Be Safe and Drive Sober This Holiday Season
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on December 22nd, 2017
The December holidays are here, with Christmas just around the corner and New Year's Eve coming up fast, so it's a good time to reflect on the dangers of drinking and driving amid all the holiday parties and family festivities we will all likely enjoy. In Pennsylvania, the State Police are participating in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" impaired driving enforcement campaign through Dec. 31, joining more...
As 2017 Closes, Get Your Legal Life Organized for 2018
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on December 15th, 2017
The end of the year and the approach of the December holidays is a perfect time to review your personal legal matters, so you can start the new year right. It's a great time to look things over with your attorney, from making any needed changes to your will and estate, to reviewing insurance coverages, considering additional charitable gifts for tax purposes and double-checking your credit reports for accuracy. In this blog post, Saul Langsam,...
Holiday Parties, Drinking, Driving and Your Legal Responsibilities
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on November 30th, 2017
With the December holidays here, from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa to Christmas and more, it’s a good time to talk about holiday parties, social drinking and potential legal liabilities affecting party hosts when enjoying the season and serving alcoholic beverages to friends, family and colleagues. In Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth doesn't recognize the legal concept of social host liability, which is when a host serves a visibly intoxicated person and that person subsequently injures himself or someone...
$4M Settlement in Deaths of Calif. Couple Struck by Sheriff’s Car
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on October 16th, 2017
The families of a California couple who were killed in 2013 when the SUV they were riding in was struck by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department vehicle that was speeding through an intersection will receive a $4 million payment to settle their wrongful death lawsuit in the case. The victims, Sara Paynter and Robert Delgadillo, were ejected from the back seat of the Ford Explorer they were riding in and were killed in December...
$1.15M Settlement in Fatal Crash of Stolen Work Van
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on September 8th, 2017
The family of a woman and her 14-year-old daughter who were killed when the car they were in was struck by a fleeing stolen work van earlier this year in New Mexico has reached a $1.15 million settlement with the company that owned the van. The van, which had been left running in an employee's driveway on Jan. 18, 2018, in Albuquerque, N.M., was stolen and crashed into another car while being chased by police,...
$5M Verdict to Family of Gallbladder Surgery Victim
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on September 1st, 2017
After undergoing gallbladder surgery in July of 2014, a 49-year-old Philadelphia woman was discharged from a hospital the same day and sent home, only to die five days later of complications following the surgery. That premature hospital discharge, and her follow-up care at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, has led to a $5 million medical malpractice jury verdict to the family of the victim, according to an Aug. 3 story in The Legal Intelligencer....
$2M Settlement in Death of Va. Man Killed by Tractor-Trailer
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on August 25th, 2017
The family of a 50-year-old Virginia man who was killed in 2014 when he was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer as he drove a utility tractor on the side of a highway has reached a $2.05 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed against three defendants. The victim, Albert Thomas, was severely injured on Sept. 4, 2014 when the utility tractor he was driving south on U.S. 13 near Eyreville Drive in Northampton...
$3.5M Settlement in Death of Woman Due to Errant Medical Diagnosis
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on August 18th, 2017
The family of a Scranton woman who died from an apparent heart attack in a hospital in 2012 after her condition was misdiagnosed as pneumonia has reached a $3.5 million settlement with two doctors and the hospital where she was being treated. Kristine Coleman, 41, a mother of two children, had been admitted to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton on Feb. 6, 2012, complaining of severe left shoulder pain which was radiating down her...
$9.75M Settlement to Family of Infant Killed in Police Car Crash
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on August 11th, 2017
The family of a 9-month-old baby boy who was killed in his parent's car when it was struck from behind by an SUV being driven by an on-duty police officer in 2013 has reached a $9.75 million settlement with the City of Sacramento, Calif. The child, Raiden Saechao, died five days after the Dec. 17, 2013 crash, which occurred on westbound Interstate 80, according to a July 18 story by The Sacramento Bee. The Sacramento...