Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney Talks About Philadelphia Personal Injury Dead Man's Act

This is the second in a series of articles about the Dead Man's Act. "The purpose of the Statute is to prevent the injustice that may result from permitting a surviving party to a transaction to give testimony favorable to himself and adverse to the decedent, which the decedent's representative would be in no position to refute by reason of the decedent's death." Weschler v. Carroll, 578 A.2d 13, 15 (Pa. Super. 1990). Since David Edwards is unable to testify as to the events just prior to his being run over by defendants' tractor-trailer, a great injustice will result if defendant, Nicolas Pinger is permitted to testify adversely to David Edwards. Similarly, defendant must not be permitted to offer expert testimony regarding the collision between defendants' truck and the decedent based on information provided by defendant, Nicolas Pinger. Such testimony would be impermissibly based on information barred from evidence by the "Dead Man's Act".

Defendants should be precluded from offering any trial testimony regarding the collision between defendants' truck and the decedent from defendant, Nicolas Pinger because such testimony is barred by the "Dead Man's Act". Similarly, under the "Dead Man's Act", defendants should be precluded from offering at trial any expert testimony regarding the collision between defendants' truck and the decedent based on information provided by defendant, Nicolas Pinger.

Although the Act is most frequently applied in estates cases, it is also applicable to preclude testimony about the circumstances of an accident with a decedent. See Lyons v. Bodek's Estate, 142 A.2d 199 (Pa. 1958); Weschler, supra. Defendants in personal injury cases commonly assert the protections of the Act to defend actions brought against a decedent. If a negligent motorist can escape liability for inflicting injury, certainly the Act is available to assist the estate of a deceased in seeking compensation under the Wrongful Death and Survival Acts.

Get Cheap Car Insurance in Philadelphia - Here Is How

Cheap car insurance in Philadelphia relies heavily on a number of factors. A Pennsylvania car insurance company will ask questions and request information about:

o Your driving record (number of points, violations, at-fault accidents)

o Your gender, age, and the number of years you've been driving (older females with several years driving experience tend to get the cheapest rates)

o Your vehicle (make, model, year, additional safety and anti-theft features)

o Your location (high crime rate, low crime rate)

o Where you store your vehicle when not driving it (especially important if you live in an area with a high crime rate)

o Your credit history (which may take a year or so to repair if it's not quite impressive)

Cheap car insurance in Philadelphia is affected by these factors, but drivers can change several of them. For example, you can move to a safer neighborhood or begin storing your vehicle in a safer place; purchase a safer vehicle or add safety features to your existing vehicle; and work on improving your driving record and credit score.

You'll just have to wait for some factors to change on their own, though. You'll eventually grow older, and you'll begin to rack up years of driving experience as you grow older. Pennsylvania car insurance companies view older, more experienced drivers as being less risky to insure than younger, less experienced drivers. Don't worry though - once you get a few years experience and age behind you, you'll have a better chance at cheap car insurance in Philadelphia.

One factor can't be changed: your gender. Sure, you can undergo a sex change operation, but doing so in order to get cheap car insurance in Philadelphia? It's highly unlikely this is a route you'll take. Based on statistics, female drivers are safer drivers than male drivers. Don't be discouraged: just because you're male does not mean you can't be viewed as a safe driver, too.