Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

Every year during prom season, groups of local teenagers celebrate by flocking to the New Jersey shore and staying at seaside motels. As long as these teenage guests can pay for their rooms, they are welcomed with open arms. But, as parents well know, when teenagers party after their proms, there is a good chance they’ll include alcohol or other intoxicating substances in their party mix. There is also a good chance they’ll get hurt—especially if the motels they are staying in pose safety risks.

The warm months of May and June are not exclusive to prom season. They also mark the beginning of the tourist season at the Jersey shore. It is fair to say that many of the motels on the shore have not been very busy over the cold winter months, and are in need of repair, due to the ravages of storms and winter weather— especially this year, after the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Sandy.

The conjunction of prom season and tourist season is a valid concern for the parents of these shore-bound teenagers. Typically, prom-goers look for the cheapest possible motel deal, and end up staying in places where the quality of maintenance is not up to par, or in accordance with safety codes. As a father and a motel/hotel premise liability lawyer who specializes in balcony and railing falls, I worry—for myself, and for all parents of teenagers.

Every year, victims are left in critical condition, or die, after falling over balconies in seashore motels with defective balcony railings. Just last year, a real estate agent was showing a seashore motel property listed for sale, when he leaned against the railing and fell over backwards, suffering permanent catastrophic injuries. The beachfront motel on the Jersey shore where he fell was said to have had multiple safety violations.

Falls from hotel and motel balconies commonly occur during holidays or post-prom parties, and they are often fueled by intoxicating substances and unusual behavior. Despite the presence of alcohol, however, property owners are responsible for the safety of their premises. A fall from a balcony due to defective railings or deck surfaces can totally decimate a victim’s hopes and dreams, and those responsible must be held accountable. If you, your teenage child, or anyone else in your family, has been injured in this kind of accident, you must act immediately, and seek the counsel of an experienced premises liability lawyer.

The nationally recognized premise hotel/motel liability law firm of Reiff and Bily has well over three decades of experience successfully representing victims of slip and fall and balcony fall accidents. We know what can go wrong, and understand the modes of failure and safety code violations that lead to balcony and railing collapses. We have been recognized by our peers and outside third parties as being among the best and brightest, and have been listed as members the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by National Trial Lawyers.

When someone gets injured on another’s property—whether it be a business, public, or residential site—the stakes can be very high, especially when the property owner is deemed negligent and the victim is seriously hurt. A property owner has an obligation to keep the premises in safe condition and free of hazards. But, all too often, balconies and railings are overlooked. Given that falls from balconies are generally quite serious, and often lead to catastrophic injuries, the awards for such premises liability cases can be very high indeed.

Recently, a 25-year old motel guest fell 12 feet from the balcony of a second story motel room, while a guest at the motel. The victim contended that the motel maintained the property in a negligent fashion, and that the railing was dangerously low—in violation of the building code. The defense denied that the victim was a motel guest, and presented expert testimony that his injuries were consistent with a ground-level backwards fall. The defense also argued that the victim’s blood alcohol level was .267 at the time of the accident. The plaintiff presented evidence that his mother had come to the motel the day after the accident, and retrieved his personal belongings—which, he alleged, proved that he was a guest at the motel. The plaintiff admitted that he had been intoxicated at the time, had struggled with alcoholism, and was partly responsible for the fall. However, his attorneys argued that this did not excuse the motel’s non-compliance with the building code.

As a result of the fall, the plaintiff was severely injured. He was diagnosed with four skull fractures and a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and had to be placed in a coma for three weeks to be treated for brain swelling and internal bleeding. He sustained brain tissue death, resulting in traumatic dementia. Though he is able to speak, and can understand and process visual information, he has trouble responding, owing to extreme anxiety. He has difficulty planning, and suffers from problems with memory, concentration, and behavior control.

The victim was awarded an extremely large settlement—38 million dollars—owing to the fact that the owner had failed to correct a serious safety hazard, and to fulfill his duty of care to a hotel guest. It is always a property owner’s obligation to keep his premises in a safe condition.

If you or a loved one has been injured from a slip or fall caused by the inadequate safety of someone else’s property, you should contact a premises liability attorney with specialized expertise and a track record of achieving large settlements in such cases. Moreover, you should do so immediately, in order to preserve vitally important evidence.

