Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

A recent recall notes that approximately 29,000 baby necessities pacifiers manufactured in China and imported by OKK Trading of Los Angeles, California has been recalled because they failed Federal safety tests. The nipples can separate from the base and pose a choking hazard to infants. Although no incidents have been reported, these pacifiers which sold at dollar and discount stores around the United States between August 2007 and January 2009. More details are available by phone at 877-655-8697 and on the web at http://www.okktrading.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective product, please contact the Philadelphia product liability lawyers at the law firm of Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

The Pennsylvania product liability lawyers at Reiff & Bily alert you in conjunction with the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission in cooperation with Fisher-Price that a voluntary recall has been made of 3-in-1 high chairs manufactured by Fisher-Price. The product is 3-in-1 highchairs. Approximately 24,000 units are involved in the recall. The importer is Fisher-Price of East Aurora, New York. The noted hazard is that the seat can fall backwards from the highchair frame if the booster seat release is unlatched while the child is in the product. Also, the seat back can detach if not fully snapped in place posing a fall hazard and risk to young children. Reports of seat back detachment and child falling out resulted in a skull fracture according to sources. This product was sold exclusively at Target department stores nationwide from December 8, 2008 through March, 2009 for approximately $100. Consumers should stop using the recalled high chairs immediately and contact Fisher-Price for instructions and a free repair kit at 1-800-432-5437 anytime or visit the firm’s Web site at http://service.mattel.com/us.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a defective product, please contact one of our Philadelphia product liability lawyers at the law firm of Reiff & Bily for a free evaluation of your case at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

This afternoon the Philadelphia nursing home and elder abuse attorneys at Reiff & Bily were consulted on a case where an elderly woman was repeatedly sexually molested and accosted by a caregiver while being transported in an ambulance. Not so surprisingly, this abhorrent behavior is fairly common as elderly people, our most vulnerable citizens, are abused while being transported in an ambulance or while residing in a nursing home or assisted living facilities. Thankfully the United States Senate has introduced a new bill which will prevent people with criminal histories from working in long term care settings by creating a comprehensive nationwide system of background checks. The proposed legislation dubbed “The Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act" expands on a successful three year pilot program authorized under the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act. The pilot program prevented more than 7,000 applicants with a history of substantiated abuse or violent criminal records from working in long term care settings in the Alaska, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico and Wisconsin.

We salute the courageous sponsors of this legislation Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pa) is expected to introduce a companion bill in the United States House of Representatives. Legislation has been strongly endorsed by State Attorney Generals across the country, The Elder Justice Coalition, The Leadership Council of Aging Organization, AARP, The American Healthcare Association, The American Association of Homes and Services of the Aging and many senior care advocates including nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers of the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of nursing home or elder abuse, please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 for a free evaluation of your case.

The experienced amusement park lawyers of the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with carnival, midway and amusement park accidents. A report was recently released concerning the serious injuries of dozens of people caused when a “Yo-Yo" amusement collapsed at a California state fair. The owner of the amusement was labeled in the report as “incompetent".

The report noted that the carnival ride was “in a physical state of disrepair; this attraction had not been properly maintained." According to news reports, the accident occurred because of the failure of a lock washer. The report further noted that sweeps of the Yo-Yo collapsed because of a spider bearing assembly slipping off of a cylinder ride thus losing the power to pull the sweeps top end. The chairs the riders were sitting in plummeted to the ground and were dragged. The report blasted the owner of the amusement for failure to insure that the ride was safe to operate and also noted that the owner of the ride did not have all of the required inspection certifications and documents in place to insure its safe operation.

Unfortunately, as the economy continues to worsen, we have found that many theme parks, carnivals and midways have cut corners on safety. Many times ride operators do not pay attention to the precious cargo on the ride.

The accomplished Philadelphia amusement park accident attorneys at Reiff & Bily have successfully represented thousands of personal injury clients for catastrophic injuries since 1979. If you have been injured in an amusement park accident, please contact the experienced catastrophic injury lawyers at Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com so that we can begin investigating and protecting your rights.

How many of you remember looking forward to going to the supermarket or shopping at the mall with your Mom and Dad and getting on the horse ride or car ride which in my day was 10 cents but probably now a dollar as I have watched prices escalate for a sheer three minutes of pleasure.

Unfortunately a recent story surfaced which noted a 12-month old boy struck his head riding an electric train amusement ride at a shopping center. Paramedics were called and when they arrived they found the mother hysterical carrying her unconscious toddler. CPR was performed according to news sources and the child was air lifted to the hospital.

Although this was a train ride evidently designed to amuse children and bring people to the mall and although inspectors may find that the train ride was mechanically and structurally sound and is in compliance with local standards, parents and the operators of these rides recognize that there should be minimum supervisory and physical requirements that are mandatory for safety reasons. These rides are designed to provide amusement thrills and not to cause errors but accidents still happen under the best of circumstances.

