Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

What started out as an evening event with laughter, smiles, cider, and ginger snaps for a large family group ended up as a frightful hayride adventure resulting in broken bones, bruises, neck and back injuries when the seats and trailer being pulled by the truck broke apart. One of the young ladies was pinned underneath the side of the trailer that fell. According to one of the parties, the trailer had a shaky feel to it and as it gained speed going down the hill seemed to disintegrate.

Haunted hayrides seem innocuous and innocent to those of us who welcome Fall and look forward “Kodak" moments with the kids. Unfortunately, dangers that lurk about hayrides are not limited to those dressed in costumes attempting to scare the daylights out of you. The real dangers lie in defectively manufactured, designed and maintained trailers, that are covered with hay and blankets, and often overloaded when they carry the hay riders. Many times hayrides are operated by profit driven individuals or businesses who fail to understand that safety of the rider is paramount to profitability. Hayride operators owe a duty to their riders to properly maintain and inspect the trailer, seats, and railings, as well as provide proper and safe control and supervision of the riders. Many times the truck is being operated by someone with a curious or questionable background and if they take a sharp turn or make a sudden stop or travel too quickly down a hill, there may be an accident waiting to happen. According to news reports, this past weekend many hayride accidents occurred throughout the United States due to failure to have proper safety restraints or restrictions and governance.

Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to those injured in hayride accidents. While I don’t wish to take the fun out of life, I just want you to make sure that before you go on a hayride, do a little bit of due diligence and recognize that accidents do happen. Make sure the facility has an excellent record of success and safety and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

The experienced hayride and amusement accident and premise liability lawyers of Reiff & Bily have evaluated thousands of cases involving catastrophic injuries, broken arms, and unfortunately wrongful deaths, and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for victims and their families. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Another hayride amusement attraction went awry when six people were injured, one critically, during an accident involving a horse drawn trailer occurred. According to news sources, a woman was critically injured and trampled when horses pulling the carriage were spooked during a farm hayride. The woman identified as Joan Perkins threw herself in front of the horses in order to save a group of people and remains in critical condition as a result of her injures.

The experienced hayride accident and defective trailer lawyers of Reiff & Bily wish the victims a speedy and healthy recovery.

For over three decades, the amusement accident and hayride accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have been representing catastrophically injured victims and their families. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact us toll free at 800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

It’s the fall season and many churches, schools, and farms will be sponsoring hayrides. The normal hayride environment and atmosphere should lead to thoughts of smiles, laughter, cider and warm childhood memories for parents and children. Unfortunately, as an experienced defective trailer lawyer and hayride accident lawyer, what many individuals do not recognize is that there is a lack of safety standards and regulations for trailers of all kinds including hayrides which slip through many government safety and regulatory loopholes mostly because these events are sponsored on private property. In many cases there is no safety regulation at all!

Just last weekend six people were injured in a hayride accident when horses pulling a hayride were spooked and took off in different directions. One of the individuals, a 51-year old woman, sustained critical injuries and was helivaced to a hospital in Boston. Drivers of the wagon lost control of the hay wagon and horses broke free causing many passengers to fall off. In a separate hayride accident on the same weekend at a Michigan farm market, a woman fell off the hay wagon and was run over by it or was trampled while leading the wagon.

Every year our experienced Pennsylvania defective trailer lawyers and hayride accident lawyers learn of catastrophic accidents involving the death of innocent children and their parents because many people frankly do not understand the risks that accompany hayrides. Most hayrides are makeshift and although the operators claim that an accident was a freak occurrence, this is often not the case.

As an experienced Pennsylvania amusement park accident and hayride accident lawyer, I believe that many hayrides are accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place, and when accidents do occur, the injuries are normally quite significant because of the number of people involved and the size and weight of the equipment. Many times these accidents are the result of inadequate supervision, improper training of ride operators, defective trailer design, inadequate site and safety crowd control.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a hayride accident, you should always speak to an experienced and accomplished hayride and amusement accident attorney. The accomplished hayride and amusement park accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have successfully represented thousands of personal injury clients for catastrophic injuries since 1979 and have recently joined forces with the Beasley Firm to create the Beasley Reiff Law Group. Together our attorneys have been awarded over $2 billion dollars since 1957 representing the interests of those catastrophically injured or wrongfully killed. As always, we offer a free, no obligation consultation. Contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Over the last 30 years the hayride accident law firm of Reiff & Bily has successfully represented victims of amusement park accidents and those that occur at carnivals and seasonal hayrides. Recently an amusement ride operator was jailed on charges that he was drunk and urinated in the sight of riders while operating such a ride at a Pennsylvania farm show. The amusement operator was charged with reckless endangerment, open lewdness, and public drunkenness. In another case in which our amusement accident and hayride injury law firm was involved, we represented the family of a victim who was run over by a tractor trailer hayride at a suburban Philadelphia farm during a school event. The background investigation of the tractor operator noted that he had less than a stellar history and was in fact was not even a licensed driver, yet he was entrusted to drive and operate a ride that would carry thousands of children throughout the amusement season.

