Messa Law

10/15/2026

Pennsylvania law governing the liability of property owners for injuries occurring on their premises extends well beyond the common slip-and-fall injury scenario. Legally, a property owner has a duty of care to maintain reasonably safe premises for legal visitors. When an owner’s negligence breaches this duty and results in an injury, the owner may be held liable for the damages. Read our full blog here: https://www.messalaw.com/when-may-property-owners-be-liable-for-injuries-that-are-not-slip-and-falls-in-pennsylvania/

10/09/2026

Amid Title IX uncertainty, it's important that students and parents know their rights when navigating s*xual harassment, s*xual assault, and other forms of s*x-based discrimination at school. The National Center for Youth Law and Stop Sexual Assault in Schools launched this toolkit to support students in understanding their options and holding schools accountable.

According to RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-s*xual violence organization, a person is s*xually assaulted in the United States once every 98 seconds. That’s an average of 882 s*xual assault victims every day in America. Every eight minutes, one of those victims is a child. Even more shocking than these statistics is that only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will serve jail time. These numbers are staggering: 882 people victimized by s*x criminals – the majority of whom suffer no legal consequences for their actions. That is why catastrophic injury attorneys at Messa Law use their skills and experience to fight for the rights of s*xual assault victims in civil court.

Toolkit linked here:https://stops*xualassaultinschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Know-Your-Rights-What-to-Do-if-You-are-Sexually-Harassed-at-School_2026.pdf

10/02/2026

Victims of medical negligence in the Philadelphia area often face a steep uphill climb when seeking justice. Medical malpractice claims in Pennsylvania must be accompanied by a Certificate of Merit, a document that acts as a gatekeeper for the court system. It ensures that only legitimate medical malpractice cases may proceed. What does this mean in court? What is the deadline for filing? Read our blog to learn more: https://www.messalaw.com/pennsylvania-medical-malpractice-certificate-of-merit/

09/24/2026

Did you know September is Sepsis Awareness Month? Sepsis begins with an infection, sometimes as common as pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, or even a skin wound. Instead of fighting the infection in a controlled way, the immune system overreacts, triggering widespread inflammation. This can damage organs, reduce blood flow, and quickly become life-threatening. You can use the TIME acronym to remember the critical warning signs of this medical emergency.

The attorneys at Messa Law are experienced in handling medical malpractice cases resulting from failure to treat hospital infections and have recovered tens of millions on behalf of our clients. Our extremely skilled team of attorneys and medical experts is dedicated to ensuring you receive proper compensation for your personal injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered personal injuries due to a hospital infection that was not properly treated, a medical error, or any other type of negligent care received from a medical provider, contact us for a free consultation.

09/22/2026

Messa Law is pleased to welcome Sarah M. Polacek, Esq., to our team!

Prior to joining Messa Law, Ms. Polacek worked at a civil defense and trial law firm focusing on premises liability, products liability, and dram shop cases. Sarah spent time working alongside claims professionals in the Lloyd’s of London market, where she gained valuable insight into the insurance industry and their thinking and practices in analyzing and defending injury cases. This experience deepened her understanding of how insurers assess liability, damages, risk, and exposure, which brings a valuable perspective to now advocate for plaintiffs.

Sarah received her bachelor's degree in Marketing cm laude from the University of Delaware before receiving her Juris Doctor cm laude from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Ms. Polacek was an associate editor for the Drexel Law Review, in which her published Note, “It Takes a Village – A Small Step in Philadelphia Child Welfare Reform: Opening Philadelphia Family Court's Dependency Proceedings”, discusses the inherent systemic flaws in Philadelphia’s child welfare system and how to best implement effective solutions so that the rate of child removal is reduced. Ms. Polacek was the recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award and was a teaching assistant in Mediation and Arbitration.

Ms. Polacek is eager to leverage her experience and knowledge representing defendants to help injured people. She is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. She will focus her practice on Products Liability, Trucking, Construction, Worksite Injury, Dram Shop, and Medical Malpractice cases. We are excited to welcome Sarah to the firm, where her unique experience will provide a new perspective in the fight to protect the rights of injured victims and their families.

Full website bio here: https://www.messalaw.com/team/sarah-m-polacek/

09/18/2026

Messa Law is excited to share that our firm continues to grow with the addition of attorney Alex M. Dutton! Mr. Dutton is an experienced, tenacious, and compassionate trial attorney with a strong record of achieving results in the most emotionally charged and complex matters in both trial and appellate courts.

Prior to joining Messa Law, Mr. Dutton dedicated his career to serving the public interest. Mr. Dutton was a Divisional Supervising Attorney at the Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. Upon law school graduation, Mr. Dutton was awarded the prestigious Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship to work at the Education Law Center-PA, where he represented students in civil rights and education matters to ensure that all children have access to a quality public education.

Mr. Dutton earned a bachelor’s degree in English cm laude from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor before receiving his Juris Doctor cm laude from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he honed his trial skills by earning a certificate in Trial Advocacy and Litigation. While in law school, Mr. Dutton also earned a Master's degree in Social Work from Temple University, providing him with a unique combination of trial and interpersonal skills that he uses to better understand his client's experiences to achieve meaningful results.

Mr. Dutton is excited about bringing his combination of compassionate and zealous advocacy for the disadvantaged to Messa Law. Mr. Dutton is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. We are excited to welcome him to the firm, where his commitment to compassionate client representation, equity, and justice will further strengthen our growing practice.

Read his full bio here: https://www.messalaw.com/team/alex-m-dutton/

09/18/2026

If you missed Joe Messa on The Jeff Gross Show, you can catch the podcast here. They discussed sports and the law, third-party cases, trucking accidents, and more. Podcast link:
https://wwdbam.com/episodes/the-jeff-gross-show-w-guest-joe-messa-09-17-26/

09/16/2026

Tune in to hear Joe Messa on The Jeff Gross Show on WWDB Talk 860 tomorrow, Thursday Sept 17 at 2 pm. They discuss sports and the law, third-party cases, trucking accidents, and more.

Listeners can tune in to 860 AM on their radio dial or online at: https://wwdbam.com/ (Click Listen Live) (You can also listen on Alexa or Google By Saying "Alexa/Google Play WWDB Talk 860")

09/11/2026

Today we remember the lives taken too soon and honor those who risked their own lives to save others.

09/10/2026

How do you prove negligent maintenance caused a truck tire blowout? When a trucking company fails to maintain a truck, the risk of a blowout skyrockets. Read our full blog here:

Understand who may be liable for a truck tire blowout accident and how a Philadelphia truck accident lawyer can assist accident victims.