Unfortunately, many amusement rides which look safe are unknowingly dangerous forms of entertainment for families and young people. I have written in my blogs in the past about numerous amusement park and carnival accidents and serious loopholes that exist in the Consumer Product Safety Act of 1981 regulating the safety of rides fixed to a specific site. There is no official source which keeps a complete record of amusement park accidents.

The accomplished amusement park injury lawyers at Reiff & Bily have successfully represented personal injury clients for catastrophic injuries since 1979 recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. If you or a loved one has been injured in an amusement park or on a hayride, please contact the amusement park injury lawyers at Reiff & Bily immediately at 1-800-421-9595 so that we can commence an intensive examination of your claim and begin protecting your legal rights to the maximum of our abilities.

The Philadelphia defective truck and trailer accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have unfortunately become aware of another situation involving the wrongful death of a 34-year old woman on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. The case not so dissimilar from many others, the woman was pinned between a car and a trailer that had detached from a moving van resulting in blunt force trauma to her chest and abdomen resulting in fatality.

This unfortunate fatal result occurred in the initial stages of a family vacation where the woman, her husband and two children were planning to travel to Florida in a van that was towing a trailer which ultimately became detached and caused her death.

We have noted many times on our blog every week in the United States there are 418 injuries, 8 deaths and 775 incidents of property damage caused by passenger vehicles towing trailers. According to The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated the number of serious injuries has risen dramatically involving the use of defective trailers.

If you or a family member has suffered an injury as a result of a defective truck or trailer accident, there are some important questions that you and your attorney will have to explore in order to determine if you have a case and who is responsible. We have an experienced team of investigators, experts and reconstructionists who will determine how the accident occurred and who is liable. You may be entitled to compensatory and punitive damages.

The accomplished defective trailer and car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily have successfully represented thousands of personal injury clients for catastrophic injuries and fatalities since 1979 and have recovered in excess of $150 million dollars in damages. For a free consultation, please contact the experienced truck and defective trailer lawyers at Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com immediately for a free consultation so that we can begin protecting your legal rights.

A recent study by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions has indicated that diagnostic misadventures represent a much larger source of preventable health problems and deaths than many of the more popular targets. If fact, David Newman-Toker, M.D., Ph.D. and Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D. reported that misdiagnosis accounts for an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 deaths per year and that legal claims for diagnostic errors defined as diagnoses that are missed, wrong or delayed are nearly twice as common as claims for medication errors. (news article)

Placing the focus on reducing diagnostic errors will emphasize the reduction of larger "system" failures that affect medical practices overall. What this means is that increased focus will move away from the model that chastises the malpractice for individual physicians to one that focuses on improving the medical system as a whole which should in the long run improve diagnostic accuracy, as well as the cost effectiveness of care.

The Philadelphia medical malpractice law firm of Reiff & Bily believe that a systematic approach and solutions adopted by hospitals and doctors requiring physicians to follow a procedural check list that emphasizes proper diagnosis will result in a decrease of catastrophic injuries and deaths.

Continue reading " Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Notes That The New Focus Of Patient Safety Experts Is On Diagnostic Errors " »

A trailer carrying a thoroughbred race horse named Top Glory cruised out of control on Interstate 75 the other day, crashing through signs and tipping on its side with a thoroughbred horse named Top Glory inside. Just like many other similar defective trailer accidents, this horse trailer came unhinged from the vehicle towing it and brought the horse along for the ride.

As this Philadelphia defective trailer attorney has previously written, many state codes are overtly silent as to the design or construction specifications for trailers or for towing chains and hitches under 3,000 lbs. In fact, trailers just under 3,000 lbs. are not regulated in most states. The utility trailer industry and their prideful lobby has continued to stop any attempts to improve this class of trailer in all 50 states and has prevented the enactment of a federal standard on trailer hitches. Many of us have seen that trailers have a sway phenomenon when excessive speed is used on highways. Quite simply, many of these trailers are just accidents waiting to happen. On a regular basis, we are aware of trailer accidents where individuals are catastrophically injured or killed.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident involving a disconnected or defective trailer, or for that matter, a trailer being towed, please contact the defective trailer lawyers at the Philadelphia defective trailer law firm of Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

The dictionary defines “hope" as the belief in a positive outcome relating to the events and circumstances in one’s life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair; wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance, believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence leading to the contrary.

The term “false hope" refers to hope highly based on fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.

At the Philadelphia catastrophic injury law firm of Reiff & Bily, our lawyers understand and respect the value of hope and the loss of someone’s dreams. It is our job to communicate the plaintiffs’ dreams and hopes to the insurance companies and ultimately to the juries who hear our cases. It is our job to prove what the plaintiff is capable of doing or was capable of doing prior to an incident and identify the compensation necessary for the plaintiff to recognize the fulfillment of his dreams and goals. The lawyers of Reiff & Bily are not afraid to ask the insurance companies or juries to fully compensate plaintiffs for the loss of their dreams and hopes.

Continue reading " My Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Reinforced the Value of Hope " »