Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

Philadelphia and the surrounding areas have been experiencing multiple large snow falls over the past few years. The percentage of people using snow blowers or snow throwers to remove the snow is on the rise. Obviously, snow blowers can make snow removal quicker and easier, but they can also cause catastrophic injury and even death.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), estimates that each year more than 5,700 patients are evaluated in emergency rooms for snow blower related accidents or injuries. Approximately 600 patients per year are seen for finger amputations and since 1992, there has been 19 deaths related to snow blower accidents. Snow blowers are the fourth leading cause of finger amputations.

Injuries from snow blowers can be caused by defects in the plastic rims of the tire, carburetor leaks, fuel tank joint and O-ring leaks, auger and discharge chute defects, clutch malfunctions and carbon monoxide poisoning. In addition, when a snow blower is turned off, there still may be enough torque built up to cause a devastating or deadly injury.

The Reiff & Bily law firm has now joined forces with the legendary Beasley product liability and design defect law firm and have successfully evaluated cases for clients who have suffered amputations, burns, lacerations, carbon monoxide poisoning, wrongful death, and other unfortunate incidents as a result of faulty or unsafe snow blowers. We believe that the manufacturers of the snow blowers should be held accountable for their mistakes. All of our product liability and design defect lawyers have been deemed as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and have received the highest ratings by Martindale Hubbell. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. Always remember our no recovery, zero fee guarantee.

In less than 24 hours, three different innocent individuals were either injured or killed when struck by snow plows. Other innocent property owners, including myself suffered plow related property damage by hit and run snow plow drivers.

In Delaware, 51-year old Denise McFadden was walking on the Washington Street Extension. The snow plow driver made a U-turn and fatally struck Ms. McFadden. She was pronounced dead at the scene due to severe head injuries.

In Milford, Police continue to investigate a hit and run accident that occurred at the intersection of High Street and Drain Place, where an unidentified woman was struck by a snow plow. The driver of the snow plow left the scene of the accident.

In Maryland, Richard Francis Ogles was walking along Mountain Road when he was fatally struck by a snow plow. The driver of the snow plow left the scene of the accident. Mr. Ogles was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Extreme caution must be taken when operating a snow plow. Unfortunately, before, during, and after a snow fall, especially a large snow storm, both State and privately owned and operated snow plow drivers are working long hours, double time, and sometimes even triple time. In addition to driver exhaustion there could be decreased visibility due to the poor weather conditions. When you have the combination of driver exhaustion and poor visibility behind the wheel of a snow plow, it can only lead to a disaster.

Snow plow accidents can lead to traumatic brain injuries or head injuries, skull fractures, spinal cord injuries or broken backs, crush injuries, and other devastating injuries, including death.

Twice in the last two weeks, a snow plow charging down my road struck at least 3 mailboxes breaking off cast aluminum stands like they were toothpicks. Yesterday, I was forced into a snowdrift while another snowplow, driving seemingly beyond the speed limit on an icy downhill suburban road, took over the highway without due regard for anybody else on the roadway. After all of these incidents, the snow plows kept going without regard for the damages inflicted. When I filed a claim with the township, I was told that these events are not as uncommon as one would think.

Since 1979, the experienced Philadelphia wrongful death and negligence law firm of Reiff & Bily has aggressively represented clients and their families who have been injured or killed by negligent snow plow drivers. Effective January 1, 2011 the Reiff & Bily law firm has joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm in Philadelphia who since 1958 has been awarded over $2 billion dollars on behalf of their clients and have hundreds of millions and multi-million dollar verdicts, settlements, and awards to their credit. Please contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for a free, no obligation consultation.

On December 19, 2009, a full Devil’s Head ski lift suddenly stopped, sparked, and then sent the seats screaming backwards at a high rate of speed. Riders, fearing for their lives, jumped from their seats, seriously injuring 14 of the riders.

On December 28, 2010, while workers were trying to realign a ski lift cable at Sugarloaf Resort, the cable jumped its track, causing riders to plummet 25 to 30 feet below and sustain serious injuries.

Although rare, ski lift accidents do occur and when they do, they can cause catastrophic injuries and even death.

