Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

This past weekend, I was asked to comment on a case where a car slammed into a restaurant, broke through the walls, and injured a number of customers killing another innocent and unknowing victim who was dining. The initial investigation of the incident revealed that the elderly driver of the car meant to hit the brakes but instead pressed the gas pedal crashing into the building.

Just last year, I was consulted on a similar case where an elderly gentleman also erroneously hit the accelerator pedal rather than the brake and crashed through the walls of fast food restaurant catastrophically injuring innocent patrons. This unfortunate scenario is more common than one can imagine.

A skilled catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawyer experienced in the arena of restaurant crash accidents, premise liability, car accident law, and automotive product liability should immediately begin a comprehensive investigation of the facts and work closely with authorities and independent investigators to determine the causation of the accident. Often many complex theories of law become intertwined in the investigation and litigation of car crash into restaurant cases.

The experienced Pennsylvania product liability, premise liability, and car accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily works with experienced and independent structural engineers, architects, building, safety, OSHA, and cognitive behavioral assessment experts to carefully analyze the facts of each individual case. We request that our experts credibly opine about the inadequacy of curb and building structures, as well as immediately look for product defects on the striking vehicle including but not limited to; defective braking system, failure of steering system, or faulty acceleration .

There are many ways that a vehicle crash into a restaurant can occur. Perhaps the driver was intoxicated or under the influence of mind altering drugs or prescriptions. Perhaps the driver was speeding, or perhaps there was a defect with the vehicle that prevented the driver from stopping or having his vehicle under control.

At any rate, one thing is for certain, when innocent bystanders are harmed due to a car accident or premise liability claim such as this, they are entitled to have a full independent investigation completed by an experienced car accident and premise liability attorney who understands how in just a matter of seconds a victim and their family’s lives can be changed. The victim and their family have a right to expect that they will be entitled to recover monetary damages for the harm caused to them by the wrongdoers.

The experienced Pennsylvania car accident, premise liability, and product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily have over 30 years of experience representing the interests of catastrophically injured victims and their families, offering a free no obligation consultation and a zero recovery, no fee guarantee. For more information contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced automobile defect and car accident attorney for over three decades, I recognize one thing, cars should be designed safely for everyone whether they are adults or children. Unfortunately, when it comes to safety many of the large automobile manufacturers have sacrificed the interests of both children and those individuals that are above or below average sized individuals.

Each year, thousands of children are seriously injured and killed due to poor seat belt fit or improper restraint systems in the vehicle.

Many times child and infant car seats are improperly designed or have manufacturing defects presenting hidden dangers. Children between the ages of 4 and 8 under 80 lbs. are typically less than 48 inches tall and are exposed to a higher risk of catastrophic injury or wrongful death than an adult because adult safety seat belts are designed to protect adults and not children. When a seat belt fails to protect or fit an individual correctly, there is an excellent chance that in a catastrophic accident restrained individuals will sustain a submersion injury, rollover injury, or positioning injury leading to catastrophic injuries such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, or death.

The Pennsylvania automobile defect and product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily understand that prevention of injuries must always be priority number one rather than profits for automobile manufacturers. Seat belt restraint systems are design issues and defectively designed or manufactured seat belts and seat belt buckles that lead to potential failures, unlatch, false latch, inadvertent latch, and retractor failures create a catastrophically dangerous situation that many people do not learn of until it is just too late.

The National Highway Safety Administration is charged with writing and enforcing safety, theft resistance, and fuel economy guidelines for motor vehicles. However, as an experienced Pennsylvania automobile product liability attorney who has handled a substantial number of catastrophic car accident cases, I am well aware that these are only minimal standards and guidelines.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, (FMVSS), are regulations written in terms of the minimum safety performance requirements for motor vehicles, motor vehicle items, and motor vehicle equipment. Many of the big auto makers take pride in announcing that their vehicles meet these “minimal" standards, however, a safely designed car should exceed these standards, especially if there is a safer design alternative.

In 1980, NHTSA recognized the need for safer interiors of vehicles and identified improvements to padding and cushioning in the event of an accident. In 1989, the application of one inch of padding was required to interior surfaces which was indicated to reduce head trauma by half as much. The Department of Transportation estimated the cost of padding all roof, rails, and areas likely to have an impact was approximately $33 per car.

Safety is not one thing, it’s everything. Understanding that NHTSA or FMVSS government standards are only minimal guidelines and applying conventional wisdom that cars and motor vehicles should be safe makes it intolerable and unacceptable when automobile manufacturers cut corners and emphasize safety over profits. While automobile manufacturers always speak about compliance with federal standards, standard testing typically does not call for all types of situations or applications.

Keeping this in mind, if you or a loved one has been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident, you may want to contact an experienced car accident and automotive product liability attorney to fully evaluate your claim and search the road less traveled for answers and proper compensation. The experienced Pennsylvania car accident and automotive product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily always offer a free, no obligation consultation. Contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.