Posts by Frank Verderame
The Liability of Pedestrians in Car and Truck Accidents
Drivers of cars, trucks, and other vehicles do have a duty to look out for pedestrians. If a car or truck strikes a pedestrian, the pedestrian is likely to die or suffer catastrophic injuries. That pedestrians rely on drivers to drive safely doesn’t mean drivers are automatically liable for pedestrian accidents. Some times, a driver…
Read MoreCan You Claim Damages if You Are Hurt by a Space Heater?
A study conducted from 2003 to 2013 by the National Institute of Health (NIH) revealed that there were 53,636 space heater-related thermal burn injuries in that time frame. Many of these injuries occurred, as one would expect, during the winter months. In January of 2018, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) issued a release stating…
Read MoreDo Cars and Trucks Have Black Boxes?
You may be surprised to learn that the car you’re driving now, and probably the car you’ve been driving for the last 10 years, has a little black box in it that is a computer that records data. And it keeps track of everything from if you’re wearing your seatbelt to how fast your…
Read MoreFeds Join Whistleblower Suit Against Concrete Company
The Justice Department and the Virginia attorney general are joining a whistleblower’s lawsuit that alleges a subcontractor knowingly and deliberately used defective concrete on a multi-million-dollar project for the D.C. region’s Metrorail system’s expansion. The whistleblower in this case, Nathan Davidheiser of Pennsylvania, was a lab tech at Universal Concrete Products Corp. Davidheiser filed a…
Read MoreJohnson & Johnson Loses Another Asbestos Talcum Powder Trial — Plaintiff Awarded $25.7 Million Verdict
Johnson & Johnson has been slapped with a $25.7 million verdict for its negligence in failing to warn consumers of the potential health risks of using their baby powder. An Oregon woman who developed mesothelioma claimed that she developed the rare form of lung cancer from repeated exposure to Johnson & Johnson baby powder and…
Read MoreJury Awards Injured Cyclist Almost $3 Million for Geico’s Bad Faith
When you sign a contract with your insurance company, you do so in good faith. Basically, that means when something goes wrong, you’ll tell the truth; in return, the insurance company will be honest and fair in its assessment – or, so the theory goes. When your insurance company doesn’t treat you fairly within the…
Read MoreCan I Make an Auto Insurance Claim if I’m Hurt as a Pedestrian?
You can make a claim if you’re hurt as a pedestrian against the driver of the other vehicle and their insurance company. You may be surprised to learn that your own automobile insurance will cover you as a pedestrian even if you’re not in your own car. So long as a motor vehicle, an…
Read MoreFrank Verderame, Firm Partner
I’ve had the privilege of representing people who have suffered the most scary, catastrophic injuries that you can imagine. From brain injury, to paralysis, burn injuries, death of a family member: It’s always hard to do, especially when you grow to know and love your clients. And that’s been the biggest reward of my career.…
Read MoreNuisance Neighbors: NC Judge Awards $50 Million in Lawsuit against Murphy Brown/Smithfield Foods
Despite their reputation, pigs are clean animals. If given enough space, they’ll stay far away from their own waste. They’ll clean off their food if there’s water nearby. And the wallowing in mud? Not only does it cool them down (pigs don’t have sweat glands), but it keeps ticks, lice and other parasites at bay.…
Read MoreHow to File Sexual Harassment Charges in Phoenix, AZ
Unfortunately in our society, people who have positions of authority take advantage of that authority, and harass employees sexually in the workplace. There are a couple of kinds of claims that can stem from that. First, you can file a claim with the EEOC. That’s a federal government agency, where you could actually get online…
Read MoreReviewing 2017’s Biggest Car Recalls
As we move into a new year with a new round of car models hitting the market, let’s look back on the past year and some of 2017’s significant auto recalls. It’s worth noting that the number of recalls in 2017 dropped sharply from 2016—from 52,985,779 down to 28,146,661—although that difference was likely affected by…
Read MoreUber Halts Testing of Self-Driving Cars after a Woman is Struck and Killed in Tempe
A fatal car crash involving an autonomous vehicle occurred yesterday in Tempe, when 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was struck and killed in Tempe, AZ. The investigation is still underway, but this is what the news is currently reporting: The car was traveling at a speed of 38 to 40 mph on a 35 mph stretch of…
Read MoreSupreme Court Unanimously Rules to Limit Dodd-Frank Protections for Whistleblower Actions
