For Immediate Release The National Trial Lawyers is pleased to announce that David Woloshin of Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel, LLP has been selected for inclusion into its Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania, an honor given to only a select group of lawyers for their superior skills and qualifications in the field.  Membership in this exclusive organization is by invitation only and is limited to the top 100 attorneys in each state or region who have demonstrated excellence and have achieved outstanding results in their careers in either civil plaintiff or criminal defense law. The National Trial Lawyers is a professional organization comprised of the premier trial lawyers from across the country who have demonstrated exceptional qualifications in criminal defense or civil plaintiff law. The National Trial Lawyers provides accreditation to these distinguished attorneys, and provides essential legal news, information, and continuing education to trial lawyers across the United States. With the selection of David Woloshin by The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100, he has shown that he exemplifies superior qualifications, leadership skills, and trial results as a trial lawyer. The selection process for this elite honor is based on a multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third party research. As The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 is an essential source of networking and information for trial attorneys throughout the nation, the final result of the selection process is a credible and comprehensive list of the most outstanding trial lawyers chosen to represent their state or region.     To learn more about The National Trial Lawyers, please visit: http://thenationaltriallawyers.org/.

As the only attorney who sits on the Board of Directors of the Brain Association of Pennsylvania (BIAPA), I get a lot of referrals from both attorneys and medical professionals who treat patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s).  Most of the cases that make it to my desk involve individuals and their families who have suffered great losses because of the catastrophic nature of the injury. With many of the “cases” it is difficult to assess what actually happened or how the injury occurred. I write about a case involving an 18 year old female who sustained a profound and permanent TBI because of a car crash.  The case was referred to me by a rehabilitation nurse who was assigned to Jill’s care.  Jill’s parents were at a loss thinking about Jill’s future, especially on how to pay the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars for Jill’s future care and treatment. Jill was driving her car at the time of the crash.  It was, by all accounts, a one-car crash.  Jill was on a winding road in upstate Pennsylvania.  From the police accident report, it looked like Jill lost control of the car and careened off of an embankment, flipping several times before finally hitting a tree….it sounded like a scene out of a movie. It was roughly a month after the crash and after Jill was admitted to a very well-known brain injury facility in Philadelphia before her parents consider exploring legal action or even speaking with a lawyer. They spoke to their family lawyer who advised them that there was no other vehicle so it appeared to be no case.  The family lawyer nevertheless referred Jill’s parents to a lawyer who deals specifically with personal injury cases.  This lawyer also echoed what the family lawyer said and advised that there was no case.  Frustrated, Jill’s parents sought the counsel of two other personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia who also advised there was no case.  They were rejected by four lawyers because the case, if any, was not clear cut. So why is Astor Weiss different? When the situation was brought to our attention by the rehab nurse and after she explained the rejection and frustration that Jill’s parents experienced we agreed to investigate the crash in a more advanced manner….we began thinking out of the box.  Clearly there wasn’t another vehicle to pursue which was apparently the thought process of the other four lawyers who reviewed and rejected the case.   Jill had no recollection of what happened, which is not uncommon for individuals who sustained a TBI. We had our work cut out for us. We elected to make the investment, both in time and money. We weren’t sure what, if anything we would find.  We did exhaustive research, we dispatched private investigators to speak with the investigating police officers, surveyed the scene and investigated other prior crashes on this section of the roadway, we hired an accident reconstructionist and put together forensic evidence to help us assemble a working theory of the crash, we obtained possession of Jill’s vehicle and then had it examined for its crashworthiness, we had the tires and brakes examined and tested by experts.  Four other lawyers before us did not do any of this.  While doing our investigating, we closely monitored Jill’s physical and mental condition, visiting her in the hospital and when she was discharged making frequent visits to her home to keep her and her parents closely apprised of what we were doing. The case was settled shortly before the trial for enough money to give the family some sense of ease that Jill would be financially cared for the rest of her life. Jill is showing slight signs of improvement but will nevertheless endure a lifetime of suffering which Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel made just a little bit more bearable. This is how and why we practice law.   David Woloshin Chairman, Personal Injury and Litigation Department Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel

