Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Wansacz ,D-114; Karen Boback, R-117; Frank Andrews Shimkus, D-113; and Ken Smith, D-112, sponsored various new bills aimed at preventing neglect of the elderly by individuals responsible for their care. The bills would toughen penalties for care givers when the neglect of individuals in their care results in death, setting new reporting requirements for neglect cases, requiring physicians to disclose any financial ownership in a long term care facility, as well as requiring the facility provide advance notice as residents are relocated.

As an experienced Philadelphia personal injury lawyer practicing elder law abuse and nursing home abuse, I have been astounded by the preponderance of the declining quality of care at nursing homes and its direct relationship to the economic and insurance crisis. Nursing home and elder abuse has come to the attention of many government agencies and many lax laws and financial webs created by private investment companies who have ownership interest in nursing homes have made it very difficult for plaintiffs who have suffered harm to succeed in court and for regulators to levy chain-wide fines due to the creation of complex corporate structures that obscured who controlled the homes. A recent report issued by Health and Human Services has found that nearly all nursing homes in the United States have received citations for health and safety violations in 2007.

When placing a loved one in a nursing home one expects, and is the right of the resident, to live in a clean, healthy, attractive and safe environment, to receive proper medical care, nursing care and rehabilitative and restorative therapy, and personal hygiene. Also, the residents have a right to be informed of his or her medical condition unless the physician indicates in the medical records that it is not in the best interest of the patient to be told. Nursing home and elder abuse is a crime against the sick, elderly and helpless. Although many cases of nursing home abuse exist, many law firms are afraid to go after the mighty Wall Street investment firms that have so cleverly created corporate webs to protect their investments.

Continue reading "PENNSYLVANIA ELDER ABUSE LAWYERS REIFF AND BILY SALUTE PENNSYLVANIA LAWMAKERS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO REVIVE BILLS TO PREVENT ELDER ABUSE IN PENNSYLVANIA" »

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

Posted In: Catastrophic loss , Negligence , Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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PA PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY, JEFFREY REIFF, SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THIS BELIEVE IT OR NOT STORY

According to a report issued by the Associated Press on September 24, 2008, two pilots for Hawaii’s Go! Airlines, who slept through their flight’s landing procedure, were suspended for careless and reckless operation of an aircraft according to the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday, September 23rd. Captain Scott Oltman, 54, was cited for failing to maintain radio communications and had his license suspended for 60 days and First Officer Dillon Shepley, 24, was suspended for 45 days. No action was taken against Go! Airlines because accordingly, “they did nothing wrong and provided the pilots with a 15 hour break before their shift, nearly double what the FAA requires”. The National Transportation Safety Board had determined that the two pilots fell asleep on a February 13th flight from Honolulu to Hilo. Captain Scott Oltman was later diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea which causes people to stop breathing repeatedly, preventing a restful night of sleep. It is still unclear how both pilots fell asleep on a brief morning flight which was carrying 40 passengers. No problems were found after examining the aircraft’s pressurization and carbon monoxide level. The pilots failed to respond to nearly a dozen calls from air traffic controllers over a span of 17 minutes. In recordings obtained by the Associated Press, the controller was heard repeatedly trying to contact the pilots and talks to the pilot on another Go! flight in hopes of reaching Flight 1002. According to the AP report, finally after 44 minutes into what is normally a 45 minute flight, the controller was able to establish radio contact with the pilots. By that time, the plane had passed the airport at Hilo by 15 miles. The controller ordered the flight crew to return. (news article)

As I review this article, I am astounded, however not really so, as I think about the many cases we have handled involving commercial vehicles, including bus drivers and truck drivers and railroad workers where sleep apnea of “falling asleep at the wheel” was diagnosed as a major cause of fatal accidents. As noted in my September 5, 2008 blog, Federal regulations in the near future will mandate truck and bus drivers in safety sensitive positions to be tested for sleep disorders to decrease crash rates and fatalities. It was determined that many truck drivers, bus drivers and railroad workers suffered from a disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea, which was diagnosed as a major cause of excessive daytime sleepiness, leading people to fall asleep while sitting, reading and even driving. According to yearly statistics, more than 13,000 fatalities and 70,000 injuries were directly caused by drowsy driving. Surprisingly, 53% of Americans report driving while drowsy and another 19% have reported nodding off while behind the wheel, and another 23% of American drivers claim to personally know of someone who has crashed due to drowsy driving.

