Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

As an experienced Pennsylvania premise liability lawyer for over three decades, I have investigated and litigated thousands of slip and fall cases that occurred as a result of small changes in elevation, most notably a single step. How many times have you unknowingly tripped or fell on a single step which only represents a small elevation change. Single step elevation changes are common in many new buildings, restaurants, hotels, and museums. In fact, when I was designing my own home, the architect and designer suggested a step down in my center foyer to a family room, and I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have slipped or guests have slipped on the same.

I have witnessed hundreds of slip and fall on single step designs and have come to the conclusion with many experts that the benefits of the same simply do not outweigh the risk. In fact, I have been able to prove that without careful attention given to lighting, floor finishes, railings, floor coverings and ways to assure that pedestrians are fully aware of changes in elevations, a slip and fall accident is more likely than not to occur.

Many of the premises liability slip and fall cases that our Philadelphia slip and fall law firm has handled have involved a substantial impairment to a victim’s life in terms of one’s potential ability to earn, pay medical bills, as well as affecting lifetime physical impairments that impact them in their daily duties and activities. Many people give little thought to surfaces or slight elevations until they slip, trip, or fall. A premise liability or slip and fall case can often be the most difficult case to litigate due to the fact that insurance companies and property owners defend them ruthlessly, almost always blaming the victim.

If you have been involved in a slip and fall accident, the experienced Philadelphia premise liability and slip and fall accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily work with teams of engineers, architects, and property design experts all of who understand state, local, and federal safety codes. Our experienced team of Philadelphia slip and fall premises liability attorneys have made some of our most significant recoveries on behalf of slip and fall victims. We always offer a free, no obligation consultation. Contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

When I was a young teenager in school one of my favorite books to read was “To Kill A Mockingbird". Atticus Finch, the fictional protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a lawyer in a small Alabama county and has been named as one of the greatest heroes in American film. In a rousing speech given to the jury, Finch claims “There is one way in this country in which all men are created equal – there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college President. That institution gentlemen is the court".

Although fictional, Atticus Finch has always been one of my heroes and one of the main reasons that I became a lawyer.

Every person is entitled to every presumption of reaching the heights of a lifetime without sustaining injuries that could have been easily prevented had it not been for the negligence of others, or a defectively designed product.

As an experienced Pennsylvania product liability and motor vehicle defect lawyer for over three decades, I have recognized that money, power, and greed often leads to ruthless and preventable catastrophic injuries and deaths that will greatly affect my clients and their families for the rest of their life. Many times when I visit a new case, I seethe with anger (which is not a bad starting point) as I search to put the pieces of the puzzle together which will shine a light on how my clients and their families were betrayed. In most cases the facts reveal that the victim suffered a wrong and is fully entitled to justice. One must always stand for something or you fall for anything.

I see how insurance companies and corporate defendants continue to turn their backs on catastrophically injured individuals or the victims of families who are wrongfully killed when the bills of life keep coming and the medical costs keep accumulating. I do believe that the right to enjoy one’s life in a safe and proper manner is not one thing, it is everything. Jeffrey Reiff is the founding partner of Reiff and Bily, a catastrophic injury and wrongful death law firm in Philadelphia, PA.

It has often been stated by legislators and lawmakers that greedy trial lawyers and their clients take advantage of the legal system by seeking large verdicts after they are injured by the negligence of another or by a defectively designed or defectively manufactured product.

For years, as an experienced catastrophic injury attorney, I would have friends talk to me about the famous “McDonald’s coffee case" when in fact they had no idea what that case was really about. In fact, the hot coffee propaganda campaign in the newspapers was funded by major corporations who have spent millions of dollars to distort the case promoting tort reform.

I urge all of my readers to view “Hot Coffee" which clearly reveals how large businesses and corporations aided by the media manipulated the public with lies to protect corporate interests. The film follows the lives of four individuals whose lives were devastated by the attacks on our courts, and challenges assumptions many Americans hold about “jackpot justice".

For over three decades, I have recognized that the collective 500 years of wisdom of individuals comprising a jury have more common sense than anyone else in the courtroom. It is conventional wisdom that products, cars, amusement rides, and premises should be safe from defects. Occupy Wall Street began a worldwide movement protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, as well as corruption and the undue influence that corporations have. The 7th Amendment of the United States Constitution grants us all the right to a trial by a jury of our peers.

