November 14, 2008

The Dangerous Trailer and Hayride Injury Lawyers of Reiff and Bily Proudly Salute the Efforts of Ron J. Melancon of Richmond, Virginia

Philadelphia Amusement and Hayride Accident Lawyers of Reiff and Bily Salute Ron Melancon and dangeroustrailers.org

Ron has been a step ahead of government officials and many lawyers. Ron has recognized that many trailers used for hayrides and other utilities are under 3,000 lbs. and fall below federal guidelines. These trailers do not need to be inspected. You can build one on your own and use it yourself or sell it. As Ron has recognized, there is very little regulation addressed with trailers under 3,000 lbs. Most state laws are silent regarding design or construction specification for utility trailers used in hayrides or for towing hitches. Obviously, a potentially dangerous situation exists using these trailers for hayrides or even on the roads of the Commonwealth. In many cases, we find trailers have obvious violations of safety codes that related to lighting, braking and inspection requirements.

The unregulation of the hayride and trailer obviously allows profit hungry operators to cut corners on safety, often leading to preventable catastrophic injuries of innocent children.

We urge you to link to Ron’s website at www.dangeroustrailers.org. We salute Ron’s efforts to become a crusader for public safety and in his attempts to keep the public informed of the dangerous situations of unregulated trailers and hayrides in the United States and abroad. Consumer advocacy is what change in laws and regulations is all about.

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November 4, 2008

Halloween Hayride Crushes Bones of Innocent Rider

In yet another horrifying Halloween hayride accident, an Ohio woman was transported to Ohio State University Medical Center after she fell off the side of a Halloween hayride and was pinned underneath the wheels. The individual identified by news sources as Tonya Reynolds suffered a broken arm and her legs were crushed by the ride according to officials. (news article)

In a separate situation, a 7 year old New Jersey boy was left in critical condition after falling from a hayride and striking his head. According to the news report, Jacob George was a passenger on a haunted hayride at the Shrine of St. Joseph Church on Long Hill Road in Stirling, NJ on Friday, October 24th, when he fell off the trailer he was riding on and suffered head injuries. He was transported to Morristown Memorial Hospital where he remained in critical condition. Members of the Morris County, New Jersey Sheriff’s Office Accident Reconstruction Team assisted with the investigation and shut down the ride. (news article )

It is with great sadness that I read about these easily preventable and tragic incidents. As a catastrophic injury attorney in Pennsylvania, I have spent a good portion of the last year working on an almost identical hayride case where a six year old boy on a class outing was also run over by a Halloween hayride, as his mother also instinctively threw herself at her son in an attempt to save him. All of these accidents certainly indicate the necessity of improving safety, supervision, maintenance and warning requirements when dealing with amusement rides and Halloween hayrides where the lives of unsuspecting and innocent children are so frequently involved. My deepest and heartfelt sympathies go out to these families.

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August 11, 2008

Toys And Playgrounds Might Not Be As Safe As One Would Presume

There could be danger lurking in your own home or backyard. Injuries to children can occur anywhere. They can happen in your house, backyard, school, day care facility, or even in a public park. While it is seemingly impossible to keep a child protected all times, it is important for parents and children to become aware of the dangers that lurk in play grounds and toys. The Pennsylvania personal injury and play-ground accident lawyers at the Philadelphia products liability law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling thousands of personal injury cases since 1979. Our Pennsylvania defective product attorneys have had extensive experience in the area of defective toys (products liability claims) and play-ground or amusement injuries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2001 approximately 45% of playground-related injuries are severe (fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations) and about 75% of nonfatal injuries were related to playground equipment failure, misoperation or malfunction.

Between 1990 and 2000, 147 children ages 14 and younger died from playground-related injuries. 82 of these injuries (56%) died from strangulation and 31 of these injuries (20%) died from falls to the playground surface. Most of these fatalities (70%) occurred on home playgrounds. Public playground climbers resulted in the most common cause of an injury as compared to any other equipment. At home playgrounds, swings were responsible for most injuries.

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July 16, 2008

Amusement Parks Are Not So Amusing When Rides Cause Injury Or Death

Amusement parks are meant to be a place where families could and should have fun out doors, playing games and riding on roller coasters. Most of the time when we think about amusement parks we think of “KODAK” moments of smiles and laughs with our family. Roller coasters and other rides are typically safe to ride, but that does not mean they are free from disasters. The Pennsylvania catastrophic injury lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling many amusement park accident injury and death claims since 1979.

Amusement parks are supposed to inspect their rides daily, but accidents can still occur. Sometimes the rides are outdated or in need of repair. Other times it’s a ride that is not inherently safe or becomes unsafe due to worker negligence or improper maintenance. In July of 2008, 4 people were injured in Denmark due to their roller coaster’s car came of the tracks and fell onto the cement ground below the ride. The roller coaster opened only a month prior to the accident. Even the newest of rides might cause a serious injury if improperly designed, installed, or maintained.

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