In Pennsylvania, an amusement ride is legally described as any mechanical device or combination devices including electrical equipment which is the integral part of a device or devices which carry passengers along for the primary purpose of giving passengers amusement pleasure, thrills, or excitement. The same includes any tram, open car, combination of open car or wagons pulled by a tractor or motorized device which may not be licensed by the Secretary of State, and the operator of the same is defined as one who has a duty to control the operation of the amusement ride or attraction at a carnival or fair and any person who operates an amusement ride or amusement attraction at a carnival or fair must obtain a permit for the same. The operator of such amusement attractions or rides is obligated to perform a criminal history and perform a check of the national sex offender public registry at the time they are hired and annually thereafter if they are in continued employment. Unfortunately individuals who are under the age of 17 are exempt from criminal history background checks. Unfortunately, we have found some amusement parks, carnivals, or hayride operations keep shoddy records, fail to check for substance abuse, evidence of required criminal history, or sex offense information, and in fact, hire drivers of motor vehicles that are non-licensed.

The purpose of the carnival and amusement ride safety act obviously is self explanatory. If an amusement operator fails to pay heed to these requirements, taking shortcuts and placing profitability over safety, and if an accident happens, they can be held legally responsible for resulting financial and emotional injuries that may be sustained by catastrophically injured victims and their families or those who are wrongfully killed due to their negligence.

Since 1979, the experienced Philadelphia carnival, amusement lawyers, and hayride accident attorneys of Reiff & Bily have successfully represented victims and their families and those who have been catastrophically injured or wrongfully killed due to the negligence of others, defective products, or defective maintenance, or improper hiring procedures. We always offer a free, no obligation consultation. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As a top amusement park accident lawyer and top hayride accident lawyer for over three-decades, I am always concerned but not surprised to learn when many innocent and unknowing victims are seriously injured as a result of a hayride accident.

Recently 44 members of a church group were injured during a hayride accident in Washington state when a tractor pulling a trailer jack-knifed ejecting passengers onto the roadway. According to news sources, the tractor was heading down the steepest hill on Shaw Island, Washington where the hill’s surface material was compacted gravel with a 5% downgrade. The hay bale trailer was loaded with hay and 50 people when the tractor gained speed. According to news sources, the trailer did not have brakes and was literally pushing the tractor down the hill and the front axle of the trailer failed spilling the passengers on the roadway resulting in broken bones, sprains, and lacerations to many of the victims. The accident remains under investigation and the police are also looking into a heavy load of people and logs that were placed in the trailer for seating, together with maintenance records for the tractor and trailer.

Hayrides are quasi-amusement rides and in my humble opinion as a hayride and defective trailer accident lawyer who has investigated and litigated these claims, many hayrides are simply accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place. The operators of hayrides owe the highest duty of care to the passengers on the ride. They are often operated in dark and noisy environments frequently visited by children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated that a number of serious injuries resulting from hayrides and trailer malfunctions has risen dramatically. Unfortunately most hayrides involve the use of a trailer hitch to a tractor or truck pull and NHTSA has admitted that no standard exists for such trailer hitches. Many state laws, including Pennsylvania, are silent as to the design and construction specification for many of the trailers used in hayrides.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families of this accident.

The amusement and hayride accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily always offer a free, no obligation confidential consultation to victims of amusement park accidents and hayride accidents. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A seemingly innocent looking hayride at a church festival took the life of a 12-year-old boy who fell from the ride and sustained a blunt trauma to his head. According to news sources, the 12-year-old boy and some other children were jumping on and off the hayride and got “tangled in the wheels of the trailer." The child lived with catastrophic injuries for approximately an hour prior to his death.

In a separate accident, “The Village of Terror" hayride in Chippewa Falls turned into a frightening evening for people on a hayride that went haywire rolling backwards down a hill and crashing into a carnival ride.