Ski lift accidents can occur due to negligence or faulty equipment. Many times, we will see cases where the ski lift operator did not stop the lift after a person fell, causing the next rider to collide with the skier lying on the landing base. In those cases, the ski lift operator was negligent. Other injuries are caused by faulty or defective equipment. Faulty or defective equipment can lead to the cable dislodging from its track, break failure, bullwheel failure, gearbox failure, back up break malfunctioning, and anti-rollback device failure that cause skiers to become thrown from their seats or fall to the ground. Faulty and defective equipment can also be caused by improper instillation or maintenance.

Ski lift accidents can lead to traumatic brain or head injuries, skull fractures, spinal cord injuries or broken backs, punctured or collapsed lungs, multiple bone fractures, lacerations and other devastating injuries, including death.

Since 1979, the experienced Philadelphia product liability, wrongful death, and negligence law firm of Reiff & Bily has aggressively represented clients and their families who have been injured by a faulty ski lift or negligent ski lift operator. Effective January 1, 2011 the Reiff & Bily law firm has joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm in Philadelphia who since 1958 has been awarded over $2 billion dollars on behalf of their clients and have hundreds of millions and multi-million dollar verdicts, settlements, and awards to their credit. Please contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for a free, no obligation consultation.

On November 14, 2010, a powerful explosion ripped through the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Seven people were killed. The investigation indicated that a leaking gas line was to blame. Although eight emergency phone calls were made to secure medical attention, hotel security forces prevented ambulances and police from entering the resort complex, stranding all emergency personnel at least a kilometer from the blast site.

As an experienced negligent security and premises liability attorney, this situation presents what appears to be in my opinion a “train wreck" with evidence of gross negligence. In fact, reports indicate that one of the hotel representatives or managers in the lobby was quoted as saying “stop everyone" to security guards when emergency forces went to enter the premises. To add insult to injury, according to news reports, the hotel staff chased away journalists and investigators, beating them with sticks and fire extinguishers. This is a classic example of placing image and profitability over safety. Nothing is more precious than a human life and rather than let those properly trained to attend to the victims, frantic hotel workers untrained in safety and medical procedures with inadequate safety equipment and having no idea how to deal with an emergency attended to the unfortunate victims. In fact, the wife of a gentleman who passed away with her son in the explosion stated that a lifeguard showed up with a box of band aids.

As an experienced hotel safety and inadequate security and premise liability lawyer, I am very much aware that the safety of hotel, motel, resort, and cruise ship guests must be a top priority for owners and operators. Safety of guests should never be an option. Unfortunately this is often not the case, as this case indicates. It is essential that hotel and motel owners be oriented towards the security and safety of guests. If they had been in the situation at hand, perhaps 7 lives and countless other catastrophic injuries could have been saved and/or prevented.

Since 1979, the experienced inadequate security and hotel safety lawyers of the Pennsylvania hotel safety law firm of Reiff & Bily have aggressively represented clients and their families who have been injured on the premises or resort of another, including hotels, motels, inns, apartment homes, shopping malls, casinos, and cruise ships. Effective January 1, 2011 the Reiff & Bily law firm has joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm in Philadelphia who since 1958 has been awarded over $2 billion dollars on behalf of their clients and have hundreds of millions and multi-million dollar verdicts, settlements, and awards to their credit.

For a free, no obligation consultation, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

For over 30 years, our experienced Philadelphia slip and fall lawyers successfully represented individuals who have slipped and fell on snow and ice. We have secured many multi-million dollar awards for victims of slip and fall accidents. In Pennsylvania, property owners have a duty to keep their property safe for all people who have a right to be there. This includes proper snow and ice removal in the winter months. Pennsylvania law dictates that a property owner has an obligation to remove snow or ice from sidewalks or walkways, driveways, and parking lots and must do so within a reasonable time after a snowfall or ice storm. It is reasonable to expect that the owner of a property should lay salt or sand to prevent an accumulation of ice on a slippery surface where one could fall, break bones, or sustain a serious spinal injury.

In one of our recent cases, a medical nurse slipped and fell exiting a medical building causing spinal injuries requiring multiple spinal fusions. Obviously, it is unlikely that she will be able to work for the rest of her life and if she is able to work, it will most likely be in a reduced and diminished capacity resulting in a significant loss of income in addition to tremendous medical bills. Her doctors have noted that she will require lifetime care for her spinal injuries and the experienced Philadelphia premises liability and slip and fall lawyers at Reiff & Bily believe that the property owner should be held accountable and responsible for payment of the same.

