Illegal Electrical Wiring In Apartment Buildings And Housing Often Leads To Catastrophic Fires, Death, And Injuries
A recent news story published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on February 23, 2011 noted that PECO technicians found an illegal electrical hookup in a two story building at 503 West Dolphin Street which may have caused a fire.
As an experienced catastrophic injury and premises liability attorney who has represented victims and the families of victims injured or killed in fires, or have been burned due to illegal and improper electrical wiring, I am all too familiar with this scenario. Unfortunately, in a tightened economy, landlords and building owners try to take every shortcut they can take in order to save money. Our investigations in many cases has revealed that many times landlords or property owners retain the services of non-licensed electricians or contractors without giving a second thought to the safety of the residents. Believe it or not most fires are caused by improper (illegal) electrical connections or overloading. Pennsylvania, like most other states, has strict laws forbidding anyone from doing illegal electrical work. Most times electrical work in apartment houses or homes needs to be inspected, and a licensed and proper contractor is required to have insurance against damages caused by their work.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that there are over 50,000 residential home or apartment fires each year due to defective wiring resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths and thousands of catastrophic injuries, as well as a half billion dollars a year in property damage.
The defective product and catastrophic injury lawyers of Reiff & Bily have joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm on January 1, 2011 focusing on helping people with burn injuries caused by defective wiring, defective products, or defective or unsafe electrical systems. Since 1958, both The Beasley Firm and Reiff & Bily law firm have utilized extensive experience in handling catastrophic injury and death cases with the use of experts and investigators who are nationally recognized in fields of combustion and defective products.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed as a result of a fire or defective product, it is important that you seek the services of an attorney familiar with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a track record of success. The lawyers of both Reiff & Bily and The Beasley Firm has a tremendous success record fighting large manufacturing corporations and pursuit of justice for clients who have been burned and those victims and their families who died due to fires caused by defective and recalled products. For more information, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595.
