Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

As a Philadelphia car accident and catastrophic injury lawyer who has been representing catastrophically injured victims, and their families, for more then three decades, I worry that internet and television marketing by many lawyers has led to a high number of victims and their families receiving what many would consider to be improper and inadequate legal representation. Many lawyers just look for an “Easy A". Too many times attorneys hoping to earn a quick and easy referral fee will spend tens of thousands of dollars even hundreds of thousands of dollars a month designing websites or TV advertising that inaccurately portrays their abilities. It is the goal of these attorneys to make perspective clients believe they are hiring experienced attorneys, who have recovered multi-million dollar verdicts, and are amongst the top car accident lawyers, truck accident lawyers, S.U.V. van rollover lawyers, medical malpractice lawyers, and Products liability lawyers in the field.

Lately I have received an alarming number of phone calls from seriously injured car and truck accident victims who were mislead by what I call a “parasite lawyer". A “parasite lawyer" is a lawyer who oftentimes lacks experience but attempts to conceal this by purchasing “black hat" internet links and creating embellished website content to make prospective clients believe they are hiring an experienced lawyer or law firm to represent their legal interests when in reality they are hiring a lawyer who simply thereafter refers their case to another attorney for a fee. I call this the “Easy A" system whereby an inexperienced attorney, or an attorney who has no interest in representing you or your loved ones, tacks a fee onto your recovery for doing nothing more then referring your case to another attorney. Frequently many of these marketing attorneys operate their websites from out of state and have creative advertising joint and cooperative ventures with other lawyers and law firms creating the illusion that they are something more then they really are. Always pay attention to the disclaimers and small print at the bottom or end of the advertisement as it quickly passes you by.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, truck accident, tractor trailer accident, bus accident, boat accident, S.U.V roll over accident, 15 passenger van rollover accident, amusement park accidents, premise liability accident, slip and fall accident, burned in a fire, bitten or attacked by a dog, the victim of inadequate security, falsely imprisoned, sexually assaulted, injured on a cruise ship, injured on a plane, in a construction accident or injured as a result of a defective product or medical malpractice you may be eligible to recover for your injuries.

As an experienced and highly rated Pennsylvania Super Lawyer with decades of experience, whose law firm has handled and collected hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries for catastrophically injured victims, and their families, as well as those who have sustained wrongful deaths, I strongly advise that you personally interview the attorney who will be handling your legal case. Do not be afraid to ask for references. Make sure that he or she is regularly available to meet and speak with you about your case as it develops. Make sure your case is not being handed over to a paralegal or newly graduated lawyer who might lack the required experience. Inquire whether or not the lawyer has ever had any disciplinary issues or is even licensed to practice law in your state. Inquire about independent and non biased reviews of your lawyer from third party ranking or rating organization. Check the attorney's ranking on Avvo or the Martindale-Hubble record of standing. Never be afraid to get a second opinion from another lawyer if you don't like what you are hearing or don't feel comfortable as the case develops.

After all you only get one bite at the apple, and the selection of your lawyer may be one of the most important lifetime decisions that you will ever make.
Chance will always favor the prepared mind.

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.

To date there have been Eleven deaths reported as a result of a plane crash at the Reno Air Races in Reno Nevada on September 16, 2011. At this time the death toll is still uncertain as medical professionals are still conducting DNA testing on unidentifiable bodies. As the number of dead seems to increase everyday, a person has to wonder: how safe are air shows?

The cause of the crash is still undetermined. What is known is the plane that crashed, was a post World-War II P-51D Mustang, that had been heavily modified in an attempt to make it the fastest of its type in the world. The mother of one of the deceased told ABC News her son was there because he “loved planes" and “that’s why most people go to these things." No one ever expects that a professional pilot will loose control of a plane and crash into the crowd.

The Reno plane crash is highly publicized because of the high death toll and the numerous spectators hospitalized with catastrophic injuries. Sadly, the day after the Reno air show crash, another plane, a T-28 war bird crashed at the Blue Ridge Air Show in Virginia. Luckily for spectators the T-28 warbird crashed far enough from the crowd that none of the onlookers were injured, however, the pilot was killed in the plane crash. These two incidents are not isolated events. There have been eleven air show accidents in 2011 alone. Unfortunately, most of these accidents resulted in at least one death.

Modified planes may be one of the reasons for the large number of accidents at air shows. Pilots who fly at these events make changes to the engines and bodies of the planes in order to excite the spectators. While these changes may be in violation of Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) Regulations, and the experienced pilots are professional pilots, they are not professional engineers.

Regardless of the recent string of Air Show plane crash accidents, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University intends to hold the Wings and Waves Air Show in October of next year. The university had shut down the show for the past seven years. University officials assure air show spectators that “safety is [their] mantra" while further saying “until you know what caused things, its hard to draw a lesson from it." Perhaps more effort should be placed into finding out why air show accidents keep occurring.

The experienced Philadelphia air show accident and aviation accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily along with the attorneys of The Beasley Reiff Law Group understand the complex process involved with investigating air show accidents. Our in house team of experienced aviation accident and air show accident lawyers include professional pilots as well as established relationships with top aviation crash experts. The aviation accident attorneys at Beasley Reiff Law Group know that proving the cause of an airplane crash can be difficult and that a tragic and unexpected accident can change your life. If you, or a loved one, have been injured at an air show accident contact the accidental injury attorneys at the Beasley Reiff Law Group at 1.800.588.0130 or at www.reiffandbily.com for a free consultation.

Carter Scott Shields, the Mayor of Rutledge, PA, died in a tragic skydiving accident in Gloucester County, New Jersey yesterday when his main parachute failed to deploy and his emergency chute did not fully inflate, according to witnesses. The Mayor was an experienced and avid skydiver. Skydiving and parachute accidents happen all too frequently with many victims being catastrophically injured or killed due to a product defect or malfunction . Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Carter Scott Shields. Click here for more information on this tragic event.

Recently, the lawyers of Reiff & Bily have joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm and collectively have been awarded in excess of $2 billion dollars in settlements, awards, or verdicts for their clients. In addition to being an attorney and physician, Jim Beasley is also a pilot who has been flying since the age of 16 and understands what can go wrong in a skydiving or aviation accident. We have years of experience in personal injury, product liability, and wrongful death cases. If you or a loved one has been catastrophically injured or killed in a skydiving accident or aviation accident, put experience on your side. Contact the experienced Pennsylvania skydiving accident and aviation accident attorneys of the Beasley Reiff Law Group toll free at (800) 588-0130 or online at www.beasleyreifflawgroup for a free, no obligation consultation.

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.