Many of the product liability cases that our office regularly investigates and litigates involves someone’s deepest and darkest fears coming true. Imagine receiving a phone call in the middle of the night notifying you that your child or another loved one has been wrongfully killed as a result of being involved in a car accident caused by a defective product design or mechanism that the manufacturers have known for years created an unsafe condition. Everyone has the right to expect that when they purchase an automobile, they are buying a safe car and that safety should never be an option. Yet, in many of our automobile product liability cases, we have been able to show that automobile manufacturers concealed known defects putting the profitability and greed of corporate interests above consumer safety. Simply put, cutting corners on product design or manufacture and not putting safety first is never acceptable. The prevention of an injury must always be priority number one. Cars should be designed to be safe for everyone, adults and children. Concealing safety issues with bold faced lies in the name of business and profits is simply intolerable.

The experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily understand that one must never be afraid to stand up to big business and corporations. If you or a loved one has been injured by the defective design or manufacture of a product, contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania product liability lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation toll free at 1-800-421-95959 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

While the Consumer Protection Safety Commission estimates that the number of serious injuries on amusement park rides continue to increase dramatically, there are serious loopholes in the Consumer Product Safety Act of 1981 which prohibits the CPSC from regulating and enforcing the safety of all rides that are fixed to a specific site. Unfortunately, there is no official source which keeps a complete record of amusement park accidents. As an experienced amusement park accident attorney who has investigated and litigated some of the most horrific amusement park accidents that one can imagine, the one thing that I do understand is there is something fundamentally wrong with the checks and balances and safety protocol of the amusement park safety system as it currently exists in America.

Many times local and state regulators who currently oversee amusement parks lack effective budgets, resources, and technical expertise to carry out effective safety checks and investigate accidents. Our experiences reveal that when we conduct independent unbiased examinations and analysis of an amusement accident, the results are greatly at odds with the opinions of local regulators and authorities.

According to news sources, Lego Land in Florida reported six mishaps involving guests that occurred during its first two and a half months of operation but claim none of the instances appeared to have serious injuries. Believe it or not a Florida statute exempts Lego Land in Florida and many other major theme parks in Florida from regulation by the state bureau even though the attractions are required to submit quarterly incident reports. This exemption applies to theme parks of at least 1,000 employees and their own inspection staff. While many of the parks claim that safety is their number one concern and claim they have a duty to report any serious injuries or major incidents, the obvious question is begged as to what is a “serious incident".

I have always believed that one must stand for something or you will fall for anything. It is only when a horrific accident involving a catastrophic injury or wrongful death occurs at an amusement park that the victim or the family of the victim feels the true betrayal of an inefficient regulatory system.

Unfortunately, money, power, and greed of the amusement park industry often leads to unnecessary injuries and worse yet death.

As an experienced amusement park and carnival accident attorney, I believe that leaving the power of amusement park regulation to local and state agencies where the amusement park corporation is a major source of economic income to the community is analogous to the “fox guarding the hen house".

Amusement park safety is priority number one for the amusement park accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily. We believe that everyone deserves a safe amusement park governed by a uniform board of federal and national laws, and that cutting corners and not placing safety first is never an acceptable option.

For over three decades, I have been practicing catastrophic injury and wrongful death law and all too often a catastrophic injury or wrongful death is caused by a clear violation of laws that have minimal if any enforcement guidelines and “teeth".
Recently the Concordia cruise ship disaster illustrated just how many deaths and catastrophic injuries could be caused in an industry guided by rules that were spottily enforced. Every time an accident happens whether it involves a cruise ship, bus accident, trucking accident, amusement park accident, or product liability claim, authorities and experts are quick to state that the event is a wake-up call that highlights longstanding safety concerns.

In Philadelphia, we continue to have an escalating hit and run car accident crisis due to the fact that there are several well-known loopholes in the laws and yet legislators refuse to take steps to change and enforce codes which should in reality punish violators.

The law firm of Reiff and Bily has handled many amusement park accident cases, and yet the enforcement of these safety regulations is spotty despite the volume of rules and amount of unreported amusement park and water park accidents. Many industries escape regulatory scrutiny and it comes as no shock that catastrophic accidents occur when safety protocols are not followed and enforced. Rules and regulations without enforcement are meaningless and if the rules and regulations provide a mechanism for enforcement, individuals or corporations in positions of power often think (as demonstrated by their action or non-action) that they are above these rules and think that they can escape liability by the use of a creative lawyer or legal system which fails to enforce said rules and regulations. If our system chooses to ignore rules and regulations, it fosters a system where it is easier for individuals and corporations to become and remain corrupt then to remain honest.

