Allstate’s $950,000 Blunder

Allstate required to pay out nearly a million dollars after delaying insurance coverage of fatal car crash

Attorney Daniel W. Munley, a partner in the law firm of Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, negotiated a $950,000.00 settlement on behalf of the family of a teenager killed in an automobile crash in 2001.

The defendant, who received his driver’s license just weeks before, was driving his mother’s Camaro at an excessive speed when he crossed double yellow lines to pass another vehicle and lost control of his automobile. The plaintiff’s son was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a fatal wound.

The defendant’s insurance company, Allstate, failed to pay its obvious driver’s liability and delayed the case for a number of years. Attorney Munley offered Allstate numerous opportunities to act in good faith, essentially requiring them to pay out the policy limit of $25,000.00. After a time extension and several attempts to contact Allstate, […]

PA Pledges $20 Million to Help Intellectual Disabilities

The Pennsylvania state budget for 2013-14 will include nearly $20 million to help approximately 1,200 adults with intellectual disabilities.

The goal is to shrink the waiting list for home- and community-based services that are needed by these individuals. Among the covered conditions: Down syndrome, autism, and learning disabilities.

In announcing the budget set-aside, Governor Tom Corbett said, “We need to do a better job of looking after these citizens, who, through no failing of their own, cannot look after themselves.”

People in Pennsylvania with disabilities might be eligible for state or federal financial assistance.

Social Security Disability benefits are available to individuals who have earned wages and paid into the Social Security system in at least 20 of the last 40 quarters. In order to qualify for Social Security Disability, a person must be totally disabled – meaning incapable of performing any job due to the disability. […]

Social Security Adds to List of Disability Conditions

The Social Security Administration has added 35 medical conditions – including adult non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Dravet’s syndrome – to its list of conditions that qualify for expedited disability claims processing for Pennsylvania residents who suffer from them.

The new additions push the total number of so-called “Compassionate Allowances” to 200.

Compassionate Allowances are a way to quickly identify diseases and medical conditions that meet Social Security’s standards for disability benefits. The program fast-tracks cases to ensure that people with the most serious disabilities receive benefit decisions within days instead of months or years.

Among the current allowable conditions: certain cancers, adult brain disorders, and a number of rare child disorders.

If an injury or illness prevents you from returning to your job, you may qualify for monthly Social Security Disability payments. A qualified Pennsylvania Social Security Disability attorney can guide you through the process. […]

Nitro Gas Facility Cited After Worker Death

A nitrogen gas facility located next door to Pennsylvania has been cited for numerous federal workplace safety violations.

AC&S Inc. was slapped by inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with 12 serious violations at its Nitro, West Virginia, manufacturing plant.

Among the dangerous conditions at the facility:

• Defective air hoods for workers
• Inadequate worker training
• Unsafe handrails on stairs.

OSHA launched the investigation in July 2012 following the death of a worker doing sandblasting.

During the sandblasting, the air line for a supplied air hood was mistakenly hooked up to a nitrogen gas line and the worker became unconscious. OSHA cited AC&S for failing to label nitrogen lines at connection points and not ensuring that breathing air couplings were incompatible with other gas systems.

Other serious violations found at the Nitro plant:

• Failing to provide training on hazardous chemicals
• Failing to ensure stairways wider than 44 inches had handrails on each side
• Failing to use approved electrical chain hoists
• Failing to develop a mechanical integrity program. […]

250 Safety Hazards Found at Area Construction Sites

Surprise construction site inspections reveal hundreds of safety hazards, warrant large fines

Federal safety inspectors have uncovered almost 250 safety violations and issued more than $650,000 in fines for dangerous construction sites in and around Pennsylvania.

The action came after a four-month investigation of hundreds of job sites in Pennsylvania and neighboring states by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The agency conducted 545 surprise inspections that focused on falls, trenches and silica exposure. Hazardous conditions were found at close to 60 percent of the inspected sites.

Every year thousands of construction workers and laborers are killed or seriously injured in construction site accidents.

