Fewer Personal Injury Lawsuits Confirmed by Wall Street Journal

Insurance Companies would have us believe that the number of personal injury lawsuits are spiraling out of control. There are many politicians who pander to them that also posture about this. Yet, as confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, the number of personal injury suits are actually down. By a lot. According to their findings, the number of such suits are down 500%. Some of the reasons are because of changes in laws. In Pennsylvania, there's been a change in the "joint tortfeasor" laws in the past 4 years. This has limited the ability of injured victims to recover against a defendant who has adequate insurance when there is another defendant who is uninsured or doesn't have enough insurance. Also the article cites to the rising cost of litigating cases. Personal Injury cases require a medical expert to do a report and then to testify at trial. Suits also involve filing fees, depositions, and other types of experts depending on the case. Often, these costs can have the effect of discouraging injured victims from filing suit.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome after a Car Accident

I've recently handled a case for a client who was in a violent car crash. She was eventually diagnosed with Myofascial Pain Syndrome. As a mother with young children, she had been very active before the collision, with no past medical history of problems to her neck or mid-back. After the crash, despite having immediate neck and mid-back pain, her Xrays and MRI tests were "negative". As we went through the case, the opposing insurance company hired doctors to examine her. They claimed her pain was "subjective", that it couldn't be ongoing more than a month or two after the crash because the injuries didn't show up on the Xrays or MRIs. Surely, though, would a woman who had such a good, active life before give that up just to make a claim? The insurance company would have you believe that. But, witnesses, such as other parents where she had volunteered at her son's school, neighbors, people from her church, all testified at depositions she was for real. She eventually was referred by her family doctor to a Physical Medicine Specialist, a Medical Doctor who had treated people with such conditions. We were able to prove through the Medical Expert's clinical findings, medical exams and testimony, as well as the witnesses who had seen her before and after the crash, that she had a real condition, Myofascial Pain Syndrome, caused by the crash. This was also confirmed by clinical research in the field by the Physical Medicine Specialist. Myofascial Pain Syndrome can become a chronic condition with people who suffer a trauma. It can be caused by flexion-extension forces upon the spine of the person in a car crash. The pain can be referred from the neck and shoulder area up into the head causing what are referred to as "cervicogenic" headaches. The injury can affect or be stemming from the "Facet" joints of the spine. Sometimes a combination of physical therapy and injection treatments will lessen or help alleviate the symptoms. A board-certified Physiatrist or Physical Medicine specialist can be a big asset to treating this condition. If the insurance company is disputing your claim, we recommend that you contact an experienced personal injury lawyer. Our firm has successfully handled these types of cases in Pennsylvania.