Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Slip and Fall/Premises Liability:
Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere and can cause serious personal injury. Most slip and falls happen in commercial settings, such as grocery stores, drug stores, office buildings, construction sites, gas stations and malls, but they also happen on private property. Premises Liability accidents can include toxic exposure, animal attacks, swimming pool accidents and amusement park ride accidents. In any event, there exist duties on the part of the property owners to maintain the property responsibly and avoid the existence of hazardous conditions.

Dangerous or defective conditions may be large or small, temporary or permanent. Therefore, investigation of the claim is essential to a successful case.  Temporary conditions such as water on the floor of a grocery store, or snow and ice on the stairs of a restaurant ,need to be investigated quickly.

Automobile Accidents:
A car accident is a collision involving an automobile and anything that causes damage to the automobile, including other automobiles, telephone poles, buildings and trees. Sometimes a car accident may also refer to an automobile striking a human or animal. Car accidents kill an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number.

Workers' Compensation:
Workers' compensation is insurance that an employer is required by law to carry in case an employee is injured on the job or becomes ill, temporarily or permanently disabled, or fatally injured due to circumstances surrounding his or her job.  Although workers' compensation laws vary from state to state, covered medical care generally includes: medical, surgical and hospital services; dental services; crutches; hearing aids; chiropractic treatment; physical therapy; nursing care and prescribed medications.  Additional monetary compensation may be provided if an injured employee is temporarily unable to work for more than a certain number of calendar days set by state law, hospitalized as an in-patient, or becomes permanently disabled due to a job-related injury or illness. The right to receive medical treatment at the employer's expense typically continues as long as treatment is reasonable and necessary to treat the injury. 

Construction/ On-the-Job Accidents:
Construction labor makes up one of the three most dangerous occupations in the United States today; each year producing thousands of debilitating injuries and wrongful deaths. Factors that contribute to construction accidents include workers lifting loads with worn and weathered cables, working on elevated platforms without fall protection or wearing defective safety harnesses and lanyards, and/or working in trenches with improper benching and using outdated tools and equipment. Farming and manufacturing accidents, as well as the oil and gas industry accidents can also cause serious injury and toxic exposure.

• Toxic Exposure: Due to the tremendous growth of corporate industry in the United States over the past fifty years, the number of dangerous, toxic substances in the environment has grown significantly.  Some toxic substances are shown to cause substantial injury to people, such as lead-based paint (linked to brain damage, especially in children), asbestos (linked to lung cancer and restrictive lung disease), dry cleaning and other solvents (linked to brain damage and major organ damage), pesticides such as dioxin and DDT (linked to birth injuries) and toxic landfill waste (linked to leukemia).

Defective Products:
Products liability refers to a manufacturer or seller being held liable for placing a defective product into the hands of a consumer. Products liability cases may include defective or poorly designed machinery, tools, motor vehicle defects, recreational products, pharmaceuticals and other defective products and equipment.  A person injured by a defective or dangerous product may be eligible to file a lawsuit for product liability. Damages can be recovered under one of the following categories:  strict products liability; negligence or breach of warranty.   

Wrongful Death:
A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another individual, company or organization.  A legal action for wrongful death belongs to the decedent's immediate family members, usually a surviving spouse and children, and sometimes parents.  Under certain circumstances, unrelated minor children living with and supported by the decedent may also bring a claim for wrongful death. In order to bring a successful wrongful death cause of action, the following elements must be present:

• The death of a human being caused by another's negligent or intentional conduct.
• The survival of family members who are suffering the loss of financial support, love, care, comfort, supervision, guidance, household assistance and general society previously provided by the deceased.

The general rule in wrongful death cases is that one is entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages which are suffered as a result of the loss of a loved one. Economic damages in a wrongful death case include an award for the financial contributions which the decedent would have made to his or her spouse, children and/or parents had he or she survived. It also includes the recovery for funeral service expenses in memory of the decedent and for burial cost.  Non-economic damages include loss of love, society, companionship, comfort, affection, solace or moral support.

