Accidents happen all the time, and often there is no one at fault. Other times, those accidents are the direct result of someone else’s negligence, or unintentional error, and result in serious and catastrophic injuries that change the course of a person’s life.
Personal injury is an expansive area of law that provides representation to victims of these types of accidents.
At Kolsby Gordon, we have represented hundreds of individuals for whom careless mistakes have led to injuries including quadriplegia, paraplegia, brain damage and even death. And for those individuals, securing a skilled, experienced lawyer can make a critical difference in their recovery.
Because each personal injury case is different, no two cases are approached the same way. We take exceptional care in thoroughly analyzing each individual’s case to determine the strategy that has the best chance of prevailing at court.
It is important for injured persons to know that a “statute of limitations”, or the time limit you have following an accident to file have to file a case, varies by state. In Pennsylvania, that limit is two years from the time of the accident.
However, for some civil cases, including personal injury, this statute includes what is called a “discovery rule.” Sometimes an injury is not discovered until years after an accident has occurred and, in these cases, the statute of limitations begins from the date the injury was found.
In other words, in many cases, you have two years from the date an injury caused someone else’s negligence occurs or is discovered to file.
Pennsylvania also follows a rule called “contributory negligence.” If your own negligence caused part of the injury, it may affect your personal injury case. In our state, if it is found that the underlying accident was more than 50% your fault, you are barred from getting any compensation.
Do not let this stop you from contacting a lawyer. Our attorneys have spent decades extensively reviewing potential cases and helping injured persons receive greatly-needed compensation that helps pay doctors bills and lost wages, as well as assisting in the emotional recovery of an injury.
For more specific information on the various types of personal injury cases that can occur, please click on any of the practice areas to to the right. And contact a Kolsby Gordon attorney today if you or someone you care about has been injured.
Personal Injury Cases
Deaths caused by inoperative smoke detectors results in seven-figure settlement.
Kolsby Gordon represented the surviving family members of three individuals who were killed in a house fire. At the time of the fire, the rental property did not have an operating smoke detector. The landlord, who was responsible for the property, failed to ensure that the house was equipped with these vital safety monitors and, without the warning signs typically provided by smoke detectors, a grandfather and two small children died. Kolsby Gordon sought out maximum compensation for the surviving family members, including the children’s mother, as well as their brother and sister.
Faulty elevator causes permanent injuries.
A property owner noticed a loud crashing noise when a load shifted in his elevator. Afterwards, the doors did not seem to function normally—they were tight and hard to open. The property owner did not routinely maintain the elevator, nor did he contract with anyone else to do it, so the defendant property owner did not realize that the door locking device had broken.
A few weeks later, our client, a visitor to the building, pushed the elevator button, waited for the doors to open, and stepped through the door assuming the elevator was there. In fact it was on a higher floor at the time, and our client fell 15 feet sustaining permanent and debilitating injuries. Kolsby Gordon represented the injured visitor in achieving a six-figure settlement to compensate him for lost wages, medical care, and pain and suffering.
Metal projectile becomes lodged in workers’ chest.
A vendor instructed employees at a manufacturing plant in an unusual technique to loosen tight machinery bolts. The technique involved using a customized sledgehammer, provided by the vendor (and emblazoned with the vendor’s name), to strike the heads of the bolts.
When our client plaintiff attempted this, a piece of metal broke off and lodged in the worker’s chest, causing permanent, debilitating injuries that will require long-term medical care and prevent the worker from supporting himself or even completing the most basic tasks. Kolsby Gordon was able to secure the client a seven-figure settlement out of court.
Poorly-designed plane crashes into lake.
In the middle of the Canadian winter, a turboprop crashed fatally into a lake shortly after takeoff. On behalf of the deceased, Kolsby Gordon attorneys conducted an investigation and determined that two fundamental errors caused the crash: the design of the plane—which made it nearly impossible to be flown safely in icy conditions, and the airline’s negligence in letting the plane take off with a heavier load than it could bear.
Plane’s faulty vacuum pump kills father of one-year-old.
A husband and father with a young child at home was a passenger in a Piper Arrow. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported that he was having trouble controlling the plane, yet he did not turn back. The trouble was the result of a faulty vacuum pump, which eventually failed, leading to the crash of the plane and the death of the passenger. Kolsby Gordon received a six-figure settlement on behalf of the deceased passenger’s family.
Demo flight results in three deaths.
Kolsby Gordon obtained a seven-figure settlement after a pilot and two passengers, a father and son, embarked on a demonstration flight of a plane. The engine failed, causing a fire and a crash that killed the pilot as well as the father and son.
$6 million recovered by plaintiff injured in swimming pool accident.
Our plaintiff was tripped as he was about to dive into a backyard swimming pool, and landed awkwardly in the shallow area. As a result of the accident, he suffered a broken spine and became a quadriplegic. Kolsby Gordon was able to prove that the dangerous conditions surrounding the pool caused the accident.
