Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

This is the third Pennsylvania swimming pool accident case that I have learned about in the last few days. A 3-year old girl was found floating in a swimming pool by a Pennsylvania family. According to news sources, the toddler was playing outside of her house with her mother. After the mother put the child to sleep, the mother fell asleep as well. The toddler then left home with a diaper bag and walked down two houses to a neighbor’s pool, pried open the gate, and somehow got into the swimming pool. The neighbors found the 3-year-old floating in their pool at their home on Haul Street in Brownstone, PA. Emergency crews arrived at the pool and took the child to Children’s Hospital where the prognosis thankfully looks good. This third example of drowning or near drowning at a Pennsylvania swimming pool indicates the necessity to take strong precautions when it comes to swimming pools and safety. As I have said before, in a split second a situation such as this could have ended tragically with a drowning.

As an experienced Pennsylvania swimming pool and hot tub accident lawyer, I recommend the use of gates, alarms, and extra supervision as well as following the guidelines set forth in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s public safety campaign on pool and spa safety.

If you or a loved one would like more information on swimming pool safety or have been involved in a swimming pool, hot tub or water park accident, please contact one of our experienced lawyers for a no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A 20-year old autistic man died of hyperthermia after being left in a hot van for more than 5 hours following a trip to a suburban Philadelphia theme park. The victim, Brian Nevins, was a resident at Woods Services, a Langhorne, PA-based organization that provides support and services to people with severe disabilities.

Middletown Township police say the man was left in the van on the Woods Services campus for five hours after a trip to Sesame Place. A spokeswoman for Woods Services stated that a staff person has been suspended, but the investigation continues.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Brian Nevins who was a vulnerable and defenseless victim.

If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of negligence in an assisted living facility or nursing home, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia lawyers for a free consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Pennsylvania amusement park injury lawyer who has witnessed and investigated my fair share of catastrophic amusement park accidents, I was sorry to learn that six people were killed on a brand new thrill ride at a popular Asian amusement park. Nine people were catastrophically injured when the Space Journey Amusement, a dome-like space shuttle simulator plunged 12 meters to the ground with more than 40 people inside the ride. One of the persons who was inside the ride stated that there was a sudden loud boom inside the cabin and then everything went black. A lucky rider who escaped unhurt stated, “There was a power cut when the crash happened and I smelled something burning." Another rider stated that she made it out without serious injury but recalled a smell of burning rubber and the door was jammed, trapping people inside. Most of the riders were found unconscious and rushed to the hospital.

Forty-four people were on the Space Journey amusement ride, which has a capacity for 48 at the time of the accident. The dome-like device offers a thrill of a rocket launch spinning 360 degrees while going up and down with a 24 meter wide screen providing space scenes. The simulated journey was coming to the end of a five minute routine when all went wrong in this newly designed thrill feature. The ride was designed to hold 48 thrill-seeking riders circularly on a simulator 4 to a row after which the simulator spins while taking riders up and down a height of 12 meters. An engineer thought that the accident was caused by “high acceleration due to gravity." He explained that the dropping of the simulator can create an extremely high impact force of twice the weight of its five tons.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Pennsylvania amusement park accident or water park accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania amusement park accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Having back surgery is scary enough. In fact, it is the surgery that I most fear due to potential risks and complications. As a matter of fact as an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, I have seen some fairly complex, unfortunate, and preventable complications occur due to medical malpractice. Recently a colleague of mine went to a well known local physician for back surgery and woke up with post-operative visual loss (POVL). It was determined that the same was caused by the failure of anesthesiologists to monitor blood status and maintain blood pressure during a long spinal surgery.

Unfortunately, one can suffer changes in vision and sometimes total blindness after a major surgical procedure. In particular, multilevel surgery on the lumbar spine is known to be associated with visual loss. Although the incidents of POVL ranges from 0.05% to 4.5% in surgical cases, the common cause of POVL is a decrease in blood and oxygen to the optic nerve, known as ischemic optic neuropathy. A duty to maintain adequate blood circulation oxygenation during surgery falls on the anesthesiologist. Blindness from poor anesthesia administration or technique is one of the top patient safety concerns among anesthesiologists but is often not routinely discussed with patients before surgery. Typically during a multi-level spinal surgery, the patient is placed face down and in this position, the patient’s abdomen is pushed in putting pressure on the diaphragm and lungs, causing decreased ventilation.