Jeffrey Reiff has decades of experience as a premises liability attorney, and is a contributing member of the National Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Association. He has consistently been named one of the Top Attorneys in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers, and has been recognized by National Trial Lawyers as a member of the Top100 Trial Lawyers. He has also been nominated as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Pennsylvania.

Generally, during the litigation process of a case involving a catastrophic injury or wrongful death, settlement discussions are maintained with all parties and their attorneys, and the issue of a confidential settlement becomes an issue. This often presents an interesting dilemma for the client and the lawyer. Large corporate defendants, in personal injury and wrongful death cases, often refuse to agree to settle a claim without a confidentiality clause as part of the settlement. Typically, the confidentiality clause is required by the “at- fault party,” to prevent the injured person or attorney from acknowledging that the settlement occurred, or disclosing how much money was involved in the settlement.

Recently, we were presented with a ten-page confidentiality agreement that was so oppressive and burdensome to plaintiff’s counsel and his client that we deemed it to be unethical and illegal. Typically, confidentiality clauses maintain that, if the injured person or his or her attorney ever discloses the facts of the settlement, the defendant or “at fault party” in the settlement reserves the right to go back to Court to get its money back—or otherwise punish the injured party and his or her lawyer.

Accepting a confidentiality settlement is, in fact, a double-edged sword. Acceptance prevents the dissemination of the circumstances and facts of the case to other consumers or lawyers across the United States—who share information about similar cases—and may impose a limitation on the lawyer’s right to practice law and fully represent others in the future. It keeps others—who may not have knowledge of the situation—from bringing a legal action that could potentially deter the manufacturing and distribution of unsafe consumer products. Unfortunately, when there is a confidential settlement of a significant nature, the lawyer cannot advertise about the result, to let other lawyers and potential clients know how well he or she has done in cases involving the same corporation, manufacturer, or defendant.

Obviously, smaller cases typically do not require confidentiality clauses, because the risk of exposure to the defendant is not great. It actually behooves the wrongdoer to reveal that a less-than-significant figure was achieved in the litigation of the claim, to deter others from bringing an action.

If you or your attorney is confronted with a confidential settlement, it is important to carefully read and consider any language in the agreement which imposes a penalty, or voids a settlement, in the event of disclosure. It is essential to establish that the recovering party never be punished for disclosures beyond his or her control. For example, what would happen if the lawyer’s office or the client’s home was burglarized, or a pair of snooping eyes or ears, on the part of a housekeeper or friend, leaked the information? Indeed, there are potentially significant tax consequences for the defendant, if the agreement restricts the plaintiff in this way, since the IRS may argue that the plaintiff received money not as damages for personal injury, but as payment for silence.

We understand that, if a case involves consumer fraud or anything that can be harmful to the public, there may be ethical issues in asking or advising a client to agree to confidentiality. Needless to say, confidentiality agreements must be approached carefully, on a case-by-case basis, and with comprehensive understanding on the part of the injured party and his or her attorney, as to the goods, the bads, and the uglies of the situation.

Jeffrey Reiff has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers, and one of the Top Northeast Attorneys by Best and Brightest Magazine. He has successfully prosecuted many cases involving confidentiality agreements.

Each year, tens of thousands of people sustain catastrophic injuries—or die—on American highways, as the result of side impact crashes. Head-protecting side airbags are known to be the only way to prevent traumatic brain injuries and death in this type of accident. It is an established fact that side airbags reduce driver and passenger deaths and injuries by close to 40 per cent—and, more specifically, that side airbags that protect the head reduce fatality risks by 52%, while side airbags that only protect the torso reduce fatality risks by 30%. According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, if all cars were equipped with side airbags, thousands of lives would be saved annually.

Many automobile manufacturers offer side airbags as an option, and not as standard equipment, even though the cost of installing them is minimal compared to the risk of injury. Therefore, we believe that, if an individual sustains a catastrophic brain injury, paralysis, or wrongful death because a vehicle manufacturer did not install side airbags for protection—or because the side airbag system failed—the manufacturer ought to be held fully accountable. Indeed, when an automobile manufacturer fails to provide side air bag protection to the passenger, it can be held responsible for damages, according to vehicle design defect theory.

We recently completed litigation of a claim involving a woman who was struck by another vehicle that ran a red light. Of course, after protracted litigation, the other vehicle’s insurance company tendered their minimal insurance policy limits. However, that amount was not enough to fully compensate the victim, and we were able to obtain a significant additional amount from the manufacturer of the vehicle, owing to its failure to install side airbags on the vehicle.