Continue reading "FALLING ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL NOT JUST LIMITED TO TRUCK DRIVERS, BUS DRIVERS OR OTHER COMMON CARRIERS - SURPRISINGLY AND SHOCKINGLY - 2 AIRLINE PILOTS WERE SUSPENDED FROM SERVICE DUE TO RECKLESS AND CARELESS OPERATION OF A COMMERCIAL PASSENGER AIRCRAFT" »

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

Posted In: Catastrophic loss , Negligence , Personal Injury

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The safety and privacy of hotel guests should be the top priority for hotel owners and operators. Many times, this simply is not the case. Many hotels, cruise ships and apartment homes are actually full of poorly lit corridors, tunnels, nooks and crannies, and other places were crimes can be and are easily committed. Lack of security in hotels, motels, apartment houses and on cruise ships is a big issue for the tourism and rental housing industry and also an issue that we do not often hear too much about. Usually when we do hear about it, an easily avoidable tragedy has occurred.

Recently, a hotel security guard, with an unrevealed lengthy arrest record, sexually assaulted a teenage occupant of a hotel in Panama City Beach, Florida and then threw his victim from a sixth floor balcony, according to Panama City Florida police. The girl hit two lower roofs, landing in a second floor stairwell, suffering serious injuries. The security guard was questioned by police and released without realizing that he was wanted on an outstanding warrant from the State of Indiana. This attack happened at 1:00 a.m. at a Panama City Beach resort where the security guard was on duty and supposed to be protecting guests from such an event. Research after the violent crime indicated that the security guard had an extensive criminal history, including convictions for burglary, escape, auto theft and receiving stolen property, as well as shoplifting and marijuana possession charges. (article)

Hotel owners, apartment owners and cruise ship operators must be oriented towards security of their guests in today’s world and they must insure that the proper security equipment is installed, maintained and regularly used, and that security guards have their employment and criminal backgrounds properly checked. Technology is an important part in meeting today’s security requirements. Surprisingly, a survey conducted of hotel managers by The Cornell School of Hotel Administration revealed that most hotels made no changes to safety and security staffing or procedures in the year following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Many times horrific injuries and incidences occur at hotels and motels due to poor lighting, inadequate security, locks that do not function, and the lack of easily affordable and available technological security devices such as closed circuit cameras. Because of such inadequate security, many unsuspecting guests are robbed, shot, killed, rape, stabbed or assaulted in hotels, motels, shopping malls, apartment parking lots, office buildings, condos and/or cruise ships.

Continue reading "SAFETY AND PRIVACY OF HOTEL GUESTS IS A TOP PRIORITY; ARE YOU REALLY SAFE WHEN YOU CHECK INTO YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME - A PENNSYLVANIA PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER SHARES HIS THOUGHTS" »

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

Posted In: Inadequate Security , Negligence , Personal Injury , Premises liability

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THE RISE IN PENNSYLVANIA AND THE UNITED STATES

There are approximately 180,000 lawnmower accidents per year. Recently, featured on the CBS early morning news, was the case of Betty Forsythe, whose grandson suffered catastrophic injuries in Pennsylvania in a lawnmower accident. In the interview, Ms. Forsythe, of Duncannon, PA, noted that her grandson, Dylan, lost three fingers and one of his feet and stated “Children are fast, children are quick. If you are the parents or grandparents, if you are watching children, just don’t allow them to be in the same area where mowing is done”. In the same story, Dr. Scott Cozen of Shriner’s Hospital for Children, a specialist in pediatric and hand and foot surgery, indicated that he has treated dozens of children injured by lawnmowers and stated that lawnmower accidents are the number one cause of foot amputations in children nationwide. He noted that “either the child is riding on the mower with Grandpop or Dad and subsequently falls off and has a devastating injury while playing in the yard and the child is inadvertently run over. He further noted that the majority of the kids injured by lawnmowers are teenagers. Many teenagers are cutting the lawn for allowance, at which point the lawnmower gets stuck and they do something stupid such as putting their foot in, reaching their hand in and resulting in an amputation.

