News from August 2023
Plaintiff continues to allege Bucks County Corrections failures led to loved one's death
PHILADELPHIA – A local woman continues to maintain charges that Bucks County and a number of its corrections officials had failed to ensure its prison was free of drugs, which she said led one of her loved ones to fatally overdose while in custody.
Lehigh County Jail inmate says she was beaten by cellmate who didn't get their medication
ALLENTOWN – An inmate at the Lehigh County Jail contends that she was severely beaten and assaulted by her cellmate, who allegedly had mental health issues, violent tendencies and had been denied her regimen of medication to control those same issues.
Bill Cosby denied chance for appeal on ruling denying bar to plaintiff's sexual assault claims
CAMDEN, N.J. – Counsel for comedian Bill Cosby have lost out on an attempt to appeal a New Jersey federal judge’s ruling, one which denied the dismissal of a lawsuit connected to Cosby’s alleged sexual assault of an up-and-coming actress in 1990.
More Than 200 Ballard Spahr Attorneys Recognized in Best Lawyers 2024
The recently released 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America recognizes 219 Ballard Spahr attorneys in offices across the country, including many recognized in multiple practice areas, for a total of 351 total listings in the annual guide.
Jennifer Ann Lawson Joins Rawle & Henderson LLP
Rawle & Henderson is pleased to welcome Jennifer Ann Lawson as an Associate in the firm’s Philadelphia office.
Ex-Philly detective who allegedly committed sexual assault invokes Fifth Amendment in response to civil suit
PHILADELPHIA – A former Philadelphia Police Department detective who allegedly sexually assaulted individuals in his custody, including a man who spent 12 years in prison and was later exonerated, has denied the allegations against him and cited his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
U.S. government looks to settle wrongful death claims over alleged improper care at VA facility
PITTSBURGH – The United States of America has tentatively settled claims that substandard care provided by a Veterans Administration hospital in Pittsburgh, led to the wrongful death of a 56 year-old man at the facility.
DuPont company rejects claims that N.C. man's kidney cancer was due to chemical exposure
PHILADELPHIA – E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company has denied allegations that a North Carolina man developed kidney cancer because of his exposure to trichloroethylene, during his work for the company as a materials handler, press operator and tool and dye maker.
Case of 18-month-old who died in foster care remanded to Delaware County court
PHILADELPHIA – A wrongful death lawsuit filed against foster care property owners and other entities, which alleged their collective negligence directly led to the plaintiff’s 18-month-old daughter’s death, has been remanded to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
Lancaster woman continues to claim nursing facility caused her mother's death
LANCASTER – After a woman who was a resident of the Hamilton Arms Center skilled nursing facility for two months died in June of last year, her daughter continues to maintain the facility is responsible for the events in question.
Parents who alleged their child faced racist and anti-Semitic taunts settle with school for $150K
PHILADELPHIA – Parents who alleged that Abington Friends School (AFS) mishandled complaints that their white, Jewish child was being bullied by Black students within the school and that school officials failed to provide them with appropriate learning disability accommodations, have agreed to settle their claims for $150,000.
Greyhound, Flixbus motion to dismiss wrongful death suit over man who died on bus ride
PHILADELPHIA – The Greyhound and Flixbus transportation companies seek to disprove allegations that they were responsible for the death of a 32-year-old man from cardiac arrest, while aboard a Greyhound bus bound for Philadelphia two years ago.
Upper St. Clair Township rejects allegations it's responsible for man's paralysis, woman's death
PITTSBURGH – Upper St. Clair Township has rejected liability in a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit brought against it, over a fallen tree incident that left one man paralyzed for life and killed his wife.
Pittsburgh denies responsibility for cyclist's injuries on Three Rivers Heritage Trail
PITTSBURGH – The City of Pittsburgh has denied liability for severe injuries suffered by a local cyclist, when he said that a lack of adequate lighting on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail caused him to fall off his bicycle.
Judge OKs $2.7M more to white, ex-Starbucks manager, already awarded $25.6M after alleged racial firing
CAMDEN, N.J. – After a federal court jury awarded $25.6 million to a white former Starbucks store manager who claimed she faced racial discrimination and firing from the coffee company, after two Black men were controversially arrested at a Philadelphia store location, the presiding judge has now awarded the manager an additional $2.7 million in front pay, back pay and tax damages.
Jennifer Brandt Elected Vice Chair of the ABA Family Law Section and Co-Vice Chair of the ABA Family Law Section Diversity Committee
Jennifer Brandt, chair of the firm’s Family Law Group, has been elected vice chair of the American Bar Association Family Law Section (FLS) and co-vice chair of the ABA FLS Diversity Committee.
State court judge grants 90-day stay, in woman's suit over ingesting cleaning product at vax event
MEDIA – Litigation between a volunteer, a Delaware County church and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia over that volunteer accidentally ingesting a toxic cleaning supply product at a COVID-19 vaccination event, has been stayed for 90 days – after a state court judge granted a petition from plaintiff counsel for special and extraordinary relief.
Wilkes-Barre woman insists she slipped on slushy fluid at Sheetz convenience store
SCRANTON – A Northeastern Pennsylvania woman maintains claims that she suffered severe injuries to her neck, back and right knee at a Sheetz convenience store in Wilkes-Barre, when she slipped on fluid from a nearby soda/slushy machine which had leaked onto the store floor.
Md. woman continues to argue York State Fair organizers' negligence caused her injuries
YORK – A Maryland woman continues to argue that the organizing companies of the York State Fair were negligent in failing to prevent her injuries, when a passing thunderstorm led her to be hit by a metal object while she was attending the fair.
SEPTA, Amtrak remove case of man who fell at Bridesburg Train Station to federal court
PHILADELPHIA – The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Amtrak have removed to federal court a lawsuit which alleges they were liable for injuries a plaintiff suffered, when he fell as a result of his cane becoming stuck in a hole found in a platform at a train station in Philadelphia.