We believe that safety, not profitability, should always be the number one concern, when it comes to the design and manufacture of motor vehicles. Our skilled auto defect and car accident lawyers understand that safety should never be an option. Jeffrey Reiff is a nationally recognized car accident and auto defect attorney dedicated to vehicle safety issues, and he deals with crashworthiness and other design issues seven days a week, 24/7.

Earlier this week in the process of picking a jury for a case where our client was permanently and catastrophically injured in a conservative Pennsylvania County, the conservative jury pool was quite vocal about their dislike of trial attorneys and their belief that caps on damages must come sooner than later.

For over 33 years, I have been proud to be a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer “greedy for justice” seeking just compensation for my clients who have been catastrophically injured or unfortunately wrongfully killed due to the wrongdoing of another.

This time of year, I attend many holiday parties and meetings and unfortunately some of my colleagues or friends having difficult times in this tight economy seem to aim their guns at trial lawyers claiming that a “litigation explosion” has bankrupted their business and harmed them.

Continue reading "Refuting the Common Misconception that Personal Injury Lawyers are Job Killers and Parasites" »

The following is a guest post from Ken Levinson, a child injury attorney in Chicago, IL.

According to the CDC, in 2009 more than nine-thousand children were killed from unintentional injuries. Vehicle collisions, suffocation, fires and falls are just a few of the most common ways that kids are killed each year.

It might come as a surprise, but studies show:

• Injuries are the leading cause of death in children ages 19 and younger.


• Each year, nearly 9 million children aged 0 to 19 years are seen in emergency departments for injuries, and more than 9,000 children die as a result of being injured.


• Injury treatment is the leading cause of medical spending for children. The estimated annual cost of unintentional child injuries in the United States is nearly $11.5 billion.

The good news is that child fatalities from injuries has dropped significantly (perhaps as much as 30%) over the last 10 years. The truth is that most child injuries can be prevented. However, accidental injury remains the leading cause of death among children.

How can this be?

Continue reading "More Than 9,000 Children Died from Unintentional Injuries in the U.S. in 2009" »

Recently a young 8-year old girl's scarf became caught in a carousel motor depriving her of oxygen and sending her into a coma while she was riding on a carousel amusement ride at a Paris carnival fairground. This strange but true factual scenario indicates just how dangerous loose clothing, scarves, or belts can be on amusement park rides.

While the amusement park’s management claim that this was the first time they had ever experienced such a serious accident, this tragic event should be noted by carnival and amusement park owners to insure that a repeat of this or a similar amusement park accident does not occur again.

At the experienced amusement park accident law firm of Reiff and Bily, we both believe and understand that chance favors the prepared mind and that all owners and operators of amusement parks have a duty to protect unknowing and innocent customers who come to their park seeking magical memories of excitement. We believe that those supervising and operating amusement park rides should have a safety inspection policy and be on the alert for any loose items of clothing or attachments that may potentially get snared or entrapped in a ride causing a catastrophic injury or wrongful death.

The experienced Pennsylvania amusement park attorneys of Reiff and Bily have investigated and litigated amusement park accident cases with great success and always offer a free, no obligation consultation to victims and their families who have been injured in amusement park and carnival accidents. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an avid bicyclist and Philadelphia bicycle accident lawyer who has represented bicycle accident victims seriously injured in bicycle traffic accidents for more then 30 years, I salute the Pennsylvania Senate’s approval of a Bill known as the “Safe Passing Law". The “Safe Passing Law" requires cars to leave a 4 foot clearance when passing a bicyclist and it applies in Pennsylvania cities, suburbs, and rural areas.

In Philadelphia and surrounding counties, even despite placement of bicycle traffic lanes adjacent to traffic, many avid cyclists know that they have had a close call by someone who was ignorant of the cyclist or has buzzed by them in an alarming way almost causing, or in fact actually causing, a catastrophic injury. Personally, I was almost struck by a SEPTA bus while riding my bicycle in a bicycle lane, causing me to flip over the handle bars and break my wrist. I have represented bicyclists who have suffered broken bones, brain injuries, amputations, and in the worse cases a wrongful death when they were struck by a motorist ignorant of their rights on the road. Hopefully the new “Safe Passing Law" with proper enforcement by law enforcement officials will serve to educate other motorists on how to properly and safely pass a bicyclist. It will be interesting to observe how the new bicycle passing law is enforced, and whether the penalties have enough teeth to deter wrongdoers. Only time will tell.

