What is Liability?
Liability is the legal responsibility for one’s acts or omissions; an obligation one is bound to by law to perform, typically involving the payment of monetary damages. It is one of the most significant words in the field of law.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, liability is defined as “the state of being legally responsible for something, such as a debt or obligation.” As such, it assumes that a person is responsible for the harm they cause another. There are several different types of liability including contractual liability, when one party breaks a contract, tort liability from civil wrongs, or strict liability where a party is held responsible for damages, regardless of fault.
Liability is important in law because it ensures individuals are held responsible for their actions, and that injured parties receive compensation. An example of a liability is a driver who causes an accident by driving recklessly. The driver will be held liable for any resulting injuries to people and property. Understanding liability is essential for individuals, businesses, and legal professionals to navigate legal responsibilities they owe to others.
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Community Health Systems hacked, affecting many in NEPA
Hackers broke into Community Health Systems, stole data on 4.5 million patients
Community Health Systems, the owner of Moses Taylor and Regional Hospitals in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre General, Tyler Memorial near Tunkhannock and First Hospital in Kingston, announced Monday that it was the target of a cyber attack.
Community Health Systems operates 206 hospitals across the country, including those mentioned locally. The company said that hackers broke into its computers and stole data on 4.5 million patients. According to reports on Fox News, they believe the attack originated in China.
CNN reported that the hackers gained access to names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates and phone numbers, which is considered a breach under HIPPA. Anyone who received treatment from a physician’s office tied to a network-owned hospital in the last five years, or was merely referred by an outside doctor may be affected. […]
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Kids and pets left in hot cars can have tragic ending
Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle on a hot summer day can lead to heatstroke and can kill in minutes. The Department of Earth & Climate Sciences at San Francisco State University reported that there have already been 21 child deaths this year due to heatstroke from being left in a hot vehicle.
Tragedy can strike when parents or caregivers forget or knowingly leave children or pets in hot vehicles. It can also occur when unattended children play in parked vehicles. A car can heat 20 degrees in just ten minutes. Even with temps in the 60s, the interior of a car can eventually heat up above 110 degrees. A child will die of heatstroke when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The issue of child heatstroke deaths reached national attention in June when a father in Atlanta said he forgot his son in the car seat while he was at work all day. […]
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Katie Nealon Passes Pennsylvania Bar Exam
SCRANTON, PA – May 9, 2014 –Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, a Pennsylvania personal injury firm, announced that Katie Nealon, an associate with the firm, passed the Pennsylvania Bar exam.
Nealon earned her Juris Doctor from Whittier Law School in California, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, ranking in the top 2% of her class and receiving the 2013 award for Outstanding Graduate in Business Law. She also graduated Wilkes University Magna cum laude earning a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science with minors in Business, Women’s Studies and International Studies.
Nealon is a member of the California Bar and the California Bar Association. Prior to joining Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, she served as a law clerk for a firm in California and also for the Orange County Superior Court. In addition, Nealon volunteered as an advocate for the Juvenile Hall Advocacy Clinic and the General Relief Advocacy Program. […]
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Attorney Marion Munley’s Article on the Vanishing Jury Trial in The Scranton Times
As seen in The Scranton Times. America’s long and proud history has been shaped by lawyers and judges who made lasting contributions to the preservation of individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. To the Founders, the right to jury trial, secured by the Seventh Amendment, was on par with the right to vote and the right to free speech. In the initial draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson’s litany of abuses by the king included, prominently, “depriving us of the benefits of trial by jury.”
Jefferson considered “trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man that holds the government to the principles of its Constitution.” Jurors are true public servants who commit their time, critical thinking and impartiality to their fellow Americans. Jurors serve as checks and balances on our judicial system, and a jury trial is a fundamental right critical to our democracy. […]
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Dan Munley, Scranton Injury Lawyer, Explains Why The Roads Can Be Dangerous the Day After Bad Weather
During the winter months in Pennsylvania everyone knows that bad weather can create hazardous road conditions, which lead to car accidents.
But snow and ice can even create dangerous conditions for motorists long after the snow has been cleared from the roads. After the streets have been plowed and the walkways shoveled, ice and snow may still be present on the rooftops of vehicles. This build-up of snow and ice may dislodge while the car is being driven, and cause serious injury to others. This danger is increased when the vehicle is a tractor trailer that can hurl ice from its roof at dangerously high speeds while driving on the highway.
As a personal injury lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys of Scranton, Pennsylvania, I have handled cases where tractor trailer drivers and other motorists forget to remove snow and ice from their vehicles before taking to the road, […]
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