I have always believed that laws not enforced cease to be laws, and rights not defended may wither away. I believe that the courtroom with proper legal representation makes equals of all men and that an injured victim must ensure that laws are followed and enforced. While catastrophic injury and personal injury lawyers will continue to be bashed by corporations and insurance companies who continue to delay, deny, and defend rightful claims, I for one understand that enforcement of laws and prosecution of wrongdoers are necessary to protect the public and promote order which is the first requisite of liberty and justice.

For the last three decades, I have successfully represented clients who have been injured in slip and fall accidents or have been harmed by falling merchandise, inadequate security, or other dangerous conditions on the premises of another. In most premise liability cases, there are federal, state, or local government codes that have been adopted in furtherance of promoting safety. Codes are only minimal legal standards and are not always the ultimate statement of what is and what is not safe, and in interpreting a code, one must always be liberal to that interpretation which provides the most protection and safety to the public.

While every jurisdiction has a specific choice and combination of various codes, the defense will almost always strongly argue that all codes were met. We often find that many codes are outdated or when strictly applied to a particular case do not further the goals of safety intended by the drafters. There are many safety and standards organization which maintain websites specifying the safety regulations and rules for such topics as floor safety, illumination of premises, uniform building codes, national building codes, Americans with Disabilities Act, or occupational safety and health. These are non-inclusive, and a cursory review of the regulations and codes reveals typical guidelines encountered in a premise liability or slip and fall legal case. Of course, each and every jurisdiction will have their own choice and combination of various codes to apply to each case, and all premise liability and slip and fall cases are uniquely different.

The experienced Pennsylvania premises liability and slip and fall lawyers of Reiff and Bily initially examine the local codes in the venue where a premise liability or slip and fall accident occurred and understand that these minimal legal standards should not be the absolute basis for consideration in determining what is or what is not safe. However, non-compliance with a code is considered to be grounds for negligence per se claim.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a premise liability or slip and fall accident or injured on the property of another, it pays to contact an experienced slip and fall or premise liability attorney who has decades of experience litigating these types of cases. The skilled Pennsylvania premise liability and slip and fall lawyers of Reiff and Bily have achieved numerous settlements or verdicts for a combined excess of hundreds of millions of dollars since 1979 on behalf of injured plaintiffs. Our skilled premise liability lawyers are members of the Beasley Reiff Law Group whose lawyers have collectively been awarded over two billion dollars since 1957. We always offer a free, no obligation consultation. Contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Several weeks ago, a sweet and innocent 7-year-old girl was tragically burned to death in her Burlington County, New Jersey home as her four siblings attempted to rescue her. Immediate public opinion pointed a finger at the victim’s mother who was not home but had left her 14-year-old daughter in charge of the household to babysit while she had to quickly take care of a pressing family issue.

Posted blogs and public opinion attempted to blame the mother for leaving the children home alone without an adult, claiming that she was irresponsible. What these reports failed to mention was that Mom was a highly responsible individual and that the 14-year-old and other children in charge of the babysitting duties were well trained and that the 14-year-old was in fact was a highly responsible honor student. One can only imagine the emotional scarring and infliction of emotional distress sustained by Mom and the surviving siblings of the 7-year-old. While those who were quick to judge on the blogs claim it was due to matches or accidental fire caused by the children’s negligence, without conclusions to confirm the same, it strikes me that most of the public opinion blog postings were critically unfair, unfounded, judgmental, and prejudicial.

As one can imagine, the grieving mother, age 34, was interrogated by local detectives and those so quick to judge may fail to recognize or care about the real cause of the fire which took this precious young girl’s life.

In fact, the faulty and defective wiring and defective power strip located within the rental household were initially determined to have caused the fire.

Additionally, it is interesting to note that fire officials had to call in a tanker truck due to inadequate water supplies in the neighborhood required for quickly extinguishing the fire.

The experienced product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily were called upon to investigate this tragic situation and our initial evaluation and investigation reveals just how far fetched the initial prejudicial blogs and public comments were concerning fault for this tragic loss.

Yes, I have seen this scenario before where parents are blamed for negligent supervision and for causing the death of their children due to irresponsibility resulting in tragic consequences, and it never ceases to amaze me how quick people are to jump to judgment without knowing all of the facts.

If you or a loved one sustained a catastrophic injury or wrongful death, don’t assume the facts to be as they initially appear or are represented by other individuals.

A little bit of knowledge or hypothesis by individuals who do not possess all of the facts or skills necessary to reach an objective conclusion can be a dangerous thing, and it pays to place an independent team of experienced catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and product liability lawyers on your side who will completely and independently investigate the situation, with no obligation, to let you know your alternatives.

The catastrophic burn injury and product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily always offer a free, no obligation consultation, and we ask you to keep 7-year-old Lamiyah Graves and her family in your prayers.