The Falvello Law Firm

More than Football

2010-01-19T13:51:00.000-08:00

I love football. My earliest memory is of football and wanting to play in the big Turkey Day Game.

To the perpetual annoyance of my family, I make life analogies to the sport. Sometimes they listen.

In particular I like College football because in any given game, a team of young men who are given no chance achieve something they and their alums will never forget.

On New Year’s Eve something more than that took place in two Bowl games of lesser media consequence, but meaningful to those who know the game; and especially meaningful to our Country. In one game Air Force played a highly touted Houston team that was ranked most of the year and had one of the best College quarterbacks in the country leading a high scoring offense full of big time receivers.

On paper of course Air Force was a heavy underdog, outmanned and undersized; playing a simple option offense.

The other game had Navy playing another big time program. This one, Missouri, with the No.1 recruited quarterback in the country a couple years ago and one of College Football’s highest paid coaching staffs.

Just like Air Force, Navy was outmanned and undersized.

No doubt the coaches and players from Houston and Missouri prepped by watching film of these smaller, slower opponents run their very simple run option offense, figuring their own talent could easily handle these guys in a way that lesser teams, beaten on the field, could not.

The sports pundits and on-line voters agreed in high percentages.

What actually took place in both games was inspiring to a fan like me and a heartwarming, lump-in your-throat moment to anyone who loves this Country and the young men and women of the Armed Services who put their money where their mouth is every day for each of us.

In the early game Air Force ran and threw the ball. Little guys running over bigger guys; jumping over bigger guys; hitting bigger guys harder than they thought possible.

The later game was no different with Navy’s guys running right at the bigger, faster Mizzu defense; and Navy’s defense hitting the Mizzu offense with a relentless conditioning and intensity you can not experience watching film.

Air Force won 45-20; Navy won 35-13. But the games’ score is not the point of this.

To Air Force and Navy players there were few, if any, pro contracts looming in their future. After the game the seniors would be deployed with the rest of their fellow graduates for at least a five year gig. But to them one could tell this was more than just a football game.

On every play, offense or defense, each player had to beat their man and in that way winning each play as a team. Superbly physically conditioned, they never came off their game, not even for a moment. They did not buckle to those chosen to defeat them.

As for Houston and Missouri, no doubt they are all good players, but good players not trained day in and day out to not only defeat your opponent, but to outlast them in every way defeating their will as well. Their opponents on this day took it to them with something they had not seen before. Their opponent this day would pay any price to defeat them.

By the fourth quarter you could see it on the faces of the Houston and Missouri players. The scoreboard was the secondary indicator of defeat. The soldiers had accomplished their mission.

Thus far,this has been an unusually good Bowl season. Bobby Bowden winning to complete a string of 33 consecutive winning seasons. Tim Tebow with a record breaking performance in the Sugar Bowl to finish an extraordinary career at Florida. Auburn-Northwestern; Penn State-LSU; Ohio State-Oregon. All great games. All media darlings.

But let’s not forget the Air Force and the Navy. They play on the field of football as they will protect us in the defense of our Country. Outstanding young men unafraid of long odds and no-win scenarios.

"Legal for Less"

2009-12-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

So goes one of the commercials for low cost car insurance in Pennsylvania.

Many bigger Companies have followed suit with Allstate claiming that they will dump GEICO for you and save you $473.

Buyer beware. What they don’t tell you is that they are pushing policies with the least amount of protection for you and your family allowed by law. Many people, understandably looking for a premium savings, don’t realize this too-good-to-be-true catch.

You may be trading 100k in liability coverage that protects your assets for the nominal amount at the legal minimum of 15k.

You could be losing your right to make a claim for a chronic injury inflicted upon you by a reckless driver by selecting “limited tort” when you
previously had “full tort”, giving up not only your right, but the rights of all in your household.

You could be giving up income loss protection that pays to replace your income if you are disabled in any kind of an accident, even one that is your fault.

You could be lowering your limit to 5k for coverage that automatically pays your medical bills for treatment resulting from any accident, which when gone leaves you at the mercy of ever decreasing health coverage or no health coverage at all.

And perhaps more importantly, you may give up protection for you and your family if you are severely injured by someone with little or no insurance.

