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Your Guide to Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

Guide to Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

If a company or person has acted in negligence and caused you serious injury, you may file a lawsuit in order to obtain financial compensation from the at-fault party. But filing a lawsuit can be a challenging task. Any slight mistake can cost you the compensation that you deserve or cause further damages. That’s why you need the proper guidance and an experienced team of attorneys. 

Below, we will explain what it means to file a personal injury lawsuit and how to increase your chances of winning.

What does it mean to file a lawsuit?

A lawsuit is a formal legal case that you or your lawyer files with the court. Filing a lawsuit involves telling the court that the defendant acted negligently and hurt you (the plaintiff). In filing a lawsuit, […]

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Wayne, PA Personal Injury Lawyers

If you or your loved ones have been injured in Wayne, Pennsylvania, due to another person’s actions, you may be able to recover financial compensation for your injuries. This process is part of personal injury law. Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is a personal injury law firm that has been trusted by many Wayne residents to pursue their claims and get justice for their injuries. 

Filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit against another person or entity can be complicated and time-consuming. When pursuing compensation, it is therefore vital to have an experienced personal injury lawyer by your side. At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, our Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys know what insurance companies may try to do to get out of paying a claim. We will protect your rights and fight for what you deserve. 

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is a family firm, […]

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Determining Fault in an Auto Accident

After a car accident, hold the driver at fault accountable

The nation’s #1 personal injury lawyers explain how to determine who caused an auto collision

A crash can unquestionably change everything. Most people think that it won’t happen to them. However, 6 million drivers and passengers collide every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 3 million of those accident victims suffer serious injuries. Each year, 38,000 die in fatal car, SUV, and truck crashes. In addition to these tragic injuries and deaths, auto collisions are tremendously costly. In fact, the CDC reports that “medical care costs and productivity losses associated with injuries and deaths from motor vehicle crashes exceed $75 billion.” In most causes, determining fault in an auto accident is also the first step towards figuring out who must pay a crash victim’s expenses. However, this can be complicated. […]

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Can You Sue Uber for Accident Injuries?

Uber and Lyft crashes: Can rideshare passengers sue?

If you were a passenger in a car or SUV that crashed, you may be wondering if you can sue Uber for your accident injuries. The nation’s #1 crash lawyers explain.

Last year, more than 5 million Uber driver took Americans on 6.9 billion trips. As such, the rideshare app brought in an annual net revenue of 14.1 billion. Lyft finished out the year with 23 million active users and 3.6 billion in revenue. In many ways, these innovative apps positively change how we think about transportation and the gig economy. At the very least, they alter how many of us get from Point A to Point B.

However, rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft also contribute to a growing danger in the United States. According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), […]

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What To Do After a Hit-and-Run Accident

After a hit-and-run accident, take action

The nation’s best personal injury lawyers explain what to do after a hit-and-run automobile crash

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), there are 682,000 hit-and-run accidents in the United States every year. The moments after a serious accident are the most frightening. The crash scene may be chaotic and you may feel confused, stressed, and seriously in pain. Additionally, these feelings will likely be amplified if you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident. However, taking a moment to learn how to proceed when the driver who hit you flees the scene of the collision can make a world of difference. Accordingly, our award-winning car and truck crash lawyers  explain what to do and what not to do after a hit-and-run accident.

If you’d like to discuss the details of your accident, schedule a free consultation with a leading personal injury lawyer from Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today. […]

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Who is to blame? Potential defendants in a truck case

In a truck accident case, who can be held responsible?

If you were hurt in an accident that involved a semi-truck, tractor-trailer, dump truck, big rig, garbage truck, or another large commercial vehicle, you may be wondering whether you can file a lawsuit and who you should sue.

To determine exactly which parties are appropriate to name as defendants in your case, you should consult with an experienced truck accident lawyer about the specific details of your accident and injuries. A lawyer will examine the facts of your case and identify all possible sources of recovery – including some you might not be aware of.

The following are common defendants for claims involving catastrophic truck accidents:

• Truck Drivers – If a truck driver was at fault for the accident that caused your injuries, […]

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Truck Accidents and Expert Witnesses

Expert Witnesses in Truck Accident Cases: FAQ

 When you have a personal injury case involving a commercial truck, the stakes are high. Truck accident cases depend on highly specialized information including industry regulations, truck mechanics, and the long-term medical and economic impacts of your crash. To build a winning case, you will need the testimony of reliable witnesses, so it is essential that you have a lawyer who can bring in the right witnesses.

Who May Testify in Court As a Witness?

Not everyone has the right to come to court and testify in a truck accident case.  In order to take the stand and answer questions before a jury during a live court proceeding, a person must qualify to give testimony as a fact witness or an expert witness.

As their name suggests, fact witnesses may testify about events that they observed firsthand. […]

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Frequently Asked Questions About Sepsis

Sepsis FAQ: I Was Diagnosed with Sepsis–Can I Sue the Hospital?

