March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month, and our legal team at Shrager, Spivey & Sachs wanted to provide some helpful information that can aid victims and families following unexpected brain injuries. Having served Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania since 1978, our personal injury attorneys have worked with many victims who suffered brain injuries in all types of accidents, including car accidents. We know that having the right information is critical to getting the right help and to knowing what to expect.

Traumatic brain injuries are unique in that there is still a great deal to be learned about how they impact the lives of victims and how they can be effectively treated. While medical science is continually exploring the mysteries of the brain in order to find ways to prevent, treat, and understand brain injuries, victims who experience TBI still struggle with what can be profound symptoms and effects. This is why it is important for anyone who has suffered a brain injury, or anyone with a loved one who has, to have the facts that can help them seek appropriate treatment when necessary.

If you or a loved one has recently been involved in an accident, such as a truck accident or car accident, it is important that you seek a medical evaluation as soon as you can. Whether you were treated at an emergency room or not, it is always recommended that you get a full evaluation from a medical professional, or a follow up evaluation.

Visiting a doctor is important to your health, as there can be a lot of things you don’t notice in the chaos and frenzy immediately following an accident. Some injuries or pain may also not present themselves until some time has passed. A doctor can conduct tests and exams, help identify any underlying injury, condition, or medical issue, refer you to specialists, or begin the treatment you need. Seeking a timely medical evaluation can also prove beneficial should you choose to file a personal injury claim.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident that could and should have been preventable if not for the negligence of another, you have the right to pursue a recovery of your damages by filing a personal injury claim. Personal injury cases enable you to hold the party who caused your accident and injuries liable for any damages that resulted from the incident, which commonly includes medical bills, lost work wages, and pain and suffering, among others.

While all personal injury claims are hinged on proving that the at-fault party in an accident was negligent, and that their negligence “more likely than not” caused a victim to suffer injuries, how it is resolved will vary from case to case. When resolved successfully, a personal injury case may conclude with a settlement or a verdict following the filing of a lawsuit.

Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms, including the familiar types of wrongdoing such as physical and emotional abuse, neglecting basic needs, and financial exploitation. While families may be generally aware of these issues when choosing an assisted care facility for their elderly loved one, few give a second thought to another more sinister and inexcusable type of abuse: sexual assault.

While the inability or unwillingness of the elderly to speak out about sexual assault makes it inherently difficult to determine the true number of sexual abuse victims in American nursing homes, a recent investigative analysis by CNN has found that the issue is more common than most would believe, and that the procedures in place that should protect victims often fail to do so.

At Shrager & Sachs, our Philadelphia nursing home abuse attorneys have extensive experience representing elderly victims and their loved ones after they were harmed by substandard care, negligence, and abuse at nursing homes – and we have recovered millions of dollars in compensation on their behalves. Having worked many of these cases, we understand the difficulties of identifying abuse, as well as the challenges of holding nursing home facilities and staff accountable.

According to CNN, the difficulty of identifying sexual abuse in nursing homes and assisted living facilities can be far more troublesome than recognizing the signs of other forms of abuse. Additionally, when allegations were made by residents, nursing homes, law enforcement, and even government officials often failed to thoroughly investigate and address issues.

When it comes to serious injuries, few have as devastating a potential to upend lives as those involving the spine and spinal cord. The human spinal cord is the most important structure between the body and the brain, and it is filled with nerves, tissues, and support cells. These structures provide the primary pathway that allows the brain to communicate with the rest of the body, and it is essential to the way we live our day to day lives.

Although the spinal cord is incredibly important to how human’s function, it is also susceptible to being injured, especially as a result of trauma and sudden blows that can occur during car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and falls. When the spinal cord is injured, it can necessitate serious medical intervention and aggressive, long-term rehabilitation. In the most severe types of injuries, it can cause permanent impairment and loss of function in certain parts of the body.

At Shrager & Sachs, our Philadelphia personal injury lawyers have helped numerous clients after they suffered catastrophic injuries, including spinal cord injuries (SCI). Because the nature of spinal cord injuries can impact victims and their loved ones in profound ways, we always work to secure the maximum compensation possible. We know this compensation is essential to not only a victim’s sense of justice and emotional losses, but also to the real and substantial costs that living with a spinal cord injury can have.

When people go to the hospital for medical treatment or surgery, they expect that the medical professionals responsible for their care will do the best job possible. The last thing on your mind is suffering further injury.

According to U.S. News, more than 200,000 people die from preventable medical errors each year, and up to 20 times more likely to suffer from errors that severely injure them. A new study suggests that medical errors in hospitals and other healthcare facilities are now the third-leading cause of death in the United States every year, which is more than accidents, respiratory disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s.

Shrager & Sachs is pleased to announce that Managing Partner Rob Sachs has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Lawyers’ Club of Philadelphia. A prestigious honor that highlights Attorney Sachs’ positive reputation throughout the local and legal communities, selection to the Lawyers’ Club Board of Directors is a distinction reserved for respected attorneys who are committed to furthering the organization’s mission of promoting camaraderie among members of the bench and the bar in the Philadelphia area. Mr. Sachs will serve a three year term on the Board of Directors.

Started in 1892, The Lawyers’ Club of Philadelphia is a professional legal organization that has been steadfast in its efforts to create good fellowship between lawyers and members of the legal profession in the Philadelphia region and Judges throughout Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania, including Judges in the Supreme, Federal, Superior, Commonwealth, and Appeals Courts.

Mobile phones, nursing homes, credit cards, and now bank accounts that you never even agreed to have opened in your name!? Corporate America is using forced arbitration clauses buried on many of the contracts you agree to every day to close the courthouse door in your face. These oppressive “fine print” clauses, which most people never read, are potent tools used to limit your right to sue and effectively recover against big corporations. Why do they use these clauses?

1. Because they win far more often in front of the arbitrators who get huge volumes of business arbitrating these cases
2. Because people cannot afford to pay for a private judicial system (arbitration costs money unlike the free and open court system)
3. Because the results of arbitrations are secret and corporations won’t suffer bad publicity regardless of the outcome
4. All of the above.

If you guessed “D”, you are absolutely correct. The only way to force Wells Fargo to do the right thing and live up to the promise they have made to Congress is for every consumer to insist on the right to proceed in court instead of being buried in a private arbitration system. If you are a Wells Fargo customer, tell them that you reject any arbitration clause on your account. If they will not agree to strike the clause, MOVE YOUR ACCOUNT!

If you have any questions regarding these issues or believe you have become a victim of forced arbitration clauses, contact our legal team at Shrager, Spivey & Sachs!

According to data gathered by the Bicycle Coalition, in 2016, cars have caused 63 fatalities in Philadelphia. Although this is not significantly more than the amount in earlier years, the proportion involving bicyclists and pedestrians is up to 59%, which is much higher than that in previous years. In just November, four pedestrians suffered fatal injuries in car accidents, and a fifth person was severely injured.

One death occurred when an 8-year-old girl was walking home with her older brother and was hit by a hit-and-run driver. The next occurred when an unidentified 23-year-old male was hit by a drunk driver on Roosevelt Boulevard. Another occurred when two employees of the Lucky Strikes bowling alley were struck by a pickup truck, leaving one dead and one severely injured. The fifth fatality occurred when a young woman was crossing Lehigh Avenue.

Our team of Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at Shrager, Spivey & Sachs is pleased to announce that our firm has received the 2017 Best Law Firm Award from Best Lawyers®. Because this award is only presented to a small number of firms every year, such an achievement displays a firm’s ability to handle complicated cases and provide excellent, top-tier representation on behalf of clients.