As an experienced amusement park injury and hayride accident lawyer, I am aware of at least 50 catastrophic injuries and at least 8 lost lives in just September and October of this year due to negligent hayride and defective trailer operations. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those injured and killed.

Continue reading "Another Church Halloween Season Hayride Results In the Death of a 12-Year-Old and Almost One Week Later In a Separate Hayride Accident Another Is Seriously Injured!" »

It saddens me to report that a fall hayride amusement lead to disastrous consequences when 27 people were injured, two seriously, after a car struck the trailer carrying the church group. The accident happened on Friday evening, October 15th, when the car violently struck the slowly pulled hayride which was to be on the roadway a short distance before turning off into a field. The impact caused victims to be tossed off the ride into the roadway.

As an experienced hayride accident lawyer, I am well aware that there are no safety standards for all hayride trailers. No training is required and no safety course is required before you can tow a trailer or be in the “hayride business" – you don’t even need reflective tape or lights on the back of the trailer. It seems as if almost anything goes.

As an experienced amusement accident and hayride accident lawyer, I am all too familiar with these types of incidents. Most hayrides involve the use of a trailer attached to a tractor or truck pull. NTSHA has admitted that no standards exist for trailer hitches. There is very little regulation addressed with regard to hayrides and trailers that are under 3,000 lbs. and even homemade trailers are allowed for hayrides. Many of these trailers are exempt from rules and regulations and these seemingly innocent and supposedly amusement hayrides often result in catastrophic incidents. Many times you find that hayride operators are simply not paying attention or cutting corners. Liability for a hayride accident requires specialized investigation and is generally broken down in three types of law – negligence or tort law, product liability law or premise liability law.

If you have been involved in a hayride or defective trailer accident and would like to discuss your claim, please contact the experienced Pennsylvania hayride accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily immediately so that we can properly protect your legal rights.

As the autumn and fall season embrace our lives, church hayrides, haunted Halloween quasi-amusement hayrides and other seemingly innocent but dangerous quasi-amusement activities become popular and have the potential to catastrophically injure or kill innocent victims – unaware of hidden dangers.

Recently the mother of a hayride accident victim spoke out about dangers involving hayrides after her son’s tragic accident which left him with brain damage and other catastrophic physical injuries. According to a news article published by Steven Howard and Heritage newspapers, a high school student, Jordan Hogg, was a passenger on a hayride as part a of seasonal outing with his church youth group. “Jordan was sitting on top of a utility trailer on top of a bale of hay," mother Amy Hogg said citing the presence of other family members participating in the ride. After traveling over a bump at a low speed, something went wrong. Jordan fell off the trailer and attempted to hang on to a bale of hay that went with him in the fall. Once on the ground, he was run over by the wheel of the wagon which struck his head and tangled his leg in the spokes.

Given the extent of his injuries, Amy Hogg stated that Jordan was not expected to survive and responding emergency personnel told her that the prognosis was not good and that they did not expect him to live. Jordan was lucky to survive but struggles to this day with brain damage and other physical problems associated with the accident. He sees various doctors almost every day. Ms. Hogg stated that she does not want others to have to go through the struggle that Jordan and her family have dealt with for the last year and she has become a consumer advocate noting her concerns and cautions as fall hayride season gets underway.

As an experienced hayride and trailer accident lawyer, I am very much aware of the multitude of accidents that occur on Halloween hayrides and utility trailers that are not regulated the way other vehicles are. Many times there is inadequate supervision and the wagon is not safe for children and other precious cargo. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Hogg family and I salute Ms. Hogg for her efforts in bringing more public attention to this potentially hazard and dangerous situation.

At the Philadelphia amusement accident, defective trailer and hayride accident law firm of Reiff & Bily, we have handled and investigated many hayride and defective trailer accidents with great success. If you or a loved one is a victim of a defective trailer, amusement, or hayride accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

It’s fall and Halloween hayrides are in full swing. Unfortunately, a 19-year old Nicholls State University student was killed in a hayride accident when he fell from the front of a fraternity homecoming hayride trailer and was run over. According to news sources, the driver of the pickup truck pulling the hayride did not realize that the student had fallen. Although some news sources have described this as a “freak accident," the experienced hayride accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with this type of scenario.