What is sepsis and is it serious?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sepsis is the body’s extreme inflammatory response to an infection that occurs when harmful germs, bacteria, and toxins enter the blood, skin, lungs, urinary tract, or other tissue and cause an infection. If that infection is not treated, it can spread and cause sepsis.

The CDC classifies sepsis as a life-threatening medical emergency, sometimes resulting in the need for amputation, organ failure, and death.

Sepsis has a remarkably high mortality rate; about 50% of the 1.5 million people who contract it go into septic shock.

What Causes Sepsis?

Any infection can cause sepsis, but the most common types of infections that eventually lead to sepsis are:

• Pneumonia and Other Lung Infections
• Urinary Tract Infections
• Abdominal Infections
• Bloodstream Infections
• Kidney Infections
• Skin Infections

According to the CDC, […]

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Business Interruption Insurance

Business interruption insurance is designed to cover the loss of income normally earned by a business as a result of the forced suspension of operations. Unlike property insurance, which covers physical damage, business interruption insurance protects against lost income while the business is closed, and during the rebuilding period after the closing. 

Given the current coronavirus pandemic, the Governor of the state of PA, along with governors in many states throughout the country, has issued a state-wide mandate requiring all non-essential businesses to close. As a result, businesses are looking to their business interruption insurance to help them survive. 

Most business interruption policies will cover:

Profits that would have been earned, based on prior financial statements

Fixed costs still being incurred despite the closure

Extra expenses to allow the business to continue to operate until a return to more normal circumstances

Employee wages to allow you to retain your employees

Taxes to allow you to remain current on taxes and avoid penalties

Loan payments 

When businesses are allowed to re-open, […]

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Bloomsburg Car Accident Lawyer

Have you been injured in a car accident in Bloomsburg? Contact a car accident lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today for a FREE consultation.

When you or your loved one have been injured in a car accident in the Bloomsburg area, your choice of legal representation matters. The car accident attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys have a long history of winning cases. Our lawyers have earned national recognition for their success, and have been named among the Best Lawyers in America (via Best Lawyers), Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, and the nation’s Best Law Firms (U.S. News and World Report).

For more than 60 years, the car accident attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys have been handling auto accident claims for injured victims and their families in Columbia County and beyond. […]

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What is “PIP” coverage on my auto insurance policy?

One of the questions we hear most frequently as personal injury lawyers is “Who is responsible for my medical bills if I’m hurt in a car accident?” In Pennsylvania, you would first go through your Personal Injury Protection or “PIP” coverage. Once you’ve exhausted your PIP, you would then turn to your own health insurance for the remaining medical costs.

What is PIP coverage?

Personal injury protection or “PIP” pays for your own medical costs when you’ve been hurt in an accident. This is true no matter who is at fault for the crash. This is why PIP is sometimes referred to as “no fault” insurance. Your PIP also covers you when you’re a passenger hurt in someone else’s vehicle, or if you’re hit as a pedestrian or on a bicycle.

Do I have PIP coverage on my policy? […]

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Do I need to purchase rental car insurance?

If you’re traveling this summer, you may decide to rent a car for a road trip, or just to explore your vacation destination. When you rent a car, you have the option to purchase rental car insurance at the counter. Is this a good idea, or a waste of money? The answer is that it most likely depends on what kind of insurance you already have, if any. Some drivers absolutely need to buy rental insurance, but others don’t. And chances are you probably don’t need all of the coverages they offer.

Let us explain…

The different rental car insurance options

Liability coverage – Also known as “supplemental liability coverage.” Liability coverage is required in all states. This is the coverage that applies if you hurt someone or damage their property in an auto accident. If you have sufficient liability coverage on your personal auto policy, […]

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Gov’t shutdown halted investigation of deadly crashes

Amid the 35-day partial government shutdown earlier this year, NTSB investigations of deadly crashes were put on hold. At this point, crucial evidence may be lost forever.

On December 22, 2018, the United
States government came to a grinding halt in what would become the longest
government shutdown in U.S. history.  The
shutdown, which was temporarily brought to an end on January 25, 2019, not only
left government workers furloughed or working without pay for 35 days, but also
negatively impacted several federal agencies and organizations.

                One such agency is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  The NTSB is responsible for determining the probable cause of transportation accidents, promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.  Any delay in investigations has the potential to prevent insurance companies from paying claims to victims and their families as well as preventing justice from being served in the event of criminal cases. […]

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Trucking app promises progress, but raises safety questions

Technology has the capacity to transform the trucking industry and improve truck drivers’ way of life. Of course, that technology comes with questions about highway safety and to what extent tech companies can be held liable as their products become increasingly central to our lives.

