Local News Blog | Harrisburg, PA

Questions Injury Lawyers Often Get From Injury Victims

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 29, 2022 in Personal Injury

One of the biggest mistakes personal injury victims make is taking on the insurance company on their own without help from an experienced attorney. There are many reasons why injury victims decide not to call a lawyer for help. Generally, victims may make this decision with incomplete information because they have a lot of unanswered […]

Judge Grants Final Approval of Settlement of Insurance Stacking Class Action Case

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 23, 2022 in Car Accidents

Last week, a federal judge gave final approval to the $3.25 million settlement of Stockdale v. Allstate, which is a case about uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) policyholders being wrongly denied the option of stacking coverage. The settlement was approved by Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Wendy Beetlestone – she OK’d an award of $750,000 to class […]

Do Personal Injury Victims Have a Duty to Mitigate Their Damages?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 22, 2022 in Car Accidents

The party that caused your injury owed you a duty of care, but victims may not realize they also have a duty to mitigate their damages. In other words, you have a duty to take reasonable action to manage your damages, such as by going to the doctor and following his or her treatment recommendations. […]

Traffic Fatalities in the First Three Months of 2022 Were At a 20-Year High

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 22, 2022 in Car Accidents

Last week, federal officials announced traffic deaths in the first quarter of the year were at a 20-year high. According to early estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 9,500 deaths in vehicle crashes in the first three months of 2022. These early estimates also represent a seven percent […]

Schmidt Kramer Volleyball Team Reaches Playoffs in Dauphin County Bar Association Summer League

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 19, 2022 in News

Our firm competed in the Dauphin County Bar Association summer volleyball league. The team included Gerard Kramer, Dennis Kergick and Jessica Mitchell. This year, the team was able to reach the playoffs, where our season concluded. Our team has won the league before. We also reached the semifinals in 2019. This year the games were […]

Best Lawyers Selects Seven Schmidt Kramer Attorneys for 2023 Edition

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 18, 2022 in General

Schmidt Kramer is excited to announce that seven attorneys from our firm were included in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Partner Scott Cooper was named Lawyer of the Year in three practice areas. Daryl Christopher was also named Lawyer of the Year for Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs. Five Schmidt Kramer […]

Will Moving to a Different State Impact My Disability Benefits?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 15, 2022 in Social Security Disability

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are both federally funded programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you are currently receiving SSDI or SSI but are moving to a different state, you may have concerns about continued eligibility. Will moving impact my benefits? Do I need to re-apply? Is […]

Why Road Debris is Dangerous and Could Contribute to a Dangerous Crash

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 11, 2022 in Car Accidents

The road can be a dangerous place, and not just because of the other drivers you encounter. We have all encountered debris on the road at one time or another, such as pieces of rubber from a blown-out tire, tree limbs, roadkill, or trash thrown from a vehicle. Road debris can cause significant damage to […]

Can Passengers be Found Liable for Damages from a Car Accident?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 09, 2022 in Car Accidents

There are many reasons why car accidents happen, but most of these reasons can be filed under driver negligence. Drivers often operate their vehicles recklessly and cause collisions with other vehicles. For example, drivers routinely speed, make turns when oncoming traffic is too close, text while driving and engage in other dangerous behavior that causes […]

What To Do If You Were Injured in a Crash Caused by a Defective Car Part

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 03, 2022 in Car Accidents

Every car crash is unique, but we know most of them result from some form of driver negligence, such as speeding, drunk driving, failing to yield or distracted driving. There are also some accidents that result from factors out of drivers’ control, such as defective parts (brakes, tires, steering, engine components, etc.). This raises many […]

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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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After being in an automobile accident , Scott Cooper came highly recommended to me. I found Scott and his team very kind and considerate. Scott took time to explain the whole process to me and got me a settlement in a timely manner. I couldn't ask for best representation.
Ruthie Lupfer
Great Experience and Great results.. I recommend!!
Aaron Marquis
Scott Cooper and Jessica Vizcaino did great. They had good communication, follow-up and fought for me. They handled my case professionally and swiftly, especially with me being out of state. 5 stars all the way and I am glad that they represented me.
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