Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

For over 33 years, I have received phone calls from clients who are not satisfied with their lawyers and I have received cases referred from other lawyers who were afraid and not equipped to properly bankroll a case.

Frequently, I am told by clients seeking a second opinion or referral lawyers that the defense has presented a witness whose testimony comes close to annihilating the plaintiff’s case. After successfully litigating thousands of personal injury and product liability claims, we are well aware that for the uninitiated lawyer or client, a trial can be a confusing mix of medical exams and technical experts all battling it out with what they claim is the “truth”.

Many times, defense experts may just be nothing more than “painted ladies” who have failed in their profession or if they were successful in their profession, looking for a way to make more income with less stress and work. In fact, there are some experts that I have initially consulted who told me my case was great even though they did not thoroughly vet the same. We have a standing joke about one expert who we claim never saw a case he did not like. This expert clearly placed his high fees required for an evaluation and testimony above his belief in integrity. Needless to say, we do use him.

Continue reading " Is Your Lawyer Afraid to Spend Money on Your Case or Trying to Get You to Take Less than Your Case is Worth? " »

Each year, approximately 30 to 35 million used tires are sold in the United States. With many companies and individuals in tight economic straits, the number of used tires being purchased is climbing at a dramatic rate. Unfortunately, what many people do not understand is that used tires may present many dangers in the form of latent or hidden defects.

As a tire defect accident lawyer, I am well aware of the fact that tires must be stored and maintained properly, otherwise they can accumulate microscopic cracks and dry rot that is not seen by the human eye. Many times the tread on used tires is beneath the legal limit or they are recycled utilizing deceptive techniques to conceal visual defects, such as coating them to make them look new.

Unfortunately, many times used tire dealers are more concerned with their bottom line profitability over the safety of their consumers. Many times used tire dealers do not receive or are not compliant with a manufacturer’s technical service bulletins or recall notices because they are not authorized and certified new tire dealers. Many times used tires are defectively patched which can lead to a blowout resulting in a loss of stability in a high center of gravity vehicle, causing a catastrophic rollover accident.

Continue reading " Auto Defect Lawyer Weighs In On Catastrophic Accidents Caused By Used and Defective Tires " »

The following is a guest post from Ken Levinson, a child injury attorney in Chicago, IL.

According to the CDC, in 2009 more than nine-thousand children were killed from unintentional injuries. Vehicle collisions, suffocation, fires and falls are just a few of the most common ways that kids are killed each year.

It might come as a surprise, but studies show:

• Injuries are the leading cause of death in children ages 19 and younger.


• Each year, nearly 9 million children aged 0 to 19 years are seen in emergency departments for injuries, and more than 9,000 children die as a result of being injured.


• Injury treatment is the leading cause of medical spending for children. The estimated annual cost of unintentional child injuries in the United States is nearly $11.5 billion.

The good news is that child fatalities from injuries has dropped significantly (perhaps as much as 30%) over the last 10 years. The truth is that most child injuries can be prevented. However, accidental injury remains the leading cause of death among children.

How can this be?

Continue reading " More Than 9,000 Children Died from Unintentional Injuries in the U.S. in 2009 " »

In a recent product liability case, a 60-year-old machinist was operating an edge banding machine at his employer’s cabinetry shop. The machine has an interlock device that was designed to shut off power when the hood was raised but the safety switch had been bypassed. As a result, the machine continued running and the saw blades continued rotating when the hood was raised.

The only way to safely avoid an accident was if the user remembered to manually turn off the blades using the switch on the front of the machine. The worker forgot to turn off the saw blades on one of the trimming units and the rotating blades contacted the fingers on his non-dominant hand, causing traumatic amputation of his middle, ring, and pinky fingers and partial amputation of his thumb. The worker was permanently disabled.

Continue reading " What Happens When a Worker Sustains an Amputation Injury While Operating Improperly Guarded Machinery at His Workplace? " »

A 28-year-old man rented a Bobcat Skid Steer Loader to clear an area of his parent’s property. When he was operating the tractor in a wooded area, a branch became lodged under the loader’s bucket and entered the cab below the safety bar that restrains the operator. The branch struck the operator in the lower abdomen and lifted his body towards the roof in the rear of the cabin crushing him to death.

His Estate sued the manufacturer and distributor of the machine alleging design defects and failure to warn claims contending that the manufacturer and distributor was aware that the machine was going into the rental market where it might be used by people outside the construction trade with knowledge of the dangers of front end cab penetration.

Continue reading " Design Defect and Failure to Warn Allegations Made by Claimant against Manufacturers and Distributors of Bobcat Skid Steer Loader Resulting in Verdict for Victim " »

For the last three and a half decades as an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer whose law firm has litigated tens of thousands of cases, I was not surprised to learn that one of the most frequent causes of accidents is not texting, watching videos, or using cell phones, but wearing inappropriate footwear.

Recently, I was retained to prosecute an amusement park accident case whereupon a man sustained crippling injuries due to the fact he was allowed to wear non-skid water shoes on a water slide. In fact, unlike many other water parks who totally prohibit the use of water shoes on water slides, this well-branded national amusement park sold water shoes with a non-skid rubber sole indicating that the park’s owners or operators were more concerned with boosting bottom line profitability rather than concentrating on the safety concerns of park visitors, which should be priority number one.

