Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

The two-year son of former Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback, Randall Cunningham, died in a hot tub accident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Randall Cunningham. I cannot imagine a greater loss.

According to news sources, the two-year old boy was found floating at approximately 4:30 p.m. in the hot tub behind the family home in Las Vegas. As I am well aware as an experienced Pennsylvania swimming pool and hot tub accident attorney, it only takes a brief minute for someone to take their eyes off of a child resulting in a tragic consequence such as this. At the Pennsylvania swimming pool and hot tub accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily, we are strong advocates of pool and spa safety and as temperatures rise throughout our country, millions of American families will flock to swimming pools, water parks, and hot tubs.

This tragic drowning should serve to remind parents and children to take protective water safety steps to stay safe this summer. I strongly advise checking out the website www.poolsafety.gov.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of swimming pool, water park or hot tub accident, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania swimming pool, water park, or hot tub accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As the newspapers have reported, many workers helping to clean up oil from the Gulf have reported health problems including but not limited to nausea, dizziness, headaches, chest pains, and skin rashes. As an experienced catastrophic injury and toxic tort lawyer, I have all too many questions over the safety of the clean up operation in an around the Gulf of Mexico, particularly regarding protection of the workers from the toxicity of the controversial chemical dispersants being used by BP in an attempt to break up the slick.

According to many experts, the many dispersants that BP and the United States government are using to treat the ongoing Gulf spill are by their makers own admission toxic to fish, crustaceans and mollusks. BP information concerning the safety and toxicity of the dispersants as it relates to humans is kept secret under competitive trade laws. This is not what you want to hear with regard to toxins being dumped in the sea by hundreds of thousands of gallons. More alarming, the data sheets for both products being used to disburse the oil contain a shocker “no toxicity studies have been conducted on this product..." meaning testing for their safety to humans. I don’t know about you, but I find this completely jaw dropping and have no doubt the toxic properties of these substances will reveal themselves in the future in the form of human health hazards, illnesses, and potentially death.

Continue reading " Oil Spill Clean Up in the Gulf Is Organized Hypocrisy – Catastrophic and Toxic Tort Lawyer Speaks Out " »

Although Philadelphia juries have a national reputation for being prone to award verdicts in favor of plaintiffs, statistics just released indicate that the majority of medical malpractice cases in Philadelphia that come to trial have been concluded in favor of defendants. In 2009, 77% or 34 medical malpractice verdicts were in favor of the defendants while 23% or 10 verdicts were in favor of the plaintiffs. The amount awarded to plaintiffs was down drastically in 2009 to a total of $13 million. Filings of medical malpractice cases are down as records indicate that only 113 medical malpractice cases have been filed so far this year with three cases disposed of. In 2009, there were 507 medical malpractice cases filed and there were 568 cases filed in 2008. Many experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers are utilizing the services of alternative dispute resolution which provides an opportunity for the parties to get together and resolve their differences in a court room setting. These services skew the results of many cases and may cause verdict statistics to inaccurately reflect the success of plaintiffs with medical malpractice cases.

The experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys Jeffrey Reiff and Raymond Bily who sit as Judge Pro Temp for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas are very well aware that a good case is still a good case and that very few good cases are tried to verdict. There is a good likelihood that an alternative dispute resolution will be able to amicably resolve these matters saving all of the parties expense and risk. It should be noted that the drop off in medical malpractice filings in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia began when the state supreme court instituted measures requiring medical malpractice cases be filed in the counties where the alleged malpractice cause of action arose and that cases be filed with a Certificate of Merit from a physician stating there is a reasonable probability that a medical malpractice defendant deviated from the accepted standard of care.

If you or a loved one is a victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys for a free no obligation consultation.

Recently a college student attending a family reunion at a hotel drowned while swimming in the deep end of the hotel swimming pool which was cloudy and dark. A jury spoke out and awarded $3.7 million dollars, including $3 million in punitive damages holding the hotel responsible, claiming that the hotel owners and operators allowed the deceased to use the pool despite the fact that its cloudy water posed a safety hazard. In the lawsuit, it was also alleged that there were improper safety standards and lack of safety equipment at the pool. This tragedy occurred when the 19-year old swam into the deep end of the pool and suffered a form of sudden inhalation and disappeared. Because of the cloudy water, rescuers could not locate him for approximately 12 minutes, after which he was revived but remained in a vegetative state until his death more than 3 months later. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of this swimming pool drowning victim.

The experienced Pennsylvania swimming pool accident and drowning lawyers at Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with swimming pool safety and the tragic events that can unfold due to cloudy or dirty swimming pools. If you or a loved one has been involved in a drowning or swimming pool accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced lawyers for a free no obligation consultation. We offer a no recovery, no fee guarantee.

