Whether it be in the employer-employee setting or in the permissive user/family member situation, persons driving cars are often not the actual, listed owner. In those circumstances, after an accident, it is possible to sue the owner and assert a claim for negligent entrustment and sue the driver and assert a claim for negligence. Pennsylvania […]
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has made it easier for individuals to sue over injuries caused by government vehicles. Generally, the state has immunity from personal injury lawsuits. One exception is if someone is hurt by a government agency vehicle when it’s “in operation.” Last month, the Supreme Court broadened the meaning of “in operation.” Past […]
You lose control of your car on a roadway in Pennsylvania and slam into a guardrail. The guardrail pierces your car and you’re injured. Can you sue PennDOT? Yes, you can, says the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In a recent ruling, the high court held that sovereign immunity doesn’t protect the state against lawsuits that allege […]
A tractor-trailer driver grows sleepy at the wheel. His truck veers into oncoming traffic, slamming into a car. The car’s driver, who is wearing a seat belt and traveling within the speed limit, is seriously injured. The defendant trucking company doesn’t dispute that its driver caused the accident. It doesn’t argue that the driver of […]
Last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story about “bikelash.” Bicyclists in Philadelphia want a better cycling infrastructure. Motorists, already frustrated with having to share the city’s narrow, traffic-clogged roadways with cyclists, are pushing back. Jockeying for space on city streets can lead to crashes, and when bikes and cars collide the result can be […]
Schools are back in session. Traffic is heavy. School buses lumber along and drivers get impatient. Over a fifth of school bus drivers taking part in a one-day survey last spring reported nearly 78,000 incidents of motorists illegally passing stopped buses, according to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS). That […]
