Potentially Liable Parties in a Motor Vehicle Accident Claim

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Who Can You Sue for Damages after a Car Crash?

Potentially Liable Parties in a Motor Vehicle Accident ClaimIn the aftermath of a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, you typically look to the party driving the other vehicle (or his or her insurance company) to recover your losses. But is that the only potential source for compensation? What if the other driver is uninsured or has only minimal insurance coverage? What are your other options

As a general rule, most motor vehicle accident claims are based on a legal theory of negligence, which requires you to show that the person being sued failed to act reasonably, causing an accident that resulted in your injuries. However, the person you sue need not be the other driver. Here are examples of other parties who can have legal responsibility for a motor vehicle accident

  • An employer—If the at-fault driver was in the course of his or her employment, you may have a claim against the employer.
  • A provider of alcohol—Under dram shop and social host liability laws, you may be able to seek damages from a person or establishment that served alcohol to the at-fault driver. In Pennsylvania, you must prove that the person was visibly intoxicated when served.
  • The owner of the car—If the owner of the vehicle allowed someone to borrow it, knowing that the person either lacked the skills to drive or had a history of unsafe driving practices, you may be able to sue the owner.
  • The manufacturer of a defective product—You may have a product liability claim if you can show that careless product design or manufacturing practices caused the accident or contributed to your injuries.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. We are currently communicating with clients by phone, text message, e-mail, and videoconference. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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No-Contact Motorcycle Accidents in Pennsylvania

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Can You Recover for Your Losses When There’s No Collision?

No-Contact Motorcycle Accidents in PennsylvaniaIt’s fairly common knowledge that the risk of injury is significantly higher when riding a motorcycle than when in a passenger vehicle. With only two wheels, it can be much harder to maintain control of your bike if another motorist carelessly veers into your path. You can easily crash and suffer injury even without impact. If that happens, can you still seek compensation for your injuries?

Filing a Lawsuit for a Motorcycle Accident Injury

There is no requirement of contact for a motor vehicle accident claim to be valid. Instead, a jury considers whether there was negligence.

In virtually all personal injury claims, including motorcycle-related actions, the legal basis for recovery is the principle of negligence. Under the theory of negligence, everyone in society, including anyone behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, has a legal obligation to act reasonably in all endeavors. To succeed in a negligence-based claim, you must prove three things:

  • The defendant (the potentially at-fault party) failed to act reasonably;
  • The failure to act reasonably caused an accident; and
  • You suffered actual losses as a result of the accident.

There is no codified law governing what behavior is reasonable. Instead, the jury looks at the actions of the defendant and determines whether they were reasonable. The jury, however, cannot arbitrarily decide on the required standard of care but must generally adhere to the precedent established in prior similar cases.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. We are currently communicating with clients by phone, text message, e-mail, and videoconference. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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Are the Roads Safer in Pennsylvania Because of Shelter-in-Place?

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Statistics Show Tradeoff—Fewer Accidents but More Serious Crashes

Are the Roads Safer in Pennsylvania Because of Shelter-in-Place?Researchers have long known that the number of motor vehicle accidents correlates with the number of cars on the road and amount of time spent driving. The accident toll typically fluctuates when gas prices change—accidents go up when gas prices go down, and vice versa. With Pennsylvania on lockdown for most of the last two months, the reduced number of motorists on the roadways would seem to translate to fewer accidents and safer roads. Is that what’s really happening?

Though statistics are not available for Pennsylvania, evidence from other states suggests the dramatic decline in motorists on the streets and highways across the country has indeed led to fewer accidents. However, a higher-than-normal percentage of those accidents are serious or fatal.

The decline in the number of accidents is easily explained. Research has shown that the number of accidents is fairly predictable, based on the number of miles traveled by motorists. That accident rate has changed very little, despite efforts to make roads safer. Accordingly, when traffic decreases dramatically—California and New York both report traffic to be down more than 50%—the raw number of accidents goes down.

