Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

The Consumer Product and Safety Commission issued a press release and announced the recall of 2.1 million potentially defective cribs on Monday, November 23, 2009. The Consumer Product Safety Commission indicated that parents should immediately stop using Stork Craft drop side cribs which are manufactured by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. of British Columbia. There are approximately 1.2 million of the cribs in distribution in the United States and 968,000 in Canada. The recall also includes 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with a Fisher-Price logo according to the CPSC. The cribs were sold at major retailers including Sears, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target between January 1993 and October 2009.

According to the CPSC, the cribs’ drop-side is attached with plastic hardware which can detach unexpectedly creating a space between the crib wall and adjacent mattress causing infants and toddlers to become trapped and suffocate or fall to the floor. There have been 110 documented instances of drop-side detachment, including 67 in the U.S. and 43 in Canada, with 4 resulting in suffocation and 20 resulting in falls that caused injuries that range from concussions to bumps and bruises. Last January, the CPSC issued a recall of over 535,000 Stork Craft cribs due to safety concerns.

As an experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyer who has been fighting manufacturers of defective products since 1979, I join the call for stricter regulations and standards on companies manufacturing children’s products, including but not limited to such cribs. Since the beginning of 2007, more than 5 million cribs, bassinets and play yards have been recalled according to CPSC.

More and more people are riding bicycles and bicycle ridership in Philadelphia is up since the SEPTA strike. Rules have been introduced that would require cyclists to obey the rules of the road similar to a motor vehicle and increase fines against bikers who violate the rules. Presently, cyclists are subject to most traffic laws such as stopping at red lights and going with the flow of traffic and although these laws have not been strictly enforced in the past, Philadelphia police have announced they will step up enforcement and issue fines in an aggressive fashion.

A few days after I wrote my original blog concerning this topic, I received a number of phone calls and inquiries from concerned bicyclists uncertain about the future and wondering whether the same was constitutional. First, let me state that most bicyclists are quite responsible and a little education program to bicyclists on the road would be beneficial. The essence and background of the new traffic law and cyclists is essentially to protect bikers, motorists and pedestrians. The new law enforcement is not meant to wage a war on bicyclists but to keep all of us safe.

As an experienced bicyclist since age 13, and an experienced Philadelphia bicycle accident attorney, I am excited that bike ridership and ownership in Philadelphia is among the highest in the country and I am excited that the City of Philadelphia has taken steps to protect bicyclists and make the city more bicycle friendly. It is my understanding that funds from the violations will be utilized to maintain bicycle lanes and improve the Philadelphia biking systems. Philadelphia has over 200 miles of bicycle lanes - more than exist than in any other city in the United States. It is only due to a rise in pedestrian/bicycle accidents and car accidents including bicyclists in Philadelphia that these new bike laws have been proposed and enforced.

As a bicycle accident attorney who has been on both sides of the fence representing bicyclists who have been catastrophically injured and pedestrians who have been catastrophically injured by bikes, I welcome a more orderly system which will protect all of us.

As an experienced defective and unhitched trailer lawyer with a specialty in motorcycle accidents and hit and run accidents, I noticed a “hat trick" of all three has recently occurred which tragically took the life of an innocent man. Michael K. Hull, age 48, was injured when a trailer became unhitched from a vehicle and traveled across two lanes into the path of his motorcycle. The unfortunate victim died of the catastrophic injuries approximately two weeks later. The operators of the vehicle towing the trailer left the scene of the accident and were charged for failure to stop, also known as hit and run. In addition they were charged with voluntary manslaughter. Evidently the trailer was stolen from a business and connected to their vehicle in an improper fashion. After the trailer crossed the median strip and Mr. Hull struck it, he was thrown off the motorcycle and landed in westbound lanes of traffic where he was struck by two other vehicles.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Michael K. Hull. They would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced hit and run lawyer with expertise in defective trailers and motorcycle accidents to fully investigate this claim to make sure that they receive proper compensation. The facts of this case represent the worse possible circumstances involving hit and run, defective trailers and motorcycle accidents which unfortunately took the life of a good, caring and innocent man.

The experienced Philadelphia defective product liability lawyers call your attention to the fact that Maclaren USA Inc. has recalled approximately one million strollers sold in the United States over the past decade after receiving reports of children’s fingers being amputated when caught in the stroller’s hinges. Maclaren announced a voluntary recall with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Monday, November 9, 2009. CPSC said consumers should immediately stop using the strollers which were made in China unless otherwise instructed. The recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers sold in the United States starting in 1999. Maclaren had received 15 reports that children were placing their fingers in the stroller’s hinge mechanism with 12 reported finger amputations in the United States. The incidents occurred while the strollers were being opened or closed and not while the children were seated in the strollers.

Models affected include Volo Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triump, Twin Techno and Easy Traveler. If you or a loved one has sustained an injury while using a Maclaren stroller or any other defective product, please feel free to contact the experienced defective product liability lawyers at Reiff & Bily for a free no obligation consultation.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is questioning why Honda and the Takata Corporation, the airbag supplier to Honda, did not include vehicles from a second recall in an earlier recall concerning airbag defects eight months before. The initial recall centered on a problematic airbag deployment according to a Honda spokesperson. This recall in November 2008 involved 3,940 Accords and Civics from the 2001 model year. Yet recently Honda recalled 440,000 Accord and Civic vehicles for a potential lethal airbag defect. The second recall was expanded in July to include 2002 Accord and Acura vehicles due to the fact that the airbag inflator was rupturing from too much pressure, sending metal fragments from the airbag into vehicle occupants, resulting in multiple injuries and death.

