April 8th, 2021 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
FAIR SHARE ACT-MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION Spencer v. Johnson, 2021 Pa. Super. LEXIS 144, 2021 PA Super 48 (March 18, 2021) (Panella, P.J.) This consolidated appeal arises out of an automobile accident that occurred in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On October 16, 2014, the car that Cleveland Johnson (“Cleveland”) was driving struck Appellant/Cross-Appellee, Keith Spencer (“Spencer”), a pedestrian, as he lawfully crossed the street. Spencer suffered permanent, debilitating injuries, which have severely diminished his quality of life. Central to this appeal is the extent to which the owner of the car that Cleveland was driving should be held liable for Spencer’s injuries. The owner, Appellee/Cross-Appellant, Philadelphia Joint Board Workers United, SEIU (“PJB”), provided the car to its employee, Appellee/Cross-Appellant, Tina Johnson (“Tina”), who is Cleveland’s wife. The parties do not dispute two facts: (1) Spencer was not at fault, and (2) Cleveland was negligent in his operation of the vehicle. However, the parties disagree as to whether Tina was negligent in allowing Cleveland to operate her work vehicle, and whether PJB was negligent under the laws of agency and vicarious liability in failing to maintain reasonable policies and regulations for the vehicles…
August 18th, 2020 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
If you are injured in a car accident, you may wonder what are non-economic damages in a car accident case. There could be different types of damages you could receive to compensate you, depending on the facts of your case. Under Pennsylvania law, damages generally fall into two categories: economic and non-economic. Car accident cases are typically based on negligence law. The plaintiff (the injured person filing the lawsuit) would need to prove that the defendant (the party sued) had an obligation to do or avoid doing something in the situation, and the defendant did not live up to that duty. For example, the defendant was speeding, ran a red light, or was intoxicated. As a result, the defendant caused the accident and your injuries. You need to establish the harm you suffered. The judge or jury would decide what damages you are entitled to and the amount. Sometimes cases go to alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or arbitration. Damages in a car accident case measure the harm you suffered in dollars. That is easier to determine for economic (sometimes called special) damages. They are a reduced income or…
August 12th, 2020 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
Can you sue an uninsured driver? In the state of Pennsylvania, it is illegal for a driver to not be covered by auto insurance. And, in fact, we have one of the lower uninsured rates in the country, according to the Insurance Information Institute. That is great news. However, like in any state, there are drivers here who try to get away with driving uninsured. And if you are unlucky enough to be hit by one of them, you can find yourself in serious financial trouble. Can you sue an uninsured driver? The answer is that you may be able to. After your accident, it is important to hire an experienced lawyer to help you recover the money you need to pay your bills and other losses related to the wreck. The lawyers at Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann will help you with every step of your claim. We will: Calculate the amount of your losses Determine your own insurance coverage and whether you have enough to cover your losses If necessary, help you file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver and any other responsible parties. Can…
November 1st, 2019 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
Knowing how to calculate pain and suffering in a car accident settlement can help you understand what compensation to expect in your case. If you are injured in a car accident in Pennsylvania, the chances are that you will suffer not only financial damages, but also physical and emotional damages along with pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of life’s pleasures that can impact your life even more severely than your financial loss. One court has said that the so-called noneconomic damages represent the iceberg, with the economic damages only the tip of the iceberg. Determining how to calculate pain and suffering and other non-economic damages in a car accident settlement is much more challenging than calculating economic costs, such as lost wages, lost wage horizon, medical, hospital, and rehabilitative bills, and property damage. If another party’s negligence or responsibility was involved in the accident, you should be entitled to receive financial compensation that covers pain and suffering, disfigurement, emotional distress and loss of life’s pleasures as Pennsylvania law allows you to recover both economic and non-economic losses from the at-fault party who caused the crash. However, insurance companies have…
July 24th, 2019 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
Three Things You Should Not Have to Worry About When You Hire a Capable Car Accident Attorney If you have been in a car crash in Pennsylvania, you probably have lots of worries. Your first priority should be taking care of your injuries, but there are also worries about your financial situation and how the crash will affect your future and your family. You worry about paying your bills and your living costs, especially if the injury affects your ability to work and you no longer have a vehicle. Then there is the stress of dealing with insurance companies. What if you say something wrong and it damages your case? How do you know how much your settlement is worth and whether to agree to what the insurance company offers? You will want to know what underinsurance is. You will need to know if you have signed any waivers or sign-downs reducing your underinsurance coverage. You will need to know about the insurance coverage of the other driver or drivers. You will want to know whether the other driver who was at fault for the accident was at work and, if so,…