The Pennsylvania bicycle accident law firm of Reiff and Bily remains committed to bicyclist safety and always offers a free, no obligation consultation to those injured in bicycle accidents caused by the fault of another or due to a defectively designed bicycle, a defectively manufactured bicycle, or a defectively designed bicycle component part.

As an experienced automobile defect and car accident attorney for over three decades, I recognize one thing, cars should be designed safely for everyone whether they are adults or children. Unfortunately, when it comes to safety many of the large automobile manufacturers have sacrificed the interests of both children and those individuals that are above or below average sized individuals.

Each year, thousands of children are seriously injured and killed due to poor seat belt fit or improper restraint systems in the vehicle.

Many times child and infant car seats are improperly designed or have manufacturing defects presenting hidden dangers. Children between the ages of 4 and 8 under 80 lbs. are typically less than 48 inches tall and are exposed to a higher risk of catastrophic injury or wrongful death than an adult because adult safety seat belts are designed to protect adults and not children. When a seat belt fails to protect or fit an individual correctly, there is an excellent chance that in a catastrophic accident restrained individuals will sustain a submersion injury, rollover injury, or positioning injury leading to catastrophic injuries such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, or death.

The Pennsylvania automobile defect and product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily understand that prevention of injuries must always be priority number one rather than profits for automobile manufacturers. Seat belt restraint systems are design issues and defectively designed or manufactured seat belts and seat belt buckles that lead to potential failures, unlatch, false latch, inadvertent latch, and retractor failures create a catastrophically dangerous situation that many people do not learn of until it is just too late.

When I was a young teenager in school one of my favorite books to read was “To Kill A Mockingbird". Atticus Finch, the fictional protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel is a lawyer in a small Alabama county and has been named as one of the greatest heroes in American film. In a rousing speech given to the jury, Finch claims “There is one way in this country in which all men are created equal – there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college President. That institution gentlemen is the court".

Although fictional, Atticus Finch has always been one of my heroes and one of the main reasons that I became a lawyer.

Every person is entitled to every presumption of reaching the heights of a lifetime without sustaining injuries that could have been easily prevented had it not been for the negligence of others, or a defectively designed product.

As an experienced Pennsylvania product liability and motor vehicle defect lawyer for over three decades, I have recognized that money, power, and greed often leads to ruthless and preventable catastrophic injuries and deaths that will greatly affect my clients and their families for the rest of their life. Many times when I visit a new case, I seethe with anger (which is not a bad starting point) as I search to put the pieces of the puzzle together which will shine a light on how my clients and their families were betrayed. In most cases the facts reveal that the victim suffered a wrong and is fully entitled to justice. One must always stand for something or you fall for anything.

I see how insurance companies and corporate defendants continue to turn their backs on catastrophically injured individuals or the victims of families who are wrongfully killed when the bills of life keep coming and the medical costs keep accumulating. I do believe that the right to enjoy one’s life in a safe and proper manner is not one thing, it is everything. Jeffrey Reiff is the founding partner of Reiff and Bily, a catastrophic injury and wrongful death law firm in Philadelphia, PA.

It has often been stated by legislators and lawmakers that greedy trial lawyers and their clients take advantage of the legal system by seeking large verdicts after they are injured by the negligence of another or by a defectively designed or defectively manufactured product.

For years, as an experienced catastrophic injury attorney, I would have friends talk to me about the famous “McDonald’s coffee case" when in fact they had no idea what that case was really about. In fact, the hot coffee propaganda campaign in the newspapers was funded by major corporations who have spent millions of dollars to distort the case promoting tort reform.

I urge all of my readers to view “Hot Coffee" which clearly reveals how large businesses and corporations aided by the media manipulated the public with lies to protect corporate interests. The film follows the lives of four individuals whose lives were devastated by the attacks on our courts, and challenges assumptions many Americans hold about “jackpot justice".

For over three decades, I have recognized that the collective 500 years of wisdom of individuals comprising a jury have more common sense than anyone else in the courtroom. It is conventional wisdom that products, cars, amusement rides, and premises should be safe from defects. Occupy Wall Street began a worldwide movement protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, as well as corruption and the undue influence that corporations have. The 7th Amendment of the United States Constitution grants us all the right to a trial by a jury of our peers.

