News

Tragic Helicopter Crash Raises Aviation Issues

A Pittsburgh area newly-wed couple died in a helicopter crash in Hawaii last week. The new bride and groom were on a sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the side of a mountain. It is routine in situations like this that the NTSB would have a team of investigators on-site within a day or two of… read more

Penn State Faces Civil Lawsuits

The Penn State sexual abuse case reminds us of a similar case we handled a few years ago involving a local coach who engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse with young boys on his team. In that case, as in the Penn State situation, we argued successfully that the school had prior knowledge of… read more

Brain test detects awareness in "Vegetative" Patient

A recent story in the New York Times indicated that doctors at two hospitals in Europe detected signs of awareness in three severely brain-injured people who supposedly were in a “vegetative state.” A vegetative state generally means that someone has no awareness of their surroundings. The doctors used brain wave patters on an EEG test to… read more

Vehicle fire leads to death in Plum

A New Kensington man died as a result of a fire in a vehicle over a weekend. The Coroner determined that the cause of death was acute burns and smoke inhalation. Unfortunately, vehicles can often be involved in serious fires because they carry such a large fuel supply. In this case, it is not clear… read more

Death by Technology

Yet another story appeared today about a fatal motor vehicle accident caused by a teenager texting while driving. Sadly, a 17-year-old Butler County girl died when she veered off the road while texting as she was driving. The accident happened just hours after the state Senate gave final approval to a ban on texting while driving.Distracted… read more

Early Snow Storm Blamed for Three Deaths

The early and unexpected snowstorms in the northeast over this past weekend led to at least three deaths in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. One death occurred when a tree heavily ladened with snow collapsed and fell into a house killing an occupant. Another person died when he touched a guardrail that had been energized by… read more

Silo Explosion Kills 6 and Injures 2

Over the weekend there was an explosion at a grain silo in the midwest that killed six people and seriously injured 2. Workplace explosions can happen anywhere, and unfortunately there have been a rash of explosions in the Pittsburgh area at industrial work sites. Our firm is currently involved in handling wrongful death or personal injury… read more