I’ll give you a sad but unfortunately very real example. A young man in his early 30’s with a wife and family was a passenger in a car when another driver crossed the center line in broad daylight, demolishing the car he was in. The crash caused him severe and permanent injuries and he could no longer work.

The guy that hit him had only 15k, the legal minimum, in liability insurance.

But when he and his family came to me I also found out that he had one of these “legal for less” policies as well. He did not have underinsurance protection on his own auto policy that would have covered him over the 15k paid by the at fault party’s insurance.

He had no income loss protection on his own policy and only 5k in medical bill coverage. His income was immediately gone and he could not afford health insurance when his 5k in medical coverage exhausted in short order.

The one time payment of 15k from the other insurance company was gone on bills he owed from the time he was hurt until it was paid.

With no income loss coverage of his own and no underinsurance, the 15k was the end of the road for him and his family where he had been making more than three times that before. In an instant not of his making, he went from working to disabled; financially healthy to destitute.

This devistated him emotionally and financially. He was no longer capable of supporting his young family. The “legal for less” syndrome cost him, his wife and their children their life as they had known it.

He couldn’t understand it. He was told when he bought the policy that he had “full coverage”, another term of art subject to interpretation depending on which side of the insurance table you are sitting when you buy the insurance.

Yes, “legal for less” is legally full (but minimum) coverage, proof of which allows you to renew your vehicle registration in this state. But as you can clearly see it does not by anyone’s interpretation equate to full protection.

There are a lot of these nominal policies out there and despite their low cost, believe me, insurance companies will take as many of these as they can write. As is obvious in the example above, the most any insurance company on either side of such an accident will pay is 15k. The young man above and his family are out hundreds of thousands just in wages over his work life, not to mention they no longer can afford health insurance.

Many believe such a thing can not happen to them until instantly and without warning it does. So don’t trade a couple hundred premium dollars for the real possibility of losing hundreds of thousands.

Sit down with your insurance agent. Get all available coverages explained to you and select the one that reasonably and best protects your family from the “legal for less” syndrome.

Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania

2009-10-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Malpractice Crisis is over. During both George W. Bush campaigns, one of the centerpieces of his campaign platform was tort reform which sought to limit the recovery rights of guiltless victims of medical error and their families. His version never got beyond campaign rhetoric. It was not Bush or his ilk that mitigated the claims situation here in Pa.

In March 2002, the Pennsylvania Legislature and the Pa. Supreme Court changed the fundamentals of Medical malpractice law in this State.

Before the changes, any lawyer on behalf of any person dissatisfied with his or her medical outcome could file suit without a pre-suit medical review of the two most critical issues:.

First,was the patient subjected to substandard care, AND;

Second,did the substandard care cause a harm to the patient that would not have otherwise occurred?

Both these questions must be answered “yes” in order to have a claim.

Many lawyers and their unhappy clients were under the mistaken impression that the Doctor or Hospital and their insurance company would simply ante up some money to get rid of small or nuisance claims.

They were wrong. These cases, even the clearest of them, are vigorously defended. Many insurance policies have consent clauses which prevent any discussion of resolution without the Doctors written consent. This alone drove many (meritless) cases into the Court system for trial. The pre-2002 case numbers proved this.

The 2002 changes required a pre-suit review by the patient and Attorney on the critical issues; and the filing of a Certificate of Merit certifying such a preliminary review to the Court at the time of filing. No Certificate of Merit and the case gets tossed.

This particular change did not materially affect those of us with experience in these cases. We were routinely doing thorough pre-suit reviews knowing the nature of these cases.

Other changes made by the Legislature also had an impact on the number of filings since 2002 by substantially changing the potential money damages a successful claimant could recover. This was known as the MCare Act(Medical Care and Reduction of Error Act). Contrary to the Bush solution, MCare did not put caps on recovery. A different approach was taken to contain costs. It prevented recovery of medical bills paid prior to trial if those bills were paid by a non-government private insurer. This provision is like a similar provision in our auto insurance law. Precluding recovery of insurance paid medical bills brings into question the economic viability of pursuing, for example, a case of clear error with a large amount of treatment bills paid by private insurance, but a patient who eventually made a full recovery. Additional modifications were made to the manner in which any future medical bills and wages are paid.

