Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog - Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

Nearly three years after a tractor-trailer crashed into a pickup truck, a jury has awarded two men injured in the wreck $900,000. David Dekker was driving his friend and co-worker, Tommy Cristaldi, on Dec. 5, 2004, when they were struck by a big rig driven by L&S Logistics Services. They were left upside down in their pickup in the woods off Interstate 295 in Florida.

As disturbing as the accident was, Cristaldi said that what happened next literally added insult to injury. "We were being worked on by the paramedics and taken to the hospital. The trooper came in and issued David the ticket," Cristaldi said. "The worst part ... the magnitude of what happened, and then being told that you were at fault, when you weren't."

Although ticketed for causing the crash, Dekker hired a lawyer and sued to prove that they were rear-ended by the tractor-trailer. The force of the crash left the imprint of the tractor's logo, grill and license plate in the rear doors of the trailer it hit -- evidence that proved the point.

"When we found the Kenworth logo imprinted in the rear end of Mr. Dekker and Mr. Cristaldi's truck, then we knew it wasn't their fault," attorney Curry Pajcic told Channel 4's John Dunlap.

Pajcic said that the truck driver's license had been suspended 11 times, and he was involved in four previous accidents while driving tractor-trailers. While Dekker and Cristaldi felt they had a strong case, when the a trial judge learned that the trucking company had destroyed evidence and would be held responsible for punitive damages, S&K Logistics decided to settle out-of-court for $900,000.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a truck accident in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced truck accident attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

Accutane (generic isotretinoin), a controversial drug used to treat severe acne, has long been associated with high rates of depression among users. Now, researchers in Britain and the United States believe they have discovered the cause for this Accutane side effect. It seems that Accutane decreases serotonin levels in the brain, which, in turn, can lead to depression and even aggressive behavior.

Introduced in 1982, Accutane has been the subject of controversy for years. It has been associated with psychiatric problems and has been linked to at least 266 cases of suicide in the United States. In addition to its connection with depression, the drug has been associated with myriad other serious side effects. It first garnered attention in the late 1980s for causing severe birth defects. Accutane has also been linked to problems of the liver, kidneys, digestive tract, central nervous system, and pancreas, as well as the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and auto-immune systems.

Earlier this year, scientists from the University of Bath in conjunction with the University of Texas at Austin conducted experiments on mice that showed that Accutane made the mice behave in ways comparable to depression in humans. Now, in an article published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, those same scientists have revealed a potential mechanism that might link Accutane to reported cases of depression in some patients taking the medication. Using cells cultured in a laboratory, the researchers monitored the effect of Accutane on the chemistry of the cells that produce serotonin. The researchers now say that Accutane could be disrupting the process by which serotonin relays signals between neurons in the brain.

Serotonin is a hormone found in the pineal gland, blood platelets, the digestive tract, and the brain. Serotonin acts both as a chemical messenger that transmits nerve signals between nerve cells and that causes blood vessels to narrow. Changes in the serotonin levels in the brain can alter the mood, and low levels of serotonin have been linked to depression, as well as bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders.

The link between low serotonin levels and Accutane use is further confirmation that this drug causes psychiatric problems – something that has been known for quite a long time. In fact, the manufacture of Accutane, Roche AG, knew about these problems long before they were made public.

A 2004 USA Today article reported that, in the mid-1990s, contrary to advice from its own doctors, Roche executives chose not to issue stronger warnings about Accutane’s depression risks. According to the article, Roche decided against the warnings after its marketing department expressed concern that doing so would hurt sales. At the time, Accutane was one of Roche’s top-selling medications, bringing in more than $1.2 million every year. In 1999, in the face of mounting evidence, the Food & Drug Administration finally required Roche to include a suicide warning on the Accutane package insert.

If you or a loved one has suffered from taking a dangerous drug or from using a defective product in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the product liability attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule an initial consultation.

Attorneys for Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center have filed an appeal in the Brock Higham medical malpractice lawsuit. Now 24-year-old Brock Higham will have to wait to see if he will still be awarded millions of dollars that a Bonneville county jury said he deserves.The jury decision was handed down in May, but the hospital feels their verdict was not in harmony with the facts of the case and stand by their claim that they did not cause Higham's injuries.

