Local News Blog | Harrisburg, PA | Schmidt Kramer, P.C.

Aging Out of the Social Security Disability System

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 22, 2013 in Social Security Disability

The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program was created in 1956. The initial idea for the program was that most people collecting benefits would be older Americans. People who weren’t quite at retirement age but who were too disabled to continue in their jobs. In fact, that’s pretty much how things have worked out. Over […]

How to Recognize Drunk Drivers on the Road

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 21, 2013 in Car Accidents

Drunk driving is, hands down, the greatest threat to other people on the road. There were 217 alcohol-related fatal traffic accidents in Pennsylvania last year. Overall, there were nearly 11,000 vehicle crashes in 2012 in which one or more drivers had been drinking. So what should you do if you suspect a car is under […]

Time Limits for Social Security Disability Benefits

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 20, 2013 in Social Security Disability

Few people realize it, but Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has a handful of vitally important time limits. If those time limits pass, you may find yourself ineligible to receive any more benefits. In fact, there are five different time limits concealed deep inside the program rules. Most SSDI recipients aren’t aware of those time […]

Superior Court Strikes Down Underinsured Motorist Household Exclusion

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 19, 2013 in Motorcycle Accidents

Yesterday, July 19, 2013, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a published decision in Swarner v. Mutual Benefit which reverses a trial court opinion and finds that a household exclusion in an insurance policy is not valid, under the facts of the case. In the case, the Plaintiff Swarner was a passenger on a motorcycle. The motorcycle […]

Police Investigating Fatal Accident On Route 209

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 18, 2013 in Truck Accidents

Posted on Jul 18, 2013 A Schuylkill County man was killed early today after being hit by a tractor trailer, state police said. The accident occurred just after 1:15 a.m. along Route 209, about quarter mile north of Anderson Street. Sean Malone, of Port Carbon, was crouched over in the southbound lane and was not noticed by […]

Fatal Snydertown Rd Accident Under Investigation

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 17, 2013 in Car Accidents

Posted on Jul 17, 2013 Police are investigating a car accident which caused the death of 18-year-old Marcelle R. Barber, of Mount Carmel, who graduated from high school last month. The crash on Snydertown Road also caused injuries to three passengers, Tyler J. Karycki, of Mount Carmel; Brianna L. Bailey, of Kulpmont, and Hasan M. […]

Domestic Casting Cited For Safety Violations Once Again

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 17, 2013 in Workers' Compensation

Is there more which can be done to protect workers? Do companies which violate out safety laws endanger the lives of its workers? Should workers compensation immunity laws be changed? Domestic Casting has once again been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety and health violations. It […]

Lancaster County Crash Still Under Investigation

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 16, 2013 in Car Accidents

Columbia, Lancaster County police are asking anyone with information about the below Central Pennsylvania car accident to contact Leddy or Officer Bryan Keyser at 684-7735. Tipsters also may call Lancaster City/County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913 or anonymously text LANCS plus a message to 847411 (TIP411). Police identified a pedestrian and a motorist who were killed in […]

Police Investigating Fatal Lancaster County Crash

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on July 16, 2013 in Car Accidents

Posted on Jul 16, 2013 Police identified a pedestrian and a motorist who were killed in a one-vehicle crash Sunday, July 14, 2013, in Columbia, Lancaster County. Beverly Jean Altland of Columbia, was standing on Lancaster Avenue when an eastbound minivan veered off the road and struck and killed her in a parking lot, The minivan […]

Listening to the New National Dialogue on Drunk Driving Standards

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

Years of public campaigns to reduce the threat of drunk driving on the nation’s streets and highways have helped, but most people will agree that the successes we have seen do not go far enough. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says that about 170,000 people across the United States are injured in alcohol-related traffic […]

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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

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!
My Atty took good care of all my needs during my issues I was well represented and everything was made clear and up front. I would highly recommend using this office
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

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