A drunk man crosses the street in dark clothes, in the middle of the night, is hit by a car, and at trial is awarded $400,000.
Why did a judge award $400,000 to a person crossing the street (not at a crosswalk), while intoxicated, in the dark, and wearing dark clothing?
The driver was driving on the highway at 60 miles per hour and claimed she never saw the pedestrian until after she hit him. She gave this statement to the police and to her insurance company immediately after the accident.
At first glance, it may seem to be the pedestrian’s fault for all the above reasons, however, as was argued at trial, a driver has a duty to always be paying attention to the road in front of her. If a driver does not see a 6-foot 2-inches drunk man in the middle of the street in front of her, then she is primarily at fault and the cause of the accident. This commonsense, albeit not necessarily intuitive, rule has been memorialized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the matter of Carney vs. SEPTA, where it stated, “a wrongdoer may not avoid liability by saying he did not see what was plainly visible to him.” (more…)
ThePhillyLawyers and the Law Offices of R. Emmett Madden Esquire are pleased to announce that after a precedent setting year of successes, both in the personal injury and criminal defense courts, we have once again received the honor of being named a Philadelphia Super Lawyer. As featured in the most recent Philadelphia Magazine issue (June, 2017) and in Super Lawyers Magazine, we continue with record-breaking verdicts for those injured in major catastrophes, including building collapses, and serious truck, car, and motorcycle accidents. This includes our victory representing the lead witness and Plaintiff in the largest civil settlement in Philadelphia history, $227 million dollars. Read here and here.
In the field of criminal defense, we have obtained numerous not guilty verdicts for clients wrongly accused of rape, indecent deviant sexual intercourse, burglary, robbery, and other charges—which only after a full trial were our clients exonerated.
We are honored to receive this award once again and look forward to continuing serving those most in need.
Is a DUI a felony? The simple answer is “no.” In Pennsylvania, driving under the influence is not a felony. Driving under the influence is always a misdemeanor.
There are, however, some important clarifications. The real question is why do you need to know if a DUI is a felony
Are you concerned because you believe that your DUI is more serious than others and therefore may be considered a felony?
There are many factors that make certain DUIs seem far more serious than others. The first is:
Driving under the influence while causing an accident and causing serious bodily injury to another is in fact a felony. Under circumstances where you cause an accident, or even if you do not cause the accident, but you are driving under the influence, you can be charged with and found guilty of a felony. Charges are even worse if the injuries you caused to another person are serious bodily injuries. You may be looking at a far greater sentence and a felony conviction if you are charged with driving under the influence and causing serious bodily injury to another person. (more…)