Statement from EIRMC: "The hospital defended Brock Higham's lawsuit again us not because we lack sympathy for his circumstances, but because we provided good care to Brock four years ago, and we did not cause his injuries."

At the trial of Higham vs. Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, jury members listened to testimony from the Higham family and medical personel before coming back with a verdict in favor of Brock Higham.

The jury determined EIRMC did breach its standard of care when back in 2002 Higham went into EIRMC for a same-day wrist operation and left with permanent brain damage.

The hospital, to this day, does not believe they were responsible saying, "We believe the testimony and medical evidence do not support the claims made by the opposing lawyers. We believe the appellate court will correct the situation and determine that the conduct of the nursing personnel met the standards required."

After the verdict was read, the Higham family pleaded with the hospital administration to not appeal the jury decision saying, "We would also like to make a plea to Doug Crabtree and Lou Fatkin to not appeal this jury decision. This could delay Brock's owed money for two more years. Brock is in need of vital therapies that are not available in our area. The window of opportunity for Brock's Recovery is closing, and time is of the essence."

After hearing of the appeal, the Higham family said they would prefer to have Brock make a statement, but at this time is he is too upset to do so.

If you or a loved one has suffered or died due to medical malpractice in Philadelphia, please contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis, serving clients in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The parents of a severely disabled man who choked to death while eating a hot dog at a day shelter are suing the facility's operator, claiming negligence. Gregory and Betty Jo Payne filed the lawsuit in Kanawha County, West Virginia Circuit Court against Deaf Education and Advocacy Focus, Inc., a non-profit group based in South Charleston, West Virginia.

Craig Payne, the 22-year-old son of the Paynes who had cerebral palsy, died in February 2007 at DEAF's West Sattes Adult Day Treatment Center in Nitro. A worker assigned to Payne that day wasn't trained to work with him and didn't know he couldn't eat solid food, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges that no workers attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver when Payne began choking; no one immediately called for an ambulance either. The plaintiff's attorney, Bill Forbes said the workers' improper training and improper application of protocols caused his clients' son's death.

Under pressure from the state, DEAF closed its West Sattes site and another one of its programs in another county in West Virginia. Eighty disabled adults had to be transferred to other programs.

If you or a loved one has suffered or died as a result of someone else's negligence in Philadelphia, you should contact a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Lawyer at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your personal consultation.

A wrongful death case has been filed against drug store giant Walgreen Co. after an allegedly incorrect prescription caused a woman to have a miscarriage. The incident occurred outside St. Louis where Chanda Givens tried to fill a prescription for Materna, a prenatal vitamin, and was allegedly given Matulane, a strong chemotherapy drug, instead. The lawsuit claims that Givens became ill soon after beginning the medication but wrote it off to morning sickness. Her doctor then warned her that the baby was not developing properly and within a few weeks she miscarried.

The lawsuit claims that the defendants failed to adequately supervise those dispensing medication to ensure patient safety, in addition to failure to follow protocol and verify the prescription with Givens doctor. Givens and Walgreen's only realized the mistake when she tried to refill the prescription, believing that it would help if she were to conceive another child. Walgreen's asserts that they have a multi-step process for filling prescriptions to ensure that these kinds of mistakes do not happen. Walgreen's has not formally admitted any mistake but has offered their condolences for Givens' loss.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to someone else’s medical negligence in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule an initial consultation.

A $10 million lawsuit by the family of a Bosnian concentration camp survivor who was shot and killed by a San Jose police officer is scheduled to begin this week.

The suit filed by the family of Zaim Bojcic is set to begin in November 2007 in federal court in San Jose, where a jury will consider a civil rights and wrongful death claims brought by Bojcic's estate against the San Jose Police Department.

Bojcic was shot and killed in September of 2004 at a Starbucks after police say he threw a chair and tried to kick and punch a police officer. After the incident, the district attorney's office presented the case to a grand jury, which declined to bring criminal charges against the officer.

If you feel a loved one has suffered a wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced wrongful death attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

Ryan Ruiz, 16, of Austin Texas, shares the same last name with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Hector Ruiz. Ryan is the victim of a birth defect. He is missing the lower right part of his arm and was born with significant cognitive impairment. The unfortunate irony of his last name is that his conditions are allegedly caused by Hector Ruiz's company, AMD.

