Car Accidents Blog | Schmidt Kramer

What To Do After a Crash on a Rural Road in Pennsylvania

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on April 12, 2024 in Car Accidents

Did you know the risk of dying in a car accident is 62 percent higher when the incident happens on a rural road? This finding is from a study by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association and is based on national data. However, state-by-state data may not be that much better. In 2023, there were 33,356 […]

Filing a Claim for Hearing Loss From a Car Crash in Harrisburg, PA

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on April 05, 2024 in Car Accidents

Hearing loss from a car accident is not as common as many other car crash injuries, but it can happen. Sometimes car crash hearing damage is a direct result of a blow to the side of the head, while other times it is a side effect of another injury. Below, Schmidt Kramer discusses how hearing […]

Find Out the Top 10 Traffic Violations in Pennsylvania From 2018-2022

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on March 26, 2024 in Car Accidents

What is the most common traffic ticket issued in Pennsylvania? If you guessed speeding tickets, you are correct by a wide margin. Data gathered by PA Courts InfoShare reveals 21 percent of traffic citations issued between 2018 and 2022 were for speeding. In February 2024, PA Courts used the data to create an infographic called […]

Can I File a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawsuit if the At-Fault Driver was Fatally Injured?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on March 22, 2024 in Car Accidents

Anyone involved in a crash could suffer severe injuries, including the driver who caused the accident. Sometimes the at-fault driver dies while the victim survives. This can raise questions in victims’ minds. Can they still seek compensation from the at-fault driver? Does his or her insurance policy still provide coverage? Below, Schmidt Kramer’s licensed attorneys […]

Can I Add Scarring or Disfigurement to My Harrisburg Car Crash Claim?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on March 19, 2024 in Car Accidents

Scarring or disfigurement caused by a crash leaves victims with a lasting imprint of the trauma they experienced. These permanent reminders create difficult physical and emotional challenges for the victims. In this blog, Schmidt Kramer explains how scarring or disfigurement could occur in a crash and your potential options for seeking compensation. We understand the […]

Can Pennsylvania Drivers Use the Sudden Medical Emergency Defense After a Crash?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on March 05, 2024 in Car Accidents

At-fault drivers make a lot of arguments about why they should not be held liable for a crash. While many of these arguments are flimsy, some may sound reasonable. For example, if the other driver says he or she had a seizure or briefly lost consciousness. The question is whether the law allows drivers to […]

What Harrisburg Car Crash Victims Need to Know About Hip Pain

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on February 23, 2024 in Car Accidents

A hip injury caused by a Pennsylvania car crash can be extremely debilitating. These injuries are often incredibly painful and may dramatically affect your mobility. Schmidt Kramer discusses some of the most common hip injuries caused by collisions, as well as the symptoms, treatment options and long-term complications that may result. Those who suffered hip […]

Who is at Fault When a Car Crashes into a Building in Harrisburg, PA?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on February 21, 2024 in Car Accidents

There are many different types of car accidents, including some that involve the surrounding environment, like nearby buildings. These accidents are often caused by impaired drivers or those who mistakenly hit the accelerator. Elderly drivers are also at risk for these collisions, as they may have impaired vision and delayed reaction time. You may think […]

Why it Is Dangerous To Drive With a Dirty Windshield in Pennsylvania

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on February 16, 2024 in Car Accidents

Dirty windshields not only look bad, but they are also a huge safety risk. Dirt, snow, dust, road debris and other materials that can stick to the windshield make it harder to see, affecting your reaction time. It could take you half a second longer to react to sudden obstacles or changes in the flow […]

How Roundabout Crashes Occur and Who May Be At Fault in Pennsylvania

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on February 06, 2024 in Car Accidents

Drivers are so used to traditional intersections that they are often unsure of what to do in a roundabout. They may be overly polite and yield the right of way when they should not do so. They may also stop in the middle of the roundabout. These are just two examples of reckless driving behaviors […]

