If you Slip and Fall on snow or ice on a sidewalk, then you may or may not have a legal claim to be compensated for your injuries.

Property owners have a responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe. However, the law recognizes that particularly during Winter, it’s impossible to keep sidewalks clear, dry and safe at all times.

Property owners are given a reasonable period of time after a snowstorm ends to shovel, salt and make the sidewalk safe for pedestrian travel.

If a property owner ignores the duty and allows the snow and ice to remain on the sidewalk and form “hills and ridges” which would obstruct pedestrian travel and someone falls and is injured, a valid legal claim exists.

So, whether you have a claim or not depends on the timing of the fall and the actions of the property owner.

Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer who helps accident victims, including people who Slip and Fall on Snow or Ice, receive fair treatment from insurance companies. You can contact Tim Rayne at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or you can check out his website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.

When you think of the McDonald’s Hot Coffee Lawsuit you probably think of a woman who recklessly spilled hot coffee on herself and got millions of dollars.

In reality, the true facts of the Hot Coffee Case are a portrait of corporate stupidity and arrogance rather than one of a greedy accident victim and a jury run amuck.

The victim was a 79 year-old woman who purchased coffee in a drive-through. Her grandson was driving and when she put the coffee in her lap to add cream and sugar, it accidentally spilled and caused second and third-degree burns resulting in an eight day hospitalization and over $10,000 in medical expenses.

The victim offered to settle for just $20,000 but McDonald’s refused.

During the trial, several very harmful facts came out which supported a huge jury verdict:

• McDonald’s had a franchise wide policy of serving coffee at 185°F

• Coffee at home is served at about 140

• Coffee at 185 is not fit for human consumption because it will burn the mouth and throat on contact

• Coffee at 185°F will cost thirddegree burn after 2 to 3 seconds of skin exposure

• In a 10 year period, McDonald’s received more than 700 complaints of injuries from its Hot Coffee, but it would not reduce its mandated high serving temperature

After hearing this evidence, the jury awarded the victim $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million of punitive damages, which was equal to two days of McDonald’s coffee sales.

The Jury Verdict was reduced by 20% because the jury found the victim 20% responsible for her injuries for putting the coffee cup in her lap to add cream and sugar.

The trial judge reduced the Verdict further to $640,000.

In the end, I think the McDonald’s jury verdict was a good example of a jury punishing an arrogant corporation for dangerous behavior rather than one of a frivolous lawsuit and ridiculous verdict.

Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County Law Firm MacElree Harvey, Ltd. For nearly 30 years, Tim has been helping injured accident victims understand their legal rights and receive fair treatment from insurance companies. Tim Rayne has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester and can be reached at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or you can check out his website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.

Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Cases result is some of the largest Verdicts of any Personal Injuries because of the Serious Injuries or Death which can result from a medical mistake. However, at the same time, Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice cases are often hard to win.

Why?

One of the primary reasons is that it takes a Violation of the Standard of Care that causes Injury or Death to have a valid case. Just a bad result or a complication causing injury are not enough.

What is an Example of a Violation of the Standard of Care?

All doctors must follow the Standard of Care – possess the knowledge and skill and exercise the care that another practitioner in his or her specialty would exercise in the same situation.

For example, a surgeon is required to keep track of and account for all surgical supplies and tools during surgery and, if a foreign body such as a sponge or tool is left inside the patient and then the surgical site is closed, then the surgeon has likely violated the Standard of Care and could be successfully sued for Medical Malpractice.

Mere Bad Results or Recognized Complications Are Not Malpractice

Conversely, the mere occurrence of an injury or death during medical care or the happening of a recognized complication, like infection, is likely not Malpractice. Doctors and other medical providers cannot guarantee recovery or prevent all complications from occurring.

Seek Professional Advice

If you or a loved one believe that you may have been the victim of Medical Malpractice, then it’s important to seek Legal Advice as soon as possible. A skilled and experienced Pennsylvania Malpractice Lawyer can evaluate your claim and help you seek justice if you have a valid case.

”I don’t need a Personal Injury Lawyer because the Insurance Company will be Fair….”

I’ve heard that a lot in my 30 years as a Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Car Accident Lawyer and I try not to laugh but at least roll my eyes a little because it’s just not true most of the time.

Insurance Companies make money by charging Premiums. They lose money by paying claims. So, their financial interests are served by paying as little as possible on each claim, rather than paying fair value.

In my experience, the key to getting fair value is to have a skilled advocate tell your story and fight to get fair treatment. Personal injury cases are not about hitting the lottery and getting a windfall, they are about getting fairly compensated to make up for the injury.

As a Car Accident Lawyer I see lots of Car Insurance Policies and, unfortunately, many of those policies have bad coverage.

Believe it or not, the choices that you make on your Car Insurance impact your legal rights and the rights of family members who live with you if you cause a car accident or are injured in a car crash caused by someone else.

