woman was charged in connection with a crash last October when the minivan she was driving struck a 65-year-old man who was riding his motorcycle, according to a story in The Star Tribune in Minneapolis. The woman was allegedly texting on...

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Stack your auto insurance to protect yourself: a real life story

Stacking costs little and means better protection in the event of an accident Let me tell you a little story about auto insurance, smart pre-planning and what happens if you are injured in a vehicle crash by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Recently, a MyPhillyLawyer client was riding his bicycle in Montgomery County and turning left in an intersection when he was struck by a pick-up truck at 35 mph. The crash left him with...

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Driver alert: How “joint and several liability” insurance changes brewing in the PA legislature could hurt your legal rights

Call your local elected officials and strongly voice your opposition to these changes Today in Pennsylvania, you and your family are well protected if you are involved in a multi-vehicle accident, even if one of the other parties is inadequately insured. Under current law, the full amount of damages can be sought and awarded from any of the defendants, even if one of them had a smaller part in the crash. This is known as...

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Incorrect medical diagnoses: devastating effects on victims and families

When you go to a doctor for medical treatment, you expect that your illness will be properly diagnosed and treated. That, however, isn't always the case. Medical misdiagnosis is a frequent source of lawsuits on behalf of patients who have suffered, been grievously injured or died after incorrect medical diagnoses that led to the wrong courses of treatment. [caption id="attachment_1217" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Image credit: © iStockphoto.com/DNY59"][/caption] In a recent case in Philadelphia, a 60-year-old man...

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Improperly calibrated Breathalyzer machines harm the innocent and let the guilty go free

Imagine you are stopped by the police for suspected drunken driving and you submit to a Breathalyzer test. That evidence, whatever it determines, will be used against you in court, so it had better be right. But what if it's not right – what if the police used a Breathalyzer unit that wasn't properly calibrated on a regular schedule as designed? [caption id="attachment_1214" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image credit: © iStockphoto.com/DNY59"][/caption] Then it throws your alleged blood...

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MyPhillyLawyer’s Dean Weitzman to be inducted as a member of the Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence Inc.

Dean I. Weitzman, the managing partner of MyPhillyLawyer, will be inducted today as one of nine new board members for The Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence, Inc. Weitzman and the other new members will join the group's board in ceremonies at the offices of Herman J. "Pete" Matthews, president of AFSCME District Council 33 in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence works in the community to preserve and...

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Spring safety: it’s that time of year again on our roadways

With the weather gradually getting nicer and warmer in the Delaware Valley, it's time for us all to remember springtime safety. We all need to be more conscious of all the motorcyclists, bicyclists, runners and walkers who are again showing up in force on area roadways. More and more children will be outside playing with balls and toys that can roll into busy streets that are bustling with traffic. [caption id="attachment_1202" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A photo...

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