Personal Injury
Should I Get A Lawyer If I Was Hit by Someone Texting While Driving?
November 19, 2020In Pennsylvania, if you’ve been in a car accident and the other person was texting while driving, the driver could face fines, court costs, and possible jail time.
If personal injury is involved, the driver could face reckless driving charges or careless driving penalties. Texting while driving is a summary offense, but reckless and careless driving charges could mean that driver spends time in prison.
Who pays for the damage and injuries depends on who was at fault and/or what is covered by your insurance plan. Don’t try to negotiate with an insurance company without retaining a highly experienced car accident attorney. Call one of our expert auto accident attorneys, led by Gabriella Hashem Farhat.
Pennsylvania Dog Bite Lawyers Can Help You Get Compensated
June 22, 2020With summer officially started, paired with the months-long stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, people (and their pets) are escaping to the outdoors for some sense of normalcy and to rid themselves of cabin fever.
Across Pennsylvania, there’s been an uptick of people increasing outdoor time in both rural and urban settings. That means more chance for human/animal interaction and the risk of negative encounters with dogs. Young children are at a higher risk of dog attacks.
Pennsylvania’s dog law requires owners to have reasonable control over their dogs always. Generally speaking, an owner is liable for damages when a person is attacked by the owner’s dog–or if a person is attacked by what is considered a dangerous dog. There may be exceptions.
Personal Injury: Common Benefits Often Overlooked or Lost
March 4, 2020
If you have suffered a personal injury, whether through another person’s negligence or in an accident, it can be devastating. Your physical recovery is likely highest on your mind, and it should be. Yet having the right professional legal representation to help ensure a successful recovery is crucial.
Knowing how to find the right personal injury lawyer can mean getting fair financial compensation, which can play a vital in your recovery. The right personal injury lawyer can also make sure you aren’t missing out on benefits that are often overlooked or lost.
Sound Guidance Toward Legal Justice
As a victim of someone else’s violation of a safety rule, you may feel vulnerable. While you are likely a clear thinker in normal situations, your thoughts and decisions can be clouded during this time. An experienced personal injury attorney, such as Attorney Gabriella H. Farhat, or Attorney Daniel C. Bardo can help you focus on getting maximum compensation in your personal injury case, alert you to any statute of limitations, and get justice in a timely manner.
Get the Money You Deserve
Damages suffered by victims of personal injury are usually compensatory. Funds awarded to a plaintiff to help pay for damages, injuries, or other loss are compensatory funds. The best personal injury lawyers will pursue all damages possible.
Common Benefits in Compensation include:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of wages
- Medical bills
Overlooked Benefits in Compensation may include:
- Cost of future medical care, bills
- Loss of future earnings
- Cost of canceled vacations, trips, etc.
You Won’t Need to Face Insurance Companies
It’s in the insurance firm’s best interest to limit monies awarded to you. In your eagerness to settle things and begin recovery, you may overlook the evidence and documents needed to get the maximum compensation you deserve.
Compared to the average citizen, the auto and medical insurance industries are giants when it comes to expertise and experience in lawsuits. Even trying to correspond with them can be daunting and time-consuming for one person.
A reputable personal injury lawyer is adept at working with insurance companies and can ensure that sufficient proof is readily available if your case goes to trial and will negotiate with insurance firms to get the best outcome for you, with the most compensation.
Request a consultation with Pyfer Reese Straub Gray & Farhat PC today. Our team of personal injury lawyers are ready to serve you!
Differences Between Personal Injury Law and Worker’s Compensation
February 22, 2019When a PA worker gets hurt, and pursues his/her rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act, generally speaking, he/she is entitled to two benefits: payment of medical bills and payment of lost earnings. But when a worker gets hurt on the job and the injury is caused by an outside third party, such as a driver on the road who blows through a red light or a stop sign, then the worker has two potential claims: a personal injury claim and a workers’ compensation claim. But there are many differences between the two types of claims that can be essential for choosing one path or both.
Our team at Pyfer, Reese, Straub, Gray & Farhat is highly experienced in representing your personal injury or worker’s compensation cases fiercely and efficiently. We will determine which case is right for your situation and work to provide you with the best possible outcome.
