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Gov’t shutdown halted investigation of deadly crashes

Amid the 35-day partial government shutdown earlier this year, NTSB investigations of deadly crashes were put on hold. At this point, crucial evidence may be lost forever.

On December 22, 2018, the United
States government came to a grinding halt in what would become the longest
government shutdown in U.S. history.  The
shutdown, which was temporarily brought to an end on January 25, 2019, not only
left government workers furloughed or working without pay for 35 days, but also
negatively impacted several federal agencies and organizations.

                One such agency is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  The NTSB is responsible for determining the probable cause of transportation accidents, promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.  Any delay in investigations has the potential to prevent insurance companies from paying claims to victims and their families as well as preventing justice from being served in the event of criminal cases. […]

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Family of Marine killed in truck crash receives $8M settlement

Representing the Stevens family has been one of the greatest honors of our careers. It has been our privilege to advocate on their behalf and bring this case to a just resolution.  Read more about the case below.

On Monday, the truck accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys reached an $8 million settlement in a case stemming from a deadly truck accident in Susquehanna County. The crash claimed the life of 27-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Stevens.  Stevens was an active duty Marine and the father of two young boys. He served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was in town for his sister’s wedding. His wife Katherine Stevens was represented by Marion Munley, Robert W. Munley, III, and Caroline Munley. The case was scheduled for trial this week before the Honorable John Jones of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. […]

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Hazleton Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

You were walking or jogging in Hazleton and, in an instant, everything changed. Something happened and all of a sudden you were on the ground in pain, wondering how you would be able to provide for your family.

You were injured in a pedestrian accident that wasn’t your fault.

Now it is up to you to try to put the pieces back together.

Pedestrian accidents are an all-too-common occurrence. From driver negligence to poor crosswalk engineering, there are numerous factors that can create circumstances in which pedestrians are helpless to avoid being injured. While pedestrian accidents can – and generally should – be avoided with safe driving, they continue to occur on a routine basis. Those who are at fault deserve to be held legally and financially accountable.

At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we are committed to fighting for injured pedestrians in Hazleton, […]

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Hazleton Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one experienced a catastrophic injury as the result of a traumatic accident, it is critical that you get the right legal representation. Our attorneys have decades of experience representing accident victims in Hazleton and throughout Pennsylvania.

A catastrophic injury can impact your life in more ways than most people can comprehend. From chronic pain and limited mobility to physical disabilities and emotional trauma that interfere with your ability to work and enjoy life, suffering a catastrophic injury can truly mean that life will never be the same.

If you or a close family member has been diagnosed with a catastrophic injury as a result of an accident in which another person or company was to blame, you deserve compensation for your injury-related losses. While no amount of money can truly restore what you have lost, asserting your legal rights can be critical to your recovery and your family’s long-term financial stability. […]

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Pottsville Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you or someone you love suffered due to medical negligence in the Pottsville area, contact a Pottsville medical malpractice lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys for a free consultation

When someone suffers harm because of medical mistakes or failure to follow a standard of care, the negligent caregiver should be held responsible.  As the patient or patient’s family member, you may be eligible for financial compensation for your suffering. The medical malpractice lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help. For nearly 60 years, our personal injury lawyers have helped people like you who have been harmed by medical errors or negligence.

Medical malpractice cases are often very complex. It is vital that you consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Pottsville to ensure your have the best chance of recovering full and fair compensation for your losses. […]

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Families leading the fight for safer trucks

Who doesn’t want safer trucks? Weighing 80,000 lbs and driven by truckers too often pushed to their physical and mental limits, a tractor trailer barreling down the highway at 70+ mph can cause unimaginable damage in an accident. Still, potentially life-saving measures leading the fight for safer trucks are the people who know too well the devastation these vehicles can cause — the parents of children killed in tractor trailer collisions. Their mission has become to improve safety regulations that can save lives and prevent other families from experiencing the unnecessary loss that they have. However, even when the benefits are obvious and the costs minimal, truck safety regulations stall.

Underride Guards

Two mothers have devoted their lives to advocating for better underride guards after their children were killed in underride crashes. Marianne Karth and Lois Durso both lost their daughters in crashes involving tractor trailers. […]

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Side Underride Guards May Be the Difference Between Life and Death

First-Ever Side Underride Crash Tests

A new crash test from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows exactly how side underride guards on tractor trailers can mean the difference between life and death.

A side underride crash occurs when a passenger vehicle collides with the side of a trailer or heavy truck. The results are grisly. The impact can shear the top of the smaller vehicle and kill the occupants.

