Philadelphia Car Accident Involving Horse-drawn Carriage Sparks Protest, Safety Questions
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on April 27th, 2010
Two carriage drivers were sent to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with serious injuries on Monday morning following a car accident,on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. The accident occurred at around 10 a.m. when an elderly driver crashed his car into the back of a horse-drawn carriage — one of several stopped at a red light. The car’s impact forced the carriage across the street, toppling two more carriages in front of it. A number of the horses...
How to stop the “flash mob” mentality
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on March 30th, 2010
Two weekends ago, Philadelphia's South Street residents, merchants and community suffered from yet another "flash mob" incident, where bands of teenagers summoned each other via cell phone text messages and social media Web sites including Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to hang out and get together. But as it's happened in the past, it was way more than just "hanging out." Many of the teens became agitated, some became violent and all became essentially out of...
Sexting update: Court rules teen girl can’t be charged with a felony
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on March 25th, 2010
A U.S. Court of Appeals got it right recently when it ruled that a teenaged girl whose semi-nude photo was transmitted via a cell phone text message cannot be charged with felony child abuse charges. That was the correct decision in this so-called "sexting" case that got big headlines and showed just how ridiculous the legal system can get when it is fueled by ideologies rather than by reality. We last wrote about this case...
Damage caps on injury cases harm accident and medical malpractice victims a second time
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on March 16th, 2010
Are you willing to give up your rights to be compensated fully for ALL of the damages caused by another? If you are injured in an accident, you can be sure that you want to recover every dollar you are entitled to for your treatment and for your pain and suffering. But insurance companies for years have been trying to fight you tooth and nail to minimize what they pay out to you for pain...
Need a lawyer? Here are some helpful hints about how to select the right one
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on March 10th, 2010
At some point in your life, you will probably need to hire a lawyer. It may be for help when you are injured in a vehicle accident or fall, or if you are going through a divorce, tax dispute, criminal charges or custody or other legal issues. It's uncommon today if at some point you don't have to at least consult an attorney about something in your life. So if that happens, where in the...
Gun rights on Main Street: more citizens with legal “open carry” guns is not the answer
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on March 6th, 2010
You're sitting in Starbucks having a coffee and relaxing when another customer walks in with a big, shiny handgun in a holster on his hip and heads over to the counter. Do you: A) Hit the deck in the fear that there's about to be a robbery? B) Feel uncomfortable because of the menacing presence of this stranger and his gun in such a non-traditional, non-threatening setting? C) Feel reassured due to the presence of...
Law enforcement officers and DUI: time to get to the root of the problem
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on March 4th, 2010
Twice in the last three months, Philadelphia-area law enforcement officers have been involved in off-duty vehicle accidents that allegedly involve driving under the influence of alcohol. For law enforcement officers, who absolutely, positively must be accountable to a higher standard than the people they are sworn to protect, that is unacceptable. Last month, a 23-year-old off-duty Philadelphia Police officer was driving north on I-95 near Girard Avenue when his vehicle crashed into the rear of...
A bad idea: Here’s why the laws in Pa. shouldn’t be changed to allow beer sales on every corner
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on February 18th, 2010
There's yet another effort underway in the state Legislature to try to change the decades-old laws that forbid beer sales in convenience stores and grocery stores across the Commonwealth. Right now, you also can't buy a six-pack of beer in a beer distributor in Pennsylvania -- you can only buy a full case by law. You are, however, able to buy individual six-packs of beer from bars and restaurants that have liquor licenses which permit...
Outrageous: A death at the Olympics and a rush to judgment in blaming the victim of a deadly luge practice run
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on February 16th, 2010
At the Olympic Winter Games, no one is supposed to die. Certainly not a 21-year-old luge competitor from the Republic of Georgia, who was in Canada for his first Olympic games. But the athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, died last Friday on a practice run on the luge track as he and his sled flew down the luge run at almost 90 mph. At the bottom of the track, his sled climbed an inside track wall and...