Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Pennsylvania

I definitely believe you should pursue this. The key fact that makes your viable is the fact that you suffered a physical injury in the incident. Generally, in PA, in order to recover for emotional distress and psychic injury, there must be a physical impact and injury. If the table broke due to the owner's negligence, and you were not physically injured, your damages would be probably limited to the property damage, which would be calculated by the actual replacement value of the laptop as a product. You have suffered much more than this, and the fact of the actual injury opens damages to you including emotional and economic loss, as well as medical expenses and pain and suffering. Legally, the issue of the loss of your computer data is somewhat unclear, because how do you put a monetary value on the electronic data. In your case, the fact that you suffered physically injury creates the issue of emotional distress.

You should immediately consult an attorney who limits his /her practice to personal injury cases. If they accept your case, it would generally be on a contingent fee basis, which means no recovery, no fee. Also personal injury lawyers usually advance the litigation costs in such a case. Which would filing fees, expert witness expenses, court reporter fees, etc.

Before you can recover any damages, you must be able to prove negligence against the owner of the coffee shop. This not always easy, as prior notice of the condition of the table is usually required. There are other options of recovery available that you should speak with an attorney about. Monroe County has had some pretty good plaintiff's verdicts. There are certainly some good plaintiff's lawyers in Stroudsburg and neighboring areas. If you have any difficulty finding a plaintiff's lawyer, contact me and I can give you some names