Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

Surprisingly one third of all homeowners insurance liability claims are a result of dog bites according to an analysis by the Insurance Information Institute. Insurance companies had to pay out 6.4% more in 2009 than 2008 for dog bites. Allstate Insurance Company is now excluding certain breeds from coverage in homeowner policies. Currently some Allstate insurance policies exclude Pit Bulls, Doberman Pinschers, and Rottweilers.

In Pennsylvania over 70% of all seriously injured dog bite victims are children. The Philadelphia dog bite attorneys at Reiff & Bily have a successful track record holding dog owners responsible for injuries caused by their dogs. We recently achieved a successful outcome for an 11-year old boy who was bitten in the face by a neighbor’s dog causing permanent scarring. Not so surprisingly, at the outset when the claim was presented, the insurance company stated that the dog owner was not responsible and that the case was being tagged as a no pay, no liability case. We were able to hold the dog owner liable under Pennsylvania law and prove that he was negligent and irresponsible in the handling of his dog which was the cause of the client’s injury and permanent scarring.

Many of the nation’s leading insurance carriers are reviewing and changing their approach to handling dog bite liability issues and now more than ever if you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result of a dog bite, you need aggressive legal representation with an experienced dog bite lawyer.

Last year, there were approximately 17,000 dog bite claims in the United States which is a small percentage of the 4.5 million individuals who are bitten by dogs annually with more than 300,000 visits to U.S. hospital emergency rooms according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The highest rate of dog bite related injuries was among children ages 5 to 9. The Pennsylvania dog bite lawyers of Reiff & Bily offer a free consultation with a no recovery no fee guarantee. For more information please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Scuba diving is normally one of the greatest and safest sports activities in the world and as an avid diver for well over 40 years, I travel many times a year across the globe to scuba dive and often rent equipment in from various dive operators rather than carry my own equipment. I just returned from a trip to a number of prominent Red Sea dive resorts and was shocked to see that many of the dive shop operators were putting profits above safety when it came to renting dive equipment.

The first thing an experienced and particularly novice diver should do before each dive is check the dive gear, particularly when it is rental gear. Although diving accidents are extremely rare, a faulty regulator or BC rented from a cost cutting dive operator can lead to catastrophic injuries or a fatality. Of course, these are not issues that are frequently discussed. However, when I questioned a prominent dive guide last week why so many people died in the blue hole off of Dahab, Egypt, he answered a simple “bad equipment." I was told stories of failing regulators and buoyancy compensation devices which failed to inflate when necessary, causing the diver to plunge precipitously to an underwater death. Never assume that all rental equipment is in good order. Test it yourself. Do not be afraid to ask the dive operator when the equipment was purchased and if it is in proper working order and when and if it was tested. Always search for the most reliable and responsible dive operator and I recommend not seeking the cheapest rental or operator in the locale.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a swimming pool accident, diving accident, or other water accident, please contact one of our experienced diving and water accident attorneys for a free no obligation consultation. Our record of success speaks for itself.

Ryanair, a European budget airline, introduced new safety procedures after a child fell onto the tarmac from the top of a passenger staircase while boarding an aircraft at Stansted Airport in England. Luckily the three-year-old victim escaped with minor injuries after falling through a gap between the extendable hand rail and the top of the Boeing 737 boarding steps.

Surprisingly, fall down accidents while boarding aircraft or while in flight are not so uncommon and often result in catastrophic injuries. The experienced aviation accident and premise liability lawyers of Reiff & Bily have successfully represented individuals injured while getting on and off of planes, traversing through airports, and who have been injured during a flight. Many times injuries occur on the tarmac or in the airport lounge or on buses that transport an individual on or about airport property.

It is generally clear cut than an airline is responsible for accidents that occur on its own planes. However the accidents that occur in an airport terminal itself or on a tarmac or airport lounge require careful investigation. It is very important to contact an experienced airport premises liability and airport accident lawyer or aviation accident lawyer to make sure that the proper entity or person is sued for injuries.

The experienced Philadelphia aircraft accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily salute Ryanair’s attention and update of safety procedures after authorities concluded that the gap between the extendable hand rail and upper platform from the Boeing 737 stairs represents a “hazard to small children boarding or disembarking aircraft." It is particularly important that airlines and airport personnel follow proper safety guidelines and make assistance available to passengers accompanied by children or those with special needs. It should also be noted that the FAA in the U.S. has investigated four similar incidents.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an aviation accident or airport accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia aviation accident and airport premises liability lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for a free evaluation of your claim. Our record of success speaks for itself.

A study by Travelers Insurance Company and USI Rental Specialities concerning general liability losses for rental centers from 1996 to 2002 indicated three types of equipment generating a large number of losses are trailers, tents, and lifts. Fatalities involving lifts generally involve power line contact or failure to use fall protection. Fork lifts rank second in severity and fourth in total number of claims. Trailers rank third in severity and first in total number of claims. With regard to trailers, loader and delivery errors are responsible for 62.5% of all claims and 2 fatalities were attributed to trailers, one involving a bystander.