Following is from the OSHA notice of the Philadelphia Region safety sweep:

Fifty-nine percent of the inspections revealed violations. Some of the most common violations are a failure to use fall protection when working on roofs, […]

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Ranked Among 2013 ‘Best Law Firms’ by U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers®

The Pennsylvania law firm of Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, has received a Metropolitan Tier 1 ranking in the practice area of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs (Allentown) in the newly released 2013 “Best Law Firms” rankings from U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers.®

The firm has also received a Tier 2 ranking in the area of Workers’ Compensation Law – Claimants (Allentown) in the third edition of the rankings, which can be found online at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com.

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

In addition to the firm’s practice area rankings, four lawyers from Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, […]

Top 10 Dangers On The Job

Here’s one Top 10 list that employers in Pennsylvania hope to never make.

The U.S. Department of Labor has released its Top 10 Workplace Safety Violations for 2012.

Inadequate protection against falls and insufficient warnings of job site hazards are the biggest problem areas, according to the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Following is the complete list:

• Fall Protection  (Total violations: 7,250)
• Hazard Communication (4,696)
• Scaffolding (3,814)
• Respiratory Protection (2,371)
• Ladders (2,310)
• Machine Guarding (2,097)
• Powered Industrial Trucks (1,993)
• Electrical – Wiring Methods (1,744)
• Lockout/Tagout (1,572)
• Electrical – General Requirements (1,332)

Free Consultation With A Pennsylvania Workplace Safety Lawyer

Have you been injured on the job? Concerned about safety conditions at your workplace? […]

Marion Munley Inducted To International Society of Barristers

Scranton, PA, May 04, 2012 — Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer Marion Munley was inducted as a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers during the organization’s recent annual convention in Newport Beach, California.

Munley is a board-certified civil trial lawyer with more than 24 years of experience in complex personal injury litigation, including representing victims of truck accident and car accident cases in Pennsylvania, New York and across the Northeast.

She joins two other attorneys from the Pennsylvania personal injury firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., as Fellows of the prestigious society of civil trial lawyers – Robert W. Munley and Matthew A. Cartwright.

The International Society of Barristers (ISOB) was created in 1965. The organization is dedicated to preserving trial by jury, the adversary system and an independent judiciary. The organization also promotes civility by bringing together members of both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ side of the bar. […]

Recent Workplace Fatalities Raise Awareness of Construction Hazards

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH) was put in place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work.  Under the act, workers are entitled to working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm, and all workers have the right to a safe workplace. Unfortunately, no amount of rules or legislation can prevent all accidents, and just this month, at least two men lost their lives in separate workplace accidents.

The Wall Street Journal reports one worker died and two others were seriously injured when the building they were working on in New York City collapsed March 22. The workers were tearing down a two-story warehouse during a Columbia University expansion project in Harlem.  The collapse is still being investigated, but preliminary findings suggest the workers cut a structural beam supporting the warehouse “causing steel beams, […]

Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit Leads to $10 Million Settlement from U.S. Engineering Company

Asbestos exposure in Missouri courthouse leads to lawsuits

The family of a Missouri woman who died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, has been awarded $10 million in a settlement with U.S. Engineering Company for mishandling asbestos in the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri.

The lawsuit claimed U.S. Engineering did not follow the proper rules and procedures when handling asbestos, and that now, significant amounts of asbestos still remain in the courthouse.   The lawyers for the plaintiff claimed there has been “significant accumulations of asbestos dust in and around the heating and air conditioning systems at the Courthouse for a number of years.”

The woman worked for 27 years in the Jackson County Courthouse.

In addition, a class action lawsuit has been filed for anyone that worked in the courthouse on a daily basis who may have been exposed to asbestos dust from 1983 to the present. […]

Wal-Mart Distribution Center Employee Awarded $21 Million

A Pike County (Alabama) jury has awarded an employee of Wal-Mart distribution center $21 million for injuries she suffered while working in the banana ripening room, reports the Dothan News.