Last week, I ran across the Best PA Car Insurance Coverage that I’ve ever seen. Here it is and below is my explanation of why it is the best I’ve ever seen.

Liability Coverage

Liability Coverage provides protection to you and other drivers of your car who make a mistake and cause a crash that hurts someone or damages property.

The minimum liability coverage in Pennsylvania is $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident for Bodily Injury and $5,000 for Property Damage. This Policy has much more, $1 Million for Bodily Injury and $100,000 for Property Damage.

Increased First Party Coverage

Your Pennsylvania Car Insurance also has Medical Coverage that will pay for your medical bills regardless of who causes an accident. The PA state minimum and most common amount of No Fault Medical Benefits is $5,000. You can also purchase coverage for Lost Income, Funeral Expenses and Accidental Death which is optional, but useful coverage.

My client’s First Party coverage is excellent because he has $50,000 of Medical Coverage and he has purchased optional coverage for Work Loss, Funeral Expense and Accidental Death.

High Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage

Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage protects you, your family members who live with you and people who drive or ride in your car from injuries or death caused by Uninsured or Underinsured drivers. If a driver with no or low Car Insurance causes an injury or death to someone covered by your car insurance, then you or they can make a claim on your Uninsured or Underinsured Coverage to be fully compensated for all injuries and damages. In addition, the claim will not increase your insurance rates.

Because the minimum Bodily Injury Liability Coverage in PA is $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident, it is critical for you to protect yourself and your family with ample Uninsured and Underinsured coverage.

This client has $1 million of Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage and he has “stacked” the Coverage which multiplies it by the number of vehicles on the Policy. Since he has two vehicles, he actually has $2 million.

Full Tort Not Limited Tort

This client also chose Full Tort, not Limited Tort on his Pennsylvania Car Insurance.

Full Tort protects his full legal rights to compensation after a Car Accident, while Limited Tort limits legal rights to compensation. With Limited Tort, an injured person cannot recover compensation for non-economic damages like Pain and Suffering absent a Serious Injury which is Death, Serious and Permanent Disfigurement or a Serious Impairment of Body Function.

Full Tort is preferable because your full legal rights are preserved.

Check Out Your Policy

Does your Car Insurance measure up or have you made critical errors in your Car Insurance choices? Pull out your Policy and see. Do you have Full Tort? How much Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage do you have? What are your Liability Limits? Is your family protected????

If you would like a Free Review of your Car Insurance Coverage feel free to call or email me at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out my Free Book Protecting Your Family From Accidents on my website www.TimRayneLaw.com

The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently upheld a $43 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict in favor of Philadelphia Eagles Special Teams Star Chris Maragos.

This case highlights two common themes in Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice cases – the length of time it can take to litigate them and the potential for huge verdicts or devastating losses.

Why Does it Take So Long to Litigate a Malpractice Case?

The Maragos case has taken 7 plus years to litigate, with his injury having occurred in 2017 and the Superior Court upholding the Jury Verdict in 2024. Similarly, I have a Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice case where the victim died in 2016 and we are still waiting for our Trial.

Medical Malpractice cases tend to take many years to resolve.

Rather than settling, like most Car Accident or other Personal Injury Cases, Medical Malpractice cases are almost always vigorously defended, even if the Malpractice is fairly obvious.

Doctors must give their consent for the insurance company to negotiate a settlement and the State of Pennsylvania is the secondary insurer in most cases and is notoriously slow to review and settle cases.

At the same time, many Medical Malpractice cases are complicated, requiring lengthy Discovery and many Depositions of witnesses before Trial can be scheduled.

Once Discovery is complete, it’s also difficult to get Trial scheduled because there are a limited number of defense lawyers who handle these cases and they are often booked to try cases in multiple courts at the same time.

The net result is that the resolution of a typical Medical Malpractice cases takes years (and often many years) from the date of the incident.

Why Can Medical Malpractice Verdict be Very High or Low?

The $43 Million Maragos Verdict also demonstrates that Medical Malpractice Jury Verdicts can be huge, but they can also be zero.

In the Maragos case, the size of the Verdict was almost certainly driven by his career as a high paid professional football player. Maragos alleged that his football career was ended prematurely by the Malpractice of his knee surgeon and that he lost $9 million in future income. That lost income number, in turn, led to a huge Verdict after adding pain and suffering and the emotional impact of the loss of his “dream” career. The Maragos Verdict was probably also driven up by the claim that the doctor had intentionally altered medical records to try to cover up his Negligence and push the blame onto Maragos.

Other Medical Malpractice Verdicts are driven up by catastrophic injuries or egregious facts.

Nevertheless, many Medical Malpractice cases are lost at Trial, resulting in zero verdicts.

In the end, Medical Malpractice cases are risky for both sides, with doctors and hospitals facing the prospect of a huge verdict and not enough insurance to cover it, but with the victim also facing the risk of losing and getting nothing.