But what accounts for the higher percentage of serious and fatal accidents? New York City had more traffic fatalities in March 2020 than the same period a year earlier, even though there was an 80% decrease in vehicle miles. Experts say that, with fewer vehicles on the roads, motorists are traveling at much higher speeds. The average speed on one section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was four times faster this March than it was a year ago.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. We are currently communicating with clients by phone, text message, e-mail, and videoconference. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

Rear-End Crashes in Pennsylvania

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Who’s Responsible When One Car Hits Another from Behind?

Rear-End Crashes in PennsylvaniaAccording to data compiled by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), about one in every three motor vehicle accidents across the country are rear-end collisions. The statistics show a variety of causes, including excessive speed, failure to allow adequate distance, overly aggressive driving, distracted driving, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated or impaired.

It’s commonly believed that, when one car strikes another from behind, the driver of the trailing vehicle is always legally responsible. While that may be true in the majority of cases, there are situations where the trailing driver may not be liable.

In claims arising out of car accidents, liability is most often based on the legal theory of negligence. Under that principle, all persons in society are held to the standard of care of acting reasonably under the circumstances at any given time. In a lawsuit, the finder of fact (usually the jury) must determine whether the actions of the parties at the time of the accident were reasonable.

With respect to a rear-end collision, the jury may consider these acts of the driver of the trailing car:

  • Was the trailing driver distracted by a handheld device, some roadside attraction, or a passenger in the vehicle, or was the driver not paying attention to the road for some other reason?
  • Was the trailing driver speeding or driving too fast under prevailing weather conditions?
  • Did the trailing driver allow a reasonable distance between the cars to permit safe braking?
  • Was the trailing driver engaging in aggressive behavior?
  • Was the trailing driver drunk or impaired in any way?

The jury also may look at the actions of the driver in front:

  • Were brake or warning lights broken, burnt out, or malfunctioning?
  • Did the driver in front carelessly put the car into reverse?

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. We are currently communicating with clients by phone, text message, e-mail, and videoconference. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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Slip-and-Fall Injuries on Pennsylvania Public Sidewalks

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Who Has the Duty to Maintain a Public Sidewalk?

Slip-and-Fall Injuries on Pennsylvania Public SidewalksUnder Pennsylvania’s shelter-in-place order, issued by Governor Tom Wolf on March 23, residents are required to stay at home except as necessary to provide, support, or obtain access to essential services. The order does, however, allow Pennsylvanians to engage in “outdoor activities,” provided there are no gatherings and social distancing requirements are honored. To battle cabin fever, many residents are getting out for walks on neighborhood sidewalks.

With this increase in walkers, there’s likely to also be an increase in slip-and-falls on damaged, broken, or defective sidewalk panels. In Pennsylvania, as in other states, property owners have a duty to monitor and maintain premises so as to minimize the risk of injury to anyone legally visiting the property. But who has the duty to monitor and maintain a public sidewalk? Is it the adjoining property owner or the municipality?

Under Pennsylvania law, a local governmental body may be responsible for injuries sustained in a slip-and-fall on a public sidewalk, but that liability is only secondary. Private homeowners and businesses have a duty to keep all sidewalks that abut their property in reasonably safe condition. An injured person can recover damages from a municipality only if the homeowner or business whose property abuts the sidewalk is unable to pay for the losses sustained. In addition, the municipality has liability only if the injured person can prove that the agency responsible for maintaining the sidewalk had notice of the dangerous condition and failed to take timely measures to repair the danger or provide reasonable notice to pedestrians.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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Lane Splitting in Pennsylvania—Is It Safe?

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Lane-Splitting in Pennsylvania

With Move to Legalize Practice, Questions Arise About Safety

Lane Splitting in Pennsylvania—Is It Safe?Chances are, if you’ve been in heavy traffic in one of Pennsylvania’s big cities, or out on the turnpike or other highway, you’ve seen a motorcyclist zoom between cars to move forward. It’s a practice known as “lane-splitting,” and it’s currently prohibited by Pennsylvania law.