In April 2008, the then 26-year-old woman was standing in the doorway of one of the newly constructed banana ripening rooms when a 3-4 foot tall metal plate covering the trim at the top of one of the room’s doors fell 30 feet and struck her in the face.  She not only suffered face lacerations, but it severed her nerves and muscles in her face.

Several days later, she developed seizures which now occur on a regular basis and puts her at risk of a condition called sudden epileptic death.  Due to the seizures, she’s not able to be alone and to completely care for her 2-year-old daughter.

The lawsuit was filed against Thermal Technologies and its contractor, […]

$9 Million to Worker Paralyzed by Caterpillar Tractor

Man paralyzed from the waist down due to defective Caterpillar tractor

Bloomberg reports Caterpillar has paid more than $9 million in one of last year’s largest product liability verdicts involving a man who was paralyzed by a Caterpillar tractor.

The 41-year-old worker was using a Caterpillar Wheel Tractor 623 G Scraper in August, 2006, when the machine “suddenly and without warning began dramatically bouncing up and down.”  The bucking caused the man’s seat to fail and slammed him against the machine’s frame causing spinal injuries and a punctured lung.  He is now paralyzed from the waist down.

The lawsuit claims Caterpillar was aware of the tractors’ defects that made them move erratically, but did nothing to fix them.  The jury found both Caterpillar and Holt Texas Ltd., the dealership that sold the scraper to the man’s employer, liable for actual and punitive damages. […]

Court Initiatives Earn Pennsylvania a Prestigious National Award

We’re proud to practice in Pennsylvania’s courts, and we’re delighted to see Pennsylvania’s Court Administrator Zygmont Pines win the prestigious 2010 Warren E. Burger Award for Excellence in Court Administration—the highest award presented by the National Center for State Courts.

The Burger Award is named for the former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the improvement of court operations with application to courts nationwide.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille in a January 3 press release praised Pines’ leadership in “introducing numerous cost-effective solutions to problems facing the Commonwealth’s 67 trial courts and more than 500 district courts.” Recent initiatives include:

• The installation of more than 300 video conferencing units in courts, which not only strengthens court security, but has the potential to save counties millions of dollars in prisoner transportation costs — […]

OSHA Cites Paper Company For Numerous Safety Violations After Worker’s Death

Newman and Co., a Philadelphia-based paper manufacturing company, was recently cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for numerous safety and health violations in the workplace which resulted in the death of one of the company’s employees.

The individual was crushed to death in June 2010 during paper hopper loading operations. What resulted was a number of citations for “39 serious and 4 other-than-serious violations” according to the website workerscompensation.com.

Newman and Co. is now facing more than $86,000 in fines, according to the article, as a result of violations which included:

• Blocked fire exits;
• Electrical hazards;
• Failure to remove hazardous objects from the aisles;
• Inadequate machine guards;
• Inadequate protection (lockout/tagout) against hazardous energy sources;
• Ineffective pest control.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was passed into law to ensure employers were responsible for the safety and health of their employees in the workplace. […]

Top Trial Lawyers Share Their Winning Strategies

Attorneys Marion Munley and Matt Cartwright attended the American Association for Justice’s annual Weekend with the Stars in New York City December  9-11, where they joined with the nation’s preeminent trial lawyers, sharing winning strategies and techniques.

This year’s Weekend with the Stars “kicked-off” with a seminar devoted entirely to the DePuy Hip Implant Recall. This past August, DePuy Orthopedics, Inc. (A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) recalled the ASR Hip Resurfacing and the ASR XL Acetabular Systems, which came on the market in July 2003.

About 93,000 of the medical devices have been recalled due to increased rates of failure and elevated levels of cobalt and chromium, which leads to metallosis. It is estimated that one in 8 patients who received one of these DuPuy hip implants may need revision or a second hip replacement surgery.

