Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

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.

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

Posted In: Hayride/Trailer Accidents

Bookmark:

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 and 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.

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

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

Bookmark:

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.

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

Posted In: Hayride/Trailer Accidents

Bookmark:

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 and 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 and 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.

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

Posted In: Hayride/Trailer Accidents

Bookmark:

The Philadelphia defective truck and trailer accident lawyers of Reiff and 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 and 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 and 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.

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

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

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark: