Matthew D. Gailey & Associates

Summer driving season is about to begin! Many people are about to get into their cars and drive to far off locales for fun and relaxation. Some of the more adventurous people may actually cross a river or two to get to their destination. If you fall into these category, you may want to revisit your automobile insurance. Most folks are aware of the full-tort election, which allows PA drivers to sue other individuals for pain and suffering, even if they don't suffer a serio...us injury. However, not a lot of people pay attention to the UM/UIM coverage options which must be offered by automobile insurers. It is important to not fall into a trap of complacency and limit your recovery by refusing to pay for UM/UIM coverage. UM/UIM coverage is an acronym that stands for Uninsured Motorist and Under Insured Motorist coverage. This coverage allows for a driver's own car insurance to pay them additional sums if the driver that hit them does not have insurance (UM coverage) or doesn't have sufficient insurance (UIM coverage) to compensate the injured driver's injuries. By choosing to obtain this additional coverage, a prudent Northsider can take steps to insure that they will be adequately compensated for the injuries that they have suffered in the event they are hit by an irresponsible driver. If you have any more questions regarding UM/UIM coverage, please feel free to give my office a call.

In Pennsylvania, there are two general types of civil lawsuits that can brought in a court of law. A lawsuit can be based on a contract or based on a tort. This month's article will define the basic concepts of a contract. I will explain the meaning of various torts in subsequent articles. Essentially, a contract is a legally enforceable agreement between parties. A contract can either be written down or an oral agreement. There are various elements that must be present ...in order for a legally enforceable agreement to exist in Pennsylvania. Firstly, there must be an offer by a party, and acceptance of that offer by another party. An offer is an objective manifestation of intent to be bound by an agreement. For instance, if a Brighton Heights resident may offer to sell and deliver their used I-Pad for $100.00 to a Troy Hill resident. If the Troy Hill resident delivers the $100.00, then they have accepted the Brighton Heights resident's offer. Secondly, consideration must be present for a valid contract. Consideration is something, (like an act, a promise to act, forbearance, money and etc.) bargained for or received by each party in an agreement that motivates a party to do a legal act. In the above example, the payment of $100.00 is the consideration that motivates the delivery of the I-Pad. Generally, a lawsuit for breach of contract, essentially a broken promise by one of the parties, usually stem from inadequate consideration, failure to perform a service, poor performance of a promise and etc. The proper damages for a breach of contract place the aggrieved party in the position they expected to be in if the contract was properly performed. If you have any questions concerning contract law, please feel free to give may office a call.

Pennsylvania products liability laws allow individuals to sue product manufacturers for damages caused by dangerous product defects. Products liability cases are different than negligence matters, which were discussed in last month's submission. The main difference between a negligence case and a products liability case is how a case is proven. For instance, to prove someone liable in a negligence case, one must show that another failed to exercise reasonable care. In a p...roducts liability case, a manufacturer of a product is strictly liable for all harm that a defect in their product causes. Essentially, an individual only needs to show that a defect in a product caused harm to them. An individual does not need to meet the higher negligence standard of proof by showing that the manufacturer acted in an unreasonable way when creating their product. While the standard of proof is lower in a strict products liability action, one must still demonstrate that a defect exists with the product. There are three types of defects that are actionable in Pennsylvania, namely 1) Design Defects, 2) Manufacturing Defects, and 3) Failure to Warn Defects. A lawnmower is a good example of a product that can demonstrate the differences between these types of defects. A design defect exists when the design of a product is flawed, e.g. all of the lawnmowers manufactured are designed without a necessary safety feature to protect individuals. A manufacturing defect exists when one particular product is manufactured with a defect, e.g. one specific lawnmower is manufactured without a necessary safety feature. A failure to warn defect exists when a manufacturer fails to warn about a danger associated with the product. For example, a lawnmower manufacturer should warn users not to come into contact with rotating blades. The failure to do so is an example of a failure to warn defect. There are many other aspects of products liability law that are too numerous to go into in this short article. For any questions about products liability law, please feel free to give me a call.