Many of the product liability cases that our office regularly investigates and litigates involves someone’s deepest and darkest fears coming true. Imagine receiving a phone call in the middle of the night notifying you that your child or another loved one has been wrongfully killed as a result of being involved in a car accident caused by a defective product design or mechanism that the manufacturers have known for years created an unsafe condition. Everyone has the right to expect that when they purchase an automobile, they are buying a safe car and that safety should never be an option. Yet, in many of our automobile product liability cases, we have been able to show that automobile manufacturers concealed known defects putting the profitability and greed of corporate interests above consumer safety. Simply put, cutting corners on product design or manufacture and not putting safety first is never acceptable. The prevention of an injury must always be priority number one. Cars should be designed to be safe for everyone, adults and children. Concealing safety issues with bold faced lies in the name of business and profits is simply intolerable.

The experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyers of Reiff and Bily understand that one must never be afraid to stand up to big business and corporations. If you or a loved one has been injured by the defective design or manufacture of a product, contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania product liability lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation toll free at 1-800-421-95959 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

While the Consumer Protection Safety Commission estimates that the number of serious injuries on amusement park rides continue to increase dramatically, there are serious loopholes in the Consumer Product Safety Act of 1981 which prohibits the CPSC from regulating and enforcing the safety of all rides that are fixed to a specific site. Unfortunately, there is no official source which keeps a complete record of amusement park accidents. As an experienced amusement park accident attorney who has investigated and litigated some of the most horrific amusement park accidents that one can imagine, the one thing that I do understand is there is something fundamentally wrong with the checks and balances and safety protocol of the amusement park safety system as it currently exists in America.

Many times local and state regulators who currently oversee amusement parks lack effective budgets, resources, and technical expertise to carry out effective safety checks and investigate accidents. Our experiences reveal that when we conduct independent unbiased examinations and analysis of an amusement accident, the results are greatly at odds with the opinions of local regulators and authorities.

According to news sources, Lego Land in Florida reported six mishaps involving guests that occurred during its first two and a half months of operation but claim none of the instances appeared to have serious injuries. Believe it or not a Florida statute exempts Lego Land in Florida and many other major theme parks in Florida from regulation by the state bureau even though the attractions are required to submit quarterly incident reports. This exemption applies to theme parks of at least 1,000 employees and their own inspection staff. While many of the parks claim that safety is their number one concern and claim they have a duty to report any serious injuries or major incidents, the obvious question is begged as to what is a “serious incident".

I have always believed that one must stand for something or you will fall for anything. It is only when a horrific accident involving a catastrophic injury or wrongful death occurs at an amusement park that the victim or the family of the victim feels the true betrayal of an inefficient regulatory system.

Unfortunately, money, power, and greed of the amusement park industry often leads to unnecessary injuries and worse yet death.

As an experienced amusement park and carnival accident attorney, I believe that leaving the power of amusement park regulation to local and state agencies where the amusement park corporation is a major source of economic income to the community is analogous to the “fox guarding the hen house".

Amusement park safety is priority number one for the amusement park accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily. We believe that everyone deserves a safe amusement park governed by a uniform board of federal and national laws, and that cutting corners and not placing safety first is never an acceptable option.

For over three decades, I have been practicing catastrophic injury and wrongful death law and all too often a catastrophic injury or wrongful death is caused by a clear violation of laws that have minimal if any enforcement guidelines and “teeth".
Recently the Concordia cruise ship disaster illustrated just how many deaths and catastrophic injuries could be caused in an industry guided by rules that were spottily enforced. Every time an accident happens whether it involves a cruise ship, bus accident, trucking accident, amusement park accident, or product liability claim, authorities and experts are quick to state that the event is a wake-up call that highlights longstanding safety concerns.

In Philadelphia, we continue to have an escalating hit and run car accident crisis due to the fact that there are several well-known loopholes in the laws and yet legislators refuse to take steps to change and enforce codes which should in reality punish violators.