Medical Malpractice

2009-03-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

Societal pressure often prevents people from filing medical malpractice claims even if the case is clearly a case of medical malpractice. Seeking compensation for damages incurred under the care of a medical professional is guaranteed by law. These suits should be pursued in order to help prevent similar mistakes in the future.

Medical professionals including doctor groups, hospitals, and insurance companies all make the argument that malpractice suits hurt the medical profession. They claim these actions hold them to an unreasonable higher standard than other professionals. But when you place your life in the hands of a doctor or hospital, you expect to improve your overall condition, not make it worse.

There are four elements in proving a medical malpractice case.

A duty to the patient was owed
That duty was breached
An injury resulted because of the breach
And damages were incurred because of the injury

All four elements of malpractice must be met in order to make your case. If injury occurs but cannot be proven a judgment may not be awarded. It is important to retain an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible after your injury is discovered, to ensure you receive adequate compensation.

To find out more about medical malpractice and recovering your monetary losses on a personal injury claim in Pennsylvania, please contact the Falvello Law Firm. We will investigate your case and help you obtain fair compensation. There are no legal fees unless and until you are compensated.

Defective Products

2009-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Thousands of people every year are injured or killed by defective products. Whether they are toys, dangerous chemicals, or defective tires, the parties responsible for the design, manufacture, or distribution of defective products may be held liable for the devastation they cause. In order to make a case against these parties, you must prove to a court that they are either negligent, or strictly liable for the defective product.

Any entity in the product distribution channel may be found negligent in the release of a defective product that results in an injury. The design may be flawed, the manufacturer may not have followed instructions, or the retailer might be responsible for not notifying you of the possible dangers. Negligence is difficult to prove since you must convince the judge (and possibly a jury) that the designer, manufacturer, or distributor of a product knew of the dangers yet let the product be shipped or sold anyway. Fault is a difficult thing to prove.

More often cases are decided on strict liability, which means that the designer, manufacturer, or distributor is liable for damages but not necessarily negligent in providing the product to you. Under strict liability, you do not have to prove that they are at fault for a personal injury or wrongful death claim. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, please contact our defective product attorneys. The Falvello Law Firm in the Hazleton, Pennsylvania, wants to help you during the difficult time following a defective product injury.

Brain Injury as a Result of an Auto Accident

2009-01-07T13:12:00.001-08:00

Auto accidents are one of the leading causes of brain injury in the United States. Due to the gravitational forces involved, brain injury as a result of an auto accident can occur in a number of ways. Blunt trauma to the head is most common and can result in either open or closed head injuries such as concussion, brain contusion, or even an open skull fracture. These traumatic brain injuries can result in devastating, life-long troubles that require large amounts of money and time and from which you may never recover.

Other brain injuries may occur that are less obvious. When you are being tossed around in an auto accident, the brain inside your skull may be knocked around with no outward physical signs like bruising. Damage to the brain can still result in some level of brain contusion or give you a concussion because of these forces. It is fairly common for signs and symptoms of brain injury to appear days, and even weeks after the accident, making it extremely important that you seek medical help right away.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of an auto accident, please contact the brain injury lawyers at the Falvello Law Firm in the Berwick area of Pennsylvania to schedule a free initial consultation. The Falvello Law Firm serves clients in Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Sugarloaf, Bloomsburg, and Berwick, Pennsylvania

Brain Injury as a Result of an Auto Accident

2009-01-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

Big Truck Accidents on Interstates

2008-12-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

Every winter it seems that there are at least one or two major pile-ups on the interstate. These accidents cause a lot of damage, injury, and death. Even though the conditions that lead to these accidents are well known, speeding, reckless driving, and inattention, every year another pile-up occurs. While not all big truck accidents on interstates are caused by 18-wheelers getting out of control, but any big truck involved will make any accident that much worse.

In many big truck accidents on interstates the truck drivers involved are poorly trained and inexperienced. Not only might the driver be responsible for personal injury or wrongful death claims, but also the trucking company who employs them may be partially responsible. Many trucking companies push their drivers by imposing unrealistic schedules on them. This puts a lot of pressure on the driver to go too fast for weather conditions. The lack of training makes things worse as drivers are unable to gauge how long it takes to stop in adverse weather conditions.