Important Steps to Take if Involved in a Car Crash If you are involved in a car crash, there are several important steps that you should take to best protect yourself, both medically and legally: Step 1: Contact the police – By contacting the police, you will ensure that a record of the incident is made and that the proper information is exchanged between you and the other driver(s). The police may also be of assistance in making sure you receive immediate emergency medical care. If the police will not come to the scene, make sure to document the other driver’s license plate, make/model of their vehicle, and their car insurance information. The more information you obtain at the scene, the less risk you run in failing to obtain a crucial piece of information which may be difficult to obtain at a later date. Step 2: After a crash, you will need to take your car to an auto repair shop to get it fixed. That is presuming that the damage is repairable; If the crash was a big one and this isn’t the case, then you will need to contact somewhere like cashcarbuyer.com to scrap it, as it will no longer be fit to drive. But crucially, before you do so, make sure you take photographs – photograph all of the vehicles involved which were damaged as a result of the crash. Additionally, if you have cuts or bruises as a result of the crash, it is important to take photographs so that your condition is documented, as well as making sure you get photographs of as much visual information as you can, if you have a dashcam from the likes of blackboxmycar for example be sure to save and retain the footage to use as evidence at a later date. Step 3: Seek medical attention – Often after a motor vehicle crash, victims feel overwhelmed with emotion and are generally shaken up. Pain due to injuries suffered from the crash can set in immediately or may take several days to begin negatively affecting you. It is always better to err on the side of caution and to visit the nearest emergency room or to see your family doctor as soon as possible for an evaluation of any part of your body which was affected from the crash. It is additionally important that you express to the doctor who examines you that your symptoms began or worsened as a result of the crash. Step 4: Contact an attorney – The quicker you contact an attorney, the better off you will be. By contacting an attorney, you can ensure that your rights are protected, as there are many circumstances for which your failure to act timely may cause you to be without any recourse. Additionally, contacting an attorney will ensure that you will not have to deal with any of the insurance companies involved and that all necessary steps are taken to make sure that your vehicle is fixed or replaced and that you receive necessary medical care. Need a Los Angeles car accident lawyer? You could look into reaching out to the Wilshire Law Firm for legal help with your situation. By: Jordan Schlossberg

This is one of the most common questions we are asked.  If you are in a car accident and a family member is in a different one- why isn’t recovery the same?  There are many factors that go into determining a settlement value of a case.  First- the specifics of the accident.  No two crashes are identical.  In one, the actions of the other may have clearly caused the crash but in the other case it may not be as clear.  Second, the insurance may be different.  Some insurance companies are easier to work with than others.  Third, given this firm’s long history with litigation, we may have had the opportunity to work with the insurance adjusters before.  If that is the case, that adjuster may remember how fair we were and be more likely to work fairly with us this time.  Fourth, no two injuries are ever the same.  Two people may have both hurt their necks- but the injuries are still different.  One person may have had a prior condition that was made worse, another may have more time off of work because their pain tolerance is lower, and yet another person may not fully recover from a similar neck injury.  The type and severity of the injury factors into the settlement.  In every case, the experience of the lawyer in handling the matter plays a large part in the resolution of the case.  That same experience leads the clients to understand what is recoverable and what isn’t- with easy to follow reasons.  Each person is unique and so is their case- our approach is to work with each person to maximize the recovery for that person. By: Dina S. Ronsayro

