Author: starkblogsdev

The Workers’ Compensation Act requires a contractor/employer to stand in reserve and provide workers’ compensation insurance for subcontractors and their employees, if that subcontractor does not have insurance. Originally the Workers’ Compensation Act set enacted this requirement in order to protect workers. The legislature believed that making the contractor responsible for workers’ compensation benefits when its subcontractor was uninsured, would force the hiring contractor to make sure that the subcontractor it hired had insurance. However, that is not what happened.

Current law allows police officers to cite drivers for ice and snow on the top of their vehicles if the ice or snow falls from the vehicle and causes injury or death. Specifically 75 Pa. C.S.A.§3720 reads “when snow or ice is dislodged or falls from a moving vehicle and strikes another vehicle or pedestrian causing death or serious bodily injury…the operator of the vehicle from which the snow or ice is dislodged or falls shall be subject to a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $1000 for each offense”.

You see everyone doing it: checking emails, talking on cell phones, or texting while driving. Unfortunately, while most people feel this activity is harmless, it is causing accidents, injuries and even deaths. Talking on your phone or texting requires you to divert your attention away from driving. Recently, an Allegheny County case has taken issue with this behavior. The plaintiffs in Deringer v. Li alleged that the above behavior rises to the level of being “reckless” and warrants the imposition of punitive damages.

There is no greater tragedy than to lose a child. Whether it is due to a motor vehicle, or any other cause, nothing can fill the sorrow. For those who have not experienced that lost, the best we can do is hope it never happens to us. For some of those that have lost a child, the hope to change things is compelling.

Pennsylvania Law does not allow you to sue your employer for negligence. Therefore if you are injured at work as a result of fault of your employer, the only benefits you may be entitled to are Workers Compensation benefits. However, quite often, people are injured at work due to the fault of someone other than their employer. For example, lets say you are working in an office for company A. While in the office, you slip and fall on water that was spilled by a delivery person who worked for company B.