Court Initiatives Earn Pennsylvania a Prestigious National Award

We’re proud to practice in Pennsylvania’s courts, and we’re delighted to see Pennsylvania’s Court Administrator Zygmont Pines win the prestigious 2010 Warren E. Burger Award for Excellence in Court Administration—the highest award presented by the National Center for State Courts.

The Burger Award is named for the former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the improvement of court operations with application to courts nationwide.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille in a January 3 press release praised Pines’ leadership in “introducing numerous cost-effective solutions to problems facing the Commonwealth’s 67 trial courts and more than 500 district courts.” Recent initiatives include:

• The installation of more than 300 video conferencing units in courts, which not only strengthens court security, but has the potential to save counties millions of dollars in prisoner transportation costs — as much as $25,000 on average per video conference site.
• One of the most sophisticated judicial computer systems in the country, “which enables us to provide continually greater access and accountability to the public,” Pines said in the press release.
• Problem-solving courts; to date, Pennsylvania has created nearly 80 problem-solving courts, such as veterans and drug courts.
• The development of a Web-based portal, making criminal court docket sheets available on the Internet at no charge, eliminating an untold amount of travel time to courthouses for paper copies of docket sheets and for court staff to make them.
• The enhancement of electronic filing of traffic citations and criminal complaints, saving police and courts both time and money.
• The implementation of technology and automation to improve court collections and payment processing.

Once again, we applaud the efforts of Zygmont Pines and other court officials to improve the administration of justice in Pennsylvania.

The Limbo Stage- 21 Days to Accept or Deny

Once you have given notice of your injury to your employer, their insurance carrier has 21 days under the Workers’ Compensation Act to either accept or deny your claim for benefits. During this period of time, you are basically in limbo.

To accept the claim, the insurance carrier needs to file either one of two notices with the Bureau in Harrisburg. The first notice is a notice of temporary compensation payable. As the name implies, this notice temporarily accepts the claim for a period of 90 days to give the insurance carrier additional time to investigate your claim before making its final determination.

Prior to the end of the 90-day period, if the insurance carrier wishes to deny your benefits, they are required to file notice stopping temporary compensation. If the insurance carrier does not file the notice stopping the temporary benefits in the allotted time, the temporary notice will be automatically converted to a notice of compensation payable.

To accept the claim with no future investigation, the insurance carrier is required to file a notice of compensation payable. Both of these documents must list the accepted injury and also provide you with the name, address, telephone number and claim number from the insurance carrier.

It is also important to keep these documents in a safe and convenient place. These documents are the official documents accepting your claim for benefits.

To deny the claim, the insurance carrier needs to file a notice of denial with Harrisburg. On this notice they are required to list their reason for the denial by checking one or more of five general reasons or completing number 6 including their own written reason.If you receive a notice of denial and want to pursue a claim for your injury, at that point you will need an experienced workers compensation attorney to file a claim petition on your behalf and start the litigation process.

3 MMC Attorneys Named PA Super Lawyers

Philadelphia Magazine and Law & Politics Inc. have named three Munley, Munley and Cartwright attorneys “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers” for 2008. Robert W. Munley, Marion Munley and Matthew Cartwright were recognized for their outstanding reputation in personal injury litigation for the fifth consecutive year! Recently, the firm’s managing partner, Caroline Munley, was named a “Rising Star Super Lawyer”.

The Super Lawyers designation, which recognizes only 5% of PA attorneys, is compiled through peer review and independent research by Law & Politics. The stringent selection process is widely hailed throughout the legal field for its multi-step evaluation utilizing data gathered through balloting, critical assessment of the attorneys and independent research. The potential nominee’s professional achievements, experience, impact on the industry and peer evaluations determine the final listings.

Gov. Taps NEPA Native for Director of Open Records

Northeast PA’s own, Terry Mutchler, has been chosen by Gov. Ed Rendell to head-up the state’s Office of Open Records. The position was created last February when the state’s open records law, which was considered one of the worst in the country, was overhauled. Basically, the new law says that local and state records will be public, unless specified. Read more about PA Senate Bill 1 here.

Mutchler, an East Stroudsburg native, has a history in both the legal field and the media. She worked as an investigative reporter for the Allentown Morning Call and the Associated Press. During her time at the Morning Call, she was sued for refusing to reveal a confidential source and faced six-months in jail; she was later vindicated in the case, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to accepting Mr. Rendell’s appointment, Atty. Mutchler had been serving as the Illinois’ first Public Records Counselor, where she helped define Illinois’ open records policy.

Her six-year term as Director of this new office will begin in June. Between now and then, she will be working to build and train the office’s staff, get to know the law and implement public policy. Come June, the Director will begin working with government agencies, citizens and the press on open government issues. She will also address disputes over access to the records.

In a release Gov. Rendell said “The Office of Open Records will serve an essential role in helping the public better understand how their government operates. Terry brings the ideal combination of knowledge and experience to her new role as executive director of the office, and I am very pleased to welcome her back to Pennsylvania.”

The current open records law was passed in 1957, and failed to include documents of the PA General Assembly and many financial documents. The new law recognizes that records belong to the public, and that means the burden of proof now falls on an the agency wishing to deny access. Now the public will be able to access most records, with the exception of certain 911 tapes, autopsy and police reports. It also established penalties on individuals or agencies that deny access to records.

Mutchler, who is be making 120K per year, believes her background will help her make a smooth transition into this new position. Read more about her appointment here.

Who Needs Tort Reform When You Have a Functioning Court System?

Proving once more that no tort reform is necessary in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of PA announced yesterday that medical malpractice cases are down 40.8% statewide, and down over 50% in Philadelphia County.

Med mal cases have been on a steady decline since 2003, when a rule change required a medical expert certify all malpractice cases to ensure that there was deviation from the standard of care. The rule change also required cases to be heard in the same county where the alleged harm occurred, which eliminated so-called “venue shopping.”

In a release, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille said, “The latest statistics provide additional evidence that the sharp drop in medical malpractice litigation, which began in 2003, was not a temporary correction, but a sustained response to the procedural rule changes adopted by the Supreme Court and the statutory changes enacted by the General Assembly.” He went on to say that “Ongoing review and enhancements to our procedures will ensure that both plaintiffs and defendants can rely on an accessible court system where professional liability actions are impartially and promptly resolved.”

Read the report released by the PA Supreme Court here.