Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

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" »

Posted by Jeffrey M. Reiff | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accident , Catastrophic loss , Hayride/Trailer Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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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.

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

Posted by Jeffrey M. Reiff | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Amusement Parks , Catastrophic loss , Hayride/Trailer Accidents , Personal Injury , Product Liability , Wrongful Death

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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 and 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" »

Posted by Jeffrey M. Reiff | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Catastrophic loss , Hayride/Trailer Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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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" »

Posted by Jeffrey M. Reiff | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Amusement Parks , Catastrophic loss , Hayride/Trailer Accidents , Negligence , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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