If you or a loved one have awakened from surgery with a visual deficiency or blindness, it is important to consult an experienced Pennsylvania malpractice attorney in order to fully investigate and protect your rights. It is important to investigate and obtain expert opinions from anesthesiologists or ophthalmologists in order to establish breach of standard of care, as well as causation. The defense will always try to argue that POVL is a rare, unpredictable, and unpreventable problem. Retaining an experienced medical malpractice attorney who has conducted a proper investigation both legally and medically would be a prudent step to take.

If you have sustained harm as a result of medical negligence, the experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff & Bily have been representing clients who have been injured by preventable medical errors for over 31 years with a successful track record. If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

In late June, I had the opportunity to speak with Representatives of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission with regard to their campaign to attempt to reduce pool and spa drownings. As a Pennsylvania swimming pool and water accident lawyer, I am all too familiar with the tragic consequences of drowning and other water-related injuries that are often so preventable. As temperatures rise in the Pennsylvania area and around the United States, millions of Americans will flock to swimming pools. It is important to take various protective water safety tips to save the lives of children. Believe it or not, drowning is the leading cause of death for children under 5.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is Federal legislation signed into law in 2007 mandating new legal requirements for public pool and spa safety including a public education program designed to increase public awareness, promote industry compliance, and improve safety at pools and spas. Unfortunately, my experience as an experienced Pennsylvania accident and swimming pool lawyer has been that many pool owners and operators in a tough economy have not complied with the mandates of these new laws. The most important steps for any parent to take is to constantly be on the lookout for children in and around a pool area.

–Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your child when they are in or near a pool or spa.

–Teach children basic water safety tips.

–Avoid entrapment by keeping children away from all pool drains, pipes, and other openings.

–Have a phone close by at all times when you or your family are using a pool or spa.

–If a child is missing, look for them in a pool or spa first.

–Share safety instructions with all family, friends, and neighbors.

–Learn how to swim and teach your children how to swim.

–Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults and update regularly.

–Understand the basics of lifesaving so that you can assist in a pool emergency.

–Install a 4 foot fence around the perimeter of the pool and spa and use self closing and self latching gates.

–If your house serves as a 4th side of a fence around a pool, install a pool alarm and use it all the time.

–Make sure your pool or any spa used has complying drain covers and ask if you don=t know.

–Have lifesaving equipment such as life rings or floats available for easy use.

For more information visit the following website www.poolsafety.gov or view YouTube at www.youtube.com/poolsafety.

The Pennsylvania swimming pool and water accident safety lawyers of Reiff & Bily are committed to preventing drownings, catastrophic accidents, and brain trauma which result from negligent pool safety. The swimming season has kicked off and we want parents and children to stay safe.

As one travels through life, he or she recognizes that nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood. The greatness of a doctor is not cancelled by one act or a single error. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you don’t respond with encores and take responsibility for your actions or inactions. As experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers, we have investigated and litigated many cases where a great doctor or friend of a client has made a serious medical error and has committed medical malpractice resulting in catastrophic consequences and unfortunately sometimes fatalities.

When a doctor makes a serious mistake and commits medical malpractice, there are generally life-altering consequences for the patient. Many times there is a cover-up of the true circumstances which leads to a medical disaster, and an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer must investigate and work with a team of experts to unravel the mysteries which conceal the truth. Our experience has shown us that with each serious medical malpractice claim, there is generally tremendous physical economic and emotional hardships faced by the victims that can often times be overwhelming.

At the Philadelphia medical malpractice firm of Reiff & Bily, we understand how a doctor’s mistake can impact your life and the loss of your dreams and hopes. We believe that all wrongdoers should be held accountable for the damages they have caused.

If you or a loved one has sustained an injury as the result of medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Pennsylvania amusement park lawyer, I have written before and investigated claims involving seemingly innocent inflatable amusements where many unfortunate catastrophic injuries and fatalities have occurred. Recently the death of a child at an amusement park was caused by a jumping castle that was lifted away by strong winds. Unfortunately many parents and children who attend amusement parks are unaware of the hidden dangers and despite minimal warnings posted on rides and amusements, most of the owners and operators of parks are able to escape scott-free after injury causing accidents due to legislation with minimal teeth and failure of government officials to properly monitor and regulate it. Many times inflatable rides are set up on short notice at homes, children’s birthday parties, or other carnivals where the quality of installation and monitoring is minimal. There are virtually no existing laws to determine what safeguards need to be in place before such rides are set up and, worse yet, there are few safety warnings.

