Some law firms get their clients reasonable compensation for a personal injury. But not all lawyers are mindful of the broader social impact in the form of policy changes, product improvements, infrastructure repairs or medical device advanced that can result from their work.
At Kline & Specter, PC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, our personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys believe that when we also win a significant public safety improvement, that’s a win for society at large.
Many of our major case victories resulted in such important public safety improvements that impacted many people beyond our clients. Consider the good that ultimately came out of a preventable tragedy that unfolded in Hempfield, PA on June 2, 2009. Carrie Goretzka was a 39-year-old mother who stood on her front lawn that fateful day when a West Penn Power Co. power line — the same power about which Carrie’s husband, Michael Goretzka, had previously complained to the electric company — fell on top of and electrocuted Carrie Goretzka in front of her two young daughters. She died three days later.
The trial resulted in the largest contested liability personal injury verdict and settlement in Pennsylvania history.
But what came after the trial was a more lasting success: Founding Partner Shanin Specter convinced the Enforcement Bureau of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to require that West Penn Power Co. thoroughly survey and repair all of its power lines and retrain its linemen, a move that potentially prevented many more live-wire accidents.
When you need a personal injury attorney who considers the law’s public impact in addition to winning lawsuits, please contact Kline & Specter, PC, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to schedule your free case consultation: 800-243-1100.