The main cause of trailer claims seems to be a disconnection between the towing vehicle and the trailer. As an experienced Pennsylvania trailer accident and defective trailer attorney, I am well aware that many times rental dealers do not provide adequate training and safety information verbally and in writing for rental equipment. Many times, the equipment is rented and used for purposes other than the operation for which it was designed. It is important that all rental agencies inspect and service the rental equipment before renting to users and do not modify the equipment without the manufacturers consent. All rental equipment should include new equipment with the latest industry safeguards. Old, out of date equipment, even if it is in working order, should be replaced. Obviously it takes a lot of rental income to make up for one significant loss.

As experienced trailer accident and defective trailer attorneys, we have investigated claims where rental companies have rented trailers to individuals with vehicles that were not strong enough to pull their loads. In other situations the rental company failed to properly hook up a trailer to a tow vehicle (or to instruct the renter) causing the unsecured trailer to come loose during towing, then separate and strike innocent pedestrians or passersby. Such failures led to accidents resulting in catastrophic injuries and fatalities.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a defective or unsafe trailer accident, please contact one of our experienced defective trailer accident attorneys at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com. For more information concerning the study, please click on Rental Claims Study.

In another seemingly innocent amusement park accident, ten children and adults were hospitalized when an amusement park train flipped over. This incident happened at Tiny Town Amusement Park in Colorado. The initial investigation reveals that the engine portion of the train tipped over followed by several other cars that were carrying visitors to the park. The train moves very slowly and there were 18 people evaluated for injuries, 10 of whom were transported to the hospital.

If you or a loved one has been involved or injured in an amusement park accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia amusement park accident lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for a free evaluation.

Since Memorial Day, several accidents have resulted in needless death and catastrophic injuries to operators and their guests operating jet skis around America. As an experienced jet ski and watercraft accident attorney who has practiced since 1979, I am amazed that one can go to a rental facility and get on a jet ski with a young child onboard with the apparent misconception that they are safe and easy to drive. How many of these same individuals would go out and rent a motorcycle and put their child on the back without learning how to operate it. I have been boating since I was a young boy and on a family vacation many years ago I almost had my leg amputated in a jet ski accident caused by the negligence of another operator playing “chicken."

Another incident involved a friend of mine who fractured his hip as a result of a collision with another jet ski. To this day he has a permanent disability. Most jet ski injuries are caused by collisions with other boats, other jet skis, or other objects. Many times over summer weekends there is a good chance that many jet ski operators have had one too many alcoholic beverages to drink prior to operating these complex pieces of equipment. Rider error and over-confidence is the cause of most jet ski injuries and deaths. Unfortunately, most of these catastrophic watercraft accidents involve younger operators.

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania if the maximum speed of a vessel is less 25 mph, the operator is not required to successfully complete a PA Fish and Boat Commission approved boating course. We have found that many businesses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania rent jet skis, Sea-Doos, WaveRunners, Tigersharks, and other personal watercraft to individuals who do not possess boating safety educational certificates and frankly are not aware of any of the safety regulations and potential for danger and harm concerning the operation of a personal watercraft. Simply stated, there are many accidents waiting to happen and at high speeds. These often preventable accidents many times result in catastrophic injuries and wrongful death.

If you or a loved one has been involved in personal watercraft, boating, or jet ski accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania jet ski and watercraft accident attorneys for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com. Of course, the best watercraft and boating accident attorneys always offer a free no obligation consultation.

Almost every year in America nearly 200 hundred children younger than 5-years-old drown in swimming pools and spas and more than 3,200 that age go to hospital emergency rooms due to non-fatal submersion injuries. An unknown number of these hospitalizations result in permanent disability including brain damage. As an experienced Philadelphia swimming pool accident and water accident attorney, one thing is almost always certain. That most of these injuries could have been easily prevented.

The Virginia Graeme-Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was passed as a federal child safety act designed to prevent the tragic and hidden hazard of drain entrapments and eviscerations in swimming pools and spas. Despite the fact that the law became effective on December 19, 2008, we have noticed that many swimming pools, hot tubs, public pools, and water parks are non-compliant. The law has had poor exposure to most pool operators.

A recent poll indicates that over 25% of respondents have no idea of what the Act is. 27% indicate that they are non-compliant. This raises additional concerns for the safety of children. Believe it or not many pool operators continue to place profitability over safety and claim that they cannot afford to repair a defective drain or pool. The cost of the repair for the new improved drains ranges from $30 for small drains to approximately $1,000 for large drains at theme parks or kiddie pools. There are many excellent resources available explaining the law and how to safeguard against injuries. These websites include www.safekids.org, www.nrpa.org, and www.youtube.com/poolsafety.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a swimming pool, water park, or hot tub accident, it is best that you contact an experienced swimming pool or water park accident attorney to investigate your rights. The best swimming pool accident attorney will always offer a free no obligation consultation. Please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As a practicing Pennsylvania personal injury attorney for the last 31 years, I have traveled on many major airlines and regional air carriers. Many times when I book a ticket on a major airline such as Continental, I am placed on a regional carrier such as Colgan Air. Many small towns are served solely by regional carriers. As recently as last year, Flight 3407, a Colgan Air flight, crashed outside of Buffalo en route from Newark, New Jersey killing all 49 people aboard and 1 person on the ground.