As an experienced Pennsylvania amusement park and water park accident attorney, I have received a number of calls concerning amusement park accidents that have never been reported. Since the beginning of May this year, it seems that along with the economic crisis comes a lack of adequate or minimal maintenance and the hiring of uneducated and unqualified personnel to monitor the rides. These issues need to be explored in order to avoid other unnecessary tragedies.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an amusement park or water park accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania amusement park and Pennsylvania water park accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Dixie Landin Theme Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was the scene of a tragic roller coaster accident on Sunday, July 11, 2010 when a woman fell from the “Extreme" roller coaster during a thrill ride. Emergency medical services were dispatched at 4:10 p.m. and the woman identified as 21-year old Lindsey Zeno of Lafayette was pronounced dead at 5:15 p.m. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Ms. Zeno.

As experienced amusement park accident and wrongful death lawyers, we are somewhat concerned about lax safety and inspection regulations concerning amusement parks throughout the United States. Interestingly enough, inspectors have not identified a failure in the coaster. However, it is this experienced amusement park accident attorney’s opinion that the family of Ms. Zeno would be best served to seek the services of an experienced roller coaster accident and amusement park accident attorney to investigate this claim to hold any and all responsible parties accountable for their tragic loss of this 21-year old girl. The best and experienced amusement park accident attorneys always offer a free no obligation consultation. Please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

During June 2009, 148,683 passengers embarked on 18,725 regularly scheduled flights from Philadelphia International Airport. If you have flown through the airport recently, the process of getting on and off of planes and traversing through Philadelphia International Airport can often times be stressful. As crowds gather through security or security check points or at the curb to check luggage, many times airport personnel are not paying attention or are not fully tuned into the task at hand. They make careless errors causing serious injuries and unfortunately sometimes fatalities.

In the past, the experienced Philadelphia premise liability and aircraft accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have successfully handled claims where passengers have been ejected from airline transport carts, dropped from wheelchairs, injured by a baggage cart, by construction hazards, by wet floors, resulting in a slip and fall, or even by being accosted by aggressive airport personnel. Sometimes there are injuries on the tarmac or in the airport lounge or on the buses that transport you on or about airport property. It is generally clear-cut that an airline is responsible for accidents that occur on its own planes. However, the responsibility for injuries in an airport terminal itself, on the tarmac, or in airport lounges requires careful investigation. It is important to contact an experienced airport premises liability and airport accident lawyer to make sure that the proper entity or person is sued for your injuries.

If you have been injured in an airplane accident, aviation accident, or airport accident, please feel free to contact one of our Pennsylvania airport and airplane accident attorneys for a free, no obligation consultation.

A famous Philadelphia tourist attraction duck boat packed with tourists on a steamy July afternoon crashed at approximately 2:30 p.m. sending 37 adults and children into the Delaware River. At the time of this writing two passengers are missing, a 17-year girl and a 19-year old man and marine units are searching the river with sonar equipment. The Coast Guard has recovered 35 individuals. According to witness Talmadge Robinson, the duck boat was stopped on the river when the collision occurred. The witness was sitting ashore when he saw the barge approaching the immobile and disabled duck Boat. There was a loud bang as the duck Boat was literally “a sitting duck". People were screaming. According to the witness, the tug boat had enough time to avoid the Duck Boat. Many of the children swam to the Camden side, not wearing life jackets, and were rescued by the police. According to witness Norman Sevara, age 41, the duck Boat hit the barge “It hit pretty hard and pulled the boat under. It went straight under." Eight of the passengers were taken to the hospital for treatment. The striking barge named “The Resource" was owned by K-Sea Transportation and was being pushed by a tug on its port side. The duck boat is operated by “Ride The Ducks" which began operating in Philadelphia in 2003 and operates 15 duck boats in the city and operates about 90 vessels in several cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Memphis, and Branson, Missouri. “Ride the Ducks" is owned by the Herschend Family Entertainment Company which is located near Atlanta and operates Camden’s Adventure Aquarium, The Dollywood Theme Park, as well as many other water adventure parks. In a 1999 accident another amphibious tour boat The Miss Majestic sank and killed 13 passengers in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragic and seemingly preventable accident. We wish all the victims the best for a speedy and complete recovery and will keep them in our prayers.

