It sounds like a scene out of a nightmare.

It starts with chest pains. At first, you might mistake the sensation for heartburn, but the pain keeps getting worse and worse until it feels like the life is being squeezed out of your heart. The pain spreads into your arms, your neck, and even your jaw. Breathing becomes difficult, and suddenly so does moving and even standing.

Jackpot justice. Runaway juries awarding multimillion dollar verdicts to “barely injured” plaintiffs. These news items grab headlines and ignite public outcry about the civil justice system, especially when they apply to medical malpractice claims. Insurance companies and physicians scream that these verdicts are the reasons for skyrocketing healthcare costs. They cry out for tort reform and caps on damages, while providers threaten to leave for more “doctor

Some accident victims go home in a few days, maybe even a few hours. Years down the road, only a small, pale scar reminds them of the ordeal. For the really lucky ones, there’s no scar at all. While there was certainly pain and fear, the emotions are temporary and life doesn’t really change.

Many burn victims are not so lucky. Wearing the scars day in and

One court ruling may have tipped the first in a large row of dominoes. The Pennsylvania State Police are abandoning their use of breathalyzers at DUI stops, at least temporarily. The decision comes on the heels of a ruling from a Dauphin County judge that threw out 20 charges of driving under the influence based on the unreliability of breathalyzer equipment. The particular device in question is

You’ve called every contact in your phone to announce the great news, and now the long pregnancy road lies ahead. In the coming months, you’ll be making a lot of visits to your doctor, hearing words you recognize (ultrasound) and those that sound like they belong to a prehistoric era (preeclampsia?).

Your head may soon be bursting at the seams from the myths and conflicting information that

Do you know what it’s like to be disabled, to face daily challenges in completing tasks that others around you take for granted? This may mean that you have difficulties fitting into a world designed for the convenience of those without disabilities. It can be frustrating to be forced to rely on the help of another individual, especially when the disability developed as a result of an

When we take our foot off the gas pedal, we expect our car to react. It should start slowing down immediately, and if it doesn’t you know something has gone horribly wrong. In a blur, your heart begins to race and utter panic consumes you as your car continues to speed down the highway as though possessed. You can do nothing to stop it.

It may sound

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: guy gets into a car accident with another driver, police arrive on scene along with some emergency medical personnel, pictures of the scene happen, injuries receive treatment. As the week progresses, the insurance adjuster gets ahold of those accident photos and decides there’s no way their driver is responsible for the crash – in spite of a police report stating

Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are often involved in the most devastating accidents. Large trucks (CMVs weighing more than 10,000 pounds) play a major role in traffic crashes and are associated with an overwhelming 12 percent of the annual total traffic fatalities in the U.S.

As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) further confirms, the risk of a large truck being both the cause of an accident

The decision to have surgery is likely one you have thought about long and hard. You’ve probably thoroughly discussed it with your doctor, done research, and perhaps even got a second or third professional opinion. Most importantly, you probably spent significant time choosing a surgeon you felt was trustworthy and capable.

Unfortunately, for about 4,000 Americans every year, this thorough decision-making process wasn’t enough to keep them

The numbers involved in a personal injury settlement can be flashy and make for attention-grabbing headlines when they reach into the millions of dollars. Commenters on news stories decry them, screaming how these so-called victims are probably just faking it or the amount awarded looks more like a handsome inheritance than compensation for injuries. Determining the level of ‘damages,’ as we attorneys call them, in accident-related matters

Car insurance for drivers living in Philadelphia is really expensive. In fact, according to the latest data released by Runzheimer International, a competitive analysis and mobility services firm, Philadelphia is the second-most expensive city for auto coverage in the country. The average annual premium, as stated in the firm’s report, for a Philly driver with what most consumers consider “full coverage” is $4,076 annually as of 2011.

Medical mistakes happen every day, however not every mistake made by hospitals and medical doctors constitutes negligence or medical malpractice. The error which led to Anna Mazur’s legal blindness may be an example of a medical mistake that constitutes clear carelessness. Mazur, now 92-years-old, was at the University of Pennsylvania’s Scheie Eye Institute in 2011 for surgery to repair a blocked vein in her left eye,

As parents, we are expected to always act in the best interest of our children. Since they are not adults, they need us to act as their representative when it comes to their safety and protecting their rights. It is not uncommon for parents to have to sign waivers in order for children to participate in certain recreational activities; however, are these documents legally binding so that

The 2 Most Important Things You Need to Know About New Jersey’s ‘No Fault’ Law:

After being involved in an accident that was not your fault, you are faced with many struggles. You are in pain and may be hospitalized—you then learn that the at-fault driver will not be held responsible for your medical bills, adding to the extreme stress you are under. The reason the responsible