Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

Many times I am contacted by clients who have sustained horrific injuries entering or exiting buses, trains, and planes, otherwise known as common carriers. The law maintains that the common carrier has a duty to warn passengers of dangers which it knows or ought to know and of which the passenger is ignorant, especially a danger which existed at a place other than a regular stopping place. For example, if there is ice on the steps of the vehicle or obstructions or defects in the street where the bus has stopped, or if there is a danger from passing vehicles from the approach of another vehicle, or if the ground is slippery where the passenger is about to exit, the carrier may be held responsible.

Additionally, if a train stops at a train station where there is an abnormal gap or space between the train and the platform, the carrier may be held responsible if a passenger slips and falls. The duty of the carrier may even be increased if, in fact, a passenger requests special attention due to special needs when boarding or exiting the vehicle when an employee or agent of the carrier fails to provide assistance. The carrier’s duty is not absolute unless the carrier knows or has reason to know of dangers.

Continue reading "Common Carriers Such as Airlines, Buses, and Train Operators Have a Duty to Warn Boarding and Exiting Passengers of Dangers When They Are Known to the Carrier and Not Known to Passengers" »

As an experienced aviation accident lawyer who has been investigated plane crash and commercial airline accidents for more then three decades I am shocked at the fact that commercial airlines have developed a class system where only members of an airline’s executive club could learn techniques to increase their chances of surviving a plane crash. Who would have thought that the airline would charge 125 British pounds per person to enroll in the course. It is my understanding according to news sources that the course will cover basics such as practicing releasing the seat belt and checking the location of life jackets and includes a simulation of emergency evacuation down an escape slide. I wonder what’s next – club members who get a priority exit from a downed aircraft in the event of a crash?

Safety must never be an option.

After a commercial airline pilot innocently landed her Airbus A-320 improperly causing damage to the aircraft, aviation officials in India grounded her. An investigation revealed that her paperwork was a fake and that she never passed the airline transport pilot license (ATPL) exam and it sparked an investigation by aviation authorities into the documentation of other pilots which revealed that two additional pilots were flying with phony licenses. Although this happened on Indigo, an Indian airline from India, I am concerned as a frequent flyer and as an experienced aviation accident attorney who often flies foreign airline. It was stated by news sources that the discovery of invalid papers worried local Indian officials who were dealing with a booming airline industry who often claimed that many low cost carriers were aggressively competing for pilots.

As an ">experienced aviation accident attorney, I can state that safety can never be compromised and airlines must never, ever place profitability above consumer safety. Although I am not aware of this situation occurring on American airlines, it does raise an eyebrow when I consider how many foreign aircraft and foreign airplanes I fly on throughout my career.

Onboard airline injury accidents and incidents have been growing in frequency. In general, the pilot in command is responsible for the safety of the passengers and crew as defined by the Federal Aviation Regulations. All airline pilots are required to receive crew resource management training which augments technical flight and ground training with human factor subjects. The pilot in command of the aircraft is the authority or sentry to provide a means of safety for all individuals on board the flight. If you are injured on an airplane during a flight and can prove that the resulting damages occurred solely as a result of the carelessness and negligence of the airline and its agents, servants or employees, you are entitled to financial recovery. The airline may be held responsible for the following non-inclusive violations:

1. All passengers must have a safe path of egress from their seat to the restrooms.

2. The airline shall not permit a dangerous condition to exist on the airplane where they knew or should have known of a defect.

3. All airplane agents, servants, or employees shall be properly trained, instructed, and informed with regard to safety issues and observing, detecting, and remedying possible hazardous conditions on the aircraft.

4. All passengers should be instructed concerning the safe use and storage of luggage and loose materials on the aircraft.

5. All passengers shall be prohibited from creating hazardous conditions for other passengers on the aircraft.

6. All aircraft shall have a sufficient number of flight attendants to ensure proper and safe management and inspection of the aircraft. The role played by cabin attendants on the aircraft is extraordinarily important because they are closest to passengers. They must and should be aware of safety issues and delegated with a degree of expertise regarding situations on each airline that give rise to potentially dangerous conditions.