The big trucking companies and their insurance companies are well funded and have a ton of lawyers fighting for every dime. The last thing they want to do is pay on a big truck accident claim. If you are involved in big truck accident on interstates in Pennsylvania, please contact the experienced truck attorneys at the Falvello Law Firm in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania today for an initial consultation. We work on a contingency basis; you do not pay us until we collect on your claim.

Auto Accidents on Interstates

2008-11-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

Interstate 80 is one of the primary arteries of the Interstate Highway System and makes up the longest stretch of Interstate in Pennsylvania. Large stretches of Interstate 80 are far away from emergency services. Responding to auto accidents on the Interstate may take longer as rural communities must respond to the accident and may be required to transport accident victims farther.

When accidents happen on Interstate 80, especially in the winter, they are typically huge pile-ups with multiple vehicles involved. The number of injuries often put additional strain on already strapped emergency resources. Whether the accident is caused by icy roads, wintery white out conditions or fog, pile-ups are deadly dangerous. One main problem with these types of accidents is determining who is at fault. While one car may have caused the initial wreck, other vehicles may be the cause of further damage or injury.

The two most important factors in fatal auto accidents on Interstates are speed and inattention. Weather conditions exacerbate both, making it a deadly combination. When bad weather sets in, slow down and pay attention. If you find yourself in an auto accident on Pennsylvania freeways, please contact the Falvello Law Firm to consult with an experienced auto accident attorney. You are going to need an experienced attorney to help file your auto accident insurance claim and to untangle the mess to find the responsible party.

Truck Accidents Leave Devastation and Despair

2008-10-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

Vehicle accidents and collisions involving big trucks often have catastrophic results. With their massive size and freight loads, there really is no such thing as a “minor truck accident.” When people in a passenger vehicle or motorcycle are involved in a collision with a truck, serious injuries and death may occur. Due to the complex nature of truck accidents, it is very important to hire an experienced truck accident attorney if you are involved in a truck accident in Wilkes-Barre or a surrounding area of Pennsylvania.

The Falvello Law Firm, a fourth-generation law firm, has been providing personalized legal services to victims of vehicle accidents for over eight decades. We are a small firm with large firm knowledge and experience.

We have seen some very serious injuries in our truck accident victims including:

Brain injuries
Back injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Neck injuries
Burns
Paralysis

We have also represented the families of victims killed in a truck accident. We have sought and won compensation from truck drivers, trucking companies, and their insurance companies. Please let us help your family recover following this traumatic event. We know that no money in the world can bring your loved one back, but by holding the responsible parties accountable for their carelessness, we are forcing them to acknowledge their mistakes and hopefully help to prevent future ones.

If you live in Sugarloaf, Hazleton, or a surrounding area of Pennsylvania and have been involved in a truck accident, please contact The Falvello Law Firm today to schedule your confidential consultation.

Swimming Pool Accidents

2008-09-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

Each year, more than 300 children under 5 years old drown in residential swimming pools, usually in a pool owned by their own family. In addition, more than 2,000 children in that age group are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injures resulting from swimming pool accidents.

Swimming pool accidents are most often caused by:

lack of proper supervision
slick surfaces
improperly built pool equipment
ack of a lifeguard
failure to fence off the swimming pool area

Less than fatal swimming pool accidents can cause serious long term consequences as well. Diving into shallow water, slips and falls, and reactions to chemicals in the swimming pool water have also caused many injuries.

Swimming pool accidents are usually easily preventable if the owners and operators of the pool facilities ensure that their property is safe and free from these type of hazards.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a swimming pool accident, please contact us today for more information. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

Construction Accidents

2008-08-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

How many construction accidents are there each year in the United States?
Construction work is one of the most dangerous occupations in America. It is estimated that over 150,000 construction workers were injured in on the job accidents last year.

What sort of factors can lead to falls on a construction site?
The number one fear on a construction site is a fall. Falls can occur when someone slips off a floor or a roof or falls of a scaffold. Ladders are another common cause of fall injuries.