A 21-month old Waynesboro, Pennsylvania girl was missing for almost three minutes before she was found in a swimming pool. 21-month old Esther Pryor fell into an above ground pool during a father’s day celebration and was missing for nearly three minutes before she was found. Her father, a registered nurse from Waynesboro Hospital, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. According to news sources, Esther was not breathing when she was found and she was resuscitated and was taken by medevac to Hershey Medical Center.

Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Esther Pryor and her family, and as an experienced Pennsylvania swimming pool accident lawyer, we are all too familiar with these types of injuries and near drowning accidents. As her grandmother, Julia Taylor, stated “I want people to be careful. It only takes a second".

Every year thousands of children die annually due to swimming or water related accidents. In just a few minutes and in less than 2 inches of water, a child can drown. This unfortunate water accident should indicate that it is necessary to maintain safety guidelines aimed towards preventing serious swimming and water related injuries or deaths. The Philadelphia and Pennsylvania swimming pool and water accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are familiar with the serious injuries that occur during catastrophic swimming accidents including traumatic brain injuries, head trauma, paralysis, spinal cord injuries and other serious injuries.

When children are at the pool, always make sure that:

1. Adults supervise the children that are swimming.
2. Enforce strict pool rules and install the correct pool safety measures.
3. A sturdy and high fence or barrier or sturdy pool cover can prevent children from going
into the pool when there is no supervision.
4. Make sure broken drain covers are replaced and install a safety vacuum release
system (RVRS) which can detect blockage of the drain and automatically shut it off.

The Pennsylvania swimming pool accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily are committed to protecting the rights of serious injury and drowning victims and their families. If you become one of our clients, we will provide you with the attention and resources necessary for us to successfully represent your swimming pool or premise liability case. To schedule a free consultation with an experienced Reiff & Bily swimming pool accident lawyer, please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced amusement park accident lawyer, I regularly receive phone calls from individuals who are seriously and many times catastrophically injured in New Jersey shore amusement park accidents or incidents or Pennsylvania amusement park accidents. Many times these stories are never reported in the newspaper or are never reported to the appropriate state licensing and inspection individuals. It is almost as if there is a conspiracy of silence.

A few weeks ago, a client of ours was severely injured when a chain pulling a car on an upward slope broke on a New Jersey thrill ride. Our client revealed that the car fell backwards in a free fall in which she described as an alarming rate of speed. The car then derailed and slammed into a hard object causing the car to spin around off the track in a violent fashion causing injuries to the victims in the amusement car. To add to their fear and terror, it should also be mentioned that the accident occurred in a pitch black dark environment. An investigation revealed that the chain on the ride broke causing the ride to malfunction.

Continue reading " Why Is It That Many Amusement Ride Accidents at New Jersey Amusement Parks Go Unreported and Never Make It to the Newspapers or Regulators despite Serious Injuries? " »

Last week while traveling on business to Israel after a long day’s work I decided to take a relaxing respite in a Jacuzzi whirlpool hot tub. Although I am 55 years old and not a “light weight" individual, I was suddenly and with great force sucked into the underwater intake of the hot tub pump. Prior to my entry to the hot tub, I witnessed a number of children ages 4 to 8 years old in the whirlpool, some of them with long hair, and instantly I thought that this hot tub presented an accident waiting to happen with a rather obvious safety hazard and a potential death trap to unsuspecting individuals.

As an experienced Pennsylvania swimming pool and hot tub drowning accident lawyer since 1979, I have investigated and have witnessed numerous factors concerning unfortunate accidental drownings, loss of limbs, injuries to bowels and other organs as a result of defective swimming pools, pumps, or drains without proper safety features in place. Statistics reveal that one quarter of all drowning deaths in the United States occur to children under the age of 16. Swimming pools and hot tubs are more often the sites of wrongful deaths due to drowning accidents.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a swimming pool or hot tub accident, you should speak with an experienced premises liability and swimming pool or hot tub accident lawyer. We have been able to hold pool manufacturers and pump manufacturers responsible for defective products. These defective products become known when pumps or drains are installed or distributed without proper safety features in place.

I received a call this morning from a client who allegedly sustained fairly serious injuries as a result of an amusement park ride malfunction at one of Wildwood’s amusement parks during one of the early weekends in May. I looked for any news reports concerning this accident and there were none. Despite the fact that representatives of the park offered her an ambulance ride to the hospital after the accident and admitted to her that one of the chains snapped while pulling one of the cars on an incline. There was no evidence of this accident to be found in the blogosphere or on any news sources. The situation is not unique.