If you or a loved one has sustained a slip and fall injury on snow or ice, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania slip and fall attorneys for a free, no obligation consultation. We always offer a no recovery, zero fee guarantee. Please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

When parents give birth to a new baby, it is supposed to be one of the most joyous moments of life. Unfortunately, too many times infants suffer brain and birth injuries during the birth process that will significantly impact a child’s life forever. Recently our experienced birth injury and medical malpractice lawyers were consulted by the parents of a child who was born with a hypoxic brain injury which means in layman’s terms that she did not receive enough oxygen to her brain during the birthing process. Due to the resulting brain injury, the newborn child will most likely have an inability to become adequately educated and will therefore sustain impaired earning capacity and incur additional medical costs throughout her lifetime.

The Reiff & Bily law firm has now joined forces with the legendary Beasley medical malpractice law firm and have successfully represented mom’s and babies in unfortunate incidents such as the above mentioned that involved brain damage, cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, Erb’s palsy, fractures, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and we believe healthcare providers should be held accountable for their negligence. All of our child brain and birth injury and medical malpractice lawyers have been deemed as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and have received the highest ratings by Martindale Hubbell. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. Always remember our no recovery, zero fee guarantee.

While many experts and vehicle defect attorneys have focused on potential flaws in the electronic throttle control systems on Toyotas leading to sudden acceleration, there have been many concerns surrounding this issue as well as difficulty proving the existence of electronic defects. Sources indicate that Toyota settled at least one sudden acceleration case so far for $10 million to the families of four people killed when a Lexus ES accelerated out of control in California in 2009. While many other auto manufacturers including Nissan, Volkswagen, BMW, and Chrysler have been using brake override systems for years, Toyota has been lagging behind, and in fact, NHTSA investigators approached Toyota regarding the possibility of installing brake override systems as early as August 2007. The following year Toyota ordered a feasibility study of the technology. Recently a United States Federal Judge handling most of the federal cases against Toyota denied efforts by Toyota to dismiss many of the allegations against it and particularly noted “the absence of a brake override system." Toyota has agreed to pay almost $50 million in fines for failing to properly notify regulators of defects and for delaying recalls.

It seems to this experienced auto defect and product lawyer that Toyota maintains a clear pattern of ignoring or downplaying important safety issues. Safety should never be an option and public accountability and safety should take precedence over profitability.

The experienced vehicle product liability law firm of Reiff & Bily has been taking on the big automakers, representing individuals who have sustained catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths due to automotive product defects. We are currently involved with a number of Toyota sudden acceleration claims.

Over the past few months, our office has received inquiries from many individuals suffering extraordinary medical problems stemming from DePuy Orthopedic ASR hip implants. On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, a unit of Johnson and Johnson announced a recall of its hip implants known as ASR XL Acetabular and AR Hip Resurfacing Systems. The DePuy ASR hip was implanted in over 93,000 patients worldwide and when it fails there are significant medical problems.

Due to a design flaw in the implant, many of the clients in cases we have investigated have been experiencing loosening and failure of the implant, as well as metallic poisoning. The ASR implant is a metal-on-metal implant. The friction of metal-on-metal causes microscopic shavings and debris to be released into the surrounding tissue and blood resulting in painful inflammatory reaction to tissue and high blood metal content leading to metallic poisoning. As we have comprehensively investigated these circumstances and have spoken to medical experts, it is apparent that replacement and additional surgeries often have less than optimum results, many times putting the patient in worse condition than prior to the original surgery. The secondary surgery often requires painful recovery and rehabilitation, leaving those in an infirm condition in a precarious state.

The experienced Pennsylvania product liability lawyers and DePuy hip implant recall lawyers of Reiff & Bily have taken an active role with the Beasley Law Firm and other national law firms to aggressively represent the interests of those who have sustained adverse consequences resulting in pain, suffering, and loss of compensatory damages as a result of a DePuy hip implant gone wrong.

For more information, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. We have a successful track record in product liability cases for over 30 years.