Ryan's mom, Maria Ruiz, worked in AMD's Fab 14 clean room from 1988 to 2002. She was exposed to a wide array of toxic chemicals during her employment with AMD, including ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate, both known to cause birth defects. During her employment she had to seek medical attention at least twice due to fume inhalation.

Her exposure concerned her when she discovered she was pregnant. She inquired about health risks with a local doctor at the Austin Regional Clinic but was told not to worry about it and to feel free to return to work. AMD was perfectly happy to take her back, and she worked most of the remaining course of her pregnancy, continuously exposed to chemicals that are known in the medical community to cause birth defects.

She had her son, Ryan, who was born missing part of a limb and with brain damage.

Now Maria is taking the fight to the corporation she feels damaged her and her son. The lawsuit, filed in Travis County District Court, both targets AMD and includes medical malpractice allegations against the doctors at the clinic she went to for medical consultation. It names a family/occupational health practitioner and an obstetrics and gynecology specialist, George Marking, MD and Alinda Cox, MD. These doctors, according to the suit, failed to warn Maria about any possible risks of working with the toxic chemicals at her place of employment during her pregnancy.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to medical malpractice in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Pomerantz, Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

A jury recently awarded $12.5 million in damages to the family of a dentist killed in an accident while riding his bicycle last year. Glenn Garvin, 49, an avid cyclist, was struck by a vehicle and killed on Sept. 16, 2006, while riding on a California road. The Thousand Oaks, CA resident was a member of the city's traffic advisory board and a bicycle safety volunteer.

His family filed a wrongful death suit against the driver, Norma Seigel, 82, of Thousand Oaks. The president of the Ventura County Bar Association said he believes the award of damages is one of the highest ever involving a personal injury or wrongful death suit in Ventura County.

The Garvin family's lawyer, Mark Hiepler, praised the jury's decision. "I am pleased a jury of conservative Ventura County people saw the value of the life of a father and husband and the value he brought to the community," said Hiepler.
In a prepared statement, wife Pamela Garvin, 50, said, "My husband, Glenn, was a volunteer traffic safety commissioner for the city of Thousand Oaks who taught and lived bicycle safety. His death…was preventable and teaches us that we must individually take responsibility for those we love, whether elderly or young, who should not be driving."

In the Garvin case, Seigel admitted she was responsible for the death, so the accident's cause wasn't an issue in the case. Instead, the trial focused on monetary damages.

Seigel's ophthalmologist told her eight days before the accident that she had cataracts in both eyes, according to Hiepler. The day before the accident and during another visit to her ophthalmologist, she was told she had "dense cataracts" in both eyes. Seigel's lawyer, Robert Hanger, couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Attorney Light said he believes the jury's award was large partly because Garvin had a large annual income — future earnings the family will no longer receive. Garvin was an endodontist who earned about $746,633 in 2006, according to the lawsuit.

Hiepler said Seigel has insurance and assets, and another court hearing will determine whether it will be enough to satisfy the judgment.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed due to someone else’s negligence, please contact the experienced wrongful death attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

Ever since their 13-year-old daughter Sara was killed when she drove a friend's ATV into a tree, Duane and Cathy Hennarichs wanted to save other children from a similar fate.

A Palm Beach County jury helped their cause on Friday, finding that the family that owned the four-wheeler Sara rode to her death in September 2003 was negligent and ordered them to pay the Hennarichses $3.6 million. The suburban Boca Raton couple said they are hopeful the jury's verdict will spur other ATV owners to realize the perils of letting youngsters ride the vehicles alone.

''We just wanted to make parents realize how dangerous these machines are and that they shouldn't be entrusted to young children without their supervision,'' Duane Hennarichs said of the lengthy legal battle he and his wife waged since their middle daughter's death. ''This was done for Sara,'' said Cathy Hennarichs, who plans to lobby more actively for tougher regulation via the group Concerned Families for ATV Safety. ``She's going to be saving children, and that's important to me.''

John Richards, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who represented Roger and Karen Fina and their son Nicolas, now 17, in the weeklong trial, said he disagreed with the jury's verdict, but no decision has been made as to whether it would be appealed.
''This was a tragic and unfortunate accident that involved good families and good kids,'' he said.