Amusement park injuries and accidents are rarely talked about because park owners, operators, and amusement manufacturers do not want to explain how the ride works or do not want adverse publicity. Accidents happen at New Jersey and Pennsylvania amusement parks more frequently than you can imagine. According to statistics, chances of hurting yourself in an amusement park are rising, increasing over 27% in the last 10 years even though visitorship rose only 12%.

Continue reading " The Code of Silence in Amusement Park Accidents — Experienced Amusement Park Accident Lawyer Speaks Out " »

Recently a jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in an inadvertent airbag deployment case involving a 1998 Cadillac. The plaintiff was driving down a gravel road when the vehicle’s airbag deployed without impact, crash, or any other reason. Repairs were made to the vehicle, including a replacement of the entire airbag system. Yet, several years later the plaintiff was driving the vehicle down a gravel road when the airbag again deployed without an impact, crash, or other reason.

Normally airbags are designed to deploy when a vehicle in forward motion decelerates rapidly. Most airbag systems are calibrated to sense vehicle deceleration corresponding to a frontal collision. However, unfortunately, sometimes airbags deploy at the wrong time and the inflation of the airbag becomes so sudden that the driver may be distracted, disoriented, or even knocked unconscious often resulting in catastrophic or fatal consequences.

As an experienced airbag defect lawyer, it appears that there has been an alarming increase in the number of injuries or fatalities as a result of airbag malfunction, including but not limited to inadvertent deployment. Many times inadvertent airbag deployments are caused by airbag sensor or electrical system defects. We have even reviewed some cases whether turning on the ignition can trigger the airbag deployment. Many manufacturers fail to utilize or design proper sensors or test programs that allow airbags to deploy even when the vehicle strikes a pothole or curb.

If you or a loved one is a victim of an inadvertent airbag deployment or other airbag defect injury, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia airbag defect lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.

Anytime a plane crashes, a widely publicized news story is generated. However, there are many other incidents or accidents involving aircrafts that are not so widely publicized. This includes but is not limited to aircraft accidents while loading, entering and exiting the aircraft, as well as in-flight aircraft accidents. Many incidents occur on aircraft that constitute a breach of aviation safety by putting passengers at risk for injury.

In general, the pilot of an aircraft is in command and responsible for the safety of the passengers and crews. The pilot in command is the authority or “sentry" to provide a means of safety for all individuals on board. This includes but is not limited to events that occur in a turbulent flying atmosphere, providing individuals with a safe path of entry and exit from bathrooms, permitting no dangerous conditions to exist on the aircraft, failing to discover and anticipate dangerous conditions, the need to observe, detect, and remedy possible hazardous conditions, the need to properly instruct passengers on the safety, use, and storage of materials and eliminating any hazardous conditions for passengers. The airline is also required to employ a sufficient number of flight attendants to insure the safe and proper maintenance and inspection of the aircraft, as well as to insure for the safety of the passengers.

Continue reading " You May Be Entitled to Compensation after an Airline Incident Including But Not Limited to a Plane Crash " »

Recently, there have been a host of automotive product liability accident claims involving tire manufacturers where a tread has separated from a tire causing a lack of stability and a rollover situation. When a tire delaminates and the tread in many instances separates, the driver is unable to maintain control of the vehicle, often leading to catastrophic injuries including paraplegia and many times, unfortunately, to fatalities. Tire tread separations are a byproduct of steel belted radial tire technology and are caused by the difficulty in obtaining a proper adhesion of steel to rubber, particularly when a vehicle is traveling at high speeds in hot weather.

Industry sources indicate that tire tread belt separations are the most common mode of failure for steel belted radial tires and result from both design and manufacturing product defects. Many times the result of tread separation is catastrophic. When a tread comes off a vehicle traveling at a high speed, the driver will sometimes notice a loud thumping noise before the vehicle goes out of control. Many times tread separation can be due to contamination of the materials used to make the tire. Additionally, tire manufactures attempt to shift the burden of defective tire accidents to the victim of the accident claiming that tread separation was a result of impact damage or under-inflation.

If you or a loved one have been a victim of a tire failure or tread separation accident, it is important to seek the services of an experienced lawyer to pursue a claim. For a free, no fee, no obligation consultation, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania vehicle defect lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

According to a recent story, a Maryland funeral home lost its license after an inspector found a pile of 40 bodies in body bags stacked 12 feet high in their garage waiting to be cremated. The bags were found to contain human remains strewn on the floor of the garage with visible leakage from the body bags, as well as a pungent odor. The owner of the funeral home is challenging a decision to have its license suspended. The funeral home is identified as Chambers Funeral Home and Cremations in Prince Georges County, Maryland. According to inspectors, the bodies were so ill kept that they became difficult to identify and the leakage from the body bags caused the writings containing identification to smear and become illegible. The website of the Chambers Funeral Home does not mention that it lost its license and the company continues to advertise dignified funeral services at a modest price.

