What Are Damages?
Damages are compensation, usually in monetary form, awarded in a civil court case for an injury or loss caused by another person’s negligence.
What Are Damages?
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), damages are tangible and non-tangible losses that can be quantified and documented, providing direct financial assistance to an injured party. Examples of damages can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage.
Damages are important in restoring the injured party to the position they would have been in had the wrongdoing not occurred. This concept is fundamental in both tort and contract law, where it addresses breaches of duty or contract, provides a financial measure of reparation, and is even more important in personal injury cases where the injured party receives compensatory damages for medical bills and pain and suffering.
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Watch your step! Lawyers warn, it’s slip and fall season
It’s slick out there today. Winter in our home region of Northeast Pennsylvania means the roads, parking lots, and sidewalks are likely to be slippery this time of year.
Slip and fall injuries are more common than you might think – according to the National Floor Safety Institute, 8 million people end up in the emergency room each year as the result of a fall. Slip and fall incidents are also the leading cause of workers’ compensation claims and lost days from work.
The results of a slip and fall can be very serious. Injuries can range from sprains and bruises to broken bones, back, neck, spine, or brain injuries.
Elderly people are even more at risk for falls. The New York Times recently published a fascinating two-part series titled, “After the Fall,” illustrating the risks faced by America’s aging population, and how a fall can be a life-altering event. […]
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Auto Accidents Caused by Defective Roads
Sometimes it is the road that is at fault in an auto accident. Defective road conditions can cause a driver to lose control of his/her car, leading to an auto accident that can result in serious personal injury or death. But when the road is at fault, who is responsible for your injuries?
Roads in Pennsylvania are the responsibility of either the state or local municipalities. Although Pennsylvania’s Sovereign Immunity Act generally bars suits against the Commonwealth and other government entities, dangerous conditions on highways created by potholes, sinkholes or similar conditions are exempt from sovereign immunity.
The Pennsylvania defective road condition attorneys of [firm-name] believe that when hazardous road conditions lead to accidents, injury, or death, the responsible government agency and/or a private contractor that worked on the road should be held accountable. The victims of accidents caused by unsafe roads deserve full and fair compensation for their injuries and losses. […]
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Jury awards $175 million in Trinity Guardrail Case
Trinity Industries, the maker of highway guardrails, was found by a jury on Monday to have defrauded the federal government. The jury in Texas, found Trinity liable in the civil lawsuit for violating the False Claims Act, according to CNBC. The jury said that those violations caused the U.S. Government to incur $175 million in damages, as the federal government helps state transportation departments purchase approved products, including Trinity guardrail products, for use on highways across the country. Under the federal False Claims Act, the verdict amount would be tripled to $525 million.
The case was filed by Joshua Harman, a competitor who discovered that in 2005, the company had made changes to a piece of steel in the front of the guardrail without alerting the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as is required. Harman’s lawsuit claimed the modifications made by Trinity could be deadly. […]
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Many states concerned over guardrail-related deaths and amputations
Last month, Missouri banned further installation of guardrail heads, joining Nevada who banned further purchases in January, followed by Massachusetts.
Lawsuits claim the guardrails were to blame for at least five deaths and many severe injuries, including loss of limbs, yet the Texas manufacturer, Trinity Industries, denies there is a problem.
The New York Times reported that although federal highway officials in Missouri had long insisted that the guardrails in that state were safe, apparently some guardrail heads had malfunctioned, turning the rails into spears when a car hit and injuring those inside, rather than cushioning the blow.
Although the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) continues to deny there’s a problem, the Daily Beast reported a 2012 email from a senior engineer at the FHA as saying that it’s “hard to ignore the fatal results” of the guardrails.
According to The New York Times, […]
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Another Victory For Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys attorneys deliver successful verdict for injured client
A jury returned a verdict in the amount of $200,500 in favor of Sandra Seamans of New Milford, Pa. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, following three days of testimony before the Honorable Malachy Mannion. Mrs. Seamans claimed she was injured following a rear-end automobile accident that occurred in 2011 on I-81 South near Exit 223.
The Defendant in the case was Universal Technical Institute and its employee. The verdict awarded damages to Mrs. Seamans for wage loss and pain and suffering resulting from chronic neck and back pain that she suffered in the accident. We are thrilled with the verdict,” said lead attorney, Marion Munley. “Justice was served.”
Sandra Seamans was represented by Marion Munley, Caroline Munley and Julia Munley of Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys.
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