The Pennsylvania airline accident law firm of Reiff & Bily recently was successful in representing a minister who sustained a permanent and catastrophic injury while falling on an airplane in mid-flight due to an aircraft premise defect and lack of proper supervision by the flight crew.

If you or a loved one has sustained an aviation accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced aviation accident lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for a free, no obligation consultation.

According to a recent story that I reviewed, a 6-year old passenger on a Delta airline flight dropped a toy and when he reached down the edge of his seat to retrieve it, he poked his finger. He pulled it out and showed the pointy thing to his Dad. It was a used syringe and additionally, he noticed that blood was oozing from his fingers. Obviously the parents of the young man are concerned that their child may have been exposed to disease and as anyone else who has flown recently in these days of airline cutbacks will note, planes are not the cleanest environments. In the old and golden days of flying, you were always provided with clean pillows, blankets, and one can only imagine the fear of being stuck with a dirty syringe.

The airline industry has a duty to promote a safe, reliable, clean and secure environment to passengers. Airlines by their servants, agents, or employees are responsible for the safety and personal comfort of airline passengers. Many of these procedures are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and some duties vary by airline and type of aircraft. In today’s economy crunch, airlines are trying to turn flights around as quickly as possible limiting the ability of flight crews and maintenance staff to pick up trash and properly clean the aircraft. They do not have time to disinfect or carefully clean the plane. They claim they don’t have time to. I believe the issue of clean airplanes has reached its tipping point when in fact a young boy is able to stab himself with a used syringe giving rise to psychological trauma.

If you have been injured in flight, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania aviation accident lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.

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.

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.

During June 2009, 148,683 passengers embarked on 18,725 regularly scheduled flights from Philadelphia International Airport. If you have flown through the airport recently, the process of getting on and off of planes and traversing through Philadelphia International Airport can often times be stressful. As crowds gather through security or security check points or at the curb to check luggage, many times airport personnel are not paying attention or are not fully tuned into the task at hand. They make careless errors causing serious injuries and unfortunately sometimes fatalities.

In the past, the experienced Philadelphia premise liability and aircraft accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have successfully handled claims where passengers have been ejected from airline transport carts, dropped from wheelchairs, injured by a baggage cart, by construction hazards, by wet floors, resulting in a slip and fall, or even by being accosted by aggressive airport personnel. Sometimes there are injuries on the tarmac or in the airport lounge or on the buses that transport you on or about airport property. It is generally clear-cut that an airline is responsible for accidents that occur on its own planes. However, the responsibility for injuries in an airport terminal itself, on the tarmac, or in airport lounges requires careful investigation. It is important to contact an experienced airport premises liability and airport accident lawyer to make sure that the proper entity or person is sued for your injuries.

If you have been injured in an airplane accident, aviation accident, or airport accident, please feel free to contact one of our Pennsylvania airport and airplane accident attorneys for a free, no obligation consultation.

Anytime a plane crashes, a widely publicized news story is generated. However, there are many other incidents or accidents involving aircrafts that are not so widely publicized. This includes but is not limited to aircraft accidents while loading, entering and exiting the aircraft, as well as in-flight aircraft accidents. Many incidents occur on aircraft that constitute a breach of aviation safety by putting passengers at risk for injury.

In general, the pilot of an aircraft is in command and responsible for the safety of the passengers and crews. The pilot in command is the authority or “sentry" to provide a means of safety for all individuals on board. This includes but is not limited to events that occur in a turbulent flying atmosphere, providing individuals with a safe path of entry and exit from bathrooms, permitting no dangerous conditions to exist on the aircraft, failing to discover and anticipate dangerous conditions, the need to observe, detect, and remedy possible hazardous conditions, the need to properly instruct passengers on the safety, use, and storage of materials and eliminating any hazardous conditions for passengers. The airline is also required to employ a sufficient number of flight attendants to insure the safe and proper maintenance and inspection of the aircraft, as well as to insure for the safety of the passengers.