Lane-splitting has been legal in many European countries for a while and was legalized in California in 2016. A number of other states are considering the practice, and some Pennsylvania law makers have expressed interest in legalizing it in the Keystone State, which has led to discussion about the safety of the maneuver.

Those in favor of lane-splitting contend that the practice reduces the risk of rear-end accidents and leads to less congestion overall. They point to the success of the practice abroad, as well as three specific studies:

  • The Hurt Report (1981), out of California, suggests that lane-splitting can reduce the likelihood of rear-end collisions involving motorcycles.
  • U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data indicates that rear-end crashes involving motorcycles are fewer in California than in comparable states where the practice is not expressly permitted, including Florida and Texas.
  • A 2015 study by the University of California found that accidents and injuries are minimal when lane-splitting is done at speeds under 50 miles per hour, as long as the motorcyclist also does not exceed the surrounding rate of traffic by more than 15 miles per hour.

Opponents of lane-splitting argue that the research is minimal and less than conclusive. They worry that motorcyclists will be even less visible than they currently are, or that they could startle motorists and cause them to avert their eyes from the road.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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The Probate Process—An Overview

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The Steps Required to Settle an Estate in the Probate Courts

The Probate Process—An OverviewIf you’ve been named executor or administrator of the estate of another person, chances are you have little or no idea exactly what that means and what you’ll be asked to do. While every state will have some specific rules regarding the administration of estates, there are some basic guidelines. Those guidelines are different, though, depending on whether or not the state has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC). The general process in states like Pennsylvania, which has not adopted the UPC, is as follows:

  • Appointment as executor, administrator or personal representative of the estate—You initiate the probate process by petitioning the court to appoint you as executor (the terms administrator and personal representative mean the same thing) of the estate. You will need to file the original copy of the will, and an original death certificate, and will need to publish notice and notify beneficiaries/heirs. If the will does not exclude it, you may also be required to post a bond.
  • You must then establish the validity of the will—If the will does not meet the requirements to be “self-proving,” you will need affidavits from those individuals who witnessed the execution of the will.
  • To administer the estate, you’ll need to:
    • Prepare an inventory of the assets of the estate, and obtain values on property, if necessary
    • Obtain a tax ID # for the estate from the Internal Revenue Service
    • Open an estate bank account
    • Arrange for the preparation of final income tax returns
    • Notify all creditors of the death and pay all final debts of the estate
    • Prepare and file state and/or federal estate tax returns, if required
  • To close the estate, you’ll have to:
    • Notify heirs/beneficiaries of the date and time of the final hearing
    • Obtain permission from the court to distribute property
    • Transfer assets to designated heirs/beneficiaries (and get a receipt)

As you can see, the probate administration process can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why it’s in your best interests to hire experienced attorneys to guide you through the process.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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Living Wills and Advance Directives—What’s the Difference?

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Do You Need Both?

Living Wills and Advance Directives—What's the Difference?If you’ve been thinking about your estate planning—maybe doing a little online research or talking around the water cooler—you’ve learned a bit about wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. You’ve likely seen references to “advance medical directives” and “living wills.” On the surface, it can seem like they are essentially the same thing—a way to specify the type of medical care you want in the event you’re unable to make the decision yourself. Are they the same? If not, what’s the difference? And do you need both?

Advance Medical Directives

As the name suggests, an advance medical directive allows you to identify in advance your wishes with respect to medical treatment. An advance medical directive is typically conditional, meaning it goes into effect only when certain conditions stated in the document are met. Often, the conditions include the determination by a competent medical professional that you lack capacity to make your own decisions.

An advance medical directive may address any issue related to your health, such as whether or not you want to be resuscitated and whether you want a feeding tube or other end-of-life treatments. In practice, though, advance directives more often simply designate a person to act as your proxy and make medical decisions on your behalf.

