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PA defendant: court should strike recklessness allegations

There are many dangers that Pottsville residents often hear of on the nightly news and in daily conversations with others. And yet, while these dangers may seize headlines and be interesting subjects for water cooler conversation, the reality is that individuals are typically more at risk of being injured by careless drivers when they engage in everyday activities like driving to and from work.

When individuals suffer injuries as a result of a car accident, they have legal recourse available to hold the other driver accountable. Namely, individuals can file a personal injury lawsuit to obtain an award of damages against the other driver, which can be vital to paying for medical expenses, loss of wages and other expenses suffered as a result of the crash.

This is not to say that the other driver will not contest the allegations, however. Individuals who are sued for causing a crash often defend their driving and claim they did nothing wrong, while trying to place the blame on the injured party. Accordingly, the lawsuit is a process in which these factual and legal issues will be determined, and different steps are taken during the course of the lawsuit to try to argue each side’s case.

For instance, a defendant in an ongoing Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit recently filed a motion asking the court to strike allegations of recklessness from the complaint. The defendant claimed the allegations were severely prejudicial to the defendant and that the defendant lacked the necessary information to prepare a defense to the allegations.

It remains to be seen how the motion will be ruled on by the court, or how the case will be resolved. But the motion is an example of the types of issues that are decided during the course of the lawsuit. It is important that individuals understand these steps, and the strategy behind them, to fully enforce their rights in the lawsuit and obtain relief.

Source: Penn Record, “Defense counsel wants recklessness allegations stricken from car accident suit,” Nicholas Malfitano, Feb. 26, 2016

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