Based upon a news report, it appears that the operator of the barge and tug could be at fault and if it is determined that they caused this accident, they could be held liable for injuries and damages caused to the victims. All of the victims and their families would be well advised to consult with an experienced Pennsylvania personal injury and Pennsylvania boating and watercraft accident attorney who could advise them about their legal rights and options. In such cases, accident victims can seek compensation to cover medical expenses, lost wages, costs of hospitalization and other related damages. For a free no obligation consultation, please contact one of our experienced attorneys at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com. Our record of success speaks for itself.

When I was a young boy, I use to spend many hours making fireworks, M-80's, ashcans, smoke bombs, and Roman Candles in my basement with my friends. We would laugh with glee as we blew up Campbell soup cans and other similar contraptions until one of my best friends blew off his middle finger due to a defective fuse and firework.

I am now 55-years old and I will never forget the screams of my friend and the bleeding stump of the finger that was left when an M-80 blew up in his hand as he lit a defective fuse that ignited the M-80 in rapid fire fashion before he was able to toss it.

Demand for fireworks has skyrocketed in Pennsylvania and nationwide. According to U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, firework imports into the United States have increased 700% in the past 30 years. As you drive on Pennsylvania highways, you will see signs advertising Phantom Fireworks who have established hundreds of seasonal tents in Pennsylvania selling state legal sparklers, fountains and novelties. The southeastern states along the I-95 corridor showcase a number of seasonal firework operations that sell the bigger stuff or the supplies necessary to make M-80's or other explosive devices. The National Fire Protection Association has formed an alliance to stop consumer fireworks, stating that “There is no such thing as a safe firework." During the 4th of July weekend, over 10,000 people will be injured in the United States, a large percentage of which are children. Pennsylvania allows non-explosive fireworks but prohibits anything designed to create a visible or audible effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration, or detonation. Fireworks are explosives and many people have lost their lives and limbs using them.

Continue reading " Almost Everybody Loves Fireworks Until They Get Injured – Experienced Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer Weighs In " »

Inflatable amusement rides that you often see at children’s birthday parties and many times at carnivals often look innocuously safe but can sometimes be one of the most dangerous rides possible. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission more than 31,000 people went to an emergency room after being hurt on inflatable rides between 2003 and 2007. Approximately 85% were children under the age of 15. According to Mike Trippet, an amusement park inspector in New Jersey, one of the few states to regulate inflatable rides, stated “Inflatables are as dangerous as other rides. They have a high rate of accidents."

As an experienced amusement park accident attorney who has handled cases involving negligence and inflatable rides or amusements, many times the inflatables are set up in a shoddy fashion without proper supervision. A recent tragedy was indicated by the death of 5-year-old Matthew Barnum who was killed by a inflatable park ride where according to news sources there were no employees supervising the ride.

I have gone to children’s birthday parties many times to see children under the age of 4-years-old on these inflatables jumping and frolicking with larger children and believe it or not, sometimes adults. Definitely an unsafe condition is created. As a responsible parent, you must recognize the potential dangers of inflatable rides and be there to supervise all of the jumpers.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an inflatable ride or inflatable amusement accident, please feel free to contact one or our experienced Pennsylvania amusement park and amusement ride accident lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an active bicyclist and Pennsylvania bicycle accident attorney since 1979, I am very much concerned with the increase in catastrophic bicycle accidents and bicycle fatalities revealing itself in PA DOT statistics. PennDOT spokesman Alison Wegner stated that “we do not have any proven reasons for the increase in bicycle fatalities" and then stated that she believed that a rise in gasoline prices may have prompted more commuters to take their bicycles to work. I have addressed the same concerns over the past few years and noted that many bicyclists are disobeying the rules of the roads when traveling on the streets. Bicyclists must be visible to motorists and follow all traffic laws. Many times I see cyclists disregarding the rules of the road, weaving in and out of traffic, running through traffic lights, and yes, I have witnessed a number of bicycle accidents and unfortunately fatalities as a result of such behaviors.

Motorcyclists and bicyclists must share the roads harmoniously with other vehicles and they and bicyclists must recognize the exposure to injury by accident is always greater for the cyclist. As an experienced bicycle accident attorney, I strongly advise all bicyclists on highways to wear brightly colored clothes and to use lights and reflectors at night and always, always, always wear a helmet.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a Pennsylvania bicycle accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced lawyers with a successful track record for a no fee no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.