Fibromyalgia: The Invisible Syndrome That Only Some Plaintiffs’ Experts Can See!
In the realm of personal injury litigation, over the years, individuals involved in traumatic events have been diagnosed with numerous injuries and disorders that often cause one to wonder just how such an injury could be caused by an accident. TMJ...
Discovery of Surveillance Evidence in Pennsylvania
In many personal injury cases, a decision is made to retain an investigator to conduct surveillance to ascertain whether the plaintiff is truly as injured as claimed. In order to weigh the risks and benefits of this decision, the defense lawyer and...
Indemnification 101: The Basics of ‘Holding Harmless’
In its simplest and most frequently-seen form, “indemnification” in the context of insurance describes the right of one party (the “indemnitee”) to be protected by a second party (the “indemnitor”) from liability to a third party. The right of...
The Household Vehicle Exclusion Survives One Attack, Faces Another
By the slimmest of margins, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has again upheld the “household vehicle exclusion” in a case which was vigorously contested not only by the parties, but also by the leading professional associations of the plaintiff and...
Impact of the Severability Clause On Excusionary Language Under Pennsylvania Law
Lurking within most insurance policies issued in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a dreaded “severability clause”; the clause which provides that: “[t]his insurance applies separately to each insured.” What does it mean? What effect does it have...
Forry Ullman Obtains Defense Verdit In Post-Koken Uim Jury Trial In Philadelphia County
On Tuesday, March 22, 2010, a Philadelphia Common Pleas jury entered a defense verdict in the first Post-Koken decision in Philadelphia County involving Progressive Insurance in the case of Horwitz v. Progressive Halcyon Insurance Company. Karl...
Products Liability Update: Will the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopt the Restatement (Third) of Torts?
Currently, the Pennsylvania law of strict product liability is based on §402A of the Restatement (2d) of Torts. Under Pennsylvania law, a manufacture/supplier of a product is the guarantor of its safety. The manufacturer/supplier is liable for any...
Section 1722 Held To Preclude Double Recovery Of Third Party And Uim Benefits
After a seemingly long line of decisions beginning with Panichelli v. Liberty Mutual in 1996, Carroll v. Kephart in 1998, Ricks v. Nationwide in 2005, and Tannenbaum v. Nationwide in 2007 where the Collateral Source Rule seemed to win at every...
Can an Insurer Be Held Responsible for an Insured’s Criminal Restitution?
An Analysis of Brethren Mutual Insurance Company v. McKernan In Brethren Mutual Insurance Company v. McKernan, 961 A.2d 205 (Pa. Super 2008), the Superior Court addressed the issue of whether Pennsylvania public policy prohibits the use of...
Must An Insurer File A Petition Showing Good Cause To Obtain A Medical Examination?
On January 14, 2009, in the matter of Celeste Williams vs. Allstate Insurance Company, E.D. Pa., Civil Action No. 08-3031, Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter issued an Opinion/Order opining that the contractual provision in Allstate’s...
Assuredly Clear? A Crash Course on the Sudden Emergency Doctrine
The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code requires that [n]o person shall drive a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing, nor at a speed greater...