Halloween hayrides are simply accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place. Many times hayrides have the ability to crush or eject riders causing catastrophic injuries and unfortunately, wrongful deaths. Often the hayride accidents result from inadequate supervision or improper training of ride operators and inadequate safety and site control. These accidents, which one describes as freak accidents, seem to be increasing with frequency and the operators of such hayrides must be held responsible for the injuries and losses they have caused. Unfortunately in most states very little regulation is addressed with regard to hayrides and other defective trailers that are under 3,000 lbs. Many hayride operators cut corners on safety, proper staffing, and loading and unloading of rides, as well as positioning of the individuals on the rides. Often the operators do not pay attention to the precious cargo on the rides.

The hayride accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have an experienced team of investigators and experts that can determine how an accident occurred and who is liable and offer a free no obligation consultation. For more information, contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced hay ride accident lawyer, I am sad to report that a hay ride accident in central Kansas turned deadly when children fell off a small tractor pulling a hay ride of baled hay and were run over, killing one and injuring three others. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. In my opinion, hay rides and other quasi-amusement park accident rides are simply accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place. Obviously when hay ride injuries occur, they are generally quite significant and often fatal due to the number of people involved and the size and weight of the equipment.

Hay rides and other quasi-amusement rides have the ability to crush and eject riders causing catastrophic injury and unfortunately, as we see in this case, multiple deaths. Most times hay ride accidents are the result of inadequate supervision or improper training of ride operators and inadequate site and safety crowd control. Many times hay rides are operated in dark and noisy environments frequently visited by children and with the noise, it is impossible to hear screams for help or attention. Operators of hay rides often owe the highest duty of care to the innocent young victims and unfortunately, hay ride accidents seem to be increasing with frequency. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated the number of serious injuries due to hay rides and other quasi-amusement rides has risen dramatically.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a hay ride accident, carnival ride accident, or amusement ride accident, there will be some important questions that you and your attorney should explore in order to determine if you have a case and who is responsible. The accomplished Pennsylvania amusement park accident and hay ride accident attorneys at Reiff & Bily have successfully represented thousands of personal injury clients for catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths since 1979. For a free, no obligation consultation, please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced hay ride accident and amusement accident lawyer who regularly investigates and prosecutes hay ride accident cases, I salute the efforts of government officials in Kentucky to investigate safety laws on hay rides after the death of a 44-year-old woman. The victim, Terry Hurley, was killed after a tractor and hay ride wagon carrying 30 people on a farm jackknifed on a hill and began to slide down the hill. Investigators indicated that the tractor began to slide coming down a hill and the trailer then jackknifed at which point the victim was thrown off and struck by a wagon wheel. She was pronounced dead of head and chest injuries at the hospital. Five other people sustained injuries as well. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victims.

As an attorney who has investigated and prosecuted hay ride cases, I am surprised that there are no stringent regulations concerning who can operate farm vehicles. In this case, Dale Dobson, head of the Farm Safety Program for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture stated that Kentucky has no regulations concerning who can operate farm vehicles. “There are no laws and we don’t need any laws," he stated.

Ron Melancon, a former medical emergency technician from Richmond, Virginia, has been a stalwart consumer advocate promoting stringent safety regulations to prevent injuries and deaths resulting from defective trailers. Ron regularly collects information regarding deaths and accidents involving trailers and farm vehicles and knows that people operating hay rides or trailers often don’t even know how to work the lights or connect the trailer properly. Ron states, “a lot of trailers out there are just in bad condition." For more information go to Ron’s website at www.dangeroustrailers.org or visit our website www.reiffandbily.com and click on our dedicated subsections devoted to defective trailers and hay ride accidents.

Many trailers are homemade and do not require licenses to operate. Nobody is there to verify that it is safe. Unfortunately, many of the laws being used in 2010 are from the 1920's and 30's. Not so surprisingly, in excess of 400,000 people a year are injured in trailer accidents in the United States and many of these unfortunately involve children and unsuspecting patrons at Halloween hay rides. We recently concluded a case where a young man and his mother were run over by the wheels of a Halloween hay ride amusement ride.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a hay ride, amusement, or defective trailer accident, please contact one of our attorneys for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A recent letter to the editor published in the Galveston Daily News on October 8, 2009 entitled “Trailer Safety Is Being Ignored on Our Roads" calls attention to the fact that America’s roadways are becoming more and more dangerous due to the unregulated trailer industry. Many trailers are being towed by people without sufficient knowledge of proper towing or connection. Many of these trailers are improperly towed, do not have working lights, safety chains and are not maintained to a safe and proper standard. A website maintained by consumer crusader Ron Melacon entitled www.dangeroustrailers.org has been addressing this concern for almost 7 years.