Continue reading " Inappropriate Footwear is a Leading Cause of Many Accidents in the United States " »

An individual purchased a set of four used tires from a wrecking service approximately 11 days before an accident. The wrecking service did not install the tires, and the four tires were taken by the purchaser to an independent tire and wheel shop for installation, and 11 days later a catastrophic car accident occurred. Evidence revealed that three of the four used tires, including the accident tire, were not fit for service and should have never been sold or installed on the vehicle. The defective tire experienced a separation of its tread and outer steel belt from the rest of the tire causing the vehicle to become uncontrollable whereupon it left the roadway, rolled over, and crashed, resulting in severe and permanent injuries to the victim.

Tires fail for a number of reasons and are undoubtedly the most critical safety component on any vehicle. The condition and installation methodology of a tire affects traction, handling, steering ability, and braking of a vehicle. When a tire fails, it often results in serious consequences including, but not limited to, catastrophic injury and death.

If the car has a high center of gravity such as an SUV or pickup truck, a rollover accident is not uncommon. Many times a single vehicle accident resulting from a tire failure is not due to the driver’s negligence or fault. Tire defect accidents are often caused by tread separation, design flaws, incorrect installation, rubber cracking, inadequate instructions, and failure to provide safety warnings. Many times manufacturers and installers can be found liable for negligence and resulting injuries. Although it only takes a few minutes to properly and safely install tires and wheels on a vehicle, it is essential for the installer to make sure that the tires are in safe operating condition and properly matched to the vehicle as well as the wheel to its final position on the vehicle.

Continue reading " Significant Damages Awarded When Auto Repair and Tire Shop Improperly Installs Used Tires that Were Not Fit for Use on Vehicle " »

As an avid biker and biking accident lawyer in Philadelphia who travels an average of 50 to 60 miles per week on a bicycle, I am well aware of the accidents that can occur on improperly assembled bicycles. In the last week, even though I purchased a new bike two months ago, a component of my bike failed and I narrowly escaped disastrous consequences.

Recently, a retail store known as Meijer recalled bicycles that were allegedly assembled on site at Meijer stores. The recall notice stated that there were dozens of reports of pedals detaching or coming loose during use, including 16 reports of injuries. The bicycle recall was issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) naming various models of Huffy, Iron Horse, Mongoose, Northwoods, Pacific, Razor, and Schwinn bicycles, in total approximately 68,000 bicycle units. The hazard posed was noted to be that the pedals could loosen or detach during use, causing a fall hazard to riders. The bicycles were sold between March 2012 and August 2012 and have a Serv-U-Success assembly sticker attached. All riders and consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bicycles and return them to any Meijer store for a full refund or replacement bicycle of the same type or value and you will also receive a $10 store coupon. Meijer may be contacted directly at (800) 927-8699 for more information.

Continue reading " Bicycle Mechanic Inspection: A Step Often Skipped by Those Buying a Bike Online or at a Retail Store " »

A 20-year-old thrill seeker stepped off a 50 foot high platform at the end of a zip line course when a lowering device quickly lowered him beyond the normal rate of speed, causing him to sustain painful bodily injury. According to news sources, the zip line lowering device was immediately removed and sent to the manufacturer for testing to determine why the rapid descent occurred.

Sources indicate that the equipment used was the same equipment commonly used throughout the zip line industry. The accident occurred at Sky Valley Zip Tours, which indicated that there was no failure on the part of the staff management or the zip line itself. They further added that they are committed to upholding the highest standards and best practices in the industry and also stated that “no tours have been cancelled at this point and the course will remain open.”

As an experienced zip line accident lawyer in PA, I am curious to follow the course of this investigation to learn just what went wrong and why the lowering device lowered the victim faster than normal. Thankfully at this time no permanent injuries were sustained. However, initial medical reports from the scene indicate that the victim was conscious but in serious pain when medics arrived after a 4:45 p.m. post-accident call.

Continue reading " A Zip Line is Only as Safe as its Weakest Link " »

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney and technology “freak”, I just had the occasion to meet with auto safety experts and attend a conference where topics such as the future of automobile accident protection were discussed.

What was most evident is that future generations of cars in the not too distant future will be “smarter” with the implementation of technologies that are now readily available to predict and avoid collisions and lane departures, including, but not limited to, adaptive cruise controls, and autonomous emergency braking.

While many of these technologies are currently available and offered as an option, a natural progression of automobile safety has evolved from seat belts, advance of smarter airbags, and high strength steel construction to the smarter electronic gadgetry.

Continue reading " Vehicle Accident Avoidance Systems and Pedestrian Detection Systems of the Future Will Hopefully Prevent Catastrophic Crashes " »

On Sunday, September 2, 2012, just before 5:00 p.m., rescue and medic squads rushed to the Sky Valley Zip Tour Center to rescue a man who had fallen 50 feet from a zip line amusement operation.

Zip lines are opening in many major amusement and ancillary amusement facilities at a rapid pace, and unfortunately, many zip lines have been constructed without adherence to any federal or state safety standards. Not only are zip lines potentially hazardous to your life and health, but many resorts have started to also add the additional kick of nighttime zip lines for an increased thrill factor.

Over the past weekend and month, a large number of zip line accidents have occurred calling into question just how safe the seemingly innocuous amusement and thrill attractions are. As an experienced and published amusement and zip line safety advocate, I remain extraordinarily concerned that zip lines present an unknowingly dangerous form of entertainment for families and young people.

Continue reading " Another Zip Line Accident Results in 50 Foot Fall to Victim: Zip Line Accident Attorney Addresses Safety Concerns " »