Not All Cases Are Alike
Worker’s compensation cases only apply to those in the workforce. The largest distinguishing difference between worker’s compensation and personal injury cases is that fault is typically irrelevant in order to receive benefits in a worker’s compensation case. The primary proof that needs to be presented in order to receive payment is generally that you were an employee, injured in the course and scope of employment and as a result thereof.
Personal injury cases, on the other hand, are more complicated. These cases provide for an opportunity to gain a recovery for non-economic losses such as pain, suffering, limitations on physical activities of daily living, a focus on how the injuries impacted your life, your lifestyle, your activities, short term or long term. They also provide for economic losses such as wage loss claims, out-of-pocket payments, or lost earnings.
Some of these cases may settle early, some may not settle at all; if not settled, litigation (a lawsuit) is commenced. Some proceed to arbitration, others to alternate dispute resolution or to trial. That process may be time consuming but preparedness and patience to carefully plan and gather documentation relevant to your injuries and situation is key. The attorneys at our Firm will guide you through the process, answer your questions and ease your concern and worries by providing you with a projected timeline; the attorney will walk you through what is involved at every step of the way and make you more at ease.
Where is the Overlap?
Worker’s compensation and personal injury cases actually do have some crossover. These cases can be similar in several ways, including:
· Injuries involving a defective product
· Injuries involving a toxic substance
· Injuries intentionally caused by a coworker or employer
· Injuries occurring due to the negligence of the third party
While these are areas of overlap and could potentially be pursued under the workers’ compensation Act or a personal injury case, one of the two areas might be better suited for filing the claim; or perhaps pursuing both. Knowing the subtle differences and the interaction between a personal injury case and a worker’s compensation claim could mean the difference between receiving an appropriate recovery from the claim or walking away empty-handed.
The best way to know whether your case should be filed as workman’s compensation or personal injury is to speak with a knowledgeable attorney. Call our team at Pyfer, Reese, Straub, Gray & Farhat if you need more information about worker’s compensation or personal injury representation. Give us a call today at 717-299-7342. We look forward to hearing from you!
Have a Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, Social Security or Unemployment Compensation Matter?
June 14, 2018Personal Injury
Do I Have a Case?
That’s the first question that most people ask when they suffer an injury that’s severe enough to disrupt their lives, and the answer is not always clear. Every injury and the circumstances surrounding it are different, so your best step is to call Pyfer Reese Straub Gray & Farhat for a consultation with personal injury attorney Gabriella Farhat. She will examine all the factors involved in your injury, and if she believes that your case merits legal action, she will represent you and seek just compensation for your injuries.
Attorney Farhat has successfully represented many clients,* and her mission is to protect you when you are most vulnerable. When you or a loved one is hurt on the job, on the road, from a dog bite or slip and fall or anywhere else, you need a personal injury lawyer who is dedicated to assuring that the life you and your family lead will continue as normally as possible.
As Lancaster County’s premier personal injury attorneys, Pyfer Reese Straub Gray & Farhat PC and Attorney Farhat are committed to assisting you in a critical time of need. It is not easy being the victim of negligence or recklessness that results in personal injury, but experienced legal representation by Attorney Farhat will be your assurance that everything possible will be done to bring you justice and fair financial compensation for your injuries.
*Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum Member (Established in 1993, the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum is one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements.)*
Workers’ Compensation
By law, you are financially protected when you suffer an injury at your place of work. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires every employer to maintain insurance to compensate you in the event that the unexpected happens. However, many workers’ compensation insurance programs leave you with a battle of red tape. The job of our team of workers’ compensation lawyers is to cut through that red tape and to get you your rightful compensation. That is where Attorney Farhat steps in to help ensure you receive satisfactory care and fair compensation to aid in your recovery.
Social Security
Social Security pays disability benefits to you and certain members of your family if you have worked long enough and have a medical condition that has prevented you from working or is expected to prevent you from working for at least 12 months or end in death. As Lancaster, PA’s first choice for representation in Social Security disability cases Attorney Farhat will be able to facilitate and prepare the necessary claims to support your case.
Unemployment Compensation
For both employers and employees, employment law matters can be complicated and often have costly consequences. The Lancaster employment law lawyers at Pyfer Reese Straub Gray & Farhat P.C. and Attorney Farhat can provide you with skilled guidance and strong advocacy in a wide-range of employment law areas including Unemployment Compensation.