In order to obtain a remedy under Title 42 U.S.C.§1983, a plaintiff must assert the violation of a federal right, not merely the violation of a federal law. Whether a federal statute creates such...

Unless a shipper and carrier have a contract which excludes the Carmack Amendment, the federal statute provides the exclusive remedy for loss or damage to goods arising from the interstate...

In the most recent appellate case addressing the new way of litigating UM/UIM matters in Pennsylvania, the Superior Court upheld the venue clause requiring that consumers file suit in the county...

The Pennsylvania Legislature has significantly changed its rules relating to the reimbursement of Department of Public Welfare (DPW) liens for Medical Assistance (MA) payments from recoveries by...

For as long as most claim professionals have been in practice, all UM/UIM have been subject to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s mandatory arbitration requirement, forcing every unsettled...

Starting in 2009, carriers with primary responsibility for medical coverage will be required to report any settlement, judgment, award or instances in which such responsibility ceases. The...

The Claimant sustained disfigurement of her neck as is typical of anterior cervical surgeries and was awarded 22 weeks for disfigurement by the Workers' Compensation Judge. On appeal to the...

On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The bill, which was presented and passed due in large part to the rash of children's toy...

On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 (“ADAA”). These new provisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) will take effect...

1. When is the new law effective? ANSWER: Act 2008-44 applies to lawsuits filed on or after September 2, 2008. 2. What changes are contained in the new law? ANSWER: There are two major changes....

The Claimant filed a Claim Petition alleging he sustained an injury in the course and scope of his employment. In support of his Petition, he testified that while he was walking in the Employer’s...

The Commonwealth Court in Albert Einstein Healthcare v. WCAB (Stanford), has addressed the burden of proof required from Claimant to establish disability for periods prior to their medical experts...

The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (MVFRL) was enacted to contain the rising costs of automobile insurance. Cases interpreting §1722 of the MVFRL have held that outside of...

We first reported in the July, 2008 issue of “The C&W Journal” that recent public scrutiny had spurred the New Jersey State Senate to pass bills amending key provisions in the Garden State’s...

Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1042.3 requires that a Plaintiff in a professional liability action file a Certificate of Merit verifying that a licensed professional has determined that a...

It is well-known that it is difficult for an employer/carrier to prevail on a Termination Petition. However, the hurdle is even higher when the employer/carrier tried and failed then wants to take...

Pennsylvania rules applicable to the scope of discovery of an insurance company’s file materials , 42 PA. C.S.A.§4003.3, protects “mental impressions, conclusions or opinions respecting the value...

The Commonwealth Court has issued a decision with wide ranging consequences to those cases in which an IRE has already been completed or is contemplated. In Combine, the Court ruled that if a...

The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (MVFRL) defines the rights and responsibilities of motor vehicle owners with respect to the purchase and maintenance of motor vehicle...

In the case of Craig v. Amateur Softball Association of America, 951 A.2d 372 (Pa. Super. 2008), the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed and refined the common-law “no duty rule.” The “no duty...