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

New Report Finds That Pennsylvania Drivers Lose $9.4 BILLION A Year Due To Bad Roads

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 29, 2013 in Car Accidents

Posted on May 29, 2013 A new report that evaluates the current condition, use and funding of Pennsylvania’s surface transportation system will be released on Wednesday, May 29, 2013. The report is being released by TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group based in Washington, DC. The report, “Future Mobility in Pennsylvania: The Cost of […]

Have You Given Up Your Rights to a Third-Party Claim for a Job Injury?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 28, 2013 in Workers' Compensation

Under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation law, employees are assured that when they suffer an on-the-job injury, their medical bills will be paid. In addition, they will receive partial wages if they are too disabled to work for an extended period. Part of the grand bargain of workers’ compensation is that employees are barred from suing their […]

Pennsylvania Motorcycle Accident Deaths Are Up – What Is the Cause?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 28, 2013 in Motorcycle Accidents

The number of deaths in motorcycle crashes has increased by approximately 35% since Pennsylvania lawmakers decided a decade ago to give motorcyclists the choice of whether to wear helmets or not. Pennsylvania officials say 210 people died in motorcycle crashes last year, and only 100 wore helmets while 104 did not. There is no current movement […]

The Statutory Employee Defense in Pennsylvania Comp Claims

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 26, 2013 in Workers' Compensation

For decades, the workers’ compensation law in Pennsylvania has had a significant loophole: the statutory employee defense. But a change in legal precedents last year has upended this area of the law. Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorneys (and their clients) are still grappling with the consequences. If you have been injured in a work related accident […]

Remember To Secure Disability Insurance – May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 24, 2013 in News

Posted on May 24, 2013 Schmidt Kramer Harrisburg Personal Injury And Social Security Lawyers are supporting the press release of The Pennsylvania Insurance Department wanting to remind people that planning ahead can protect you financially in the event of a disability. May is Disability Awareness Month. Private disability insurance policies are available on an individual or group basis. The coverage […]

Don’t Make These Errors That Will Kill Your SSDI Claim

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

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program of federal government benefits for people who have become too disabled to work. It isn’t welfare; only those people who have paid into the Social Security system for a number of years are eligible. The application process is a tough one, designed to screen out people who […]

Camp Hill Car Accident On North 25th Street Under Investigation – Central Pennsylvania

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 21, 2013 in News

Posted on May 21, 2013 Emergency crews extricated at least one passenger from a Honda CRV that overturned on its driver’s side after a collision with an Acura TL sedan last night in Camp Hill, Cumberland County. At least one person involved in the crash was strapped to a backboard and transported to an area […]

Schmidt Kramer Featured In Pennlive.com

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 21, 2013 in News

Schmidt Kramer’s Scott Cooper provided a short interview to Daniel Urie of Pennlive.com. Below is the 3-minute interview which is this week’s feature. 3-minute interview: Scott B. Cooper, Partner, Schmidt Kramer PC, Harrisburg. Schmidt Kramer PC is located in Harrisburg. Q: Tell us about Schmidt Kramer PC. A: Schmidt Kramer helps people deal with serious […]

Is Your Paperwork in Order? Documenting Your SSDI Claim

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

You have probably heard the horror stories by now: even people with obviously severe handicaps have been rejected when they apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The rejection rates are harsh, with about two applicants being denied for every one who is accepted. It appears as if our government would rather see someone denied […]

Police Seek Help With Investigating Lancaster County Crash

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on May 20, 2013 in Car Accidents

Posted on May 20, 2013 A two-vehicle crash yesterday, May 19, 2013, on Route 30 in Lancaster County near Hill Street killed one person and hospitalized two others. The crash occurred after a 27-year-old Wrightsville woman drove her vehicle east in the westbound lane of Route 30. The woman’s vehicle eventually collided head on with another […]

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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

Very caring and compassionate
Debra Zervanos
Gerry and his team were very caring and compassionate. Gerry was always very responsive to me whether it be phone calls or emails. He kept me updated every single step of the way. His team and himself worked tirelessly to get me the best possible outcome to my situation. He was able to wrap everything up within two years with a nice bow on it. I will forever be grateful and will recommend him to everyone.
Dakota Cravener
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

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