The trucking industry is a fast-paced, competitive environment worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This market, combined with the overall unavailability of a direct and easy way for truckers to arrange the loads they haul, leaves a gap for the ever-growing technological advancement of our modern age to creep in. In 2013, Drew McElroy and Jonathan Salama took advantage of this gap to create the app “Transfix.” This app aims to make it easier for independent truckers to schedule loads, thereby decreasing the amount of time a truck may sit empty, losing money. Typically, independent truck drivers rely on freight brokers to schedule the loads they haul. […]

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Don’t rely on autopilot: Car safety tech still flawed, inconsistent

IIHS report on driver-assistance technology shows its flaws

New report from IIHS shows driver assist technology is still flawed and is no substitute for a fully attentive human driver. If you’re not paying attention, driver assist systems can even land you in a crash.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, known for its extensive crash testing and safety ratings, investigated just how reliable driver assistance technology is. Their findings varied by brand. But, the overall conclusion was that autonomous vehicle technology has a long way to go before human drivers can feel comfortable giving up the steering wheel.

The 2017 BMW 5-series, 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class,  2018 Tesla Model 3 and 2016 Model S, and 2018 Volvo S90 were evaluated.

What is driver assistance technology?

Driver assistance technology refers to the features in a car designed to help prevent collisions. […]

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Your Chances of Hitting a Deer in Pennsylvania and having an accident

Pennsylvania Drivers’ Chances of Hitting a Deer Increase This Year

For the second year in a row, PA is the #3 state in the U.S. for deer collisions. Pennsylvania drivers’ chances of hitting a deer? 1 in 63. That’s up 6% from last year.

The annual report from State Farm looks at auto insurance claims data and Federal Highway Administration data to calculate drivers’ risk of a car accident involving a deer, elk, or moose in the road. It will come as no surprise to Pennsylvania drivers that PA has topped the list for years.

Additional risk factors

October marks the beginning of deer mating season, which continues through December. During this time, the risk of hitting a deer doubles.

The hours around dawn and dusk are the most dangerous times of day for deer collisions. […]

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Families leading the fight for safer trucks

Who doesn’t want safer trucks? Weighing 80,000 lbs and driven by truckers too often pushed to their physical and mental limits, a tractor trailer barreling down the highway at 70+ mph can cause unimaginable damage in an accident. Still, potentially life-saving measures leading the fight for safer trucks are the people who know too well the devastation these vehicles can cause — the parents of children killed in tractor trailer collisions. Their mission has become to improve safety regulations that can save lives and prevent other families from experiencing the unnecessary loss that they have. However, even when the benefits are obvious and the costs minimal, truck safety regulations stall.

Underride Guards

Two mothers have devoted their lives to advocating for better underride guards after their children were killed in underride crashes. Marianne Karth and Lois Durso both lost their daughters in crashes involving tractor trailers. […]

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Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneysyers named 2017 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys: Six Super Lawyers and a Rising Star

We’re pleased to announce that once again the personal injury lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys have been included in the annual list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.

Only 5% of the attorneys in Pennsylvania earn this title. For more than a decade, the Munley lawyers have earned a spot on the Super Lawyers list. This year, we’re thrilled to announce that our own Katie Nealon has been named a Rising Star. Super Lawyers Rising Stars must be under the age of 40 and in practice for less than 10 years. This list is highly selective; only 2.5% of the young lawyers in Pennsylvania make the cut.

• Robert W. Munley, Sr., Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury;  Products: Plaintiff
• Marion K. Munley, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, […]

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Side Underride Guards May Be the Difference Between Life and Death

First-Ever Side Underride Crash Tests

A new crash test from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows exactly how side underride guards on tractor trailers can mean the difference between life and death.

A side underride crash occurs when a passenger vehicle collides with the side of a trailer or heavy truck. The results are grisly. The impact can shear the top of the smaller vehicle and kill the occupants.

The IIHS has long been measuring rear-underride guard effectiveness, but this is the first test of side guards.  Researchers ran two midsize cars into the sides of two semi-trailers at 35 mph. One trailer was equipped with a fiberglass side panel, and the other with the “AngelWing” underride protector from Airflow Deflector, Inc.

Tractor Trailer Side Underride Guard Test Results:

Fiberglass panel – As the above photo shows, the car went right through the panel and became lodged under the trailer. […]

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Pennsylvania Among the U.S. States with the Most Dog Bites

Dog Bite Prevention Week

April 9-15 is Dog Bite Prevention Week. The American Humane Association, the U.S. Postal Service, and other groups observe this week each year in an effort to help reduce the number of dog bites nationwide.

This year, multiple reports have come out indicating that dog bites increased in 2016. According to the USPS, More than 6,700 postal workers suffered a dog bite last year. That’s 200 more than in 2015. Some researchers connect this increase with the growing popularity of online shopping and home delivery services.

The Insurance Information Institute and State Farm also report that dog bites increased by as much as 18% overall last year. Note that this number may other types of include dog-related incidents – not just bites.

Which states experience the most dog bites? Pennsylvania ranks #4 in the country, […]