The IIHS has long been measuring rear-underride guard effectiveness, but this is the first test of side guards.  Researchers ran two midsize cars into the sides of two semi-trailers at 35 mph. One trailer was equipped with a fiberglass side panel, and the other with the “AngelWing” underride protector from Airflow Deflector, Inc.

Tractor Trailer Side Underride Guard Test Results:

Fiberglass panel – As the above photo shows, the car went right through the panel and became lodged under the trailer. […]

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Doctors on Probation for Gross Misconduct Still Practicing

Would you want to know if your doctor was on disciplinary probation?

When it comes to a physician’s disciplinary history, patients are kept very much in the dark. Physicians all over the country who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct, drug abuse, and devastating medical mistakes are still practicing, some while on probation, and they are not required to disclose their probationary status to their current patients.

Meanwhile, medical errors 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S.

Recently, Senator Jerry Hill of California authored a bill that would require doctors to inform patients of their probationary status. The legislation didn’t pass.

Is your doctor on probation?

Under current laws, doctors are required to disclose their disciplinary history to the hospital or practice where they work, and to their medical malpractice insurer, but are under no obligation to share this information with patients.  […]

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Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Reaches $1.9 Million Truck Accident Settlement

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys recently announced a $1.9 million settlement in a case stemming from a tractor trailer accident in 2013. Attorneys Marion Munley, Bob Munley, and Caroline Munley represented plaintiffs Michael Holder, Jr. and Heather Williams whose father Michael Karl Holder was killed in the accident.

On April 10, 2013, at approximately 3:00 a.m., defendant Wilfredo Suarez was driving west on Interstate 80 when at least one tire on his trailer blew out. An electrical system malfunction, due to poor maintenance, caused all of the trailer’s lights to fail. Suarez turned the vehicle around and began traveling east on I-80 at a rate of 12-18 miles per hour, with flat tires and no lights, posing a serious risk to other drivers.

Michael Karl Holder was traveling east on I-80 in Wolf Creek Township, Mercer County, PA, at approximately 3:30 a.m. when he encountered the defendant. […]

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“Textalyzer” Could Help Reduce Distracted Driving

Distracted driving, perhaps the biggest road safety scourge of the decade, is getting worse nationwide.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, distracted driving citations increased by 43% from 2014 to 2015; in our home of Lackawanna County, the number of distracted driving citations skyrocketed from 32 to 115, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Last week, our own Dan Munley was quoted about a recent case in which a Lawrence County judge ruled that a person texting a distracted driver who then got into a crash could potentially be held accountable.

In order to combat this growing problem, some safety advocates have suggested that we begin viewing distracted driving the same way we view drunk driving.  While distracted driving does not involve the consumption of an intoxicating substance, distraction can impair your driving ability just as much as alcohol, and it is just as dangerous. […]

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Munley Gets 2nd Highest Settlement in PA

We are pleased to announce that a case we settled earlier this year was one of the top 25 highest settlements in the U.S. in 2015, according to a list published annually by the National Law Journal. It was also the 2nd highest settlement reached in Pennsylvania this year. Check out the digital version here.

In May, 2015, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys reached a $3.97 million settlement on behalf of the family of Mark Kowalski, a truck driver who was killed in a tractor trailer accident in 2011. It is our hope that this settlement will bring some security to the Kowalski family, and will put pressure on the trucking industry to  improve safety measures to prevent such accidents.

Mr. Kowalski, from New York state, was traveling east on I-80 in Columbia County, PA, when he encountered defendant Patrick Webb, […]

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Robert W. Munley named to the 2015 Irish Legal 100

We are so pleased to announce that our father and founder, Robert W. Munley, has been selected to the Irish Legal 100, an annual honor recognizing the top 100 American lawyers of Irish descent.

Robert W. Munley founded our firm in 1959. Since then, he has had a powerful influence on the legal field in Pennsylvania.  A trail-blazer for future attorneys, he was among the very first attorneys in the state to adopt a focus on cases involving injuries and death caused by commercial trucks, and he has been instrumental in the development of the field of truck accident litigation as we know it today.

Among the most important legacies our founder has passed on is his commitment to helping those who need it most. As a plaintiffs’ firm, we are dedicated to obtaining justice for victims of injury and loss. But Robert Munley has always extended his advocacy for the powerless beyond the courtroom. […]

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Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Reaches $3.97 Million Settlement in Tractor Trailer Case

(May 2015 – Scranton, PA) – Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today announced a $3.97 million settlement in a case stemming from a tractor trailer accident in January, 2011. Plaintiff, Allison Kowalski, whose husband, Mark Kowalski, was killed, was represented by Attorneys Daniel Munley and Marion Munley of the Munley firm.