The law firm of Reiff and Bily has handled many amusement park accident cases, and yet the enforcement of these safety regulations is spotty despite the volume of rules and amount of unreported amusement park and water park accidents. Many industries escape regulatory scrutiny and it comes as no shock that catastrophic accidents occur when safety protocols are not followed and enforced. Rules and regulations without enforcement are meaningless and if the rules and regulations provide a mechanism for enforcement, individuals or corporations in positions of power often think (as demonstrated by their action or non-action) that they are above these rules and think that they can escape liability by the use of a creative lawyer or legal system which fails to enforce said rules and regulations. If our system chooses to ignore rules and regulations, it fosters a system where it is easier for individuals and corporations to become and remain corrupt then to remain honest.

I have always believed that laws not enforced cease to be laws, and rights not defended may wither away. I believe that the courtroom with proper legal representation makes equals of all men and that an injured victim must ensure that laws are followed and enforced. While catastrophic injury and personal injury lawyers will continue to be bashed by corporations and insurance companies who continue to delay, deny, and defend rightful claims, I for one understand that enforcement of laws and prosecution of wrongdoers are necessary to protect the public and promote order which is the first requisite of liberty and justice.

I was recently discussing a catastrophic death case with my opponent who seemed most focused on learning about how my client’s daily life and activities were affected from the catastrophic accident that tragically took her husband’s life when he was 32-years-old.

My client was perfectly healthy when he went in for a simple and innocent medical procedure and died one of the most painful and horrific deaths after he languished for many weeks with what our skilled medical malpractice lawyers and experts considered to be a negligent medical diagnosis and treatment. Obviously the words that I communicated to my experienced opponent seemed to ring hollow as I described what life was like for the surviving widow and young children of the unfortunate victim. As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice and product liability lawyer who has shared the losses of loved ones with all too many families over the last three decades, and as one who has also suffered the loss of a parent and dear friends, I understand that it is hard to put into words the feelings and emotions that overcome an individual when they learn of another’s passing and have to deal with it on a daily basis.

Many years ago, while handling a mass catastrophic accident involving the deaths of five individuals and extraordinary life changing injuries to nine others, I attended many funerals and had occasion to embed myself with the families of the victims. The outpouring of grief and emotions is almost impossible to accurately describe and communicate, and therefore, I reached out to an experienced grief counselor who had worked with victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center catastrophe. The grief counselor assembled a group of psychologists and psychiatrists to interview and counsel the surviving family members and was able to document and explain to the defense and the parties that they represented the complexities of grief and emotional trauma suffered by the plaintiffs and their survivors. Experienced grief counselors and psychologists understand the normal path of bereavement and grieving. I have learned that bereavement and grief possesses many different stages for individuals and have learned that as chance favors the prepared mind, it is best to prepare for this type of questioning by defense in any catastrophic injury or wrongful death case. Whereas a widow or child will normally be extremely emotional and cry as they detail the grieving process, a grief counselor and psychologist can assist in demonstrating the emotional damage aspect of the legal claim and help jurors understand the true extent of a client’s suffering.

If you or a loved one has sustained a catastrophic injury or wrongful death, the experienced Philadelphia personal injury and Philadelphia trial lawyers of Reiff and Bily understand the heartbreak and sorrow and what it takes to recover the financial damages to which you are entitled. We always offer a free, no obligation consultation as well as a no recovery, no fee guarantee. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

I have been actively practicing law since 1979 and yet many times when I meet colleagues who are trial lawyers they cannot help but tell me how much they hate the profession and can’t wait to get out. Many of my colleagues drink to forget and eliminate the stresses of the profession. On the other hand, there are many lawyers such as myself and my partners who love to practice law and feel blessed to have the opportunity to represent so many wonderful clients in need of our services. The practice regularly gives us energy as rise to new and different legal and interpersonal client challenges.

Since 1979, I have vigorously represented clients who have been catastrophically injured or wrongfully killed due to the negligence of another or due to a defectively designed or defectively manufactured product. I have always been amazed at how insurance companies and their “hired gun" defense attorneys attempt to minimize the value of a life changing injury, disfigurement, loss of reputation, impairment of mental and physical capacity, frustration, humiliation, degradation and an non-inclusive list of other factors when these same people will purchase pieces of art at prices in the millions or hundreds of millions of dollars. I have often asked myself why is a piece of art worth more than the value of a lost life or worth more than the injuries sustained by one whose life has been catastrophically changed due to the negligence of profit seeking motives of another. I have understood that as an experienced Philadelphia trial lawyer, I deal with situations on a daily basis where we must face the value of our client’s lost hope or dreams and yes, while many of the cases involve some of the most depressing facts that one could conceive, I still believe that in representing seriously injured clients, the loss of their dreams is much more important than the intangible value of a piece of art and have always given of myself 110% percent to help my injured clients and their families recover compensatory damages necessary to keep their dreams and hopes alive. Being a lawyer defines my life and I look forward every day to giving the best counsel possible to my clients. I understand that the greatest use of a life is to spend your time doing something that will outlast it and I know that the finest trial lawyers that I work with love what they do and understand that the pursuit of justice is truth in action. We understand that every individual and corporate entity has a responsibility for injustice anywhere in life and everywhere in the community.

