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Claims Against Nursing Home Related to Contracting Covid-19 Allowed to Proceed

October 4, 2022

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In the case of Testa v. Broomall Operating Co., L.P., No. 21-5148-KSM (E.D. Pa. Aug. 18, 2022 Marston, J.), the court denied a Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss a Plaintiff executrix’s lawsuit over her mother’s death that allegedly resulted from contracting COVID-19 while residing at the Defendant’s nursing and rehabilitation facility. The court found that the Defendant was not shielded from liability by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, or the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Services…

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Allegations of Recklessness and Claims of Punitive Damages Allowed to Proceed in a Dog Bite Case

By Daniel Cummins

August 19, 2022

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In the case of Walsh v. Toth, No. 22-CV-96 (C.P. Lacka. Co. June 28, 2022 Nealon, J.), the court addressed Preliminary Objections in the form of a demurrer asserted by dog owners in a case in which the Plaintiff alleged that she was attacked and injured by her neighbors’ dog when she [the Plaintiff] opened the side door of her home. The Plaintiff filed a Complaint seeking compensatory damages along with punitive damages as a…

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Personal Injury Claim Based on COVID-19 Exposure Allowed to Proceed

By Daniel Cummins

July 28, 2022

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In the case of Stiver v. Senior Health Care Solutions, LLC, No. 21-CV-842 (C.P. Lacka. Co. July 8, 2022 Nealon, J.), the court addressed various issues arising out of a COVID-19 personal injury claim. In this matter, a nursing home employee, who claimed to have contracted work-related COVID-19 that allegedly caused permanent pulmonary and cardiac damage and required inpatient hospitalization, filed a corporate liability lawsuit against the owner and operator of the facility which allegedly…

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Federal Court Keeps Case in Federal Court After Plaintiff Joins Defendants In Apparent Attempt to Destroy Diversity

By Daniel Cummins

July 7, 2022

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In the case of Testa v. Broomall Operating Company, L.P., No. 2:21-CV-05148-KSM (E.D. Pa. May 26, 2022 Marston, J.), the court addressed a Defendant’s Motion to Strike a Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint and a Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand the Case to State Court in a matter arising out of a rehabilitation and nursing home negligence case. According to the Opinion, it was alleged that the Plaintiff’s decedent passed away after contracting COVID-19 at the facility. After…

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ARTICLE: Justice Delayed Is Still Compensable: Courts Rule on Damages During Shutdowns

By Daniel Cummins

June 21, 2022

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Justice Delayed Is Still Compensable: Courts Rule on Damages During Shutdowns By Daniel E. Cummins | June 09, 2022 Pennsylvania Law Weekly Daniel E. Cummins Now that more and more cases are reaching verdict on this side of the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of whether or not the shuttering of the court system in Pennsylvania during the course of the pandemic should be considered in the calculation of delay damages in personal injury matters has…

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Trial Court Rules in Favor of Discoverability in Med Mal Case of Notes Made By Patient Safety Director

By Daniel Cummins

June 14, 2022

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In the case of Ford-Bey v. Professional Anesthesia Services North America, LLC, No. 2017-Civil-02996 (C.P. Montg. Co. March 23, 2022 Saltz, J.), the court found, in a medical malpractice action, that the notes made by a hospital employee were not protected by the confidentiality provisions of the medical care availability and reduction of error (MCARE) Act because the notes were not made for the sole purpose for complying with the patient safety reporting requirements of…

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Another Court Rules That the Time Courts Were Closed Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Are Not To Be Deducted From the Delay Damages Computation

By Daniel Cummins

May 6, 2022

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In the case of Yoder v. McCarthy Construction, Inc., May Term 2018, No. 0769 (C.P. Phila. Co. Feb. 10, 2022 Foglietta, J.), the trial court issued Rule 1925 Opinion requesting the Superior Court to affirm the trial court’s rulings during the course of a personal injury trial that resulted in a $5 million dollar verdict of the Plaintiff. Of note, the court rejected the Defendant’s assertion that the trial court erred in awarding delay damages…

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Court Shutdowns Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Did Not Stop The Time For Delay Damages

By Daniel Cummins

April 11, 2022

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In the case of Getting v. Mark Sales & Leasing, Inc., No. 348 MDA 2021 (Pa. Super. April 7, 2022 Olson, J., Kunselman, J., and Stevens, P.J.E.) (Op. by Kunselman, J.), the court addressed issued raised by a Defendant following a trial at which a jury awarded the Plaintiff over $2 million dollars in damages for personal injuries and in which the Defendant claimed that it should not owe the Plaintiff delay damages for the…

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Business Interruption Coverage Claim Denied Relative to a Restaurant

By Daniel Cummins

April 1, 2022

In the case of KWB Enter. Inc., v. Nationwide Gen. Ins. Co., 2:20-CV-05195-MSG (E.D. Pa. Jan. 31, 2022 Goldberg, J.), the court granted a Defendant insurance company’s Motion to Dismiss a restaurant’s claims for alleged losses allegedly arising from COVID-19 closure, as well as the alleged public perception of restaurants as dangerous due to COVID-19. In so ruling, the Court found that the Plaintiff’s “business income,” claim failed because the Plaintiff’s claims were inconsistent with…

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Daycare and Preschool Loses Bid To Secure Coverage Under Its All-Risk Policy for COVID-19 Losses

By Daniel Cummins

March 11, 2022

In the case of BSD-360, LLC v. Phila. Indem. Ins. Co., No. 20-4719 (E.D. Pa. Jan 13, 2022 Pratter, J.), an insurance carrier’s Motion to Dismiss was granted in a COVID-19 coverage case after the court ruled that the “insured gets what protection he pays for” and found that, while the policy in question covered losses for property damages and contains provisions related to communicable diseases, the Court found that the Plaintiff’s claims were not…