Continue reading "You May Be Entitled to Compensation after an Airline Incident Including But Not Limited to a Plane Crash" »

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have determined that Northwest Airlines flight 188 overflew its destination airport by more than 100 miles and failed to maintain radio communications because pilots became distracted in a conversation unrelated to the operation of the aircraft. While there were no reported injuries as a result of this concerning event, it is important to note that common carriers, including airplanes, trains, railroads, and buses, owe the highest and utmost duty of care to the precious cargo that they transport. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the probable severity and catastrophe that could occur and the resulting consequences of the pilot of an aircraft not paying attention. Many tragic deaths and life changing events occur as a result of such negligence and failure to pay attention to the safety of the passengers.

After applying decades of experience in catastrophic injury cases, our experienced lawyers can go the extra distance to investigate and recover key factors in aircraft accidents, trucking accidents, and railroad accidents. We carefully evaluate employee screening, training procedures, and background checking of the operators for substance abuse, sleep apnea, prior violations and other problems. Our primary mission at Reiff & Bily is to hold powerful, wealthy corporations responsible for putting profitability above consumer and public safety. We believe that pilots, drivers, and railroad operators ought to pay attention to the job at task rather than become distracted in conversations which ignore the safety of passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday, February 1, 2010 that they are proposing a 2.475 million dollar penalty against a sister carrier of American Airlines for not making sure flight crews had accurate information about the weight of baggage on dozens of flights. Incorrect takeoff flights are considered safety hazards if pilots rely on faulty information when determining the right speed for takeoff and landing. The FAA charged that Eagle operated at least 39 flights after being told of the problem. The FAA noted that between January and October 2008 American Eagle operated at least 154 flights in which baggage weight listed on the cargo records differed from data entered into an automated system for tracking and balancing weight. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated, “The traveling public has to be confident that airlines are following important safety rules."

The aircraft accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily understand that the weight and balance of cargo is considered a significant issue for the smaller jets typically operated by Eagle and other regional carriers.

Believe it or not the most common cause of airline complaints and injures is due to turbulence that occurs while on a flight. During a turbulent encounter, if one is not securely fastened or is standing, severe injuries including broken bones, quadriplegia and paraplegia can occur. Often during a turbulent flight, the luggage from the overhead compartments can become dislodged causing blunt trauma to passengers including but not limited to multiple herniated discs and paresthesias. The airlines owe a duty to the passengers to provide a safe flying environment and the flight crews and stewardesses require specialized training in dealing with these situations and resulting injuries. Often we find that there is a breach of the protocol and henceforth, the airline can be responsible for medical care, lost wages, rehabilitation expenses, damaged property and other losses caused by their failure to maintain a safe flying environment.

If you have been injured on an airplane during a flight, it is important to have an experienced airline injury lawyer investigate your claim and represent your rights.

This often frustrated traveler and airline safety attorney sends kudos to the Department of Transportation who responded to tarmac horror stories by ordering federal airlines to let passengers stuck in stranded airplanes to deplane after three hours. Under the new regulations, airlines operating domestic flights will be only able to keep passengers onboard for three hours before they must be allowed to disembark. The regulation provides exceptions only for safety and security or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations. Airlines will now be required to provide food and water for passengers within two hours of a plane being delayed on a tarmac and maintain an operable lavatory. They must also provide medical attention when necessary.

From January to June of 2009, 613 planes were delayed on tarmacs for more than three hours with their passengers kept onboard. These regulations will go into effect within 120 days from Monday, December 21, 2009. The airlines have strongly opposed a hard limit on tarmac strandings and predict in their own inimitable fashion that flights will be canceled, further delaying passengers from reaching their destinations. Indications are that airlines will be fined $27,500 per passenger over the three hour maximum limit set.

My wife, son and I were once kept “falsely imprisoned" on an airplane for over six hours with an inoperable lavatory with no food or water and Gestapo type stewardesses yelling at people to remain in their seats.

If you or a loved one has been subject to breach of airline safety or sustained an accident while on an airplane or in an airport, please feel free to contact one of our experienced airline and airport safety lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.