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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-4402WAYNE F. SHADE IN RE: MADELEINE K. STIER, a minor, by DEBORAH L. STIER and GARY R. STIER, her Parents and : Natural Guardians, and : DEBORAH L. STIER, Individually,: Petitioners : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW NO. CIVIL 2003 parents and natural guardians of Madeleine K. Stier, a minor, respectfully represents, as follows: Petitioners DEBORAH L. STIER and GARY R. STIER are adult individuals and parents and natural guardians of their daughter, Madeleine K. Stier. 2. The said Madeleine K. Stier resides with Petitioner Deborah L. Stier at 105 Yates Street, Mt. Holly Springs, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17065. 3. Petitioner Gary lt. Stier resides at 137 South Concord Terrace, Galloway, New Jersey 08205. The Petition of DEBORAH L. STIER and GARY R. STIER, wife and husband, as TO THE HONORABLE, THE JUDGES OF SAID COURT: PETITION FOR COURT APPROVAL OF COMPROMISE SETTLEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF PROCEEDS WAYNE F. SHADE Ailorney at Law 53 West Pomfrct Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Madeleine K. Stier (hereinafter "Madeleine") is a minor who was born on March 3, 1990, and will, accordingly, reach adulthood on March 3, 2008. 5. On May 6, 2001, at approximately 5:15 P.M., Madeleine was walking alone along a private lane from her residence to Pennsylvania Route 34 in South Middleton Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 6. As she passed a house owned by Ronald J. Nickel and Melva C. Nickel, she became the victim of a tragic, brutal and unprovoked attack by a pair of large, vicious, unlicensed part-Rottweiler, mixed-breed dogs that had been permitted to escape the cage in which they had been confined on the property ofRonald J. Nickel and Melva C. Nickel. 7. Before the owner of the dogs was able to get the animals offMadeleine, she was terrified. She was bleeding profusely. She thought that she was going to die. 8, As a result of the attack, Madeleine suffered multiple bites over various parts of her body from her head to her legs. -2- o The wounds to Madeleine's right leg have left a prominent, permanent scar more than two inches in length, but her injuries have left no permanent physical disability as confirmed in the report of Thomas J. Green, M.D., which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth. 10. Petitioner Deborah L. Stier has incurred thc following medical expenses as to which she will be required to make subrogation as set forth in Exhibit "B" which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth. (a) Carlisle Hospital $329.40 (b) RWC Corporation 209.70 (c) Appalachian Orthopedic Center, Ltd. 75.00 (d) Appalachian Orthopedic Center, Ltd. 50.00 (e) Appalachian Orthopedic Center, Ltd. 40.00 (f) Appalachian Orthopedic Center, Ltd. 50.00 TOTAL $754.10 11. Petitioner Deborah L. Stier has incurred the following unreimbursed medical expenses: WAYNE F. SHADE Atlomey at Law 53 West Porafret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania -3- WAYNE F. SHADE Attorney at Law 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 (a) Co-pays (b) Dressings, bandages and pharmaceuticals TOTAL $314.00 189.59 $503.59 12. Counsel for Petitioners has advanced the following expenses in pursuing the claims for compensation herein: (a) Appalachian Orthopedic Center, Ltd., office chart and medical report (b) Guidance Associates of Pennsylvania, psychological evaluation (c) ChartONE, Inc., hospital chart (d) Infinity Print Graphics, color photocopies (e) Borough of Mt. Holly Springs, police report and photographs (f) Prothonotary, filing fee TOTAL $384.12 50.00 29.62 2.93 75,00 55.50 $597.17 13. Counsel for Petitioners was retained upon a contingent fee basis in which it was agreed that he would retain as his fee twenty-five (25%) percent of the total of any settlement of the claims of Petitioners in advance of the preparation and filing of a Complaint. -4- WAYNE F. SHADE 14. The contingent fee agreement further provided that, in the event that a structured settlement were reached, counsel fees would be computed upon the basis of the present value of the structured settlement at the time of settlement and would be due and payable at the time of settlement. 15. Counsel for Petitioners has negotiated a structured settlement with Erie Insurance Group, the liability insurance carrier for Ronald J. Nickel and Melva C. Nickel. 16. The structured settlement will be guaranteed by Erie Insurance Group and Erie Indemnity Company, and the annuity will be purchased through Erie Family Life Insurance Company. 