The experienced airbag defect lawyers at Reiff & Bily recently completed another case involving a similar defect with another automobile manufacturer causing the driver to lose her vision. As defective airbag lawyers with concern for consumer safety and knowledge of the automobile industry, we are somewhat concerned that Honda allowed these potentially unsafe vehicles to remain on the highway, putting profitability over the safety concerns of its consumers.

For more information please visit the NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.gov or visit www.safercar.gov for the latest recalls and defect investigations.

As an experienced defective trailer hitch lawyer, I am somewhat concerned due to the increase in trailer detachments resulting from defective hitches due to cracks, corrosion and rust which significantly weaken the connection. The trailer industry is an already highly unregulated industry and there are a multitude of catastrophic injuries and deaths due to trailer disconnections or malfunctions. With particularity we have seen a number of consumer complaints alleging factory installed trailer hitch failures on the following GM vehicles: Chevrolet Avalanche 2500, 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 2500, 2002 GMC Sierra 2500, 2002 GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 2002 GMC Yukon XL2500.

A number of reports have indicated a failure at welding spots around the pin box area, as well as a complete weld failure to the pin box leading to a full separation of the trailer from the towed vehicle. In some instances, the trailer safety chain and emergency brakes were not activated as both safety features were still attached to two openings of the pin box that broke off with the trailer. If you are towing a trailer or have a vehicle with a trailer hitch, it is important to inspect the trailer hitch frequently for broken welds, cracks or rust. Although many automobile manufacturers will not openly admit it, many of the newer models from 2005 onward contain a beefy hitch with an extra piece of metal due to earlier product failures.

The experienced defective trailer hitch lawyers at the Pennsylvania catastrophic injury law firm of Reiff & Bily have had extensive experience representing victims who have been killed or catastrophically injured as a result of defective trailer hitches. Unfortunately many states, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, have very little regulation addressing the safety of trailers and hitches.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury or death due to a trailer accident, it is important that an experienced attorney explore the incident to determine who is responsible. Reiff & Bily has an experienced team of investigators and experts that will determine the cause of the accident and who is liable. The defective trailer accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are committed to product and consumer safety. For a free no obligation consultation, please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A recent letter to the editor published in the Galveston Daily News on October 8, 2009 entitled “Trailer Safety Is Being Ignored on Our Roads" calls attention to the fact that America’s roadways are becoming more and more dangerous due to the unregulated trailer industry. Many trailers are being towed by people without sufficient knowledge of proper towing or connection. Many of these trailers are improperly towed, do not have working lights, safety chains and are not maintained to a safe and proper standard. A website maintained by consumer crusader Ron Melacon entitled www.dangeroustrailers.org has been addressing this concern for almost 7 years.

As a lawyer specializing in tractor-trailer and defective trailer accidents, I am all too familiar with the situation of illegal, unsafe, and defective trailers causing catastrophic injuries or death. Most of the time, law enforcement agencies in our states just turn their heads on these violations and obvious safety concerns. Of particular concern at this time of year is Halloween hayrides which are a big attraction for children and as they are often times unregulated, children have been losing their lives or suffering serious and catastrophic injuries. Unfortunately in many states, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there is very little regulation of trailers that are under 3,000 lbs. Many times you can be traveling on a highway at a high speed when a homemade trailer is passing you or next to you and it can become detached and sent in your path. Many states are silent as to design or construction specifications for these trailers under 3,000 lbs. and in our investigation, we have found that many of these trailers have obvious safety violations relating to lighting, braking, and inspection requirements.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a defective trailer accident, please contact one of our experienced defective trailer lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of 7-year old Emily Midgley who was killed at 7:00 p.m. on Halloween when she was run over while exiting a Halloween hay ride. Unfortunately the experienced defective trailer and Halloween hay ride injury lawyers of Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with these types of tragic incidents.

Recently we were litigating a Halloween hay ride trailer accident case involving a young boy and his mother who were run over during a holiday hay ride. The insurance company representing the hay ride operator attempted to desecrate the mother of our client who was run over, as well as the innocent child himself, despite the fact that the operator of the hay ride was not licensed nor took proper safety precautions.

Unfortunately, many operators view Halloween hay rides as a way to make a quick buck and do not pay proper attention to safety and regulations concerning the riders. The family of Emily Midgley would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced amusement park attorney and defective hay ride attorney to investigate this claim and insure that they recover proper compensation for this tragic loss.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a hay ride accident, please contact one of our experienced hayride injury and defective trailer lawyers for a free consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

The experienced Philadelphia car accident and rollover lawyers of Reiff & Bily salute the Consumer Product Safety Division’s vote on Wednesday, October 21st to regulate 4 wheel ATV vehicles following more than 100 deaths since 2003. More staggering than the death claims are the loss of limbs and catastrophic injuries suffered by the operators of these vehicles in this highly unregulated industry. ATVs are extraordinarily prone to rollover and not only that, when they rollover there is a lack of protection causing occupants and drivers to be trapped underneath or ejected, resulting in serious and catastrophic injury. Although the ATV industry proposed voluntary regulations, the CPSC claimed that the voluntary regulations did not go far enough. CPSC has indicated that they will solicit comments from industry, consumer advocates and others as it writes the rules. However, we expect that this process will take many years.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an ATV rollover accident or a car accident, please contact one of our experienced lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.