Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

It was a warm night in Philadelphia outside a fraternity house on a university campus, when our client was approached by a group of youths looking to make trouble. Racial slurs, ethnic intimidation by a group of men from New Jersey, Abington and Northeast Philadelphia, was followed by an assault and battery by just one of the youths. It left our client lying on the sidewalk bleeding and psychologically scarred.

This was a case that no Philadelphia lawyers were interested in because normally criminal behavior is uninsurable in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or anywhere else, for that matter. The assailant and his buddies were students of adult age with no independent assets of their own. Proving that our client had been a victim of an assault and battery would have been easy. A verdict would be won in the Philadelphia Courts against the hitter but recovering a single penny or any sufficient amount more than the medical bills would leave the injured young man little hope that any Philly lawyer would take on such a case without being handsomely paid in advance to pursue such litigation without much hope of a financial recovery.

The lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger and Lewis, however, came up with a novel legal approach when they sued for NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF MENTAL DISTRESS. The theory was that the men who had been part of the intimidation but had not struck a single blow were negligent in standing around and intimidating the victim and by participating had negligently influenced the assaulter by participating in the intimidation.

By suing on a theory of negligence against the group members other than the assaulter, the rarely pursued homeowners’ insurance coverage of the negligent, non assaulting conspirators was able to be invoked. This enabled the Philadelphia injury lawyers at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis to secure a six figure out-of-court settlement.

A retired police officer has won a $15.7 million jury verdict against the city of Los Angeles for injuries he suffered in a collision with a dump truck in Northridge three years ago, attorneys announced.

Barry Bowman, 62, suffered severe brain damage in the crash at Vanalden and Wilbur avenues in Northridge on Oct. 13, 2004. His attorneys said he was on his way home on a motorcycle from working as a security officer on a movie set when a dump truck collided with Bowman and his bike.

But attorney John DeGomez, who represented the city in the trial, said Bowman collided with the dump truck, driven by Tommy Wyatt.

"Mr. Bowman struck the dump truck," DeGomez contended. "He ran into the wheel well of the dump truck and sustained brain injuries. The dump truck was traveling 2 to 3 miles per hour."

Attorneys also disagreed on whether the city was responsible. Wyatt was contracted by the city but an independent worker, DeGomez said.

Bowman had been a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for almost 30 years. His specialty had been flying helicopters; he also was a Vietnam veteran.

The jury awarded him nearly $5 million for past and future medical care and $11 million for pain and emotional distress.

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

The Supreme Court has made it more difficult for whistleblowers to share in the proceeds from fraud lawsuits against government contractors. The court recently ruled that James Stone, an 81-year-old retired engineer, may not collect a dime for his role in exposing fraud at the now-closed Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant northwest of Denver, Colorado.

Justice Antonni Scalia said Stone was not an original source of the information that resulted in Rockwell International, now part of aerospace giant Boeing, being ordered to pay the government over $4 million for fraud connected with environmental cleanup at the Rocky Flats Plant.

The company wanted the justices to restrict when an individual can collect for suing on the government’s behalf.

If you or someone you know was a whistleblower and needs legal representation to protect your rights and get you the monetary compensation you deserve, please contact a Philadelphia Qui Tam Attorney at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.

A tractor trailer accident caused a portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to close down early Monday morning. Just before 9:30 a.m., a tanker truck crashed on the turnpike, and the westbound-side of the road was closed between Fort Washington and Norristown. The tanker apparently jackknifed, blocking all the westbound lanes of the Turnpike. At this time, two of the lanes are no open.

No injuries have yet been reported in the crash, and the incident is still under investigation.

If you have been injured in a truck accident in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the office of Pomerantz, Perlberger & Lewis, LLP today to schedule your confidential consultation.

A Georgia federal judge recently ruled that the former owner of a metal fabrication machine did not breach any duty to maintain the equipment or any duty to warn the plaintiff of any danger associated with the machine and granted it summary judgment.

Neville Smith filed the products liability case in the DeKalb County Superior Court in March 2006 after being involved in a workplace accident in June 2004 while working as an operator of a Fabripunch machine manufactured by Peddinghause Corporation.

Smith claims that he was using his left hand to straighten a die when the stripper clamp unexpectedly came down and trapped his thumb. The accident resulted in amputation of his thumb. It was later determined that the stripper clamp malfunctioned because of an electrical short with one of the relays going to the stripper clamp.

In his complaint, Smith alleges strict liability and negligence for defective design against Peddinghaus; failure to warn against Peddinghaus, C&I Steel, and Steel; improper installation and/or modification against Steel; negligent maintenance against Steel and C&I Steel; and punitive damages against all of the defendants, who removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on April 25, 2006.

C&I Steel moved for summary judgment in 2007, arguing that it had no duty to Smith, it did not breach any duty to him and, even if it breached a duty to plaintiff, this breach was not the proximate cause of Smith’s injuries. The company also contended that because it has no liability to Smith, he cannot recover punitive damages.

Judge G. Ernest Tidwell determined that Smith failed to establish that C&I Steel breached any duty to maintain the equipment or any duty to warn him of any danger posed by the Fabripunch machine and granted the motion for summary judgment.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to someone else's negligence, please contact the personal injury attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis, LLP today to schedule your initial consultation.

A 12-year-old boy from Altoona, Pennsylvania was found by a jury to be 50 % responsible for an injury he suffered when a concrete barrier in a church parking lot fell on him eight years ago. A Blair County, Pennsylvania jury found that although the church was negligent in maintaining the wall, the boy was old enough to know that the wall was dangerous and therefore was partly responsible for the accident. They awarded a finding of $253,093 in the premises liability suit, including $103,093 for medical expenses, $100,000 for pain and suffering, and $50,000 for loss of enjoyment of life. However, because the boy was found 50 % responsible, comparative negligence law means that the boy will only collect 126,546.50

Despite testimony that the lot had been used for decades by kids as a play area because of the lack of actual playgrounds in the downtown Altoona area, the church pastor testified that he was not aware that kids were using the parking lot as a play area. And because witnesses said they saw the kids rocking the wall before it fell, the boy was held responsible for the fall. One does not envy the jury that has to make a decision in a lawsuit between a permanently crippled child and a church. Perhaps the 50-50 liability split was their best compromise, but the boy will never walk right again.

If you have been injured as a result of negligent property maintenance, contact the experienced premises liability lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.