A lawnmower can be a dangerous machine causing catastrophic injuries and death if not used properly. Most lawnmower accidents are catastrophic with over half requiring amputations of toes, feet, legs or fingers. It is noted that the summertime is the most dangerous time for kids and lawnmowers. Apparently, children do not have an appropriate fear of power lawnmowers and with a parent mowing, they cannot hear the child running up so that even with backing up or going forward, the child can often end up under the mower.

Recently on the ABC “Good Morning America” show, the case of Henry Burmester, a 4 year old, was noted. Unfortunately, Henry Burmester‘s father accidently ran over Henry’s foot with the lawnmower. His Dad, Donald, was backing up the mower and never saw his son coming as the spinning blade hit the boy’s leg and foot. According to the report, the Burmesters began a campaign and non-profit organization called “Know Before You Mow” to alert parents and kids to the dangers of lawnmowers. It includes chilling public service announcements that demonstrate how quickly a child can run into trouble with a lawnmower.

The Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys of Reiff and Bily, we have been researching and handling product liability matters for approximately 30 years. Product liability law mandates that manufacturers have a responsibility and a legal obligation to produce safe products. Nowhere is this more important than in the manufacturing of both regular and riding lawnmowers.

Continue reading "PREVENTABLE LAWNMOWER ACCIDENTS ARE ON " »

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

Posted In: Negligence , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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A large truck is any vehicle with a weight over 10,000 pounds. Every year in the United States, thousands of motorists and truck drivers are killed and seriously injured by the negligent and often unlawful operation of large trucks. Large trucks represent approximately 3% of all registered vehicles that are being driven in the U.S., yet they contribute to over 25% of the fatalities due to multiple vehicle auto accidents. The Pennsylvania truck accident lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling automobile and truck accident cases since 1979.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (Penn DOT) reports that in 2005, heavy trucks were involved in 11.6% (or 173) fatal crashes out of a total of 7,321 truck crashes. Heavy trucks were more likely to hit passenger cars over any other type of vehicle with majority of crashes occurring on the highway.

Continue reading "Large Truck Accidents – Hidden And Unknown Dangers Of Large Trucking Accidents" »

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

Posted In: Auto Accident , Large Truck Accidents , Negligence , Personal Injury

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Flammable clothing and bedding are very dangerous and often times cause death and disfigurement to unsuspecting consumers due to serious burn injuries. If your clothing catches fire, flames may spread quickly through the clothing, sometimes causing the material to melt onto your skin, and create severe and disfiguring burns all over your body. If you bedding catches fire, especially if you’re sleeping, your temple of relaxation could become a death trap. Depending on the type of fabric, textile construction, weaves, weight, and finish, as well as looseness of fit, certain materials, when ignited accidentally, can pose a serious risk of a burn injury or even death. The Pennsylvania burn injury and product liability lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling flammable clothing and bedding claims since 1979.

The one of the consumer product laws passed in 1953 was the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) to regulate the manufacture of highly flammable clothing due to an epidemic of burns from flammable children’s clothing in the 1940s. In 1967, Congress amended the FFA to expand coverage to include interior furnishings as well as paper, plastic, foam, and other materials used in wearing apparel and interior furnishings. Responsibility for administering the FFA was transferred to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) when it was created in 1972. Under the FFA, the CPSC can issue mandatory flammability standards for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers of fabric and garments. After standards for sleepwear were loosened in 1996, an increase in clothing burns among young children wearing loose sleep garments was observed. Despite efforts by the CPSC, injuries resulting from flammable clothing and fabric still remain a danger.

Continue reading "Flammable Clothing and Bedding Material – Are You Wearing Or Sleeping On A Dangerous Material? " »

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

Posted In: Burns , Flammable Clothing and Bedding , Negligence , Personal Injury , Product Liability , Strict Liability

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