$227 Million Settlement Reached in 2013 Building Collapse Case
The longest civil trial in the history of the city of Philadelphia wrapped up on February 8, 2017, with a settlement for the plaintiffs: twelve people who were injured and the families of the seven people who perished in a building collapse in June 2013. The collapse occurred when the demolition of a Center City building owned by New York real estate/adult entertainment magnate Richard Basciano caused an adjacent building housing a Salvation Army consignment store to collapse under four stories of brick. The Philadelphia Daily News reported on court documents that stated Basciano was at the scene of the demolition in a conference with the contractor, Griffin Campbell, as the building began to collapse. In a related criminal case, convictions were handed to Campbell, and the excavator operator, Sean Benschop, who were sent to prison for 15 to 30 years and 7 ½ to 15 years, respectively, for their roles in the collapse. The publicized seventeen-week civil trial ended with a settlement of $227 million, to be paid by Basciano and the Salvation Army to the plaintiffs. According to an anonymous source reported in the Philadelphia Daily News, $200 million is to be paid by the Salvation Army, and $27 million by Basciano.The settlement money is to be divided via an arbitrator among the victims of the collapse and their families. Victims sustained serious injuries in the collapse. One woman suffered such extensive injuries under the prolonged weight of the rubble, that she underwent 30 surgeries including amputation of her lower body at the hips.Part of the settlement will help to pay for the woman’s medical care, which is expected...Liability Waiver Saves LA Fitness from Personal Injury Lawsuit
Going to the gym is nothing new, but being active has been a trend for a few years now. Some will jog or use their own treadmill to stay active, but most will frequent gyms like LA Fitness. The great thing about gyms like these is the option to work out with a personal trainer. However, for every membership, there are pages of legal paperwork that you have to sign. Usually, we think just to skip over this and sign away, but this is exactly what caused Patricia Evans to lose her personal injury case against LA Fitness. When signing up for a membership, the legal work normally includes documents like membership agreement, personal training agreement, and a release of liability. The release of liability page states something along the lines of acknowledging that you read the terms and assumption of risk. No business ever wants someone to get hurt on their premises, but they still need to have an action plan in case something does happen and in this case, it was their release of liability. While working out with her personal trainer, Evans fell while she was sprinting and performing “suicide runs.” Evans fractured both of her wrists after trying to catch herself from her fall, which also resulted in nerve damage after the healing. Evans claims that she fell after her trainer continued to tell her to go faster. However, one of the biggest holes in her case was that she was not forced to exercise and when exercising it is at her own risk. In this case, the wording would have also been crucial to her...Wording is Everything in this Personal Injury Case
Every personal injury case is unique and the latest one from Massachusetts is no different. Gun ownership can be a tricky case because there are always two sides to a story. In a Smith & Wesson case, a couple was trying to sue because of a possible defect with their product. While visiting a gun store in Murfreesboro, TN, Randy and Vicki McNeal were attempting to put their gun in its safety lock when it dropped and discharged during the fall. Mr. McNeal claims that he was having trouble locking the gun because a loose screw from the sight was in the way, causing him to drop the gun accidentally. After attempting to catch the gun, it fired and shot Mr. McNeal’s pinky finger. After the accident, Mr. McNeal needed to have his pinky finger amputated because there was no way to save it, resulting in costly medical bills. Randy and Vicki decided to sue the gun maker Smith & Wesson for $75,000 for personal injury and for their faulty product. What made this a difficult case was the wording in the couple’s claim. Simply put, an injury does not prove that a product is faulty. In addition, if a product has a defect, a company is not necessarily liable because companies do not have to make “accident proof” products. This is why many companies place multiple warning labels or booklets within the product packaging, even if the warning seems silly, it can save the company from cases like this. U.S. Judge Todd Campbell dismissed this case within federal court because the screw is not what caused Mr. McNeal...Camel Pays Big Bucks in Personal Injury Case
The Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA is a drive-thru zoo, which can give visitors a more personal experience with the animals and see them in their natural habitat. Earlier in the month, they also reached a settlement with a 10-year-old girl’s family after a camel bit her during their trip to the park. In May of 2015, the Holland family visited the park for a birthday party, but left with more than just a goodie bag. During their drive through the park, their young daughter had the window down in order to feed the animals and suffered serious injuries to her forearm after being bitten by the camel. After filing a personal injury case with the Virginia Safari Park, the Holland family will receive $155,000 as settlement for this case. Since the Holland’s daughter is not an adult, she will not receive any compensation until she is 18. Around $40,000 will go towards the medical expenses for her arm and trauma care. Once she turns 18, she will receive $10,000 and then after she turns 21 she will receive $1,000 each month for 12 years. In parks like these, customers are encouraged to drive with the windows down or ride on wagons in order to feed animals like zebra, llamas, and camels. This was one of the biggest reasons they were able to reach a settlement like this, the child and family did nothing wrong. The zoo is not reconsidering the drive-thru aspect of their park because this is one of the first incidents with these animals. Filing a personal injury case can be tiring, but worth...Why Facebooking about your Personal Injury Case is a Big “No-No”
Social media, in general, is not good for your personal injury case. You may think that sharing details about your case – even in a private message – will make you feel better or that your friends will give you good advice, but it can actually damage the credibility of your case. Facebook is the first place that your insurance company or defendant’s lawyer will check in order to find information to use against you. Your social media accounts may be private, but there is always a way to access them, especially when a judge orders you to give the defendant’s lawyer your passwords because they believe there is something they could use against your case. Some of the aspects of social media that can be used in opposition to you include videos or photos that you are tagged in or have posted, statuses, and private messages. Defendant lawyers are looking for anything that could potentially prove that you hurt yourself at a different location or negligent person. Just be cautious when posting during a personal injury case and remember that even if you delete a post, it is there forever. The defendant lawyers and insurance companies are there to make your claim go away so they will do anything it takes, which includes reinterpreting your posts’ meaning in order to hurt your claim. The best-case scenario is to not post at all, but if you must post, try to follow these terms to avoid common social media mistakes: Let everyone know not to post anything about you, which includes tagging and messaging. Do not tell them this through...Have a question? Give us a call.
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