As an experienced vehicle defect and product liability lawyer, I have fought hard over the last 32 years with many of my legal brethren across the United States to improve vehicle safety, maintaining that safety should never be an option and that automobile manufacturers ought to emphasize safety over profitability. 2010 is shaping up to be the largest year for recalls in the defective product arena. A Los Angeles Times article published on December 16th stated “The most comprehensive overhaul of motor vehicle safety laws in a decade which once seemed certain in the wake of Toyota’s sudden acceleration problems may never reach a vote from Congress."

Proposed legislation S.3302 has 23 major provisions that would create new safety standards and increase fines against automakers for violating Federal rules and put an emphasis for the first time on safeguarding electronic systems now ubiquitous in motor vehicles. Legislation evolved as a result of investigations into the fatal accidents involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles that were the victim of sudden acceleration. It appears the main obstacle to passing the legislation according to auto safety advocates seems to be a Republican contingent which states there are higher priorities.

In this experienced product liability lawyer’s view, safety is and should be the number one priority. I have handled too many cases involving brain injuries, deaths, and catastrophic injuries which could have easily been prevented if this new proposed legislation was in place. The proposed bill would require vehicles to have a brake override system that cuts power if the driver applies the brake and the gas pedal is stuck. The bill would also increase civil penalties for violations of safety rules to a maximum of $300 million from $15 million now and for the first time establish standards for electronic systems that now operate vehicles.

As an experienced Pennsylvania product liability and auto defect lawyer since 1979, I make it my business to study and understand the defective product recall landscape. There is almost never a day that goes by when there is not a new recall posted. If you or your family owns a car there is a chance greater than not that you have received a recall notice this year. At my house we purchased two new cars, and yet there were two recalls due to potential catastrophic causing defects. One of them involved a brand new BMW for its failure to accelerate properly. As a Pennsylvania vehicle defect lawyer who sees some of the worst case scenarios one can imagine including wrongful death, paraplegia, quadriplegia, as well as other catastrophic brain injuries, I can state one thing for sure – if you receive a recall notice or miss the recall notice, it’s a big mistake. As Louis Pasteur once said, “chance favors the prepared mind." A product recall most likely can prevent you and your loved ones from being involved in an accident, perhaps catastrophically injuring or killing you. For safety’s sake, it is not a bad idea to check the NHTSA website at safercar.gov and click on defects investigation and search complaints. You can also contact your automobile dealer’s repair department for current recall information, and always remember that if your vehicle is recalled, the cost for the repair is on the dealer.

The Office of Defects Investigation opened an investigation exploring rear axle failure of Windstar minivans. Real world data on Ford vehicles that have been serviced for up to 12 years supports the conclusion that a fracture of the rear axle in the vehicle can be dangerous and can lead to death. On October 15th Sean Bowman, a 22-year-old coast guard veteran and father of two young daughters, died when the rear axle of his 2001 Windstar suddenly failed and his vehicle crashed into a building in Massachusetts. The passenger in the vehicle was also catastrophically injured and remains hospitalized.

Prior to this, Ford had received hundreds of complaints and the vehicle had been recalled. Unfortunately for Sean Bowman and his passenger, they received their recall notice three days after the deadly crash and six weeks after the recall campaign had been announced. During a field test simulating an axle failure at 35 mph, the Windstar lost one rear wheel entirely and experienced a severe two wheel tip-up. If the test van had not been equipped with outriggers, it would have sustained a rollover. Ford states “vehicle testing simulating a separation of the rear attachment of lower control arm from the right subframe has shown that with moderate brake application that the vehicle can be steered and safely stopped. Vehicle testing simulating fracture of front subframe in the area of the rear body has shown that the vehicle remains absolutely controllable." The investigation still remains open.

Bottom line, if you or a loved one is the owner of a Ford Winstar minivan, be careful and return it to the dealer for a careful inspection and analysis. There are approximately 612,000 affected Windstars and for customers owning Windstar models from 1998 through 2000, Ford is offering to repurchase the vehicle at Blue Book “excellent" value regardless of condition.