Mr. Kowalski, from New York state, was traveling east on I-80 in Columbia County, PA, when he encountered defendant Patrick Webb, a Texas truck driver who was also traveling eastbound on I-80. Webb was driving for PBM, a Texas trucking company. The trailer he was hauling was leased to PBM by Republic National Industries of Texas.

Webb lost control of his rig on the snow-covered highway, and his tractor slid off of the road and into the median. Kowalski, who was traveling behind Webb, was unable to avoid a collision with Webb’s trailer which was blocking the eastbound lanes of traffic. […]

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Nov. 16 is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we know as well as anyone that car accidents, and the tragedies they can leave behind, are all too common. Each year, over 30,000 people are killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States alone. Hundreds of thousands more are injured. We hear about these incidents every day, but there is nothing routine about the pain and trauma that they can cause. That is why, on November 16, we will pause to remember the victims of traffic accidents and their families.

According to the World Health Organization, The World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims was first observed in 1993. In 2005, the United Nations endorsed it as a day of remembrance to be observed annually on the third Sunday in November.

All across the United States and the world, there will be parades, […]

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Daylight savings time leads to more accidents

Last weekend, Americans gained an hour of sleep as daylight savings time (DST) ended and the clocks were set back one hour. For most people, the time change means a slight adjustment to our sleep schedules and to the evenings becoming darker earlier. However, the overnight time change can also lead to an increase in car and pedestrian accidents.

Not surprisingly, traffic and pedestrian accidents are more likely to occur in darkness. Loss of daylight means lower visibility, which is especially dangerous for pedestrians. Darkness is also more conducive to drowsy driving, a leading cause of car and trucking accidents.

According to CBS New York, the Monday after clocks are set forward when DST begins in the spring is “one of the deadliest days on the road,” as drivers are more likely to be tired, having “lost” an hour of sleep, […]

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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 car accident attorneys of Munley Law 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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Dangerous weekend for motorists on I-81 with drowsy and wrong-way driving

A 36-year-old Plymouth man was killed when the Toyota sedan he was driving, collided with a tractor-trailer near the Blackman Street exit of I-81 around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday. The driver of the Toyota was traveling in the wrong direction at a high rate of speed when the accident occurred.

Wrong way driving often results in deadly, high-speed collisions. ABC News reported that wrong way driver accidents are responsible for 1,100 deaths per year. The news organization reported that intoxicated drivers and those over age 80 make up a large percentage of wrong-way drivers and that most wrong way driving accidents occur at night or on the weekends. While cities and states need to work to improve signage on certain roadways, we must also stop drunk driving to help stop wrong-way driving accidents.

Another accident occurred on I-81 in Mahanoy Township late Saturday morning when a 59-year-old woman told police she fell asleep at the wheel, […]

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Not much has changed after concussion lawsuits

We saw another example this weekend of how football coaches allow players to stay in the game with head injuries. Michigan coach Brady Hoke failed to remove sophomore quarterback Shane Morris after he received a crushing blow from a defensive end. Morris appeared dazed, stumbling after the hit. The coaches let him stay in the game for the next play and then removed him, only to return him to the game later for another play.

As this played out on national TV, it raised questions to the necessity of a concussion protocol at the college level, that would bar teams from allowing players with head injuries, and concussion-like symptoms, to continue playing without further evaluation.

CBS Sports reported that in his postgame news conference Coach Hoke said, “I don’t know if he had a concussion or not, I don’t know that. Shane’s a pretty competitive, […]

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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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Personal injury lawyer warns about aviation dangers

Just this past weekend, two people were killed in a small plane crash in New Hampshire, five in a small plane crash in Colorado, one in Florida, two in Texas, and one off the coast of Virginia among others.

An investigation by USA Today that was reported in the publication this summer talked about the lack of safety and hidden defects linked to small aircraft crashes. USA Today reported that nearly 45,000 people have been killed in crashes of small airplanes and helicopters since 1964. While federal investigators are often quick to blame pilots, USA Today found many instances in which defective parts and dangerous designs were the cause of crashes, deaths, and injuries. The USA Today investigation found that many defects have persisted as manufacturers covered up problems, failed to fix defects and lied to regulators. Apparently, some defective parts remained in use for decades, […]