Contact Our PA Car Accident Lawyers Today! […]

Cartwright Receives Boy Scout’s Silver Beaver Award

Silver Beaver award presented to volunteer of exemplary service to youth

The lawyers of Munley, Munley & Cartwright take pride in serving the community both as skilled legal advocates and as dedicated community volunteers.

In recognition of distinguished volunteer service, attorney Matthew Cartwright, a partner in Munley, Munley & Cartwright, has received the prestigious Silver Beaver Award. The award is the highest honor given by the National Council of Boy Scouts to a volunteer for exceptional and noteworthy service to youth.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Council of the Boy Scouts of America presented the award to Cartwright and two other volunteers at its council recognition dinner in November.

Matt has served for a number of years on the Executive Board of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He currently volunteers on the Council Advisory Board.

As a personal injury lawyer and partner at Munley, […]

Pennsylvania’s Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Ranked Among America’s Best Law Firms

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, a prominent Pennsylvania personal injury law firm with more than 40 years of experience, has won a coveted place on a list of the nation’s best law firms, published in September jointly by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers magazine.  “To make this highly competitive list is an honor and a reward for years of intensive and quality work by our lawyers on behalf of our clients,” said Robert W. Munley, the founding partner of the firm.

The rankings are presented in tiers both nationally and by metropolitan area or by state, and they showcase 8,782 different law firms ranked in one or more of 81 major practice areas. Peer surveys combined with more than 3.1 million evaluations of individual lawyers in the most recent Best Lawyers survey of leading lawyers are used to develop the rankings.

“U.S. […]

Leaks, spills, contamination are common at drilling sites

Contamination from drilling fluid and industrial wastewater spills are all too common among drilling operators seeking natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation.

There have been hundreds of incidents of spills at natural gas drilling sites in Pennsylvania during the last five years by more than 90 different drilling companies. According to The Scranton Times-Tribune, many of the largest drill operators in the Marcellus Shale have received notices of violation for spills that reached waterways, for leaking containment pits that contaminated drinking water and for other problems.

So far this year, inspectors have found 421 violations at Marcellus Shale wells. At least 50 of the violations involved a spill to soil or water that state officials attribute to poor management and a lack of proper oversight.

The blowout of a well drilled by EOG Resources in early June has focused Pennsylvania regulators’ attention on the need for new drilling safety regulations for Marcellus Shale gas drilling in order to prevent accidents and injuries. […]

Matt Cartwright Recognized for Pro Bono Efforts

Attorney Matt Cartwright of our firm was one of four attorneys who received awards for exceptional legal leadership during a gathering of the 700-member bar association of Luzerne County, the Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association.

Cartwright, a lawyer with Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., was recognized for his leadership of the Juvenile Pro Bono Defense Program, which was created to guarantee pro bono counsel for juveniles that had been adjudicated by former President Judge Mark Ciavarella in the event their cases were retired.

Also honored during the celebration were attorneys Kelly Ann Bray, Matthew Muckler and Frank T. McCabe II. Bray organized volunteer lawyers to draft wills for area first responders and other public service personnel through the Young Lawyers’ Division program “Wills for Heroes” held at Luzerne County Community College in 2009. Muckler and McCabe organized the 2010 Regional Mock Trial Competition at the Luzerne County Courthouse over several nights. […]

$16 Million Awarded in Industrial Accident Settlement

The Philadelphia Daily News reports the owner of a landfill and Caterpillar Inc. have agreed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court to pay one of the largest settlements in Pennsylvania history for a single-victim personal injury case.

The companies have agreed to pay $16.25 million to a man whose legs were crushed by a bulldozer three years ago.

On May 1, 2006, the man was working his fifth day on the job as a truck spotter at the Chrin Sanitary Landfill, when a massive track loader backed around a pile of garbage and ran him over, crushing his legs.

He developed serious infections due to the garbage that had been crushed into his wounds. His right leg, part of his right hip, and most of his left leg had to be removed.

The lawsuit claimed the owners of the landfill had not trained the victim sufficiently and the Caterpillar didn’t have adequate rear vision. […]