What are some of the other causes of injury or death on construction sites?
Electrocution, trench accidents, a collapse or cave in, welding, or other equipment malfunction are other common causes of injury.

Can I get compensation for injuries from a construction site accident?
If you are injured on a construction site, then you may have a case for a construction accident lawsuit. Medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages are often recoverable in a construction accident lawsuit.

What should I do if I am injured in a construction site accident?
The first thing you should do is contact a doctor. After your injury is treated, then you should contact an experienced construction accident attorney for advice. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

Dog Bites

2008-08-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dogs cause significant injury to people, especially to children, on a regular basis. Many of these victims are left scarred and traumatized and lose significant time from work or school.

The law has the difficult problem of deciding when to hold the owners of dogs liable for these acts, which are usually totally unintended by the owner but an expensive and painful injury to an individual who has done nothing wrong.

In Pennsylvania, a victim can recover full compensation if the dog previously bit another person without justification or indicated a tendency to do so. However, if the dog has never bitten before, this state's dog bite law offers two different remedies that depend upon the degree of injury.

A severely injured victim can make a claim against the dog owner for medical expenses and all other losses and legal damages. A non-severely injured victim can also make a claim against the dog owner, but the remedy is limited to only the medical expenses.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of dog bite in Pennsylvania, please contact us today for more information. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

How to Choose an Auto Accident Lawyer

2008-07-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of thirty-four. Annually, auto accidents are responsible for over 40,000 deaths. Unfortunately, statistics show that you are likely to be involved in at least one auto accident in your lifetime.

If you are in an auto accident, it is likely that you will need an attorney to help protect your rights. There are a number of factors to consider when choosing an auto accident attorney. Questions to ask include:

How long has the attorney been in practice?
Does the attorney have experience in similar types of cases?
What is the attorney's record in recovering damages for clients injured in auto accidents?
Is the attorney prepared to take auto accident cases on a contingency basis, and does he or she have the financial resources necessary to do so?

Auto accidents can be devastating – both emotionally and financially. If you or a loved one have been the victim of an auto accident, you need the advice of an experienced auto accident attorney. Please contact us today for more information. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack

2008-06-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Each year nearly 5 million people in the country visit emergency rooms with heart attack symptoms including the most obvious - chest pains. Since heart attack symptoms are similar to a number of other non-life threatening conditions, some doctors may fail to appreciate the severity of the situation and misdiagnose the patient's medical condition.

Some of the most common mistakes made during the diagnosis of a heart attack include:

Failure to diagnose a heart attack in younger patients
Failure to consider a heart condition in women
Improper reading of a patient's EKG

A doctor may also fail to properly assess:

The patient’s age
Any previous heart conditions
Medical history and drug interactions
Exercise, alcohol, drug or tobacco use

Failing to diagnose a heart attack is a leading cause of medical malpractice lawsuits. If you or a loved one has been the victim of misdiagnosed heart attack, please contact us today for more information. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

2008-06-02T10:44:00.001-07:00

HALL OF FAME OFFICERS, COMMITTEE – Joseph Clark, front row, second from left, was recently elected president of the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame Committee. Also seated, from left, are: James Leib, Cathy Brogan and Theresa Lorenzi, committee members; and Ray Saul, who was re-elected chairman of the board. Standing, from left: Attorney Conrad Falvello, counsel; Dr.William Shergalis, secretary; Ron Marchetti, re-elected treasurer; and committee members Joe DeBias, Ron Sandt, Ed Ferdinand, immediate past president; John Milot and Al Goedecke. Committee member Fran Libonati was not present when the photo was taken. The committee will hold its fourth annual Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremonies Sept. 21.

2008-06-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

CLIFFORD AWARD WINNERS –The 16th annual Hazleton Area High School Scholar-Athlete Banquet, sponsored by the West Hazleton Improvement Club, was held Tuesday evening at Genetti’s Best Western where among other awards, the Chris Clifford Memorial Awards and various scholarships were presented. Recipients of these special awards are, front row, from left: Joseph Clifford, center, presented the Chris Clifford Memorial Award to Jillian Seamon, left; and Nate Eachus, right. Back row: Richard Matz, Francis X. Antonelli Honor Award for Leadership; Ethan Eichhorst, Robert J. Ritz Honor Award for Teamwork; and Amber Cheesman.

