Munley News

Child Passenger Safety Week 2018

September 23-29 is Child Passenger Safety Week

Car accidents are a leading cause of death in children and teenagers.  Child Passenger Safety Week is designed to raise awareness of common safety mistakes, and give parents and caregivers the information they can use to keep their children safe on the road. PennDOT and safety advocacy groups will be working with the public to spread awareness. There will also be free “car seat checks” set up all throughout Pennsylvania to help parents ensure that their seats are installed properly.

Children are particularly vulnerable in car accidents, but many injuries can be prevented, or at least made less severe. One easy way to help keep your child safe is by making sure they are in the right seat. All children under 12 should ride in the back seat, as air bags can cause harm to a child’s small body in the event of a crash. […]

The next IVC filter case goes to trial this week

Next IVC filter trial begins this week

The third bellwether trial involving C.R. Bard IVC filters began Tuesday, September 18 in Phoenix, AZ.   

Of the more than 9,000 lawsuits alleging that IVC filters have caused patients serious harm, C.R. Bard Inc. and Cook Medical Inc. face the largest number of cases, with about 4,000 each. 

Thus far, the first cases to go to trial have yet to yield a clear victor; there have been wins and losses on both sides, so it is difficult to say how this next trial will end. Cook won the first IVC filter trial last year, but then lost two substantial monetary verdicts in May 2017 and March 2018. Cook’s last win occurred on June 1st.

In Tuesday’s trial, a federal judge will oversee the multi-district litigation over C.R. Bard’s IVC filters. The plaintiff’s attorney, Ramon Lopez was quoted as saying this case could be “ […]

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

Thank a Trucker: National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

September 9 through September 15, 2018, is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW). This week, we show our respect and gratitude for the 3.5 million men and women who keep our economy moving.

Truck drivers do a demanding, important, and often thankless job. We depend on truck drivers every single day to transport goods across the country. Most of us take for granted those who bear the enormous responsibility of safely moving 70,000 lb vehicles safely across the nation’s highways. They even train to combat human trafficking in the United States as the “eyes and ears of our nation’s highways”. They often sacrifice time with their own families to make their deliveries on time to ensure that we have the goods we need. Some truck drivers sacrifice far more: A recent government report on workplace fatalities showed that truck drivers had the highest number of workplace fatalities.  […]

Priest abuse lawsuit seeks to extend the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania lawsuit seeks to extend statute of limitations in priest abuse cases

A lawsuit against the Diocese of Pittsburgh aims to extend or eliminate the statute of limitations in civil cases against the Catholic Church stemming from sexual abuse allegations against clergy members and religious administrators. The lawsuit involves a man who, as a young child, was allegedly abused by a priest named in the grand jury report released earlier this month. The suit further alleges that because these accusations were not made public within the statute of limitations, the victim did not have the opportunity to seek justice.

The statute of limitations typically limits the amount of time a victim has to file a civil case against the person or organization that caused them harm. However, the statute has been extended in cases where there has been “fraudulent concealment of evidence.”

Extend the statute: All abuse victims deserve justice

Similar attempts at abolishing or extending the statute of limitations for abuse victims have failed in the past, […]

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 their 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. […]

J&J ordered to pay $4.69 billion to cancer victims in talcum powder lawsuit

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $4.69 billion in talcum powder lawsuit

A St. Louis jury returned a $4.69B verdict in favor of 22 women who claimed Johnson and Johnson’s products contained asbestos which caused them to develop cancer.

The verdict is the latest in a series of massive wins for women and their families who have filed cancer-related lawsuits against Johnson and Johnson. In August, 2017, a Los Angeles jury awarded a $417 million verdict in favor of a woman who claimed that Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder caused her to develop ovarian cancer, and in February 2016, a Missouri jury awarded $72 million to the family of a woman died of ovarian cancer after decades of using J&J’s baby powder.

What is talcum powder?

In its natural form, talc (a common ingredient in cosmetic and personal care products, […]

Judge says Monsanto cancer case can move forward

Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that lawsuits against agricultural giant Monsanto could proceed and that key plaintiffs’ witnesses may testify. The lawsuits allege that Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup caused users to develop cancer.

This move represents a win for victims, but they will still face an uphill battle at trial, as the judge called their claims “shaky” but admissible.

Thousands of individual plaintiffs claim Monsanto’s widely used weedkiller RoundUp caused them to develop cancer and that Monsanto provided no consumer warning. Specifically, the lawsuits link the ingredient glyphosate to an increased risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and claim that the company knew about the risk and failed to warn the public, going so far as to suppress research that suggested the product was dangerous. The ingredient glyphosate is considered a probable human carcinogen according to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.  […]

Truck crash on I-81 claims two lives

Yesterday, a tractor trailer crash on Interstate 81 killed two people and seriously injured two others.

A family from Canada was traveling on I-81 northbound in Scott Township near the Fleetville exit.  They were stopped in traffic when they were rear-ended by a tractor trailer operated by JVM Transport. The truck crash killed the 45-year-old father and 10-year-old son; the mother and daughter were taken to the hospital in Lackawanna County. The driver of another tractor trailer that had been stopped in traffic was also taken to the hospital.

Via WNEP: “According to investigators, the big rig did not stop in time and hit the car which was stopped in traffic from an earlier crash.” 

Dan Munley, former chair of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trucking Litigation Group, states that  “we have handled other cases in our area where a tractor trailer failed to stop in traffic and either killed or seriously injured another driver. […]

Summer grilling safety tips

Keep your backyard barbecue free of fire hazards

Grilling is a summertime staple, but it’s also an extremely common cause of house fires. Keep your family, friends, and party guests safe from harm by making sure you’re up to speed on grill safety.  It is very important to be aware of how dangerous grills are, what to do before you use a grill, and how to handle a grill when it is on, to prevent serious fires or injuries.

According to the National Fire Protection Agency , gas grills were involved in an average of 7,900 home fires per year, including 3,300 structure fires, and 4,700 outdoor fires.  Leaking and breakage were the top problems with gas grills.  Five out of six grills involved in home fires were fueled by gas, while 14% used charcoal or other solid fuel.  Grills not only are causing many structure, […]

Clergy abuse report blocked by PA Supreme Court

PA Supreme Court blocks grand jury report’s public release

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stopped the release of a grand jury report investigating decades of sexual abuse in six Catholic dioceses across the state as a result of challenges filed by unnamed parties.  While the report was issued to six dioceses under investigation, no estimated date has been provided for when the 800 plus-page report will be made public.

The grand jury spent nearly two years investigating allegations of sexual abuse by the clergy in Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.  These dioceses have roughly 1.7 million members.

The investigation covered not only claims of child sexual abuse, but also failure to report to law enforcement and obstruction of justice.  In addition to the clergy, clergy community leaders, local public officeholders, and church officers were investigated.  The jurors reviewed over 500,000 pages of diocesan archives.  […]