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Messa & Associates, P.C. Secures $568k Verdict on Behalf of Disfigured Dog‐Bite Vic m
On Monday, September 24, 2018, a orney Bre M. Furber of Messa & Associates secured a $568,375 verdict on behalf of his client, three‐year‐old Will Irrgang, and his parents Craig Irrgang and Kate Ginty, against the American Sardine Bar, Inc., a er Will received disfiguring injuries as the result of a dog‐bite on American Sardine Bar’s outdoor pa o.
On October 7, 2016, Craig Irrgang and Kate Ginty visited Ameri‐can Sardine Bar (ASB) at 18th and Federal Streets with their 17‐month‐old son, Will. The three sat inside and a er ordering, Craig and Will took a walk to the outdoor pa o. Prior to their arrival, a Labrador/Beagle/Pitbull named Dover arrived with his
handler, who warned ASB that Dover was unfriendly. ASB made no efforts to remove the dog from the premises, viola ng their own policy that aggressive or unfriendly dogs are prohibited from the pa o. Once outside, Craig and Will saw Dover and moved to the back of the pa o. Craig asked Dover’s handler if he was friendly, to which he replied, “yes, very friendly.” Craig and Will knelt down and Dover a acked.
Dover bit off a 1.6” piece of Will’s ear which was not re‐a ached. A plas c surgeon who consulted with Will’s parents at Children’s Hospital informed them that once Will is older, he will be eligible for an op onal procedure to restore that part of his ear, though it will never have the same appearance as it did pre‐injury.
In addi on to his physical injuries, Will also suffers from emo onal distress as a result of the accident, including a fear of dogs.
The Philadelphia jury found American Sardine Bar, Inc. 59% liable for Will’s injuries. The jury awarded Will and his parents $568,375 in damages.
The plain ffs were represented at trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Bre M. Furber, Esq. Pre‐trial se lements with the dog’s owner and handler were nego ated by Ramon A. Arreola, Esq.
THE
LEGAL OUTLOOK October 2018 | Volume 10 | Issue 10
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w.M
essaLaw
.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE A orney Kwak
celebrates five years
Manahawkin, NJ mammogram problems
Almost 7 million pounds of beef recalled
Around the Office
“My strength did not come from lifting
weights. My strength came from lifting
myself up when I was knocked down.”
BOB MOORE
FOLLOW AND INTERACT WITH US ONLINE
URGENT FDA WARNING:
MAMMOGRAPHY PROBLEMS AT A
MANAHAWKIN, NJ IMAGING CENTER
On September 24th, the FDA issued a “Safety
Communica on” regarding Aims Diagnos c Imaging,
located in Manahawkin, NJ. Pa ents who had
mammograms at Aims Diagnos c any me on or a er
June 15, 2017 are being made aware of possible
problems with the quality of their mammograms.
According to the FDA’s announcement,
“This does not mean the results of the mammograms
were inaccurate, but it does mean that health care
providers and pa ents should consider having these
mammograms re‐evaluated at a Mammography Quality
Standards Act (MQSA)‐cer fied facility to determine if a
repeat mammogram or addi onal medical follow‐up is
needed.”
The results of the FDA’s annual Mammography Quality
Standards Act (MQSA) Inspec on at Aims Diagnos c
Imaging revealed that required quality control tests
were not performed a er June 15, 2017, compromising
the quality of mammograms performed therea er. This
failure to operate in compliance with MQSA forced the
FDA to move to no fy affected pa ents.
Addi onally, Aims Diagnos c Imaging failed to comply
with an Addi onal Mammography Review order by not
submi ng the required mammograms. As a result, the
facility lost its accredita on by the American College of
Radiology on September 17, 2018.
Because the facility is non‐compliant with MQSA and
has lost its accredita on, the FDA has placed Aims’
MQSA in “no longer in effect” status. As of September
19, 2018, the facility can no longer legally perform
mammograms.
Women who received mammography services from
Aims on or a er June 15, 2017 are urged to contact
their physicians to determine if their imaging results
should be re‐evaluated.
Last month, a orney Megan M. Kwak celebrated her
five‐year anniversary with Messa & Associates!
Ms. Kwak joined the firm in September 2013. Since then, she has
become an essen al part of our team of a orneys, serving as
co‐counsel for some of the biggest se lements the firm has
secured in the last five years, including an $18.5M medical
malprac ce se lement, an $8M products liability se lement, a
$5.25M wrongful death se lement, and a $5.2M motor vehicle
se lement. In addi on to her dedicated work for clients, Ms.
Kwak also provides expert prepara on of seminar, conference,
and CLE presenta ons.
Megan Kwak was selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
Rising Stars list in 2018 and was chosen last year by The Na onal
Trial Lawyers “Top 40 Under 40.” Congrats, Meg!
“My favorite part of this job is that I get to work hard every day for
something I believe in so strongly. I love being on the side of vic ms and
helping them put their lives back together a er dealing with terrible
tragedies, and I get to do it every day with a team of a orneys who feel
as passionately as I do about securing jus ce for our clients’ injuries.”
SEVEN MILLION POUNDS
OF BEEF RECALLED
The US Department of Food Safety and Inspec on Services (FSIS) has
announced a massive recall of nearly 7lbs of raw beef products
produced by JBS Tolleson, Inc., due to poten al salmonella
contamina on. Recalled beef products include na onwide brands
Walmart, Cedar River Farms, and Showcase. FSIS urges all affected
customers to either dispose of the poten ally contaminated beef or
return it to its place of purchase for a refund. Salmonella symptoms
include abdominal cramps, fever, and diarrhea.