The Hennarichses claimed that the accident could have been avoided if the Finas had simply heeded the warning stickers on the ATV. The stickers clearly stated that the ATV shouldn't be driven by any one under the age of 16, and that no one should ride with a passenger.

Sara, an eighth-grader at Eagles Landing Middle School in suburban Boca Raton, had borrowed Nicolas' ATV and was riding with another youth when she lost control of the vehicle and was thrown headfirst into a tree in the gated Tierra Del Rey North community. She died of head injuries three hours later at Delray Medical Center. The other youth sustained minor injuries.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury or death due to someone else’s negligence in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the personal injury lawyers at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

Purdue University in Indiana has agreed to settle out of court with a family whose son died on campus after being electrocuted. The body of freshman student Wade Steffey of Bloomington, Indiana was found two months after he was electrocuted in a high voltage university utility room. The university claims he was intoxicated at the time of his death, but doctors hired by the family dispute that.

It took two months to find the young man's body after he was reported missing. Wade was last seen in January at Purdue's Owen Hall dormitory. His body was found two months later in the buildings high voltage room after weeks of intensive searches. Investigators determined that Steffey was accidentally electrocuted inside the room. Consultants hired by the university concluded that the door to the room had been left unlocked.

Steffey's family received the maximum allowable damages under Indiana law.

While Purdue University has not formally accepted responsibility for Steffey's death, it has secured its buildings' high voltage rooms, making them inaccessible, while helping to establish and fund a scholarship in Wade Steffey's name.

If you or a loved has been injured or died due to no fault of your own, please contact the Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis, serving clients in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A Florida motorcyclist’s leg was completely severed when he struck a guardrail after traveling at a very high rate of speed and crashing. Joshua Holinger, 26, was injured in the crash while riding a 2004 Honda. He passed several vehicles and lost control of the motorcycle and began to slide on the roadway. He was ejected from the motorcycle and his right leg struck a guardrail post and was severed. Holinger was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in serious condition.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a motorcycle accident in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced motorcycle accident lawyers at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule an initial consultation.

A dentist who was dancing while drilling a patient’s tooth is being sued because the drill bit snapped off while he was dancing, and the drill lodged near her eye. Brandy Fanning, 31, had to undergo emergency surgery and spent three days in the hospital due to the dental dancing mishap. The lawsuit, filed in New York last month against Dr. George Trusty, seeks $600,000 for her medical expenses, pain, and suffering.

Ms. Fanning went to the Syracuse Community Health Center emergency dental clinic after pain in a left molar started getting worse. With a root canal ruled out as an option, Dr. Trusty gave her some Novocain and began drilling to break up the tooth before extracting it. As he drilled, the song “Car Wash” came on the office radio, and he began dancing to it. Then a loud snap was heard. Trusty tried to use a metal hook to pull the bit out, but that only pushed it farther up, driving it through the sinus and bone near her eye socket.

Fanning said the dentist told her she should go to an ER immediately even though she may eventually “sneeze the drill bit out,” but doctors told her that if she really had sneezed, the drill bit could have blinded her left eye!

Fanning still suffers facial swelling, nerve damage, and chronic infections since the October 2004 incident.

If you or a loved one has suffered or died due to medical malpractice in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule an initial consultation.

A blown tire caused a tractor-trailer full of trash to roll over and dump its cargo along the side of Interstate 86 in New York. State police state the truck, driven by James Atkins, 42, of Niagara Falls, was traveling west on the interstate when the driver experienced a front-right tire failure approximately one mile from the Almond exit. He lost control of the rig and swerved off the roadway along the shoulder, damaging several sections of guide wire. The truck traveled up a steep embankment, lost speed and rolled over on its side eventually.

The driver was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries. The truck was hauling a full load of household garbage from New York City to the Hyland Facilities Associates landfill in Angelica, according to the police.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a truck accident in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced truck accident lawyers at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

A woman committing suicide by jumping from an 11-story building in Tokyo landed on a pedestrian and caused a serious brain injury. The unidentified jumper, who appeared to be in her 30’s or 40’s, jumped from a building on a busy Tokyo street and was declared dead at the scene. The man she landed on was 47 years old and just happened to be passing by at the time the woman jumped.

Japan has one of the world’s highest suicide rates; 32,000 people took their own lives in 2006.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule an initial consultation.