In my world, there is a general consensus on the value or certain injuries that allows cases to be routinely settled between plaintiffs’ lawyers and insurance companies. Let’s say hypothetically that a typical fractured arm or wrist with no surgery and no adverse consequences after a period of splinting or casting, and recovery is worth around $45,000. Sometimes more, sometimes …
Your Water Is Dangerous, Whaaaaat?
Recently, I had not heard about the latex spill into the Delaware River and went to my local ACME and found that all the bottled water had been cleaned out. Except, of course, Aquafina which has a serious marketing problem. But that is a separate story. Anyway, here is what happened per the City of Philadelphia. A synthetic latex product …
The Standard of Care
The key question in these cases is what was the standard of care at the time of the alleged negligence. Unlike in law, where we have years of cases telling us what the general standards are, in medicine, there are few corollaries. If you are an OB-GYN, there is the American College of Gynecologists (ACOG) that outlines a lot of …
Litigation Tactics: Should You Represent Your Business’ Former Employee?
Should you represent your business’ former employee? From the plaintiff’s perspective, I am always happiest to see a business’ former employee testifying at a deposition without counsel. I am also puzzled by the failure of a former employer to represent the witness. There are multiple reasons why a business may not want to represent a former employee including bad blood, …
What is the Prime Motivating Factor for Settlements of a Six-Figure Case?
In my experience, the prime motivating factor is that both sides do not know how a jury will decide the case and therefore neither wants to take the risk of a verdict for or against. Juries are very unpredictable in the mid-six figure cases. On smaller cases, juries may not care too much. On huge cases involving deaths or paralysis, …
TSA Checkpoint Slip & Fall and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)
I am in the middle of a case involving a slip and fall at a TSA checkpoint at our beloved Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). It now involves a gobbledygook of abbreviations as with many things involving the federal government. As the lawyers reading may know, you cannot sue the sovereign or your government without their expressed permission. You can sue …
Peaky Blinders
I am deep into this Netflix series that is sort of a 1920’s British Sopranos/Breaking Bad mashup. It is great if you like that sort of thing. How does that affect what we are doing here at Neuwirth Law or in personal injury land generally? I am largely unknown to most defense lawyers and insurers. I take millions in settlement …
Would You Rather…
Do you think you would rather have 1) a medical malpractice case where the doctor admits he missed something, but the miss has limited or hard to figure damages or 2) a slip and fall case resulting in the doctor admitting he missed something, but the miss has limited or hard to figure damages? Several new cases of mine have …
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
So, summer has come to a close and now the real work of litigation kicks into high gear. Anything that was put off for summer reasons, whether good or bad, is now on the front burner. A lot of work was put off till after Labor Day and now we are going to be in the middle of a lot …
HIGH VALUE CASES?
What makes cases more valuable in the eyes of both sides is whether the injured person has a permanent injury that will not resolve. Essentially, could both sides see a jury compensating the claimant for future pain and suffering beyond where the person is today? If so, then the person will have a case with unlimited damages. This poses a …