Living Wills

A living will is a type of advance directive, typically one that goes into effect only if you become terminally ill. The provisions set forth in a living will customarily apply only to end-of-life decisions, such as artificial life support, organ donation, and “do not resuscitate” orders.

In most situations, a person doesn’t need both an advance medical directive and a living will, provided the advance directive is comprehensive enough to address end-of-life issues.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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What If You Are Partially Responsible for Your Own Injuries?

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Can Your Own Negligence Bar Recovery from Another Responsible Party?

What If You Are Partially Responsible for Your Own Injuries?In a personal injury lawsuit, one of the key requirements to recover damages is showing who caused the accident. The allocation of responsibility establishes who will pay damages for the losses suffered. That allocation also can play a factor in the amount of money the injured person receives because the court can reduce the damage award in situations where the injured party’s carelessness partially caused the accident.

As the law of negligence evolved over centuries, the principle of contributory negligence was applied. Under the doctrine of contributory negligence, if the injured person was negligent in any respect, and that negligent was a contributing cause of the accident, then there could be no financial recovery. Unfortunately, this led to abuse. Defense attorneys looked for any instance of carelessness that could be used to deny recovery. As a result, an insignificant act of carelessness could prevent recovery from a grossly negligent defendant.

Because of the perceived unfairness of the contributory negligence approach, all states now follow the concept of comparative negligence. Under comparative negligence, the court looks at the injured party’s total losses, determines the degree to which the injured party was responsible, and then proportionally reduces the damage award.

There are, however, two different approaches to comparative negligence:

  • Pure comparative negligence—In a pure comparative negligence state, the plaintiff will always receive something, unless the jury holds the plaintiff to be 100% responsible. For example, if the total damages are $100,000, and the plaintiff is 75% responsible, there will still be a damage award of $25,000.
  • Modified comparative negligence—In states that apply this standard (such as Pennsylvania), the plaintiff’s responsibility must fall below a certain threshold—typically 50%. If the injured party’s liability is above that point, there is no recovery.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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Protecting Your Rights After a Work-related Injury in Pennsylvania

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What You Need to Do in the Immediate Aftermath of a Work Injury

Protecting Your Rights After a Work-related InjuryIn Pennsylvania, as in all states, when you have been hurt on the job, you have a right to seek benefits for lost income and medical expenses. You need to be careful, though. If you don’t take the correct steps, you might jeopardize your right to compensation. Here’s a checklist to guide you through the process.

  • Report the injury as soon as possible—Don’t worry about whether your employer believes you, questions the seriousness of the accident, or just thinks you’re a complainer. The longer you wait to report the injury, the greater the risk that some intervening accident will occur and your employer will attribute your injuries to that event. It’s a good idea to report an accident even if you don’t perceive any immediate injury. Sometimes it can take a day or two (or even longer) for an injury to fully manifest.
  • Get medical attention—Most doctors will tell you that the sooner you seek medical care, the more options you’ll have and the greater the likelihood of a full or maximum medical recovery. If the injury is serious, be willing to be transported to a hospital by ambulance. This isn’t the time to be strong in front of co-workers. Defer to the experience and knowledge of medical professionals. When you receive medical care, ask the doctor to document everything in writing. In addition, be sure to tell medical professionals about everything that’s out of the ordinary. Don’t focus on the obvious—like a broken bone—and neglect to mention the pulled muscle in your back or neck.
  • Take pictures of the accident scene, if possible—That includes everything from workplace conditions (oil or substances on the floor, debris, etc.) to your injuries.
  • Document the details—Keep notes of everything, from when you notified your employer to who was present at the time of the accident.
  • Hire an experienced attorney—The sooner you retain legal counsel, the sooner you’ll have someone gathering and preserving evidence to support your claim.

Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie&Seelaus

At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie&Seelaus, we have protectedthe rights of personal injury victimsinPennsylvaniasince 1980, including individuals with wrongful death claims. We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or contact us online.

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