A whistleblower is a person who exposes fraud, or illicit or illegal behavior in an organization. When that information is reported to the government, and the government is able to recover funds from the company or organization engaged in such behavior, that is called a qui tam action. (So, all qui tam actions are acts…
Read MoreGrand Canyon Helicopter Crash Claims a Fifth Life
On February 10, 2018, a group of friends took a helicopter tour from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. They were visiting our country from Britain, to celebrate Stuart Hill’s 30th birthday. Just shy of 5:30 pm, the EC-130 helicopter, operated by tour company Papillon Airways, crashed near Quartermaster Canyon on the Hualapai Nation. Three…
Read MoreIllinois Court of Appeals Ruled that Motorola Must Face Birth Defect Claims in Court
When a worker is harmed by toxic chemical exposure, he or she can only make a claim for workers’ compensation. But what happens when the worker’s baby suffers a birth defect of injury that could be linked to those same chemicals? Can you make a claim in court for negligence? The First District Court of…
Read MoreAutonomous Trucks Are Coming to Arizona
In early 2018, the Chinese startup TuSimple will formally open a research and testing facility here in Arizona, testing and developing its autonomous trucks. The company already completed a successful test run in July 2017, with a 170-mile public road trial of an autonomous truck from San Diego, CA to Yuma, Arizona. They kick off…
Read MoreExploding E-Cigarette Leaves Man with First- and Second-Degree Burn Injuries
For the last few years, e-cigarettes have become the go-to product for people trying to quit smoking. While no one debates the dangers associated with traditional tobacco products (lung cancer, COPD, mouth and throat cancer, heart disease – the list goes on and on), there is a fierce debate over whether or not “vaping” is…
Read MoreQui Tam Whistleblowers Were Paid $392 Million by the Federal Government in FY 2017
You can be rewarded if you help uncover fraud perpetrated by a business against the federal government. That is what a qui tam action is. The latest numbers are out for fiscal year 2017, and this was a big year for the False Claims Act. The National Law Review reports that the Department of Justice…
Read MoreDistracted Driving is Downright Dangerous
Many people find driving to be a relaxing activity. Not that grinding day-to-day commute, but perhaps a leisurely weekend drive out to admire the local scenery. However, your pleasure drive can turn dangerous if confronted with road hazards or distracted drivers, which is why you need to always remain vigilant behind the wheel. Did you…
Read MoreSomeone Crashed a Car into My House. What Do I Do Now?
On November 29th, a car crashed into an LA Fitness in Mesa. The details are still coming in, but ABC 15 reports that “a man rammed his vehicle into another occupied vehicle in the parking lot of LA Fitness at Stapley and University drives. According to police, the suspect hit the vehicle twice and, in…
Read MoreAvanir Pharmaceuticals Paid Problem Doctors to Prescribe and Promote Nuedexta
There is a medical condition called pseudobulbar affect, or PBA. It’s technically a rare nervous system disorder that causes people to laugh and/or cry uncontrollably. The Mayo Clinic says it is often brought on by brain injuries or strokes, or by neurological diseases, like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. There are only about 200,000 cases a year.…
Read MoreHoliday Shoppers, Take Note: What Not to Buy the Kids This Year
If you are like most holiday shoppers, you want to find gifts that will be loved and appreciated by your friends, family and loved ones. For some of us, though, the best gifts are the ones we give to the children in our family. Of course, you want to make sure those gifts for the…
Read MoreFiling False Claims and FEMA: Whistleblower Alert
We had our fair share of natural disasters in 2017. So far, the country has weathered hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires. Hundreds of people have died, and countless citizens have lost their homes and personal property. Clean up and recovery could take months or years. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created to…
Read MoreSelf-Driving Cars: Convenience or Danger on the Roads? Or Both?
Just a few weeks ago, the car development company Waymo started test-driving autonomous vehicles on Phoenix-area roads. Although they have been offering free taxi rides over the past year, there has always been a human behind the wheel ready to take over in case of trouble. Starting now, though, the vehicles are driving themselves. Waymo…
Read MoreHigh School Cheerleading Can Lead to Catastrophic Injuries
When we think about high school sports injuries, football is typically the first thing that comes to mind—head and neck injuries, specifically. Another group of athletes, however, who often suffer catastrophic injuries are competitive high school cheerleaders. Although they fly and twist through the air and make it look easy, the stunts our cheerleaders perform…
Read More