Posted On: June 18, 2008

Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence – Safe or Sorry?

Nursing homes are meant to be a safe place where the elderly are taken care of by professionals who care and will treat your family members with respect. Staff members of the facility are presumed to abide to strict codes of conduct. However, that is not always the case. Some residents of nursing homes are subject to physical abuse, mental abuse, and neglect. The Pennsylvania nursing home lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling thousands of nursing home abuse and neglect cases since 1979.

CBS news reported that a congressional report in 2001 says 5,283 U.S. nursing homes, nearly one-third, have been cited for abuse. The report says more than 40%, or 3,800 abuse violations, were only reported after formal complaints from residents, their families or community advocates. Over 1,000 homes were cited for more than one abuse violation in a two-year period, 305 homes were cited for three or more abuse violations, and 192 nursing homes were cited for five or more abuse violations.

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Posted On: June 17, 2008

Tort Reform – Insurance Crisis or Consumer Rip-Off?

Tort reform focuses on the idea of changing the rules applicable to the law or tort. Torts deal with compensation for wrongs and harm done by one party to another's person, property, or other protected interests such as reputation. The most prominent area of torts and tort reform are personal injury and medical malpractice. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys and personal injury lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling numerous tort cases since 1979.

Torts are civil wrongs that are recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. These wrongs result in an injury or harm forming the basis for a claim by the injured party. The primary goal of tort law is to provide relief for damages that were incurred and deter others from committing the same harms. The injured person may sue for an injunction to prevent the continuation of the harmful conduct or for monetary damages. Among the types of damages the injured party may recover are: (1) loss of earnings capacity, (2) pain and suffering; and (3) reasonable medical expenses. Damages also include present and future expected losses.

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Posted On: June 5, 2008

Don’t Believe Your Insurance Salesman’s Pitch – Go Full Tort

All owners of motor vehicles in the Pennsylvania are required by law to purchase and maintain automobile insurance, however, not everyone can afford complete coverage. By picking an insurance coverage with limited tort rights, you can save some money, however, you lose the right to sue for pain and suffering if you are injured by another person's negligence, no matter how seriously you are injured. The Pennsylvania auto accident lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling thousands of automobile accidents cases since 1979 and all too often meet with clients who were sold a false promise by their insurance agent only to find out that the policy they purchased was not full coverage and they could not collect for their injuries sustained even though they were caused by somebody else’s fault or negligence.

Be careful when your insurance salesman tells you that you are purchasing full coverage. Do not confuse this with full tort. Insurance agents are told by many insurance companies to “push” limited tort coverage to their clients and often receive higher commissions as a result. Know all of your rights and ask proper questions to make sure that you are fully covered by your policy when the need to collect arises. If you are uncertain please call the Pennsylvania vehicle accident law firm of Reiff and Bily for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION insurance policy check-up. Chance favors the prepared mind!

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Posted On: June 4, 2008

Auto Accidents

Automobile accidents can be devastating, destroying the lives on many innocent victims. Crashes can have a large impact on both physical health and mental health. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2005 the leading cause of death for ages three to six and eight to thirty-four were motor vehicle traffic accidents. More deaths were caused by motor vehicle traffic accidents than homicide, suicide, and heart disease. The Pennsylvania auto accident lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily (http://www.reiffandbily.com/auto_accident.shtml) have been researching and handling thousands of automobile accidents cases since 1979.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdBHSTE.nsf/InfoFb05?OpenForm&ref=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dcar+accidents+pa+statistics%26btnG%3DSearch%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla%253Aen-US%253Aofficial%26hs%3DE8Q%26sa%3D2) reports that in 2005, there were 100,381 injuries and 1,616 crash related deaths in Pennsylvania. There was an estimated total of $5.298 billion in economic loss due to automotive deaths.

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