As a lawyer specializing in tractor-trailer and defective trailer accidents, I am all too familiar with the situation of illegal, unsafe, and defective trailers causing catastrophic injuries or death. Most of the time, law enforcement agencies in our states just turn their heads on these violations and obvious safety concerns. Of particular concern at this time of year is Halloween hayrides which are a big attraction for children and as they are often times unregulated, children have been losing their lives or suffering serious and catastrophic injuries. Unfortunately in many states, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there is very little regulation of trailers that are under 3,000 lbs. Many times you can be traveling on a highway at a high speed when a homemade trailer is passing you or next to you and it can become detached and sent in your path. Many states are silent as to design or construction specifications for these trailers under 3,000 lbs. and in our investigation, we have found that many of these trailers have obvious safety violations relating to lighting, braking, and inspection requirements.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a defective trailer accident, please contact one of our experienced defective trailer lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of 7-year old Emily Midgley who was killed at 7:00 p.m. on Halloween when she was run over while exiting a Halloween hay ride. Unfortunately the experienced defective trailer and Halloween hay ride injury lawyers of Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with these types of tragic incidents.

Recently we were litigating a Halloween hay ride trailer accident case involving a young boy and his mother who were run over during a holiday hay ride. The insurance company representing the hay ride operator attempted to desecrate the mother of our client who was run over, as well as the innocent child himself, despite the fact that the operator of the hay ride was not licensed nor took proper safety precautions.

Unfortunately, many operators view Halloween hay rides as a way to make a quick buck and do not pay proper attention to safety and regulations concerning the riders. The family of Emily Midgley would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced amusement park attorney and defective hay ride attorney to investigate this claim and insure that they recover proper compensation for this tragic loss.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a hay ride accident, please contact one of our experienced hayride injury and defective trailer lawyers for a free consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

In late September, a 5-year old boy was riding on the back of long trailer stacked with hay bales. He was with his family taking a hayride. As his mother attempted to lower him from the trailer which had not stopped, he was pulled under from unexpected movement of the trailer and crushed and killed by the wheels. Every year I write articles from the viewpoint of an experienced hayride injury lawyer concerning occurrences just like this. Every fall many farms and orchards turn into quasi-amusement parks offering Halloween hayrides and every year no doubt we receive a number of phone calls from parents of children who have been seriously injured from these seemingly innocent rides. Many hayrides are simply accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of an innocent and unsuspecting 5-year old boy, the latest victim.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a hayride accident, please contact one of our experienced hayride accident lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

In early fall a number of farms and orchards turn into quasi-amusement parks by offering Halloween hay rides. Every year we receive a number of telephone calls from parents of children who have been seriously injured and sometimes killed as a result of a hay ride accident that has gone awry.

The experienced Philadelphia hay ride accident and amusement accident lawyers at the Pennsylvania catastrophic injury law firm of Reiff & Bily are currently involved and have been involved in a case where a young child fell off a hay ride and was trapped and pulled under the hay ride due to inadequate supervision or training of operators, as well as inadequate site and safety crowd control.

Many hay rides, as well as amusement park rides, are simply accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place. These rides have the ability to crush, pin, and eject riders, causing catastrophic injuries. To make matters worse, many of the trailers used by hay rides and other utilities are less than 3,000 lbs. and consequently fall below federal guidelines requiring inspection. Anybody can build a trailer and use it themselves or sell it. There is very little safety regulation addressed with trailers and most state laws are silent regarding design or construction specifications for utility trailers used on hay rides. Obviously, a potentially dangerous situation exists using these trailers for hay rides on the fields and roads of Pennsylvania.

In many cases our experienced hay ride accident lawyers have found trailers have obvious violations of safety codes that relate to lighting, braking and inspection requirements. The lack of the hay ride and trailer regulation allows profit hungry operators to cut corners on safety often leading to preventable catastrophic injuries of innocent children and adults.

The hay ride and defective trailer accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily fight hard to keep innocent consumers’ rights protected. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a hay ride or defective trailer accident, please call one of our experienced hay ride and personal injury lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

The Philadelphia defective truck and trailer accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have unfortunately become aware of another situation involving the wrongful death of a 34-year old woman on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. The case not so dissimilar from many others, the woman was pinned between a car and a trailer that had detached from a moving van resulting in blunt force trauma to her chest and abdomen resulting in fatality.

