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 a right, which is enforceable by an action for damages, requires a court to determine if Congress, in enacting the statute, intended to confer individual...
Insights and analysis from our attorneys
C&W Journal
December 03, 2009
Carmack Provides Exclusive Cause Of Action For Interstate...
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...
December 03, 2009
Court Upholds Venue Clause in Auto Insurance Policy
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...
April 03, 2009
DPW Gets Serious On Lien Reimbursement In PA
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...
April 03, 2009
Long Awaited UIM/UM Litigation Takes Form
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...
April 03, 2009
Medicare Reporting Enforcement Begins July 1, 2009
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...
April 03, 2009
Cost Of Cervical Surgery Scars On The Rise
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...
December 21, 2008
Feds Pass Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Of 2008
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...
December 21, 2008
Changes To The Americans With Disabilities Act
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...
December 21, 2008
Questions And Answers About PA’s New Medical Assistance Third-Party...
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....
December 21, 2008
Horseplay in the Workplace
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...
December 21, 2008
Claimant Must Provide Expert Testimony To Establish Disability
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...
December 21, 2008
Receipt of Private Disability Benefits and UIM Benefits does not...
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...
December 21, 2008
Major Changes In Store For The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act
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...
December 21, 2008
Recent Developments: Certificate Of Merit
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...
October 21, 2008
A Glimmer of Hope For Successive Defense Petitions
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...
October 21, 2008
Watch What You Put In Your Claims Notes
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...
October 21, 2008
MMI on IRE
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...
October 21, 2008
Putative Ownership In Motor Vehicle Insurance Coverage
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...
October 21, 2008
No Duty Rule In Negligence Actions
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...
October 21, 2008
Improper Venue Vs. Forum Non Conveniens
Venue considerations present thorny legal questions at the beginning of a case. Whether removing a case to federal court or to another county, a change in venue can have a significant impact on...