UnderstandingthePennsylvaniaCourtSystem
By Lee D. Rosenfeld
W hen faced with a legal controversy that requires
li ga on, it is important to
understand where your dispute may be
filed and decided. Pennsylvania’s court
system is presently organized into various
levels and the courts in each level have
“jurisdic on” or power to only preside
over specific disputes.
Before the year 1700, our judicial system
consisted of mainly local courts which
were inherited from England and
established by William Penn. During that
me, final “appeals” were brought to
England. However, that changed with the
Judiciary Act of 1722, which established
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and
Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia,
Bucks, and Chester coun es. More than
fi y years later, Pennsylvania’s
Cons tu on of 1776 established Courts of
Common Pleas and Orphans' Courts in
each Pennsylvania county. Our modern
system solidified in 1968, when
Pennsylvania reorganized its judiciary into
the “Unified Judicial System” consis ng of
the Supreme, Superior, and
Commonwealth Courts; Courts of
Common Pleas; Philadelphia Municipal
Courts; Pi sburgh Municipal Courts;
Philadelphia Traffic Courts; and
Magisterial District Courts.
MAGISTERIALDISTRICTCOURTSIn every county except Philadelphia, the
lowest level courts are called Magisterial
District Courts. These courts have
specific, limited jurisdic on, which means
they can only hear certain smaller
ma ers. Historically, these courts were
“jus ce of the peace” posts, which dealt
only with local controversies and other
minor issues. Today, with a different
name, these courts have the same
func on: they preside over preliminary
hearings and arraignments in
misdemeanor criminal cases; they
func on as small claims courts and also
set ini al bail (except in murder cases).
Common cases before these courts also
include landlord/tenant disputes, rou ne
traffic viola ons, and civil cases that have
controversies worth less than $12,000. In
Philadelphia County and Pi sburgh, these
courts are known as the “Philadelphia
Municipal Court” and “Pi sburgh
Municipal Court”.
COURTOFCOMMONPLEASThe next highest‐level courts in
Pennsylvania are Courts of Common
Pleas. These are trial courts of general
jurisdic on. They have what is called
original jurisdic on to try certain ma ers,
and appellate jurisdic on to rule upon
judgments from lower courts and local
governmental agency decisions. Courts of
Common Pleas hear trials of all types of
civil ma ers; family cases (adop on, di‐
vorce, child custody, child support, abuse
and neglect); orphans’ court ma ers
including trusts and estates; criminal
ma ers; zoning and other municipal
appeals; and appeals from Magisterial
District cases. SUPERIORCOURTANDCOMMONWEALTHCOURTThe next level courts are the intermediate
“appellate courts” which have jurisdic on
to hear appeals from the Courts of
Common Pleas. There are two such
courts—the Superior Court, which
handles general appeals—and the
Commonwealth Court, which hears
appeals of designated cases involving
state agencies or involving governmental
issues. In addi on, the Commonwealth
Court func ons as a trial court in certain
civil ac ons filed by or against the
Commonwealth and cases regarding
statewide elec ons.
PENNSYLVANIASUPREMECOURTPennsylvania’s Supreme Court is the
highest‐level appellate court and hears
direct appeals from the Superior and
Commonwealth Courts. Importantly, it
has limited jurisdic on but almost
unlimited power because it is not
required to hear any appeals. Instead,
under Pennsylvania’s Cons tu on, the
Supreme Court has the power to decide
for itself which appeals it resolves. Case
selec on is based upon whether appeals
deal with issues of par cular importance
or controversial/novel legal issues. This
court meets in Philadelphia, Pi sburgh,
and Harrisburg. It consists of seven
Jus ces, each elected to ten‐year terms.
Judicial candidates run on party ckets
and the jus ce with the longest
con nuous service automa cally becomes
Chief Jus ce. All Jus ces must leave the
Supreme Court when they reach 75 years
old. However, they may con nue to serve
part‐ me as Senior Jus ces on lower
appellate courts un l age 78, the age of
mandatory re rement.
Naviga ng Pennsylvania’s Court system is
not an easy task and should not be done
without the help of an experienced
a orney. At Messa & Associates, we
rou nely li gate cases in each of
Pennsylvania’s courts and stand ready to
assist you with any of your legal needs.
Lee D. Rosenfeld serves as Managing
Partner and as lead a orney of the
MVA/Premises Department at Messa
& Associates. He represents injured
vic ms in PA and NJ.
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PHILADELPHIA 123 S 22nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19103 P: 215-568-3500
CHERRY HILL 2091 Springdale Rd. , Ste. 2
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 P: 856-810-9500
AROUND THE OFFICE
Love and Congratula ons to Recep onist, Lisa Lopez, and her wife, Janise, who celebrated 25 years together last month! The two celebrated by renewing their marriage vows at The Free Church of St. John in Kensington and invited family and friends to join them in the a ernoon for food and fun.
This October, we wish a Happy, Happy Birthday to a orney Angelo Thedosopoulos who celebrates his birthday on October 4th, and to paralegal April Garcia, who celebrates October 15th.
Happy Birthday!!
Many congratula ons to a orney Jus n Groen and his wife, Kim, on the birth of their third child, Sander Harris Groen. Sander was born Friday, October 5th and Mom, Dad, big brother, and big sister are so excited about their new addi on. Best wishes and congratula ons to the Groen family.
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GERMANTOWN 6000-6002 Germantown Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19144 P: 215-844-1614
PITTSTON 309 Wyoming Ave Pittston, PA 18643
P: 570-883-0800
CONSHOHOCKEN 923 Fayette St.
Conshohocken, PA 19246 P: 215-940-7700
LINWOOD
605 New Road Linwood, NJ 08221
P: 609-601-1644
ROSELLE 520 West First Ave Roselle, NJ 07203
P: 908-300-3900
COLLINGSWOOD 475 White Horse Pike
Collingswood, NJ 08107 P:877-637-7252