Verdicts & Settlements
Teenage recovers from Stepmom for fall out from a moving vehicle
A 14 year old girl was helping her stepmother deliver early morning newspapers. The youngster sat in the back of the van with the door open while she folded and tossed the newspaper out the open door. No seatbelt was in use because she had to bend forward to pick-up the newspapers. Somehow, the youngster managed to fall out of the vehicle while it was in motion and struck her head on the roadway. While she suffered no serious physical injuries, her sense of smell was dramatically reduced following this incident.
Attorney Weinstein retained experts at Jefferson's famous Monell Institute for Taste and Smell to do extensive testing and confirmed the youngster's subjective complaints of decreased sense of smell. Although it was anticipated that the stepmother's insurance carrier would try to portray the step-daughter's claim as divisive to the family, attorney Weinstein was able to obtain a significant settlement in this claim.
$500,000. Result - Failure to Diagnose Abdominal Aneurysm
Attorney Chris Moyer helped our client, a 68 year old female, who appeared at the emergency room with complaints of severe abdominal pains. After a delay of multiple hours, x-rays were taken and she was diagnosed with constipation and given a laxative. A few minutes later an aneurysm which was within her abdomen burst and she died on the operating table. We argued that had she received the proper work up and physical examination the aneurysm would have been spotted and she could have had it removed surgically before it burst, thus saving her life.
- This case was handled by Christopher T. Moyer.$250,000. Result - Auto Accident
Our client, a 52 year old female, was involved in a serious accident in 1998. In 1994, four years prior to the accident, our client underwent a spinal fusion with Harrington rod placement for scoliosis. Subsequent to that surgery she was placed in a back brace for ten (10) months and underwent physical therapy and was doing well at the time of the accident. After the accident she suffered an aggravation of her prior back condition and underwent radio frequency nerve ablations in an attempt to relieve her pain. The defendant argued that her complaints were related to her prior back problems and not related to the car accident. Our Philadelphia accident lawyers settled this case 1 day before trial.
- This case was handled by Christopher T. Moyer$200,000. Result - Bus Runs over Minor
Our client, a 12 year old girl, was struck by a bus driver who was not paying attention to our client who was lawfully crossing the street. She suffered a serious fracture of the pelvis and underwent open reduction, internal fixation of the fracture. Thankfully, she made an excellent recovery and she is now pain free. The case settled at the final pre-trial conference immediately prior to jury selection.
- This case was handled by Christopher T. Moyer$300,000 Recovery from Insurance Policy Alleged to Only Be $15,000
Kevin Weinstein was recently able to convince a Superior court judge in Camden County, New Jersey that Ryder Trucks was responsible for the full amount of plaintiffs' damages despite the fact that it's rental agreement with the driver of the vehicle limited Ryder's responsibility to $15,000 per person in damages. Mr. Weinstein discovered that unlike New Jersey law, where a vehicle owner is not necessarily responsible for the actions of a person who operates a vehicle with the owner's permission, a New York statute expressly provides that an owner is always responsible for the actions of a driver of his vehicle. Since the Ryder truck which caused Plaintiff's injuries was rented in New York to a New York resident, who then traveled into New Jersey, Mr. Weinstein convinced the trial judge that New York law should apply and that Ryder, as owner of the vehicle, could not claim its liability was only limited to the $15,000 in coverage it listed on the rental contract. Faced with a jury trial where the jury would have been instructed that New York law was applicable on this issue, Ryder quickly settled plaintiff's claim for full value.
- This case was handled by Christopher T. Moyer.$250,000. Car Accident Settlement - Minor Brain Injury
Our client suffered from minor brain trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder and had difficulty returning to work. The defendant argued that there were no objective signs of injury including negative X-rays, CT scans and MRI's of the brain and that he suffered nothing more than a concussion and was engaged in symptom magnification. Christopher T. Moyer successfully resolved this car accident case involving minor damage to our client's vehicle after mediation.
- This case was handled by Christopher T. Moyer.$100,000. Broken Chair Settlement
Our client was injured when he was caused to fall by a chair that was broken. Settlement of this case was made extremely difficult because by the time the client came to us the defective chair had already been disposed of and the defendant was not on notice of the claim.
- This case was handled by Christopher T. Moyer.Pennsylvania National Guard Prevented from Disclaiming Responsibility for Actions of Intoxicated Guardsmen
Numerous members of a family returning to Boston from a trip to Disney World, sustained debilitating injuries when their station wagon was struck head-on by a Pennsylvania National Guardsman who had lost control of his vehicle, crossed a grassy median and caused a head-on car accident. Both the driver and passenger of the National Guard vehicle were intoxicated at the time of the crash. Despite the fact that one of the National Guardsman had permission to use the vehicle on the day prior to the collision there was no supervision to ensure that the National Guard vehicle was properly returned to the Guard Headquarters. The National Guard refused to defend the two guardsmen and filed a motion for summary judgment seeking an Order from the Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court that they were not responsible for the guardsmen's actions. Despite a compelling legal argument presented by Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, Kevin Weinstein was able to convince the Common Pleas Court that there was a sufficient legal and factual basis to hold the Pennsylvania National Guard responsible for the actions of its two guardsmen and the Court denied the Attorney General's motion, thus affording plaintiffs their day in court.
- This case was handled by Kevin Weinstein, Esquire