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

Five Basic Workers’ Compensation Benefits in PA

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 21, 2012 in Workers' Compensation

Becoming sick or injured could mean serious long-term physical consequences, expensive medical bills, and lost wages—which are all scary things. Those who become sick or injured as a result of their jobs generally are eligible for worker’s compensation. Pennsylvania’s worker’s compensation provides five basic benefits: Lost Wage Replacement is available to those deemed totally disabled […]

Is Route 15 Intersection Near Sunbury Safe?

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

The Sunbury Daily Item is reporting about a safety issue on Route 15. The question of safety at an intersection where 3 deaths and 8 crashes have occurred over a 5 years stretch has been raised. What do you think? By Rick Dandes LEWISBURG — The intersection at Route 15 and Col. John Kelly Road, […]

Interstate 81 Motorcycle Crash Results In Fatality

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 20, 2012 in Motorcycle Accidents

If you have any information about an accident near interstate 81 this past weekend which resulted in the death of a motorcyclist please contact the police. The Perry County man was killed Saturday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash along the Conodoguinet Parkway at Interstate 81 in Silver Spring Township. William Goudy, 60, of Rye Township […]

Opinion: Carlisle Regional and The Hospital System’s Duty To Protect The Vulnerable

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 17, 2012 in Medical Malpractice

Do medical facilities have an obligation and duty to be proactive be protect people, especially children, while they are patients at their facilities? One Central Pennsylvania facility south of Harrisburg may not have been meeting this obligation. The following letter to the Editor can be found in the August 17, 2012 edition of the Harrisburg Patriot News. […]

Nationwide Found Not Liable For UIM Arbitration Valuation After PA Car Accident

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

Posted on Aug 17, 2012 The Middle District of Pennsylvania federal court in Sabella v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., No. 1:12-CV-00582 (Rambo J., M.D. Pa. Aug. 14, 2012) this week decided whether an insured is entitled to collect monies from an arbitration valuation of $100,000. In this case, the insured litigated an underinsured motorist (UIM) arbitration and […]

Is Pennsylvania Voter ID Valid?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 16, 2012 in General

Are voter ID laws aimed to disenfranchise people from exercising there right to vote or an effort to prevent voter fraud? Is Pennsylvania’s newly enacted voter ID law an attempt to suppress the November election vote which statistically would harm Democratic voters? The Harrisburg Patriot News is reporting today that the battle over the state’s controversial […]

Locate Nursing Home Deficiencies And Citations In PA

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 15, 2012 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

The Chambersburg Public Opinion is reporting today about how to locate deficiencies in nursing homes in Central Pennsylvania. You can also locate and compare nursing homes throughout the United States. The nursing home industry is seeking legislation to cap punitive damages if it is reckless and responsible for treatments and care to a resident. Do […]

PA Superior Court Adresses Underinsured Motorist Stacking Issue

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 15, 2012 in Car Accidents

Posted on Aug 15, 2012 The Pennsylvania Superior Court opinion yesterday, August 15, 2012, decided Shipp v. The Phoenix Insurance Company, — A.3d — (Pa. Super 2012). This cases involves how the Sackett underinsured motorist line of cases relate to a situation where a new vehicle is a “replacement” vehicle for an existing vehicle on a […]

PA Man Appeals to Avoid Paying Mom’s $93000 Nursing Home Tab

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 11, 2012 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

Recently, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that John Pitta, age 47, is liable for his mother’s nearly $93,000 nursing home bill from Liberty Nursing Rehabilitation Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The ruling is based on a filial support law that says family members are required to care for and financially maintain certain indigent family members. Similar […]

Information About Medicare Eligibility in PA

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 09, 2012 in Social Security Disability

Medicare is the United States government program that provides health insurance to people aged 65 and over, as well as to some younger people who are disabled, and those with permanent kidney failure. This program is funded through payroll deductions. Medicare is made up of four main parts: Part A: Hospital Insurance helps to pay […]

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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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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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