Recently in Personal Injury Law & Process Category

If you were wondering how a retired assistant football coach was paying all his legal bills revolving around 50 criminal charges and multiple civil cases, the answer was that Jerry Sandusky wasn't.

Instead of paying out of pocket, the insurance company for Sandusky's Second Mile charity, Federal Insurance Co., was stuck with the Jerry Sandusky legal bill, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. But now the company is trying to get out of paying the bill.

Halloween can be a fun time for all. However, homeowners may want to take some precautions or they could find themselves subject to a Halloween lawsuit.

Generally, when you decorate your home and turn on all your lights on Halloween night, you are sending out an invitation to every child on the block to come stop by your house.

When this happens, this may turn every unruly child in your neighborhood to an "invitee" on your property. This is significant because then you can become liable for injuries to kids and adults on your property under the legal theory of premises liability.

A list of dangerous schools in Pennsylvania was released by state officials. Officials could have just called the list the "Dangerous Schools in Philadelphia" list as all of the schools mentioned are in the City of Brotherly Love.

Twelve "persistently dangerous" schools were listed. To land on the list, officials considered a school's enrollment and the amount of "violence" that occurred at the school, says The Philadelphia Inquirer. It was not reported what the exact criteria is to make the list or what activities counted as violent activities.

The legal process can be complicated. Everyday words like “complaint,” “serve,” and “answer” take on new meaning when used in the context of a legal action. However, the law is not rocket science, and with a little effort, just about anyone can understand how to file a civil suit.

Generally, to start a lawsuit, you will want to make a complaint. This is where you outline your legal issue and make your case against the other party. In this document, you identify the parties involved, the basic facts of the case, and lay out the legal basis for why you are right. In addition, you should end the complaint with what it is you want — money damages, performance of a contract, for your neighbor to cut down a tree, etc.

This month we've already written about bike accidents, bar accidents, dog accidents, and even duck accidents. Whatever the cause, you may have been harmed and know that someone bears responsibility. But do you know how to collect damages?

The first step is choosing a lawyer and hiring the right Philadelphia personal injury attorney for your case. The right attorney will help you get through the troubling time and guide you through what can be a legal minefield.

The Pennsylvania House has recently approved two bills that add more restrictions on distracted drivers and young drivers, reported the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.

Rep. Katharine Watson of Bucks County, who sponsored the first legislation, said most teen deaths are a result of fatal car crashes. As some Philadelphia residents may have heard, the first bill limits the number of passengers allowed in the car with a junior driver, who is 16- or 17-years-old, and requires minor drivers to wear a seat belt or face potentially getting pulled over by a cop.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Pennsylvania state House has recently approved a “fair-share” bill, which limits the liability of multiple defendants in a civil lawsuit and protects those found to be less than 60 percent at fault from paying more than their portion of damages to a plaintiff.

However, the legislation also includes exceptions for awards in cases involving intentional torts like assault or battery, intentional misrepresentation, and other specific violations connected to liquor laws or hazardous waste. Under current state law, all defendants are responsible for 100 percent of damages if their codefendants are unable to pay.

As most Philadelphia locals have already heard, the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan earlier this month has led to hazardous radiation leakage from the country's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. As a result, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would stop importing dairy products and fresh produce coming from the affected areas in Japan.

The New York Times reported that foods from Japan only account for less than four percent of all U.S. imports. Although the FDA has stated that it does not anticipate any risks of radiation in America's food supply, any other foods from Japan, including common imports like seafood and snack foods, will still continue to be screened before being sold to the public.

When it comes to selecting a jury for a civil or criminal case, lawyers always try to choose individuals whom they think will likely take their side. Typically, lawyers will conduct a traditional question-and-answer session referred to as "voir dire," but many have also taken the selection process into a new level that has raised some concern.

Reuters reported a number of lawyers have been quietly Googling potential jurors and snooping around social media pages like Facebook and other websites to learn more about their personal life, including everything from their level of income to their sexual orientation.

In the case involving 16-year-old Mazeratti Mitchell, Delaware County Judge Mary Alice Brennan recently ruled that the teen, an injured wrestler from Chichester High School, will have to receive treatment from doctors. The judge's decision overrode the wishes of the teen's parents to have their son treated at home without surgery or the use of any drugs.

Brennan faxed an order to the doctors at Thomas Jefferson, which allows the hospital to continue with medical treatment and leaves the doctors to decide on "when and what" medication and treatment will be administered. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Brennan agreed that surgery was necessary for Mitchell to recover and said "that is what the judge ordered."