Vice President of The Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, Jeff Skiles, stated that the standards for pilots with regional carriers have been lax in the past decade. He stated that 15 years ago aspiring pilots needed thousands of flying hours and at least five or ten years in the airline business before piloting a commercial flight. Right now “they are hiring literally right out of flight college, where you might have 2 hours of flying time," Skiles said. “And all you have ever flown is a small propeller airplane that maybe travels at 100 mph. You are hired under a regional affiliate and go through a training process and simulator and your very next flight is in a corporate jet flying at 500 mph at some 30,000 feet in a high density traffic environment that you have never been in before with 50, 70, or even 100 passengers in the back."

According to an investigation by the NTSB, the pilots for Colgan Air Flight 3407 to Buffalo were undertrained and fatigued. The flight transcripts revealed were not paying attention to signs that the flight was in trouble and they reacted incorrectly when the emergency safety devices were activated. For the past 18 months, the families of Colgan Air Flight 3407 have worked to get Congress to enact higher standards for regional pilots.

Typically we expect that air travel represents one of the safer modes of transportation. However, when an aviation accident occurs, the resulting injuries can be catastrophic. Investigating aviation accidents is a complex process. Pilot error and mechanical difficulties are often common causes.

The law firm of Reiff & Bily maintains an established relationship with airline accident experts and we know how to properly investigate plane accident cases. We have over 31 years of experience in handling complex personal injury claims and understand federal aviation rules and regulations. If you or a loved one has been a victim of an aviation accident or an unsafe incident on an airline that has caused injuries, you may be entitled to compensation to offset your expenses and make you whole as well as compensatory damages for pain and suffering. The experienced aircraft accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are familiar with the investigation and prosecution of airplane disaster claims. For a free no obligation consultation, please feel free to contact one of our attorneys at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Over the July 4th holiday weekend, a number of people were tragically and catastrophically injured or killed in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey by operating jet skis and boats while under the influence of alcohol.

As an experienced Pennsylvania personal injury attorney with more than 30 years of experience handling boat accident and jet ski accident cases and after having my leg almost amputated in a jet ski accident, I am well aware of the normal dangers of operating watercraft even while in a non-intoxicated state. So far the number of personal injury accidents involving watercraft has increased substantially over last year. Jet skis make up only 3% of all watercraft but account for more than half of the accidents. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has planned a crackdown on under the influence boating violators. The operation of watercraft has its own inherent dangers, and when you add alcohol into the mix, the dangers are multiplied significantly. Most of the catastrophic boating and jet ski death accidents we have investigated have been directly related to DUI or operating a watercraft while under the influence of alcohol. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission commenced a program to “crack down" on DUI over the July 4th holiday weekend. A total of 62 people died in boating related accidents in Pennsylvania last year.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a boating, jet ski, or other watercraft accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania jet ski accident or boating accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced hay ride accident and amusement accident lawyer who regularly investigates and prosecutes hay ride accident cases, I salute the efforts of government officials in Kentucky to investigate safety laws on hay rides after the death of a 44-year-old woman. The victim, Terry Hurley, was killed after a tractor and hay ride wagon carrying 30 people on a farm jackknifed on a hill and began to slide down the hill. Investigators indicated that the tractor began to slide coming down a hill and the trailer then jackknifed at which point the victim was thrown off and struck by a wagon wheel. She was pronounced dead of head and chest injuries at the hospital. Five other people sustained injuries as well. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victims.

As an attorney who has investigated and prosecuted hay ride cases, I am surprised that there are no stringent regulations concerning who can operate farm vehicles. In this case, Dale Dobson, head of the Farm Safety Program for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture stated that Kentucky has no regulations concerning who can operate farm vehicles. “There are no laws and we don’t need any laws," he stated.

Ron Melancon, a former medical emergency technician from Richmond, Virginia, has been a stalwart consumer advocate promoting stringent safety regulations to prevent injuries and deaths resulting from defective trailers. Ron regularly collects information regarding deaths and accidents involving trailers and farm vehicles and knows that people operating hay rides or trailers often don’t even know how to work the lights or connect the trailer properly. Ron states, “a lot of trailers out there are just in bad condition." For more information go to Ron’s website at www.dangeroustrailers.org or visit our website www.reiffandbily.com and click on our dedicated subsections devoted to defective trailers and hay ride accidents.

Many trailers are homemade and do not require licenses to operate. Nobody is there to verify that it is safe. Unfortunately, many of the laws being used in 2010 are from the 1920's and 30's. Not so surprisingly, in excess of 400,000 people a year are injured in trailer accidents in the United States and many of these unfortunately involve children and unsuspecting patrons at Halloween hay rides. We recently concluded a case where a young man and his mother were run over by the wheels of a Halloween hay ride amusement ride.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a hay ride, amusement, or defective trailer accident, please contact one of our attorneys for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.