Car Accident Legal Updates | Schmidt Kramer, P.C. Blog

Motor Vehicle Insurance 3rd Edition

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 14, 2013 in Car Accidents

In December 2012 the Pennsylvania Association for Justice released Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Insurance: An Analysis of the Financial Responsibility Law, 3rd Edition. It contains 1164 pages of comprehensive analysis of every aspect of Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Insurance Law: Comparative Overview and Legislative History First-Party Benefits Claims for First-Party Benefits Peer Review Historical Overview and Nature and Extent […]

How a Short Time Prevents a Big Crash

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 07, 2013 in Car Accidents

According to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2011 data, rear-end collisions account for 22.2 percent of all car crashes in the state of Pennsylvania. Following another driver too closely, called tailgating, is one of the most common ways drivers cause rear-end collisions. Drivers are responsible for following at a safe distance. They must be able to […]

What Factors Do Insurance Companies Use To Determine Your Car Insurance Rates?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 07, 2013 in Car Accidents

How do most insurance companies determine your car insurance premiums? Many factors can affect your premium. Not all companies use all of these factors, and some might use factors not listed here. here are some of the more common facts. Can you think of any others? 1. Your driving record. The better your record, […]

What To Do After a Pennsylvania Car Accident?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 06, 2013 in Car Accidents

Now that Summer is officially about to begin and many people will hit the road for summer vacations, the Pennsylvania State Police and Insurance Department are reminding motorists what to do in the event of a traffic accident. Do you have any others? “A car crash can leave you feeling overwhelmed, frightened and vulnerable,” Insurance […]

Hip Fracture Symptoms for You to Know

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 03, 2013 in Car Accidents

A fractured hip is a painful injury that occurs frequently in elderly patients due to osteoporosis and balance problems. In younger people, broken hips occur when the body is involved in some type of trauma, such as a Carlisle car wreck. The hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint. The ball part of the joint is […]

Crash In Cornwall Causes 3 Injuries

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 21, 2012 in Car Accidents

Three people were injured in a three-vehicle crash on Route 72 at North Cornwall Road. A minivan driven by Joanne Lewis, 57, of Harrisburg was traveling south on Route 72 when it struck the rear of a car driven by Sara Young, 18, of 94 North Cornwall Road in West Cornwall Township, which was waiting to […]

Court Rules That Pizza Driver Cannot Collect on Policy

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 21, 2012 in Car Accidents

Posted on Dec 21, 2012 In DiSomma v. Mut. Benefit Ins. Co., 86 Lancaster L. R. 550 (2011) a dispute arose over a business auto policy and exclusion. This case involves a car accident where the owner of a pizza business was involved in a car accident with a third party. He was operating a […]

Adams County Crash Sends Man To York Hospital – Police Investigating

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 19, 2012 in Car Accidents

A Hanover man is in serious condition after a car vs. motorcycle crash on Baltimore Street in Hanover Borough around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday. William Jacoby was driving his 1978 Kawasaki KZ650 motorcycle south bound on Baltimore Street when a 1996 Ford Explorer, driven by Charlene Evans, of Hanover, turned south on to Baltimore Street from […]

Centre County Trial Court Denies Insurance Company Motion To Sever UIM and Third Party Case

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 18, 2012 in Car Accidents

A Centre County court recently filed an Opinion and Order in a post-Koken case involving a jointly filed third party and underinsured (UIM) motorist case. In Fennessey v. Sweeney and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, No. 2012-2865 (Centre Co. Dec. 11, 2012) the Plaintiff filed a third party and UIM claim after sustaining injuries […]

Franklin County Head-On Collision On Buchanan Trail West Sends Passenger To Hospital

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 17, 2012 in Car Accidents

Posted on Dec 17, 2012 Several people were injured after a crash, December 16, 2012, Sunday afternoon on Buchanan Trail West. Pennsylvania State Police, Chambersburg, said Victoria Knott, no age or address provided, was driving north on Anderson Road Sunday around 4:10 p.m. when she failed to stop at a stop sign and drove into […]

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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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Testimonials

Solid, trustworthy and lucky to have on your side! Dennis Kergick represented me and I was very impressed. Finally a down to earth and easy to talk to attorney . When the time came he was a junk yard dog and I could see the opposing counsel was intimidated. All while maintaining a professional level of respect and courtesy. Would recommend to friends and family. Keep up the good work!!
It’s hard to believe it’s been four years already, but I’m still deeply thankful for my experience with Dennis. Now living in Illinois, I’ve had some similar encounters, and people here are often surprised — and even a bit shocked — when they hear my story. They always end up admitting just how good Dennis truly was. It’s something I didn’t fully realize at the time, but the more I share, the more it’s confirmed to me. God bless, and thank you I came back stronger than ever.
I wanted you to know that I'm so glad that I switched to Schmidt Kramer and that you are my Attorney. I think you are doing a great job for me, and wanted you to know that, A+++Thank you againKen
I can't thank Schmidt Kramer, P.C. enough for their dedication and hard work on my case. After my injury, dealing with the insurance company was overwhelming, but their team stepped in and fought tirelessly to ensure I got the benefits I needed for treatment. They kept me informed every step of the way and worked diligently to reach a fair settlement. Their professionalism, expertise, and compassion made all the difference. If you're looking for a personal injury firm that truly cares and delivers results, I highly recommend Schmidt Kramer, P.C.!
Erhan Yayla
Mike Kosik and his team were incredible. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work and dedication after taking on my case following an auto accident in April 2022 where a driver pulled out in front of me. I highly recommend them should you ever need a personal injury attorney. Thank you so much!