17. The structured settlement will consist of the following guaranteed payments with a present value of $35,000: (a) Present lump sum $11,669.00 (b) March 3,2008 7,305.00 (c) March 3, 2009 7,305.00 (d) March 3, 2010 7,305.00 -5- WAYNE F. SHADE Attorney at Law 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 (e) March 3,2011 7,305.00 TOTAL $40,889.00 18. Petitioners aver that the balance of the present lump sum distribution of the structured settlement in the amount of $1,252.07 should be distributed to Petitioner Deborah L. Stier as the mother and primary custodial parent of Madeleine for her present benefit because the amount is not sufficiently substantial to require its deposit in an interest bearing account. 19. Counsel and Petitioners recommend approval of the settlement for the reason that, after the expense of trial, the risk of a lesser verdict is not justified by the prospects of a greater verdict. WHEREFORE, Petitioners pray that your Honorable Court enter an Order approving the compromise settlement and ordering distribution, as follows: (a) Atlanticare Administrators, Inc., subrogation net of counsel fees (b) Deborah L. Stier for unreimbursed medical expenses (c) Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, costs advanced (d) Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, attorney fees $565.57 504.19 597.17 8,750.00 -6- (e) Deborah L. Stier, for the benefit of Madeleine K. Stier (f) Structured settlement annuity TOTAL 1,252.07 29,220.O0 $40,889.00 Supreme Court No. 15712 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Telephone: 717-243-0220 Attorney for Petitioners WAYNE F. SHADE Attorney at Law 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 -7- The statements in the foregoing Petition are based upon information which has been assembled by our attorney in this litigation. The language of the statements is not our own. We have read the statements; and to the extent that they are based upon information which we have given to our counsel, they are true and correct to the best of our knowledge, information and belief. We understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. §4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Date: September 5, 2003 Deb~%~er/' WAYNE F. SHADE Attorney at Law 53 West Pomfrct Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 The statements in the foregoing Petition are based upon information which has been assembled by our attorney in this litigation. The language of the statements is not our own. We have read the statements; and to the extent that they are based upon information which we have given to our counsel, they are true and correct to the best of our knowledge, information and belief. We understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. §4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Date: WAYNE F. SHADE Attorney at Law 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Thomas J. Green, M.D. Daniel R Heiy, M.D, John C. Rodgers, M.D. APPALACHIAN ORTHOPEI31C C£NT£R, LTD. 1 Dunwoody Drive Carl~e, PA 17013 Telephone: (717} 249-6112 [717} 243-1414 Fax'. [717} 249-6235 (717} 243-2522 May 1, 2002 Wayne F. Shade Attorney At Law 55 W. Pomfret St. Carlisle, Pa. 17013 Re: Madeline K. Stier Dear Mr. Shade: Thank you for your letter of April 19, 2002. Madeline Stier was an 11 year-old girl who presented to my office 5/8/01 for evaluation and treatment of dog bites which she sustained the previous Sunday, the result of being bitten multiple times by 2 dogs. She had multiple puncture wounds from dog bites of both calves and a repaired 6cm. laceration of the right medial gastrocnemius muscle of the calf. She had pain and decreased range of motion of the ankle and toes but vascularity and sensation were intact. Passive range of motion in the hip was normal. There was no sign of infection of these multiple puncture and laceration wounds. There was also an injury around the right hip which also did not appear infected and the hip had free range of motion as did the knee, She gave a history that the 2 Rottweilers were normally under control, got out through an open gate. One week later, on 5/15/01, the wounds of the right calf, the left calf, left thigh and right thigh, right upper back, right mid back and left upper arm, face and hands were all examined. The patient had no elevated temperature and did not appear pale or toxic. There were no dog bites or other lesions about the head or neck and there was no evidence of trauma about the head or neck. Marks on the upper extremities included areas of the biceps and triceps muscle on both the left and the right side. Bites on the torso included areas around the scapula, both sides, which were still swollen and erythematous at that time. There