November 2016

HELP AT THANKSGIVING

No family should be without a turkey on Thanksgiving. Many of you are still struggling to make ends meet in low paying jobs. If you are in that situation our hearts go out to you. Therefore, if you cannot afford a turkey dinner for your family we want and encourage you to call us at 412-281-8700. We will work something out to solve your problem. I have been personally amazed over the years that only people who genuinely need help at this time of the year actually call for it. That says a lot about you readers! We are here to help.

OCTOBER WINNER

Congratulations to Robin O. who won our $50.00 gift prize for answering last month’s question correctly from a drawing.

NOW FOR THIS MONTH’S CHANCE TO WIN $50.00 CASH

Who won last year’s Stanley Cup?

HOW MUCH IS THE LOSS OF A LEG WORTH?

That is the question that an Allegheny County jury was called upon to decide recently. A pedestrian was hit by a Port Authority bus. The jury also heard testimony that the victim will be required to have a prosthetic replacement every 3 years at a cost of $20 to 30,000 each time. The jury rightly awarded the victim $2.4 million. That seems like a fair verdict. However, because Port Authority is a governmental agency, they have a cap of $250,000. Incredibly, that means this poor woman who received a $2.4 million verdict, will only receive $250,000, not the $2.4 million. Again, one can see why it is so unfair to victims of tragedies like this, that they should be subject to a $250,000 actual cap for losing a leg.

DOES BABY POWDER CAUSE CANCER?

A California jury awards $70 million in the latest verdict against Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson has again been hit with a multi-million dollar jury verdict. A jury found that their baby powder does in fact cause ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene. There are an estimated 2,000 similar lawsuits already in America. If you have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and have used this product, please call me immediately at 412-281-8700 or 1-800-518-0050. We can help you.

$5 MILLION VERDICT OVER SEXUAL ABUSE PLACEMENTS BY FOSTER CARE AGENCY

Children’s Village has been hit with a $5 million verdict for placing a child in a foster home where she was sexually abused.  What triggered the award was the agency allegedly knew that the foster home was being investigated for abuse allegations. The Philadelphia jury awarded the amount because it was horrified that the agency put children into facilities to keep up its placement numbers, ahead of the child’s safety. The jury was also upset with testimony that the agency violated its own mandatory reporting laws.

PAYBACK TO HOME REMODELERS FOR UNSOLICITED CALLS

A home remodeling company will have to pay $5.2 million to settle a class action lawsuit for making unsolicited sales calls to over 1 million people. Anyone who has received these annoying unsolicited calls at the worst possible times, will cheer this decision as a victory for consumers. Hope it acts as a deterrent.

CASE UPDATE

We are in a case right now in which our client was severely injured in two car collisions. The collisions occurred within a few months of each other. The problem is that her injuries are to the same body parts, namely her back and neck. How can a jury distinguish which injuries were caused by which accident?  What are we doing about it? Well, we are retaining a doctor who specializes in these types of cases to help us figure this out! I will keep you posted on this because it does come up on a regular basis within this area of the injury law.

REMEMBER THE AMTRAK DERAILMENT IN MAY, 2015?

Well, Amtrak has agreed to pay $265 million to settle all claims arising out of the derailment. The tragedy killed 8 people and left hundreds injured. The real value of these settlements is that they have been resolved  without individual families being tied up in litigation for 4 or 5 years.

COMPUTER SCAM ALERT

Be careful when opening up emails that are addressed to you. The latest trick I have observed is that scammers are using the names of people you know and then putting them in an email to you for you to respond. When you open it up your computer gets a virus that can destroy your computer. It seems like Apple computers are better at blocking this, but no computer is 100% immune. Just wanted to pass that along.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your continuous case referrals to us!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Your attorney, friend

Bernard M. Tully, Esquire
Check out Bernie’s Blog and Videos at www.telltully.net