Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

The dictionary defines "hope" as the belief in a positive outcome relating to the events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair; wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance, believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence leading to the contrary.

The term "false hope" refers to hope highly based on fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.

At the law firm of Reiff and Bily, our lawyers understand and respect the value of hope. It is our job to communicate the plaintiffs dreams and hopes to the insurance companies and ultimately to the juries who hear our cases. It is our job to prove that what the plaintiff is capable of doing or was capable of doing prior to an incident and identify the compensation necessary for the plaintiff to recognize the fulfillment of his dreams and goals. The lawyers of Reiff and Bily are not afraid to ask the insurance companies or juries to fully compensate plaintiffs for the loss of their dreams and hopes.

Hope was personified in Greek mythology as "Elpis". When Pandora opened Pandora's box, she let out all of the evils except one known as hope.

In law, damages refer to the money awarded to a claimant, also known as a plaintiff, following a successful claim in a civil action. Damages in personal injury or tort affairs are generally awarded to place the plaintiff in a position that he or she would not have been in had the tort or action not have taken place which put the person in the situation. Compensatory damages compensates the plaintiff for pain and suffering and loss of amenities and losses of hope. Examples of this include physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, disfigurement, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity, loss of life's pleasures, frustration, humiliation, degradation, and a non-inclusive list of other factors. This is not easily quantifiable and depends on the individual circumstances. We refer to it as, what is the value of hope? What is the value of the loss of a plaintiff’s loss of dreams and hopes that he had prior to the incident? We seek to recover full compensatory damages generally to place the plaintiff in a position in which he would have been had the offense or tort not taken place.

Continue reading "My Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney Reinforced the Value of Hope" »

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

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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The high cost of litigation is ever increasing and these hired guns are out of control. Are they worth the money?

The costs associated with personal injury lawsuits are quite significant and rising every day. Many state that the overhead costs of malpractice and product liability lawyer litigation are exorbitant. Many Americans hear that lawsuits are rampant and frivolous, clogging the courts and depriving taxpayers of their funds. On the other hand, honest plaintiff attorneys maintain that they are the policemen of society and that frivolous lawsuits are an exception. Obviously, an experienced personal injury or product liability lawyer would have to be crazy to take a meritless claim which would result in a huge expenditure if the same attorney is working on a contingent fee basis.

The purpose of the tort system is to fairly compensate victims and make them whole by virtue of compensatory damages. Obviously, there are some lawyers who will take just about any case that walks into the door and hope that writing a few threatening letters or taking minimal action will scare their opponents into a quick and “easy A” settlement These are the types of lawyers the educated consumer should avoid. It is important, however, when seeking a lawyer to represent your interests, to remember that you get one bite at the apple and your lawyer should be qualified, insured, in good standing with the bar association, interested in your claim, screened for suitability and experience handling legal matters such as yours. The lawyers at the Pennsylvania personal injury firm of Reiff and Bily have 30 years experience handling thousands of carefully screened car accident, medical malpractice and defective products cases. They will carefully screen your case, investigate comprehensively and decide if it is worthwhile to pursue without wasting your time or their resources - as a result of such careful screening. They only accept approximately 30-40 percent of the clients that contact them. These distinguished Pennsylvania car accident attorneys have recovered in excess of 150 million dollars for their clients solely on a contingent basis.

Continue reading "Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney Weighs in on Expert Witnesses" »

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

Posted In: Auto Accident , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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Cosmetic surgery often presents risks that the normal consumer or patient is unaware of. In a world where beauty is overly emphasized, cosmetic surgery is far too often the answer many unaware consumers seek to resolve a problem that might not exist in the first place. Cosmetic surgery is normally marketed as a safe procedure, but if done incorrectly the consequences can be dire. All surgeries have hidden risks. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling botched cosmetic surgery claims since 1979.

Cosmetic surgery has become more common over recent years as a quick panacea for self-improvement. Statistics show that there were nearly 11.7 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2007, as reported by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Surgical procedures accounted for nearly 18% of the total procedures with non-surgical procedures making up 82% of the total. Surgical procedures include liposuction, breast augmentation or reduction, eyelid surgery, and abdominoplasty (tummy-tuck). Non-surgical procedures include BOTOX, hyaluronic acid, and laser hair removal. For more surgical statistics please see.