If you or someone you know in the Harrisburg area or across central Pennsylvania needs the legal counsel of an experienced personal injury lawyer, contact Karl Januzzi of Shollenberger & Januzzi, LLP today at 866-776-4712, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following information includes frequently asked personal injury questions. The answers stated are general in nature and are not intended to apply to every situation. Each case is different and carries its own set of circumstances which must be taken into consideration by competent legal counsel. If you or someone you know in the Harrisburg area or across central Pennsylvania needs the legal counsel of an experienced personal injury lawyer, contact Karl Januzzi of Shollenberger & Januzzi, LLP today at 866-776-4712, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

What is a tort?
A tort is a civil wrong recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. Torts fall into three general categories: intentional torts (e.g., intentionally hitting a person); negligent torts (e.g., causing an accident by failing to obey traffic rules); and strict liability torts (e.g., liability for making and selling defective products). These wrongs result in an injury or harm constituting the basis for a claim by the injured party (tort litigation).

What is personal injury?
Personal injury is any physical or mental injury to a person that results from another person's negligence or harmful act. Personal injury involves civil law cases as opposed to criminal law cases which involve a defendant and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Personal injury can occur in a wide variety of ways. The following are some of the most common accidents resulting in personal injury:

• Auto Accidents
• Other Vehicle Accidents (Aviation, Bicycle, Boat, Motorcycle, Railroad, Truck)
• Burn Accidents
• Construction/On the Job Accidents
• Dangerous or Defective Products 
• Dog/Animal Bites
• Medical Malpractice (Birth Injuries, Misdiagnosis, Surgical Negligence)
• Nursing home abuse and Neglect
• Slip and Fall Accidents/Premises Liability
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Toxic Exposure
• Traumatic Brain Injury

How do I prove negligence?
The burden of proof in a personal injury case is on the plaintiff.  In order for a plaintiff to obtain any type of recovery, the following four things need to be proved:

• The defendant had a legal duty to act or not act.
• There was a breach of that duty.
• The defendant's breach resulted in an injury to the plaintiff.
• Actual damages resulted from the breach.

A plaintiff must show this by a preponderance of the evidence. Basically, the plaintiff need only prove that a majority of the evidence shows that an injury was caused by the defendant's negligent actions.

What is the statute of limitations?
Every state has certain time limits, called "statutes of limitations," that govern the period during which you must file a personal injury lawsuit. In some states, for example, you may have as little as one year to file a lawsuit from an automobile accident.  When the statute of limitations expires on your case, you simply don't have a case anymore. Statutes of limitations differ not only from state to state, but also in regard to the kinds of lawsuits involved. In some states, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice, suits against governmental agencies and wrongful death actions is shorter than that for other types of personal injury cases. In general, however, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is from one to three years, and the time begins from the time of the accident. There are some circumstances that will toll the statute of limitations such as if the harm is not discovered right away.

What should I do if I've been injured in a slip and fall accident?
The first thing that a person should do if injured in a slip and fall accident is get medical attention if necessary. If no medical attention is necessary, make sure the owner of the property is aware of the incident. Most businesses and homeowners carry liability insurance to protect them in the event that someone is injured while on their property. The owner or possessor of a residence, land, or place of business has the duty to exercise reasonable care for the protection of those individuals who are invited to come upon the premises; i.e. individuals visiting for business or pleasure.  In such cases, the owner, company or person must inspect the premises to discover any dangerous conditions and warn the invitee of dangers upon said premises. Those injured by a negligent owner or possessor of a premise may recover damages for their injuries, including loss of income, medical expenses, pain and suffering, etc.

What is wrongful death?
Wrongful death occurs when a person's death was caused by the negligent, willful or wrongful act of another, such as careless driving or a deliberate murder. In most, if not all states, there was no common law right to recover civil damages for the wrongful death of a person. All states have now enacted statutes to create a right to such recovery.  The issue of liability will be determined by the tort law of the state the claim is filed in.

Timothy A. Shollenberger, Attorney

EDUCATION:

• Dickinson School of Law, J.D., 1981
• Dickinson College , summa cum laude, 1978

COURTS ADMITTED:

•  Pennsylvania Courts 
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Dauphin County Bar Association
• Cumberland County Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association 
• American Trial Lawyers
• Pennsylvania Bar Institute Lecturer

Karl Januzzi, Attorney

EDUCATION:

• Widener University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1992
• King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania , B.A., magna cum laude, 1976

COURTS ADMITTED:

• Pennsylvania courts
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Dauphin County Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association
• Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Political Action Committee

 Adam T. Wolfe, Associate

EDUCATION:

• Widener School of Law , 2005
• York College of Pennsylvania

COURTS ADMITTED:

• Pennsylvania Courts
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• American Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Dauphin County Bar Association
• Cumberland County Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association