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$10,043,952.13 Personal Injury
Schmidt Kramer, P.C.partner Gerard C. Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.
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$4,034,000.00 Personal Injury
Yesterday a Judge in Union County (Lewisburg, PA) awarded a couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting.You might ask yourself, how does a turkey hunting accident end up with that type of verdict? In order to understand the verdict you would have to know our clients. They are good people who had their life wrecked. Plus, you would have to know the defendant, who should not have been hunting with a gun because he was prohibited after a previous criminal conviction.It is a good verdict, because the Judge was able to do two things with his decision. First, he communicated to two very good people that their losses were something that those of us on the outside could appreciate and value. Mike Hobbins (our client) is a 51 year old guy who lost his sight because a convicted felon --who should not have even possessed a gun-- went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger. The Judge accepted the financial loss Mr. Hobbins' suffered, but listened closely to the evidence of less tangible losses. When Mike broke down on the stand, because his daughter would end up walking him down the aisle at her wedding, as opposed to how it was supposed to go, the Judge was listening. When Mike could not keep it together, because of how emasculating it was for him not to be able to provide financially for his family, the Judge was listening. It was facts like these that the Judge cited to support the $2,000,000 award for non-economic damages. Second, the Judge wanted to send a message. Union County is a hunting county. Many of the residents hunt there, and people from outside the area come to Union County to hunt. It was my impression, from the Judge's statements as he rendered his decision, that he wanted to send a message to the people in Union County to protect them in their sport. The rules in place to restrict people convicted of crimes not to have a gun are not to be broken. Hunting is serious and you have to identify your target before you shoot. When you turn your back on the rules that are set to provide safety in a sport, you risk being an example. Here, the $1,000,000 punitive damage award sends that message loud and clear.When it really comes down to brass tacks, the right action was taken against a Defendant who may never truly appreciate what kind of impact his reckless choices caused.At Schmidt Kramer, we are injury lawyers. That means we work with people who were hurt in car accidents, who were hurt by the neglect of nursing homes, or those that were seriously injured because of the reckless, thoughtless acts of others. If you or a loved one have been injured in Pennsylvania, we may be able to help. While the verdict yesterday is not one that is representative of every case we do, it does show that serious and dedicated representation can bring good results.Joe ChapmanJanuary 18, 2013
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$2,200,000.00 Auto Accidents
On Monday, January 6, 2014, Schmidt Kramer accident lawyer Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.Kamilah Claxton won summary judgment in November after the defendants, Sukhwinder Singh and the trucking company for which he worked, failed to file a brief in opposition to Claxton's motion, which was made in September. The verdict in Claxton v. Singh was issued after the court held a non-jury assessment of damages earlier this month."Mr. Sukhchan Singh, the employer, is liable on the basis of respondent superior, but was also grossly negligent in failing to maintain his vehicle in compliance with state and federal law, particularly with regard to having required safety inspections and correcting defects in its braking equipment," said U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his opinion accompanying the verdict."He was also grossly negligent in entrusting his vehicle to Sukhwinder Singh, an inexperienced truck driver who had failed the written test and driving test multiple times before finally earning his commercial driving license," Caldwell said.
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$1,200,000.00 Personal Injury
A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.2012-06-26 10:00:00 AMDate of Verdict: June 19. 2012Court and Case No.: C.P. Dauphin County No. 2009-CV-14003-MMJudge: Scott EvansType of Action: Medical malpracticeInjuries: Anoxic brain injuryPlaintiffs Counsel: Terry S. Hyman, Schmidt Kramer, HarrisburgPlaintiffs Experts: Dr. Anna H. Messner, liability; Lucille Packer, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Palo Alto, Calif.; Terry P. Leslie, vocations and earning capacity, Lancaster; Dr. Hilary B. Berlin, pediatric psychiatry, Great Neck, N.Y.Defense Counsel: Andrew H. Foulkrod, Darlene K. King, Foulkrod Ellis, Camp Hill, PADefense Experts: James C. Reilly, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Wilmington, DEComment: A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.The entire verdict came against Dr. Andrew M. Shapiro, the doctor who plaintiffs Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Metz alleged chose to have the boy monitored at a pediatric ward. The plaintiffs argued Shapiro failed to tell nurses caring for the baby about, and how to care for, the boy's enhanced risk for respiratory failure.The jury came back on June 19 and awarded Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Mets $500,000 in non-economic damages and $686,170 in loss of future earning capacity, according to the plaintiffs counsel.According to the statement, the baby's mother brought him to Shapiro because she was "'afraid that he might stop breathing during his sleep,'" the plaintiffs' pretrial statement said. Shapiro performed a sleep study and observed the baby's Apnea Hypopnea Index to be 43 — four times higher than what's considered severe. A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed.According to the plaintiffs, the baby's sleep study results put him at an increased risk for post-operative respiratory complications. Despite this, they argued in the statement, Shapiro ordered the pediatric nurses at the Harrisburg Hospital general pediatric ward to observe the boy as they would any other patients — about once every four hours.The pretrial statement said that one in four children who have an AHI in the 40s and oxygen desaturation below 80 have some type of respiratory problem. The younger the child, the greater the risk of a respiratory problem, the statement said.According to the statement, Shapiro took off the child's pulse oximeter, the finger-mounted device used to measure blood oxygen, and ordered a heart and respiratory rate monitor. The child was 11 months old at the time.The plaintiffs pled that the baby was last seen at 4 a.m. There was no record of his oxygen saturation for the next hour and 45 minutes. He stopped breathing a 6:40 a.m., and his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause demonstrable injury on an MRI."Immediately prior to his surgery, [the child] was a normal child, who could say mama, eat finger foods, and was just on the verge of walking," the statement said. "After his code, [he] was like a newborn. He could not lift his head or sit up. He could not talk. He could not move."In his pretrial statement, Shapiro argued that he recognized the child's pre-operative sleep study showed he was driven to breath by decreased blood oxygen saturation, which he said was typical in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.He argued the American Academy of Otolaryngology dictates that admission to the intensive care unit is not the standard of care. In the statement, he said nurses did not observe signs of respiratory distress. No alarms sounded until the child arrested, the statement said.He said the baby likely arrested as a result of hypoglycemia and/or an acute aspiration, which he argued would not have been identified by blood oxygen saturation.— Ben Present, of the Law Weekly
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$1,024,040.80 Auto Accidents
Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.
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Badreddine Saadoune
Michael Kosik was great, I couldn't have asked for a better lawyer. He worked to make sure my medical bills were adjusted appropriately to state law (since I was a victim) and worked hard to make sure I got an appropriate settlement. He is a very kind and understanding person who took the time to explain everything to me in great detail.
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Jessica Mitchell is lovely, she took care everything in a wonderful way. Definitely I would recommend her.
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Abbie Trone!! I love her!! She’s amazing! She made everything easy. She was very nice to me! She took very care of my case & If need be i will use her again!!
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