At the Pennsylvania vehicle defect and airbag defect law firm of Reiff & Bily, we believe that safety should never be an option. We were recently retained by the family of a young woman who was broadsided by another vehicle that ran a red light when the young operator was not paying attention and speaking on a cell phone. Our client, who is now in a coma with a severe brain injury, had a green light and was t-boned on the driver’s side at the B-pillar where an airbag sensor would normally be. The technology to use side airbags at the time of the manufacture of this car was well known, and in fact many other vehicle manufacturers had chosen to use side airbags to prevent such a catastrophic injury from occurring. However on this particular vehicle it was an option.

The purpose of airbags is to keep the occupants of the vehicle safe during an impact, and testing the same vehicle revealed that had an airbag been in position and properly deployed, the victim would not have sustained nearly as severe an injury if not any injury at all. One of the most common problems we see in airbag cases is the failure to deploy. However, many problems also occur when airbags are not installed in vehicles when in fact they should have been. In our case, we will argue that the car manufacturer had airbags in its other vehicles; however, they failed to install them in this particular vehicle. We believe that automobile manufacturers have an obligation to meet certain safety standards and to fulfill their promises to customers putting safety over profitability, and of course, putting safety first.

As an experienced product liability lawyer for the last 30 years who has successfully taken on some of America’s major corporations, I am very much concerned personally and as a professional by the results of the investigations and consequences of many clients suffering problems as a result of defective DePuy hip implants. Generally a hip implant should last at least 15 years, but many of the DePuy ASR hip implant replacement devices have lasted less than 5 years with multiple complications including but not limited to pain and stiffness, metallic poisoning, metal shavings released in the blood stream and long and painful rehabilitation processes and often have medical complications not to mention monetary losses due to inability to function or work.

The experienced product liability and medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily together with the Beasley Law Firm have successfully represented the rights of injured consumers against major corporations and together have recovered awards on behalf of clients in excess of $2 billion dollars. Many of the clients that we are speaking to are angry, frustrated, and do not know what to do. Not surprisingly, many of the physicians who installed these devices are also concerned and not sure how to proceed. Our lawyers have gathered a group of leading physicians to review and investigate these cases to determine eligibility at no cost to our client for their ability to prosecute a claim against DePuy for resulting damages. It is important to contact a DePuy hip implant lawyer now as thousands have already begun the process by submitting information necessary for investigative review. Time may be of the essence.

If you or a loved one has sustained an injury and resulting damages as a result of a DePuy ASR hip implant, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

Philadelphia was just honored with the title of being the “number one judicial hellhole" in the U.S. according to the American Tort Reform Association. The American Tort Reform Association stated that Philadelphia just unseated South Florida as a jurisdiction least fair to defendants in their eyes. ATRA further states that (believe it or not) Philadelphia is looking for ways to open itself up to new lawsuits, and claims that certain judges wish to make Philadelphia an attractive city to plaintiffs’ attorneys because “in addition to generating substantial fees for the Court, out-of-state lawyers are also an economic stimulus for Philadelphia."

As an experienced Philadelphia personal injury and car accident lawyer in Philadelphia since 1979 who has successfully represented plaintiffs in thousands of actions, I take umbrage with the position of an organization that continually strives to delay and deny people’s rights by blocking their access to the courtrooms. The tort reformists consistently attack personal injury lawyers and their clients and do not seem to understand the basic constitutional right of an individual to seek redress for their injuries from an individual or corporate entity that places a defective product or whose behavior injures that person resulting in their inability to work or enjoy the pleasures of life the same as prior to the incident.

Under the current judicial and tort-law system in Philadelphia, victims can recover compensatory damages for loss of a body part, loss of future income, monies for medical expenses, payment for pain and suffering, as well as be compensated for past and future medical bills. The classical element of damages is to provide full compensation for proved harm, or restoration via payment of money to the original state. What I find most interesting about the tort reformists is the fact that when they or their family members are injured, no matter how strong they are on their platform, they seem to be in my experience the most aggressive of all seeking recovery of compensatory damages, and their tort reform arguments seem to fall to the wayside when it comes to them personally. I generally find that the most egregious tort reform advocates are those who receive corporate, insurance industry, and lobbyist funding to communicate their views no matter how extreme, but when it comes time for their individual interests if injured ... pay me!!

At the Philadelphia catastrophic injury, car accident, and medical malpractice firm of Reiff & Bily, we will continue to represent the rights of individuals in an aggressive fashion in what we believe is the fine civil court and justice system of Philadelphia, as well as other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.