Recently a young boy drowned while swimming at night in a swimming pool owned by a major hotel chain while attending a wedding reception. Although alcohol was involved, there were numerous other violations pointing to owner/operator negligence for swimming pool operations and premise liability which led to the tragic death. Recently I was a guest at another major hotel chain with an indoor pool and was surprised to notice that the hotel did not secure the pool at night by locking doors even though claiming it was closed during evening hours. The hotel’s actions indicated that guests were allowed to swim at night and the area was dimly and darkly lit. The hotel also had business and social functions ongoing in the lobby and bar areas and it was very possible for guests who were intoxicated to enter the pool.

In the hotel swimming pool drowning accident case where the boy drowned, an aquatic safety consultant was retained and stated that the hotel was negligent in that it failed to secure the pool at night with locked doors or gates even though they claimed it was closed during evening hours. Routine pool controls and patrols were not conducted for safety and the pool was lacking safety signs, rescue and resuscitation equipment. There was no one on staff ultimately in charge of the pool and in fact, many of the safety breaches which led to the finding of liability on behalf of the hotel chain were in violation of the company’s written policies.

As an experienced Philadelphia hotel safety and Philadelphia swimming pool accident lawyer for over thirty years, I understand that safety is priority number one and that hotels and motels owe the highest duty of care to those who visit the premises as customers to insure their safety and protect them from significant harm or death. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a swimming pool accident, please contact us for a free, no obligation consultation toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As strange as it seems, surgery performed on the wrong side of a patient’s body is more common than one would think. In fact, due to a recent publication resulting from Freedom of Information requests, many more revelations of surgery performed on the wrong side of the body are being publicly acknowledged. While it is unquestionable that mistakes may occur during medical procedures, there simply is no excuse for wrong site surgeries. Simply stated, wrong site surgeries are always the result of carelessness, poor pre-operative planning, and an obvious lack of institutional control.

As an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney whose law firm has successfully litigated wrong site surgery cases for over three decades, we consider this medical error to be the most outrageous type of insult to the patient due to the fact that it forever changes the patient’s life with irreversible injuries and is so easily prevented.
Surprisingly the reporting of wrong site surgery is not mandatory in most states.

Recently when I went in for a minor surgical procedure on my elbow, I met with a doctor briefly after an IV sedative had been introduced prior to entering the operating room. The doctor asked me what I was there for and I asked told him “Why don’t you tell me?" attempting to have him acknowledge the site of the surgery so that I could confirm the same. Obviously at this stage of the game, even I was in an intoxicated state and under the influence of a sedative. Wrong site surgeries account for almost 15% of all reported medical mistakes and in many of the wrong site surgery cases we have investigated and litigated, many of the defendants, doctors, and nurses point the finger at each other without immediately acknowledging a mistake or properly assuming responsibility.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of wrong site surgery, why not put a team of experienced wrong site surgery and medical malpractice lawyers to work for you. Of course, we always offer a free, no obligation consultation. Recently, the accomplished Philadelphia medical malpractice firm of Reiff and Bily have joined forces with the legendary medical malpractice team of the Beasley Firm to create the Beasley Reiff Law Group. Together our attorneys have been awarded billions of dollars since the mid-1950's. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

For over thirty years, I have worked closely with the medical community in my capacity as a lawyer investigating and litigating cases involving closed head traumas and mild to severe brain injuries, as well as intracranial hemorrhages. Many times individuals who do not possess proper medical insurance do not receive adequate or proper screening after an accident or violent impact to their head. Left untreated, a mild TBI or intracranial hemorrhage can have a considerable impact in the reduction of one’s quality of life and can many times lead to death if improperly diagnosed.