was no evidence of any bites on the buttock but there were bites on the trochanteric region on the right, a large puncture wound without swelling, The calf wounds remained intact as did the vascularity and sensation. She was off antibiotics at 10 days post injury and did not develop further symptoms of infection. By 5/22/01, the bites were well enough to allow her to go swimming at the Y. By the third month post injury, on August 20~h, she had pain following a hike at camp. This was a 30 minute hike at the end of which she had pain along the right tibia. The right leg was the area of the largest injury. Tenderness extended from the proximal third to the distal third middle third junction and she occasionally was getting pains from the groin down along the inner aspect of the upper leg, knee and lower leg to the ankle. The distribution of these pains was that of the greater saphenous nerve and there was a puncture wound in the vicinity of the greater saphenous nerve. She was, in my view, experiencing greater saphenous nerve symptoms at 3 months following the dog bites. In November, some 6 months following the episode, she was able to run cross country, had minor touchiness about the right calf and we discussed the possibility of plastic surgery on the right calf. The irritation of the greater saphenous nerve had resolved and I referred her to Dr. Larry Thompson for evaluation of possible plastic surgery on the calf. EXHIBIT "A" Madeline Stier May 1,2002 Page 1. At this time, it is my feeling that there is not likely to be any permanent residual limitations to this injury and I'm not certain whether or not future medical treatment should be rendered and perhaps the opinion of Dr. Larry Thompson would be of value. I have not discussed with Madeline or her family the implications that this injury may have or may have had on pursing the career of ballet or gymnastics. I'm, therefore, unable to project any kind of prognosis regarding these 2 specific skills. If I can be of any future service to you or to Madeline, please inquire. TJG/dmg _ADMINISTRATORS, INC. October 10, 2002 Wayne F. Shade, Esquire 51 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Sent via fax and regular mail RE: Participant: SSN: Plan Sponsor: Date of Accident: Patient: Gap/R. Stier 167-40-2612 Sands Casino Hotel May 6, 2001 Madeline Stier AtlantiCare ADMINISTRATORS, INC. October 10, 2002 Wayne F. Shade, Esquire 51 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Sent via fax and regular mail RE: Participant: SSN: Plan Sponsor: Date of Accident: Patient: Gary R. Stier 167-40-2612 Sands Casino Hotel May 6, 2001 Madeline Stier Dear Mr. Shade: We are in receipt of your letter dated October 7, 2002, we are advising you of the payment made on behalf of our client, Sands Casino Hotel, to cover the treatment for those injuries sustained by Madeline Stier, which resulted on the above mentioned accident date. Enclosed you will find a copy of our Patient Individual Claim Ledger, for Madeline Stier, those claims pertaining to the services rendered to treat the injuries sustained in the accident of May 6, 2001 are marked with an "*", Please be advised, according to our files, the total amount paid to date, on behalf of our client, Sands Casino Hotel, is $754.10. Should you have any questions or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Our office hours are Monday to Friday 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. To reach me directly, call 609-704-7342. Sincerely: Joani George Assistant Technical Advisor Enclosures EXHIBIT "B" 1001 S Grand St .Ste. 100.P.O. Box613 Hammonton, New Jersey 08037-0613 Phone: 609-567-9633 · Fax: 609-561-7789 A Subs[diary of AtlamiCare Health Plans IN RE: MADELEINE K. STIER, a minor, by DEBORAH L. STIER and GARY R. STIER, her Parents and Natural Guardians, and IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW NO. CIVIL 2003 DEBORAH L. STIER, Individually, : Petitioners : ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this ~ day o~.~, i~i~2003, upon consideration of the within Petition and upon Motion of Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, Attorney for Petitioners, the compromise settlement referenced in the within Petition is hereby approved; and distribution is ordered and decreed, as follows: WAYNE F. ~HADE Attorney at Law 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania (a) Atlanticare Administrators, Inc. (b) Deborah L. Stier for unreimbursed medical expenses (c) Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, costs advanced (d) Wayne F~Shade: Esquire, attorney fees . . --~ TOTAL Wayne F. Shade, Esquire Attorney for Petitioners $565.57 504.19 597.17 8,750.00 1,252.07 29.220.00 $40,889.00