Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates Leads to Reduced Lung Function in Children, Study Finds

A study recently released by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, and published in Environmental Pollution, has found that prenatal exposure to phthalates can lead to reduced lung function in children. This study found that these chemicals, which are in many consumer goods (including some given to children), can severely impact a child’s development, leading to long-term health problems. While heavily restricted, the phthalate use remains legal in the United States for some purposes.

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Gerald J. Williams Urges Those Who Were Stationed at or Lived Near Camp Lejeune to Seek Legal Compensation for Their Illnesses

Gerald J. Williams, Partner, Williams Cedar LLP, says that any member of the United States Marine Corps or their family members who became seriously ill after being at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, or anyone who lived or worked near the base, may qualify for significant compensation, thanks to a new federal law.

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Study Says Nine Million Killed Every Year By Environmental Pollution

According to a recent study, as many as nine million people every year are killed around the world as a result of environmental pollution. The total cost to the global economy as a result of this pollution is estimated to be around $4.6 trillion per year, resulting from health care costs and other expenses caused by unmitigated pollution. While Africa is the hardest hit region in the world, there are still many places in America where people are sickened and killed by pollution every year.

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Banana Boat Recalls Hair and Scalp Sunscreen Due to Benzene Contamination

Banana Boat has issued a recall for its Hair and Scalp Sunscreen after trace amounts of benzene were detected in three batches of the product. This recall is meant to protect people from unintentional exposure to the toxic chemical, which can make them seriously sick, or even kill people in high enough doses. Anyone who has one of the affected batches of sunscreen should cease use of them and discard them immediately.

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Important New Law Extends Rights of New Jersey Residents with Car Insurance

Governor Murphy Signs Car Insurance Bill

All New Jersey consumers can celebrate a colossal legislative victory as The Insurance Fair Conduct Act is now law in New Jersey, thanks to Governor Philip Murphy’s signing the act on January 18, 2022. The bill provides car insurance consumers a right to sue their insurance companies if the carriers act in bad faith and deny, delay, or underpay legitimate claims in uninsured and underinsured motorist cases.

Individuals with New Jersey automobile insurance who are injured in a motor vehicle accident and entitled to uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, who are unreasonably denied a claim for coverage or payment of benefits or who experiences an unreasonable delay for coverage or payment of benefits, may recover actual damages, prejudgment interest, reasonable attorney’s fees, and all reasonable litigation expenses.

Actual damages include, but are not limited to, actual trial verdict amounts.  However, the verdict amount cannot exceed three (3) times the applicable uninsured or underinsured coverage amount.  If a trial verdict amount is greater than three (3) times the applicable coverage amount, the damages will be set at three (3) times the coverage amount.

The attorneys at Williams Cedar, LLC have decades of experience with successful trials and litigation of uninsured and underinsured motorist claims against car insurance companies, securing maximum cash settlements and verdicts for our clients.  We will be happy to discuss your potential claims against insurance companies for their unreasonable denial or unreasonable delay of your claim for coverage or payment of uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits.

If you would like to discuss your potential Insurance Fair Conduct claims and potential damages, please contact our office at (856) 470-9777.  This discussion with one of our attorneys will be free of any charge. You may also email our office at dcedar@williamscedar.com or request a consultation here.

Slip and Fall Case Yields $1.3 Million Verdict for Client

water contamination in National Park, NJ

Sklarsky Delivers for Clients as Lead Trial Counsel

On January 29, 2020, a Mercer County jury returned a verdict of $1.3 million against a subsidiary of Comcast in Scott v. Global Spectrum. Williams Cedar partners Alan SklarskyDavid Cedar, and Kevin Haverty handled the slip and fall case with Sklarsky serving as lead trial counsel.  On his way from attending a concert on Valentine’s Day 2015, plaintiff Terrence Scott fell at the former Sun Bank Arena (now the Cure Arena) in Trenton on an icy, snow-covered area at the facility, managed by Global Spectrum. He suffered a torn rotator cuff, requiring open surgery and internal fixation. Plaintiffs alleged that Global Spectrum failed to implement and maintain proper snow and ice removal procedures, and had, in fact, failed to make egress safe after a blizzard occurred while the concert was in progress. Global Spectrum asserted that, despite its status as the commercial tenant of the property (owned by Mercer County), it had no duty to remove snow and ice from the lot and had obtained a dismissal of the claims against it before the Superior Court. However, the Appellate Division reversed it, and the slip and fall case was remanded for trial.

Evidence at trial established that Global Spectrum had hired an insufficient number of workers to cover all walkways and paths at the arena and had deployed its few pieces of snow removal equipment in areas other than that traveled by plaintiff. The jury heard four days of testimony including that of Mr. Scott’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Laura Ross, who described the permanence and likely future effects of Mr. Scott’s injury. The jury deliberated for several hours before returning its verdict. It found Global Spectrum 100% liable and awarded $1,250,000 in compensatory damages to Terence Scott and $50,000 in consortium damages to his wife Suzanne. Because the verdict exceeded the amount of a pretrial offer of judgment, plaintiffs are also entitled to seek an additional award of attorney fees and litigation expenses.

If you or a loved one fell on a slick or icy surface due to a property owner’s negligence, our slip and fall lawyers at Williams Cedar will advise you on the best course of legal action. Call us today at 215-557-0099 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. We proudly serve clients throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and nationwide from our offices in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.