What is Wrongful Death

2008-05-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

What is wrongful death?

A wrongful death lawsuit allows people who depended upon the deceased for financial or emotional support to recover losses sustained as a result of their relative's wrongful death.

Who can sue for wrongful death?

In Pennsylvania, the Wrongful Death Act determines who will be deemed a beneficiary in a wrongful death case. Beneficiaries generally include the deceased's parents, children, or spouse.

What damages are recoverable?

Damages that may be recoverable include:

An estimate of the amount of earnings the person who died would have earned if they had lived
Pain and suffering experienced by the survivors due to the absence of the deceased person

What's the difference between murder and wrongful death?
Murder is a criminal action that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Wrongful death is a civil action where the standard of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence.

Can a wrongful death action be brought based on the death of a child or an elderly person?

Yes, however, the damage awards may be less. If you have any questions regarding wrongful death lawsuits in Pennsylvania, please contact us for more information. The Falvello Law Firm has been serving clients in the Sugarloaf Valley of PA since 1978.

Give Our Doctors A Break

2008-05-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

Statewide and individual county statistics clearly show that changes to the legal structure of malpractice cases made by the legislature and the Supreme Court in 2002 have had a dramatic effect on the number of filed cases and the size of verdicts.

It was recently reported in Pennsylvania Law Weekly (4/28/08) that the number of medical malpractice filings fell statewide from 2,632 in 2000 to 1,617 in 2007. These statistics were according to those compiled by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

In Philadelphia County, the number of filings fell from 1,085 in the year 2000 to 586 in the year 2007.

In York County, filings dropped from 48 in 2002 to 0 filings in 2007.

In Northampton County, filings were decreased from 89 filings in 2002 to 2 filings in 2007.

In Lackawanna County, the filings were reduced from 55 to 30 during the same time frame.

Statewide in 2007, 185 cases went to jury verdict. Of those, 153 or 82.7% of them were defense verdicts favoring the doctor or hospital. Similar percentages favoring the doctor and hospital were statistically demonstrated from July 2003 to December 2004.

Pennsylvania’s physician and hospital liability insurance coverage scheme differs somewhat from other states. By law, a physician must carry $1,000,000 in medical liability insurance coverage, with $500,000 coming from a primary (private) carrier and $500,000 by the state Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) fund. Payouts on liability claims have dropped dramatically from the MCARE fund and at the end of 2007, the MCARE fund reported a surplus of $500,000,000.

In spite of this, if you speak to any physician or hospital administrator, they have not experienced a similar reduction in their malpractice insurance premiums.

In addition, President Bush, once the Commander in Chief carrying the banner for tort reform on behalf of physicians, has initiated efforts to cut back on reimbursements or payments to doctors for their services. By doing so, he cheapens the value of life for every citizen in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and by cutting their incomes, he insults the very physicians he claims to support.

Looking inside the numbers since the changes of 2002, in our view three factors have had the most critical impact in reducing the number of cases.

First, the Supreme Court has effectively made it impossible to “venue shop”. Prior to the change, a plaintiff could bring a case against the doctor or hospital in any county where the doctor or hospital did business. The most dramatic impact of this prior rule was in the Philadelphia area where, for example, the alleged careless treatment may have taken place in a conservative county like Bucks County, but the doctor and hospital do business in Philadelphia County. Under that scenario, the case could be brought in Philadelphia County. Since the change, the case can only be brought in Bucks County. This rule would give plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ attorneys some pause in filing a claim in a more conservative county unless the claim was clearly meritorious.

Second, the Supreme Court past a procedural rule, which requires that a Certificate of Merit be filed with each case. The Certificate of Merit is a representation by the plaintiff and/or the plaintiff’s attorney that prior to commencing the lawsuit a preliminary investigation must be conducted; a doctor in the same area of practice as the defendant doctor must preliminarily review the circumstances of the case and conclude that the care in question is sub-standard; and furthermore, conclude that it was the sub-standard care that caused harm to the patient. This requirement, quite frankly, had no effect on experienced malpractice attorneys who have always realized the significance of a thorough pre-litigation review. However, this rule eliminated plaintiffs and attorneys from the equation who were under the impression that the simple filing of a lawsuit, without medical substantiation, might leverage the doctors, hospitals and their insurance companies to pay money on the claim. This simply was not the case. It lent itself to the filing of what is commonly called “frivolous lawsuits”. In reality, it added to the physician defense cost by its sheer numbers and clogged court dockets. Since the change, a case cannot be pursued unless a Certificate of Merit is filed. If it is not filed, the case is summarily dismissed at its inception.

