Author Archives: Brad Pinzur
Decedent’s Estate Sues For Wrongful Death in Pennsylvania
In a recent non-precedential wrongful death decision, a Pennsylvania woman’s estate cross-appealed from the trial court’s order granting a new trial to determine punitive damages under the Survival Act and compensatory damages for loss of society, comfort and companionship under the Wrongful Death Act. The case arose when a 31-year-old woman who had cerebral… Read More »
Can You Get Workers’ Compensation Benefits Reinstated in Pennsylvania?
In a recent workers compensation case, a Pennsylvania restaurant petitioned for review of an order related to reinstatement of workers’ compensation benefits. The worker in the case had to drive and fly for his employer. He was involved in a car accident related to his work driving in 2002 and filed for workers’ compensation…. Read More »
Trivial Defects on Property Cause Slip and Fall Case
In a recent non-precedential case, a 58-year-old woman appealed an order entering summary judgment in favor of a management company in a Pennsylvania personal injury and premises liability suit. The case arose when the woman was walking to work in a shopping complex in Pittsburgh. While walking by a storefront in rubber-soled flats, she… Read More »
Duties of Hospitals to Third Parties in Pennsylvania
In a recent case a father and daughter appealed from an order dismissing their professional negligence complaint against a hospital. The case arose when an adult woman (Dawn Martin) was brought to the hospital after a suicide attempt in 2012. She got there at 9:27 and was triaged promptly. She was voluntarily committed under… Read More »
Sovereign Immunity in Pennsylvania
In a recent case, a personal injury plaintiff appealed after a trial court granted the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) motion for summary judgment. The accident arose when she was a passenger on a SEPTA bus and while trying to step off, fell and hurt her head, neck and more. She sued, alleging SEPTA’s… Read More »
Reevaluating Pennsylvania Worker’s Compensation Disability Compensation
If a Pennsylvania worker has received total disability compensation under the workers’ compensation law for 104 weeks, the worker must submit to a medical examination (IRE) to determine how impaired he is based on his work-related injury. The degree of impairment must be based on a physician’s evaluation. The physician should be board-certified and… Read More »
Occupational Disease and Workers’ Compensation in Pennsylvania
A claimant who can prove that a workplace caused him or her to acquire an occupational disease may be eligible for workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania. In a recent case, a woman petitioned the court for review of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board’s affirmation of a judge’s decision denying her claim petition and fatal… Read More »
Landowner’s Responsibility to Independent Contractor’s Employees in Pennsylvania
In a recent non-precedential case, a man appealed from an order granting summary judgment to Thiele Manufacturing. The man was hurt while working for his employer American Roofing, Inc. He fell through a fiberglass skylight on the roof of a building owned by Thiele, a Pennsylvania corporation that manufactures dump trucks and did not… Read More »
What Constitutes Substantial Evidence in a Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Case?
In an appellate opinion that was not reported, a Regional Cancer Center petitioned the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania for review of a decision that awarded its employee, a medical assistant, total disability compensation. The injury arose in 2008 when the worker felt a pull in her low back while moving a ten-pound chair in… Read More »
No Duty to Spectators in Pennsylvania Baseball Injury Case
A Pennsylvania court recently ruled that a baseball league owes no duty to spectators for injuries arising out of the inherent risks of baseball in a non-precedential decision. The case arose when a husband and wife were spectators at their son’s little league game held by a baseball academy. Although it is non-precedential, a… Read More »