As an experienced funeral home, cemetery, and cremation negligence lawyer, this morbid situation takes the cake. When one retains the services of a funeral home, it is expected that the deceased will be treated correctly and respectfully. The last thing the family needs is to be plunged into further sorrow due to such unethical behavior. The Pennsylvania funeral home abuse lawyers of Reiff & Bily have handled several cases on behalf of grief stricken families who were plunged even further into grief due to the unethical behavior of such funeral homes. Incidents such as this commonly occur throughout the United States with many occurring in Pennsylvania. When one pays hard earned dollars to a funeral home and a funeral home fails to do its job with dignity and respect, the families are entitled to recovery and the funeral abuse attorneys at Reiff & Bily will pursue these unethical businesses to make them pay for their negligence and wrongdoing. If you have been the victim of funeral home or cemetery abuse, please contact our office for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and options.

Most thrill seekers like roller coasters, particularly the newer designed coasters with loops that go upside down. When we ride them, we assume that they are safe and no accidents will happen. Recently adventure and thrill seekers riding the “Mumbo Jumbo" Roller coaster at Flamingo Land Park suddenly came to a stop in the middle of one of the loops leaving them dangling upside down approximately 50 feet off the ground. They were stuck up there for approximately 20 minutes before being freed from the ride by theme park workers. According to park officials, the accident was not due to mechanical problems but, in fact, was due to a rain poncho dropped by a park guest that got stuck under the ride car and brought the thrilling ride to an end. This roller coaster is identified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the one with the steepest drop.

The experienced Philadelphia amusement and carnival ride accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have been dedicated to preserving the safety of amusement and leisure rides since 1979. We have successfully handled claims against amusement parks, inflatables, theme parks, carnivals, fairs, festivals, and family entertainment centers when unfortunate accidents happen. Many times, we find that the newest thrill rides push the safety envelope and despite safeguards, accidents do occur. In this economy, I believe that park patrons need to be more careful than ever with the new breed of extreme attractions and the sometime erratic and spurious state of inspection. Chances of injuries and deaths at amusement parks seem to be rising according to statistics. There are no national standards for maintenance or inspection of amusement rides and just about anybody can set one up in a mall parking lot. It appears to this writer that many riders get a thrill from riding on a ride where someone was injured or killed.

If you or a loved one was involved in an amusement park or carnival accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced amusement park accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at www.reiffandbily.com.

In response to the Toyota Corporation sudden acceleration crisis, legislation titled “The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010" is being drafted representing one of the biggest overhauls of Federal motor vehicle safety regulation in a generation. The most recent comparable action was more than a decade ago when Congress passed new safety rules in the aftermath of the rollover problem involving Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone tires. It is likely that this bill will face opposition from automakers particularly for the following: (1) a provision that removes the existing $16.4 million dollar cap for damages; (2) civil penalties against manufacturers for violations of safety laws; and (3) boosting the fine for violations to $20,000 from the current $6,000.

Many provisions of the proposal include:

1. Require an automobile to stop within a certain distance when the vehicle’s engine is operating with an open throttle. This requirement can be met with a brake override system which insures that the brakes override the accelerator pedal.

2. All car companies will be required to install black boxes or event data recorders to record information about the vehicle before and after the crash and the black boxes must be easily downloadable by third parties.

3. New standards for vehicle electronic systems and keyless ignition systems requiring automakers to standardize the way a driver will bring the vehicle under control in an emergency.

4. Raising the cap on penalties that can be assessed against carmakers from $5,000 to $25,000 a vehicle.

5. NHTSA would receive additional funding and new powers including the ability to order an immediate recall if it finds an imminent hazard of death or serious injury.

6. Includes whistle blower protections and promotes reporting of vehicle defects by requiring a sticker on new vehicles with contact information for the NHTSA.

7. Auto executives who knowingly provide false information to federal regulators would be liable for fines up to $250 million dollars.

8. Create a $9.00 fee per vehicle payable by the manufacturer to fund NHTSA and enforcement of the new requirements under the bill.

The experienced Pennsylvania product liability lawyers and Pennsylvania vehicle defect lawyers and Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily salute Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) for proposing this legislation.

As experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers and Pennsylvania vehicle defect lawyers since 1979, we believe that it is finally time for the government to start holding automakers accountable for hiding defects, as well as for it to promote vehicle safety.