Continue reading "Cosmetic Surgery – Is The Price Of Vanity and Beauty Worth The Risk Of Serious Injury Or Death?" »

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

Posted In: Cosmetic Surgery , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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New technology can be a wonderful thing. Scientific and technological breakthroughs have had a major impact on the medical field and how surgeries are performed. LASIK surgery is a corrective surgery for people who want to regain better sight without the use of glasses or contacts. LASIK surgery can be very helpful, but if done improperly it can cause permanent damage and even blindness. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling numerous medical malpractice cases since 1979.

LASIK or “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis” surgery involves using a laser to cut a small flap in the eye's cornea to allow for reshaping of the corneal tissue with another laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. LASIK is not a new surgery, but it has not been around long enough for it to be a problem-free surgery. Long-term effects are still unknown and there are still risks to having the surgery done.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have received 140 reports of LASIK-related problems between 1998 and 2006 as reported by NEWSInferno. Although the FDA is reviewing complaints from LASIK patients, many have suffered from a variety of issues including blurred vision and dry eyes.

Continue reading "LASIK Surgery – Your Sight Could Be Permanently Damaged" »

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

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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Medical doctors are supposed to be the expert in their field of medicine. It is always possible that those experts are not nearly as qualified as they should be. Many of these professionals often turn out to be better marketers than practitioners. Medical misdiagnosis, especially missed cancer diagnosis, will likely lead to a missed cure and often results in untimely death. The key to proper treatment is to catch problems early, and missing it prevents proper treatment. The Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling numerous misdiagnosis cases since 1979.

Medical misdiagnosis can occur from a failure to properly identify lumps, failure to order proper scans, failure to properly evaluate or handle test results or scans, failure to follow up on results or refer to a specialist for further testing, failure to order a biopsy, misclassifying the type of tumor, or mistaking a cancerous tumor as being benign (non-cancerous) or a non-cancerous tumor as being malignant (cancerous). When a patient complains about certain symptoms, it is possible that their doctor will ignore the complaint due to previous medical history (such as a history of a certain type of pain). Ignoring complaints could lead to a misdiagnosis since the doctor is quick to dismiss complaints and actually ignores the symptoms. Misdiagnosis and professional negligence can cause delayed treatment that can greatly impact the chances of survival and the quality of life of the patient.

Continue reading "Was My Medical Condition Diagnosed By A Marketing “Expert” Or A Doctor?" »

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

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Misdiagnosis

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Nursing homes are meant to be a safe place where the elderly are taken care of by professionals who care and will treat your family members with respect. Staff members of the facility are presumed to abide to strict codes of conduct. However, that is not always the case. Some residents of nursing homes are subject to physical abuse, mental abuse, and neglect. The Pennsylvania nursing home lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling thousands of nursing home abuse and neglect cases since 1979.

CBS news reported that a congressional report in 2001 says 5,283 U.S. nursing homes, nearly one-third, have been cited for abuse. The report says more than 40%, or 3,800 abuse violations, were only reported after formal complaints from residents, their families or community advocates. Over 1,000 homes were cited for more than one abuse violation in a two-year period, 305 homes were cited for three or more abuse violations, and 192 nursing homes were cited for five or more abuse violations.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence – Safe or Sorry?" »

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

Posted In: Elder Law , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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Often times, surgical operations are bloody procedures. They involve the use of hundreds of instruments and dozens of surgical sponges which are gauze-like pads used for sopping up blood. Each time the doctor asks for a surgical sponge, a nurse is to count them aloud before handing them over, which is a standard way of keeping track of equipment to make sure no sponge is left behind.

Prior to closing the patient, at least one other count or exchange takes place between the surgical nurse and the surgeon. The Chief Surgeon is the "captain of the ship" and has a duty to make sure no instrument or sponge is left inside the patient or an x-ray will have to be taken to detect one or more of the reflective strips on each sponge or to actually go inside an open cavity, pushing organs around to hunt for lost instruments.

In one of the cases handled by the expert medical malpractice lawyers at Reiff and Bily, an unwanted souvenir of a surgical procedure was left inside a patient's body causing abscesses and infections ending catastrophically. It appeared in excess of one year, our client walked around unaware of a surgical sponge that she carried inside of her body while she spiked fevers and had numerous infections and returned to her doctor complaining of the same. The client had to be hospitalized repeatedly until the client almost died from her uncertain cause of infection and injury.

Continue reading " Noted Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Case Receives National Attention and Sparks Contorversy: No Sponge Left Behind" »

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

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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