Third, the MCARE legislation changed to some degree the manner in which damages in malpractice claims are paid after a jury verdict. Prior to the legislative change, both past and future medical bills were awarded by a jury in a lump sum and paid in a lump sum. The change requires that future medical bills be paid over time in the future. It also eliminated past bills that were paid by a health insurance source from the recovery equation. This component of the change is very similar to what had been present in motor vehicle accident claims for some years. These changes had a tendency to lower the potential value of claims.

The end result of these changes appears to be that only clearly meritorious claims with serious injuries and repercussions to the patient are the ones presently being pursued by experienced malpractice attorneys. The smaller claims and the “frivolous lawsuits” seem to be drying up.

As an attorney who handles malpractice claims, I can tell you that the cost of these lawsuits has increased dramatically. The law requires that experienced experts be presented in support of a plaintiff’s claim. These experts must be legitimate, practicing physicians who truly believe that malpractice has been committed and not some “witnesses for hire” who have not practiced in a given medical specialty for some years. The law simply will not allow this. Most experienced attorneys will hire two or three experts, obtaining independent reviews from each expert to obtain as many unbiased opinions as possible and crosscheck for corroboration on the medical merits of the case. As they should, these doctors who review the medical merits of the case get paid independently, by the hour regardless of their opinion. They have no stake in the outcome of the case. If they believe there is a meritorious claim, these physicians are called upon to write reports and testify at trial. They also assist in the discovery process prior to trial and respond to any expert presented by the defendant. People injured as a result of malpractice cannot afford this and these costs are usually advanced by the attorney handling the claim. In more involved cases, expert and other trial preparation costs can exceed $200,000 if the case goes to verdict. In a recent claim settled by our firm before trial, we had incurred outstanding costs for experts in the medical, vocational, economic and life care planning fields (9 experts in all) in excess of $85,000. Had the case gone to trial, that amount would likely have doubled.

Despite the mantra of President Bush to eliminate what he called “jackpot justice”, the number of filings are down 40% throughout the state and doctors and hospitals still win jury verdicts more than 8 out of 10 times. President Bush suggested putting limits on jury verdicts for the less than 2 people out of 10 who win jury verdicts. These are the people most seriously hurt and most in need of compensation. On the other hand, the President’s position is consistent with his presidential legacy of limiting or eliminating the Constitutional rights of American citizens.

An insurance company expert recently wrote that the medical malpractice insurance environment is stable, calm and improving. He encourages insurers to be aggressive in reducing rates and offering dividends.

With a $500,000,000 surplus in the MCARE fund and the number and size of claims diminishing, it is now time for state government and insurance companies to reduce premiums. Perhaps insurance company CEO’s would be happy with $50,000,000 compensation packages instead of $100,000,000 compensation packages.

As citizens, we should demand that our lawmakers not insult us by reducing doctor wages. A doctor recently told me he paid more to his mechanic to fix a fender on his car than he was paid to surgically fix the hip of that same mechanic’s mother. Doctors spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for four years of undergraduate and four years of medical school education. They forgo family and lifestyle during as many as six more years of residency where they work more hours in one week than most work in a month; and get paid next to nothing in the process. It’s time this country took care of it’s own, patients and Doctors alike. Doctors deserve to have their premiums, not their reimbursements, reduced. It would be a good start for all of us.

Conrad A. Falvello, Esquire
The Falvello Law Firm, P.C.
782 West Butler Drive
Sugarloaf, PA 18249
(570) 788-4191
Falvello@ptd.net
www.FalvelloLaw.com

Attorney Falvello Featured in Standard Speaker

2008-04-14T10:00:00.001-07:00

Lawsuit: Man's road rage caused crash that killed Hazleton woman.

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