This unfortunate fatal result occurred in the initial stages of a family vacation where the woman, her husband and two children were planning to travel to Florida in a van that was towing a trailer which ultimately became detached and caused her death.

We have noted many times on our blog every week in the United States there are 418 injuries, 8 deaths and 775 incidents of property damage caused by passenger vehicles towing trailers. According to The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated the number of serious injuries has risen dramatically involving the use of defective trailers.

If you or a family member has suffered an injury as a result of a defective truck or trailer accident, there are some important questions that you and your attorney will have to explore in order to determine if you have a case and who is responsible. We have an experienced team of investigators, experts and reconstructionists who will determine how the accident occurred and who is liable. You may be entitled to compensatory and punitive damages.

The accomplished defective trailer and car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily have successfully represented thousands of personal injury clients for catastrophic injuries and fatalities since 1979 and have recovered in excess of $150 million dollars in damages. For a free consultation, please contact the experienced truck and defective trailer lawyers at Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com immediately for a free consultation so that we can begin protecting your legal rights.

According to news sources, a deadly crash occurred on Route 19 in North Strabane, Pennsylvania when a trailer broke loose from a pickup truck striking a car and killing a woman. A utility trailer broke loose from a pickup truck as it was headed south on Route 19 causing the trailer to bounce over the medial strip landing on a car in the passing lane headed north. The car then caught fire and two woman who were in the front seat were killed and a young girl, 3 or 4 years old, was in the back seat. (news article)

Michelle Kott, 36, of Ellsworth was killed.

Many crashes involving trailers stem from basic mistakes such as failing to engage a locking device when hitching a trailer and often operators and drivers neglect a series of precautions any one of which might have prevented such a deadly, catastrophic tragedy.

A Master lock company which makes hitches and other towing equipment surveyed more than 300 trailer owners in 2006 and found that most were lacking in knowledge of basic safety and proper towing procedures and few have had any real training or instruction. Fewer than half properly attach their trailer safety chains the survey found. Adding to the risk is the growing number of trailers on the road. The number of light duty trailers registered in the United States rose from 10.6 million in 1990 to 15.9 million in 2005 according to the Federal Highway Administration. In all 50 states one only need a basic driver’s license in order to tow a small to medium size trailer. Basically, there is no law enforcement program that requires a person towing a trailer to have any special training. The result is a lot of ignorance, carelessness and catastrophic injuries and deaths.

Continue reading "Defective Trailer Breaks Loose From Pickup Truck and Kills Pennsylvania Woman" »

Philadelphia Amusement and Hayride Accident Lawyers of Reiff & 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.

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

One year old Zoe Montgomery was killed last week when she was run over during a Halloween hayride at the Orr Family Farm, at an Oklahoma farm themed amusement park. The toddler fell under the wheels of the trailer during the hayride. According to news reports, the incident occurred when Zoe’s mother, Carie Montgomery, attempted to get Zoe off the back of a trailer. The mother tried to get her child off of the ride when the trailer jerked suddenly, sending Zoe flying to the ground near the wheels. Carie Montgomery, 24, threw herself at her daughter in an attempt to save her. The toddler was air lifted to OU Medical Center where doctors pronounced her dead. (news article)

Tragically, Zoe Montgomery’s story is not unique. The experienced lawyers at the Pennsylvania catastrophic injury law firm of Reiff & Bily are currently involved in a very similar claim for catastrophic injuries where a young student on a school trip was trapped and pulled under a Halloween hayride in Bucks County, Pennsylvania one year ago and was mangled due to inadequate supervision or training of the ride operators and inadequate site and safety crowd control. Simply put, similar to the situation that occurred with Zoe’s unfortunate death, the operators of the hayride had inadequate safety controls in effect to prevent an easily avoidable accident, particularly in an area that was noisy and frequently visited by young children. Many of the hayrides and other amusement park accidents are simply accidents waiting to happen when proper control mechanisms are not in place. When amusement park and hayride injuries occur, the injuries are quite significant because of the number of people involved and the size and weight of the equipment. These rides have the ability to crush, pin and eject riders causing catastrophic injuries. We express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Zoe Montgomery and sincerely hope that state officials and investigators do a thorough job in investigating this horrific and catastrophic accident.

Continue reading "Halloween Hayride Kills Toddler" »

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.

Continue reading "Halloween Hayride Crushes Bones of Innocent Rider" »