June 26th, 2019 by contenteditor in Car Accidents
Central Pennsylvania City Police release information concerning a two-vehicle crash. City Police say that the driver was traveling at an excessive speed when his Pontiac Firebird struck a utility pole and slammed into a stopped SUV. Both drivers were taken to a Regional Hospital in Pennsylvania, as was a passenger in the car. If you or a loved one suffered an injury that could have been avoided or that was caused because somebody was careless or negligent make sure you know your rights. Call us for a free consultation at 570-323-8711
January 11th, 2019 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
Drivers who repeatedly drive while intoxicated, even after getting multiple DUI convictions, put themselves and others at risk. Drunk driving is a major cause of car crashes that kill and maim people throughout Pennsylvania. In 2017, the department of transportation (PennDOT) recorded 12,040 crashes where a driver was suspected of being impaired, a 2.1 percent increase from 2016. With the holiday drinking season in full swing, Pennsylvania lawmakers have voted to increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders. On December 23, 2018, a law went into effect that increases penalties for those with a third conviction of driving with at least twice the legal limit of alcohol in their system, and for anyone with fourth DUI convictions. In addition, mandatory jail time for repeat offenders is longer. If you or a loved one was injured or if someone has died in a crash involving drunk driving, you may have a claim for compensation for your losses. This includes medical, hospital and rehabilitation costs, lost past and future wages, loss of wage horizon, and other economic expenses. Compensation may also include the even more significant concept of non-economic damages such as loss…
November 12th, 2018 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
It was a birthday celebration that turned deadly. A crash involving a limousine in Schoharie, New York, on the afternoon of Saturday, October 6, killed 20 people, including the driver, 17 passengers, and two pedestrians. The limousine failed to come to a stop and lost control while proceeding through a busy intersection. An investigation showed that the stretch limousine, a converted 2001 Ford Excursion, had failed safety inspections shortly before the crash and was not supposed to be on the road. In inspections made on September 4, Prestige Limousine Chauffeur Service, the company which owned the vehicle, had its limos cited for defective brakes, lack of proper emergency exits, flat or balding tires, defective windshield wipers, and other maintenance problems. In addition, the driver was not even licensed to operate the vehicle, as he did not have a commercial driver license (CDL) with a passenger endorsement. Both the company and the vehicle had been watched by the New York Department of Transportation in the past, but the company still managed to put a defective vehicle on the road driven by a driver without a proper license. Factors like noncompliance with…
October 8th, 2018 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
Pennsylvania roads are in bad condition, riddled with annoying potholes that can cause vehicle crashes that may damage property and result in serious injuries or even death. Those who survive a crash can wind up with injuries such as whiplash, neck injuries, and paralysis that can maim, disfigure, and cause pain and suffering that may last a lifetime. Conditions are so bad that a 2017 study by TRIP, a national research transportation group, ranked our state eighth in the country for rural roads in poor condition. The report found that about 22 percent of Pennsylvania roads were rated as being in poor condition. Pennsylvania was also ranked third for structurally deficient rural bridges and 16th for fatality rate on rural roads. When poor road conditions and potholes play a part in causing accidents or cause damage to vehicles and injuries to their occupants, you may have a legal claim for damages against the state or local government responsible for maintaining the roads and highways. However, there are special rules for filing a claim against a government entity. In order to ensure you get the settlement you are entitled to, you…
August 13th, 2018 by Rieders Travis in Car Accidents
Emerging technologies are cool and useful, but they can also take drivers down a path of distraction that leads to increased crashes. Driving while distracted is illegal in 47 states, including Pennsylvania; but people are addicted to their gadgets and technology, and new cars have more of these than ever. As a result, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has been studying how to minimize the driving distractions they say kill 3,500 people and injure 390,000 in U.S. crashes every year. According to the Washington Post the study showed that new vehicle technology involving buttons, touch screens, gesture controls, heads-up displays, and voice commands are often not safe when used while the vehicle is in motion. For example, distractions from Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto shaved crucial seconds from the time that drivers could get their eyes back on the road. The AAA survey found that almost half of drivers said they make calls and 35 percent sent a text or email while driving. In the less than 4.5 seconds it takes to send a text, a vehicle going 55 mph covers more than the length of a football…
