Montgomery & Bucks County Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Regardless of whether you are a hardcore bicyclist or a weekend fun-ride type, you are always at risk of serious injury due to collisions with other vehicles. Bicycling accidents have many causes, from distracted driving to failing to follow bicycling laws. It is also difficult at times to determine who was at fault for the accident.

What are my legal rights if I am injured while skiing or snowboarding?

A 15-year-old girl from Singapore was recently killed while on a school ski trip to Pennsylvania’s Shawnee Mountain Ski Area. The young girl reportedly lost control and skied off the bottom of one of the resort’s trails.  The deceased teen attended Blair Academy in New Jersey, where her peers remember her as a bright and positive person.  This Pennsylvania ski accident is just one accident among a recent rash of ski related accidents to occur thus far this winter.

In early January, a Texas mom and her two young daughters fell off a chairlift at a Colorado ski resort.
Read more . . .

If you’ve been involved in an auto accident, you know what a toll it can take on your life, especially from a financial standpoint. You’ve likely lost time at work, had to pay additional medical expenses that you would not have had to pay if you had not been in an accident and maybe even had to pay for a new vehicle or substantial repairs. If someone else caused this accident, you should not be the one that has to foot the bill for all of this. That is why we have personal injury lawsuits in order to make you whole following an auto accident.

The question is, what does it really take to make you whole? There’s a lot to consider and it can be argued that no amount of monetary damages can ever make you “completely whole.

What are the leading causes of truck accidents?

If you drive on any of the major highways in Pennsylvania, sharing the road with tractor-trailers and other trucks is inevitable. Not only that, you've probably seen an accident or two involving a big-rig. These accidents are common, as a recent accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike shows.

In December, a crash involving two tractor-trailers and a minivan closed the turnpike in both directions between the Blue Mountain and Carlisle exits for several hours. The crash occurred in the early morning hours and one of the trucks overturned.
Read more . . .

How can Pennsylvania drivers protect themselves while driving in winter weather conditions?

A snowstorm recently shut down Interstate-80 in Jefferson County following a 59 vehicle pileup.  Icy and snowy conditions with low visibility were thought to contribute to the massive multiple vehicle accident.  More than a dozen vehicles were crushed in the wrecks, which involved 22 tractor trailers and 37 cars.  Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported.  Emergency responders worked quickly to clean up the roadway and put out a truck fire, allowing I-80 to reopen several hours later.
Read more . . .

Can you be compensated for your injuries if you signed a liability waiver?

We live in a culture obsessed with looking a certain way. In order to get the results we want, we try to eat healthy and workout, and most people work out in a gym. But, going to the gym has its downsides. One risk associated with going to the gym is being injured. If you signed a waiver and/or release of liability and were then hurt at the gym, being compensated for your injuries might be an uphill battle.

What are my rights if I am injured by a distracted driver in PA?

Recently, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a bill into law that enhanced the penalties for serious accidents caused by texting and driving.  House Bill 2025, known as “Daniel’s Law,” creates more stringent penalties for distracted driving in PA that results in severe injury or death.  Before passage of the legislation, violation of the state’s texting while driving law was a summary offense with just a $50 penalty.  Under Daniel’s Law, distracted driving accidents causing serious injury or death will be punished similarly to drunk driving offenses, such as homicide by vehicle.  

It is hoped that Pennsylvania’s new texting and driving law will send a strong message that distracted driving will not be tolerated in the state.

Dogs are everywhere nowadays- in stores, on trains and planes and at parks and beaches. So, it is quite common to see a dog during your daily routine. Like many of us, you may be tempted to make contact with this pooch in some way. Whether it is a seemingly harmless scratch on the head or a more involved petting, you should know that you might be putting yourself in danger. Not all dogs are friendly, and even dogs that are considered friendly have the ability to seriously injure a person, even when unprovoked.

Q: If I have a truck accident while working, what damages can I collect?

We’ve all been there. You’re traveling along the interstate, sharing the road with the big rigs, and suddenly there’s a sea of red lights ahead. Traffic is at a standstill due to another accident causing a miles long backup. It seems the bigger the vehicles involved, the longer the delays-- especially when there are tractor trailers turned over with their inventories sprawled along the roadway.

If you’re injured in a

What is the most common work-related injury?

Last month, we wrote about the connection between occupational hearing loss and heart damage. This is a compelling issue, especially in light of a report released earlier this year by the

Is a franchisor liable as a statutory employer for injuries sustained by a franchisee employee?

Until recently, the relationship between a franchisor and a franchisee meant that the franchisor was not a statutory employer and thus not liable for injuries sustained by a franchisee employee. Now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to weigh in on the issue.

The case involves a franchisee employee who slipped and injured both his knees in a Philadelphia Saladworks restaurant and applied for Workers Compensation benefits from the franchisee. Since the franchisee did not have workers' compensation insurance, the injured worker also filed a claim against the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund (UEGF).

The fund then moved to join the franchisor as a statutory employer of the injured worker, but a Workers Compensation judge ruled that Saladworks, as a franchisor, was not the employer of the claimant.