IVC Filter Lawsuit Trial Starts This Week

The first case against medical device maker C.R. Bard goes to trial this week in Phoenix, AZ.

Over 3,000 lawsuits are pending against Bard in the United States. Plaintiffs allege that Bard’s IVC filter is unsafe and has been linked to serious complications and death. The bellwether trial, Sherr-Una Booker v C.R. Bard Inc. and Bard Vascular Inc, is scheduled to begin on March 13, 2018.  Booker has alleged that her complications include filter tilting, fracture and perforation according to DrugWatch.com. We will be watching closely to see how this trial unfolds and what the implications may be for other victims seeking legal recourse.

In a 2015 article, NBC news revealed that Bard continued to sell “G2” IVC filters for five years after it knew that the devices had potentially fatal flaws.   […]

Truck Accident Lawyers, Local Officials Say No to Bigger Trucks

Bigger Trucks Threaten Public Safety and Infrastructure

“Bigger Trucks: Bad For America’s Local Communities,” a letter written by over 1,000 local government leaders, was presented to Congressional Capitol Hill offices on February 22, 2018.  The letter, signed by mayors, local engineers and public works employees, argues that “Longer and heavier trucks would cause significantly more damage to our transportation infrastructure, costing us billions of dollars that local government budgets simply cannot afford, compromising the very routes that American motorists use every day.” Currently, federal limits are 80,000 pounds in gross vehicle weight.  Notably, some states allow heavier trucks on roads that are not a part of the interstate system.

According to the Washington Post, one 40-ton truck can do as much damage to a road as 9,600 cars.  And the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks cites a US Department of Transportation study stating that increasing truck weight to 91,000 pounds  “would negatively affect more than 4,800 bridges, […]

Fatal PA Turnpike accident shows danger of poorly maintained roads

Badly maintained roads pose car crash risk

Last week, a 70-year-old man was killed driving through the Lehigh Tunnel on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. According to news reports, he was killed when an electrical conduit (a pipe-like tube holding power cables) fell from the ceiling of the tunnel and crashed through the windshield of his truck.

According to reports in The Morning Call  the southbound Lehigh Tunnel is the newest of five tunnels on the turnpike’s system and it is the only one with a conduit located directly above traffic. Federal regulations require that tunnels be inspected every two years. The most recent inspection of the Lehigh Tunnel was in September 2016.

Poor tunnel maintenance can be fatal for drivers

In 2016 alone, American roads carried people and goods over three trillion miles. If roads, tunnels and bridges are not properly maintained they can contribute to auto accidents and result in serious injury or fatality. […]

Dan Munley attends IIHS tractor trailer crash test

Munley trucking team invited to IIHS crash test

On Tuesday, August 29, 2017, Atty. Daniel W. Munley along with paralegal, Jerome Levans, attended a crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Each year, thousands of people are either killed or injured when a passenger vehicle collides with the side of a tractor-trailer.  When a tractor-trailer is hit from the side, the advanced safety features of the passenger vehicle are not triggered because the passenger vehicle’s windshield is the first thing that comes into contact with the trailer. Hundreds of people die in crashes like these every year.

The IIHS crash tested the “Angel Wing” underride guard from Airflow Deflector, Inc. They are designed to prevent passenger vehicles from going underneath the tractor-trailer during a side-impact crash.  Instead, the passenger vehicle’s front bumper will strike the Angel Wing, […]

Pennsylvania’s New DUI Law Goes Into Effect

What is the new DUI law in PA?

A new DUI law goes into effect in Pennsylvania this week, placing different restrictions on first-time DUI drivers.

Under the new law, first-time offenders will have to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles. Previously, ignition interlocks were only required after two or more offenses; first-time offenders would instead face a license suspension of one year.

What is an ignition interlock device?

An ignition interlock device is essentially a breathalizer that will prevent a car’s engine from starting until the driver blows into a tube to indicate that they are not under the influence. If the device detects alcohol, the vehicle will not start.

Those in favor of the new law say that the ignition interlock will be more effective in preventing drunk driving accidents and deaths, […]