Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

A press release issued by Mercury Insurance Group on September 16, 2008 presents five excellent safety tips for parents faced with the challenge of choosing the first car for their teens. The suggestion from the Mercury Insurance Group focus on safety, which also helps to lower the cost of auto insurance. The personal injury and automotive safety and vehicle defect lawyers at the Pennsylvania personal injury law firm of Reiff and Bily salute Mercury Insurance Company for their suggestions and promulgation of automobile safety.

According to the Mercury Insurance Group press release, new teens spend countless hours dreaming of owning their first car. A fast sports car conjures exciting images, while an SUV has ample room for all of their friends and both vehicles have one thing in common, neither is a good choice for teens.

Mercury suggests setting ground rules that may ease the polarized view points shared by parents and their teens.

Tip 1: Watch the speed. Driving fast cars with turbo chargers and high horse power continue significant risk. Since car accidents are the leading cause of death among 15 to 20 year olds, 1/3 of those accidents are attributable to speeding. Any fast car is an unwise choice. A good choice is a vehicle with a 4 cylinder engine and an average horsepower which costs less to insure and may save lives.

Continue reading "THE MERCURY INSURANCE GROUP PROMULGATES FIVE TIPS DESIGNED TO PROTECT YOUNG DRIVERS TO FOCUS ON SAFETY ALSO HELPS TO LOWER THE COST OF AUTO INSURANCE" »

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

Posted In: Auto Accident , Auto Defects , Catastrophic loss , Personal Injury , Vehicle Rollover

Bookmark:

Getting in a car accident is dangerous enough without having to worry about the possibility of your car being engulfed in flames due to a design defect. Fuel-fed car fires are a real danger and often do more harm than the actual crash. The Pennsylvania fuel-fed fire lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling numerous automobile related injury cases since 1979.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that during 2004, fire departments responded to an estimated 266,500 highway-type vehicle fires. These fires claimed 520 lives and caused $969 million in direct property damage.

The Ford Pinto is a prime example of how a defect can result in fatalities. The defect was in the design of the strap on gas tank that made it susceptible to leakage and fire in low to moderate speed collisions. Not only did Ford know of the defect and the possibility of a fuel-fed fire, but they continued to market the Pinto. Innocent lives were lost because Ford marketed a dangerous design. Ford ended up recalling the Pintos and tried to make them safer. Additional information on the Pinto recall is available.

Continue reading "Fuel-Fed Auto Fires" »

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

Posted In: Auto Accident , Auto Defects , Personal Injury , Product Liability

Bookmark:

Over the years, airbags have become a mandatory safety device in all new cars. There is no question that along with using a seat belt, many lives have been saved due to airbags. Airbags are meant to prevent the occupant's head from striking a part of the vehicle and spread the force of the impact across their body. Due to the speed of airbag deployment and the chemicals used, there is always the possibility that airbags do more harm than good. Believe it or not, airbags often do not operate properly causing serious injury and deaths that could have easily been prevented. Philadelphia product liability lawyer Jeffrey Reiff and the experienced Pennsylvania product liability lawyers at Reiff and Bily have been researching and handling automotive and defective airbag cases for many years.

Airbags were developed in the 1950’s, but it was not until the 1980’s that airbags became mandatory in new cars. The driver’s airbag is found within the steering wheel, which protects the driver from hitting the wheel or dashboard. During an auto accident, four collisions may occur: (1) between the vehicle and the other object; (2) between the occupants (restrained or unrestrained) and the interior of the vehicle; (3) between the occupants’ organs and the enclosing body wall or cavity (such as the brain and skull); and (4) between occupant(s) and any loose objects in the vehicle.

Airbags and seatbelts are meant to protect collisions between the occupant(s) and the interior of the car. Airbags work when the car decelerates very quickly, as during a collision, and a sensor triggers a chemical reaction that produces a non-toxic gas that inflates the airbag. When the airbag deflates, dust and gasses are released into the car. These gasses and dust can cause asthma, chemical injuries (burns), or other irritations and breathing problems. The entire process of inflating and deflating the airbag takes less than a second.

Airbags need to react extremely fast to a collision, especially if an occupant is not wearing a seat belt. Airbags can deploy at over 200 MPH to protect an unrestrained occupant. Since airbags have to deploy so fast, injuries could occur from the extreme speed at which the airbag inflates. Injuries can occur to the eyes, head, chest, or limbs and could result in scaring, paralysis, blindness, loss of hearing, broken bones, severance of a body part, or even death.

Continue reading "Airbags: Possible Injury in Preventative Safety" »

Posted by Jeffrey M. Reiff | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Auto Defects

Bookmark:

There is nothing quite like taking a short trip to the grocery store and coming back to your car engulfed in flames. It could even happen in your own driveway or garage, day or night. It is being reported by AutoWeek Magazine (http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/FREE/971532585) that Ford is still having some cruise control fire-causing issues. Ford has recalled almost twelve million vehicles since 1999 to repair the fire-prone cruise control system and recently reiterated the recall of 9.6 million cars and trucks on its web site. It is reported by the Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/BIZ/805190419/1361) that Federal regulators are looking into 130 complaints that fires occurred in the engine compartments of Ford Windstar mid-size vans from the 1995-2003 model years. The fires can occur either during use or while parked.

Continue reading "The Hidden Danger of Fire May Be Lurking in Your Automobile" »

Posted by Jeffrey M. Reiff | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Auto Defects

Bookmark: