As an experienced Delaware County civil lawyer in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, Michael T. Malarick, Esq. handles automobile and property damage subrogation claims, car accident cases, Personal Injury matters, slip and fall cases, and worker’s compensation claims. Call Delaware County civil lawyer, Michael T. Malarick for a free initial consultation today.
Michael T. Malarick is a Delaware County civil lawyer located in Boothwyn, PA. The law office handles civil cases in and around Delaware County, Boothwyn, Philadelphia, Marcus Hook, Drexel Hill, Upper Darby, Havertown, Media, Aston, Springfield and more.
As a civil lawyer in Delaware County, Michael T. Malarick handles car accidents in Delaware County, PA including car, bus, train, and motorcycle accidents. Call today for a free consultation.
Subrogation
Subrogation arises in an automobile or property damage case when your car or property is damaged by a tortfeasor (the one who caused the damage) and your insurance company paid to repair the damage–minus your deductible. Your insurance company may then seek to recover that amount of damage from the tortfeasor. However, the insurance company must include your deductible in their recovery effort if you request them to do so. Any money recovered in subrogation must be shared proportionately with the insured–that is, you would get the proportionate share of your deductible out of the total amount recovered. For example, if your property damage was $10,000 with a $1,000 deductible and subrogation recovered $7,500 (75%) from the tortfeasor, you would receive 75% of your $1,000 deductible or $750.
Personal Injury
Personal Injury is that area of law that covers any incident that negligently results in physical, emotional, or financial injury. These incidents can range from medical malpractice to bog bite cases. Personal injury includes product liability claims,police brutality, and falling tree or tree limbs. Personal injury also includes school, daycare, or playground injuries as well as slander or false arrest.
Specific laws and procedures may pertain to specific Personal Injury incidents. For example, Pennsylvania has enacted a Dog Statute (3 PaS 459-101 et seq). Pennsylvania does not follow the “one bite rule” which stated that a dog owner could not know that the dog was dangerous until it had bitten someone one time. The Dog Statute sets out the remedies in a dog bite case that are dependent on the degree of injury. If the victim is severely injured, the dog owner is liable for medical expenses and all other losses and damages, including pain and suffering. If the victim is non-severely injured, the dog owner is only liable for medical expenses.
Slip and Fall
A Slip and Fall personal injury can occur in many ways. In short, a Slip and Fall personal injury happens when someone slips, falls, or stumbles and injures themselves due to a dangerous condition of another’s property. The dangerous condition may be due to a foreign object on the ground, such as a grape on a supermarket floor or debris, liquid or wax on a department store floor. The dangerous condition may also be due to a defective condition of the property such as a raised or cracked sidewalk, a frayed rug, chipped or missing floor tile, or a pothole in a parking lot or hole in the lawn. Puddles of water or snow and ice can also be a dangerous condition on the property which causes a slip and fall injury.
Notice is a strong defense in a premises liability slip and fall claim. A premises owner must have either actual notice or constructive notice of the dangerous condition on the land without correcting the condition. Once an injured plaintiff gets over the notice hurdle, an experienced civil trial lawyer can negotiate a settlement or prepare for litigation.
Worker’s Compensation
The Pennsylvania Worker’s Compensation Act covers workers injured while in the course and scope of their employment. A worker injured on the job receives Worker’s Comp. benefits consisting of medical expenses, wage loss, and death benefits. In return, the injured worker is barred from suing their employer–even if the employer’s negligence caused the injury. In certain situations, the injured worker may be able to file civil litigation against a responsible third party defendant for personal injuries.
Once a worker is injured on the job, the worker must immediately report the injury or incident to the employer.
Worker’s Comp. covers workers who suffer bodily injury (BI) on the job. Worker’s Comp. also covers workers who suffer from an Occupational Disease that was caused by or aggravated by the worker’s employment. The disability from the Occupational Disease must occur within 300 weeks of the last employment in that occupation which exposed the worker to that hazard. Examples of occupational Disease include: lung diseases, asthma, asbestosis, dermititis, chemical hypersensitivity, lead poisoning, hearing loss, or HIV/aids.