Help Me, Help You While I am certainly not Jerry Maguire, I often express the same sentiment to many of my clients.  A common misperception that many clients have of the legal system is that once the attorney has the case, the client can completely disappear into the background and have nothing further to do with the case.  However, this is a sure way to make things difficult for your attorney and can provide significant obstacles to your case.  The truth is, an attentive and prepared client can be one of the most valuable assets to a case. Now, your question may be, why am I paying my attorney so much money if I am so important?  Attorneys are experts of the law and an experienced, knowledgeable and a diligent attorney is essential to any legal battle.  However, an attorney’s capability expands exponentially when he or she has a client that can provide them with as much of the details of a case as possible.  The law often requires the application of facts to the law.  An experienced attorney must be able to ask the correct questions, but the client must provide the answers.  Not only is arming your attorney with the necessary facts of the case helpful to you, but it will also save your attorney time, allowing him or her to focus on the most important issues and tasks of the case.  This will make your case move along more efficiently and may even save you money by having your attorney spend less time sifting through the weeds of the case.  By assisting your attorney, you are essentially assisting yourself. By: Jordan Schlossberg

There are several categories of “damages” which one may be entitled to when they are injured as a result of someone else’s actions or inactions. Although, if the “damages” were made on the public due to your business, then this should be covered by Public Liability. You could consider PL insurance quotes from constructaquote.com. It is important to get Public Liability in case someone sues your business for one of the following categories: Property Damage: You are entitled to recover the costs of any damages which occur to your personal property as a result of someone else’s negligence. This could include anything from property damage to your car to damage which occurs to a piece of your jewelry. Medical Bills: You are entitled to recover for any medical expenses which you have incurred for treatment of injuries caused by someone else’s wrongdoing. This includes medical bills for treatment that occurred from the date of the incident through the point in time in which your case resolves as well as for future medical care which may be necessitated after your case resolves but which was caused by the same incident. When calculating the amount of damages which one is entitled to recover for past medical treatment, it is important to note that one may only recover an amount equal to the amount paid by that individual’s health insurance, or in the event that the injured person does not have health insurance, the total amount in which the medical providers have billed for the treatment which they provided. The amount of damage that one is entitled to recover for future medical expenses is based upon what the injured party’s physicians believe will be required to cover future medical care. This amount could relate to the amount for future medical procedures such as surgery or additional maintenance treatment to ensure the injured individual’s condition does not worsen. If there are problems with getting compensated for medical bills, then people will go onto sites such as GoFundMe to help with expenses just in case there has been an issue. Lost Wages: You are entitled to recover for any money you failed to receive due to your inability to work because of injuries which someone else caused you to suffer. This includes both past and future time missed from work. When calculating past lost wages, you may recover for any payment which you would have otherwise received but for your inability to work due to your injuries, up to the time in which your case resolves. You may also be entitled to recover for future lost wages if your injuries will prevent you from returning to work for an extended period of time, including the prospect of never being able to return to the same job which you had prior to the incident which caused your injuries. If you were required to change your job or profession due to your injuries, you may be entitled to the difference in wages of what you were earning prior to the incident as compared to what you are earning after the incident. Pain and suffering: You are entitled to recover for the pain and suffering which you were forced to endure due to your injuries and medical treatment caused by no fault of yours. Pain and suffering include any past and future physical pain or discomfort, stress, inconvenience, and mental anguish. It also includes embarrassment and humiliation caused by your injuries such as possible changes in your appearance as well as scarring or disfigurement from an injury that wasn’t your fault. Lastly, and often most importantly, you are entitled to compensation for loss of life’s pleasures and your inability to enjoy the same activities which you participated in prior to the incident. Loss of consortium: Lastly, the category of damages known as loss of consortium relates to the ways in which an injured party’s spouse is negatively affected by their love one’s injuries. When an individual is injured by someone else, often times the injured individual’s spouse is required to alter their life in order to provide the necessary care for their significant other’s speedy recovery. As a result, this can cause an injured party’s spouse to be deprived of support, comfort, and companionship for which their spouse previously provided prior to the incident which caused their injuries and the injured party’s spouse is entitled to compensation for this loss. If you were injured at work in Oklahoma, see here to learn about workers compensation rates. By: Jordan Schlossberg