Studies and statistics have indicated that African-American and Hispanic children are less likely than Caucasian children to receive cranial CT scans in emergency departments following minor head trauma according to a study presented at the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics national conference. Many physicians that I have discussed this situation with claim that those who sustain a minor head trauma “are probably at low risk anyway" for a clinically important brain injury. However, one’s socioeconomic status or lack of insurance or ignorance of the insurance and billing systems should not stand in the way of a proper diagnosis and the safe practice of medicine. Many times an impact to the head is the result of a car accident, product defect, or other type of negligence, and third party’s and third party insurance companies may be responsible for medical bills and resulting financial, emotional, and payment of medical bills. Simply stated, I have noted that many individuals contact our office with symptoms of traumatic brain injury and closed head trauma and have not received proper medical treatment because they were afraid that they would be responsible for paying the bills and did not have adequate personal medical insurance. In fact, many hospitals and physicians will not treat these people unless there is a letter of protection from a lawyer representing them or the lawyer’s office has done the ground work to secure funding for the diagnostic testing. What we do know is that individuals with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury have a much lower health-related quality of life at times compared to others. It is important to immediately diagnose and effectively treat a brain injury.

Continue reading "Why Is It That Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Intracranial Hemorrhages Are Not So Readily Diagnosed. Is It A Patient Or Medical Issue?" »

How many times have you been driving down the highway and seen treads, shredded tires, or torn pieces of tires sitting on the side of the road on the shoulder. The sale of used tires and retreaded tires is booming. While a significant number of vehicle crashes are caused as a result of tire failures, and even though the purchaser believed they were getting safe tires based upon the visual conditions, many times the bargain leads to a catastrophic accident. Many times tires possess defects that cannot be easily detected visually. Oxidation or micro-cracks in tires can lead to a catastrophic tread or belt separation. However, unfortunately, the age of a tire does not prevent it from being sold at a cheap price on the used tire market or the retread market.

We recently successfully resolved a case where a tire experienced a belt separation causing the vehicle to lose control. The tire manufacturer claimed there was no defect on the tire. Most times, the tire installer or customer does not possess the ability to spot loose cords or belt separation in a tire, and unfortunately used tires are not subject to any federal standards. The road fitness of a tire is governed only under state tread depth laws.

Every year thousands of people will die and even more will be catastrophically injured due to the use of defective retread tires on vehicles. Environmentalists claim that retreading tires saves huge amounts of natural resources as opposed to replacing worn tires. However, safety should always take priority over profitability. Simply put, retread tires are second hand tires that have just been recoated with a tread veneer creating a potentially volatile situation.

Continue reading "A Tire Tread Separation Often Results In Lose Of Control Of A Vehicle With Tragic Consequences" »

Over the years, as an experienced catastrophic accident attorney , I have represented a number of clients who were injured at a gym, or on a ski slope and the business owner or operator attempted to deny coverage or liability due to an exculpatory clause in the contract, membership agreement, or lift ticket that stated that the facility waived any liability in the event of an accident.

Pennsylvania law provides that an exculpatory clause or a clause waiving liability is valid if it does not violate any policy of the law, the contract is between persons relating entirely to their own affairs and each party is a “free bargaining agent", and is not in effect a contract or adhesion whereby one party simply adheres to a document which is powerless to alter having no alternative than to reject the transaction entirely. Even if a clause in a contract is determined to be exculpatory, the Supreme Court has established standards that must be met before it will relieve one from liability that the law would otherwise impose.

1) It must be strictly construed since it is not favorite of the law.

2) It must spell out the contention of the parties the greatest particularity so as to show an intent to release from liability beyond a reasonable doubt by express stipulation, no inference from words or general import can establish it.

3) It must be construed against the parties seeking immunity.

4) The burden to establish immunity is upon the party who asserts it.

Obviously if you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury or wrongful death at a business entity, property or recreational facility of another, a clause attempting to limit or extinguish their liability may not necessarily release the offending party from their responsibility for injuries and accidents. Many individuals and lawyers pay heed to the chilling effect of these clauses and do not understand that such communication must be understandable without ambiguity or deception and may often call for the involvement of an experienced catastrophic injury or wrongful death lawyer.

For over three decades, the experienced Pennsylvania personal injury and Philadelphia premise liability lawyers of Reiff & Bily have successfully tackled some of the nation’s toughest defendants and largest corporations on a no recovery, no fee basis representing the interests of consumers. We believe that safety and not profitability should be priority one, and our skilled catastrophic injury attorneys have a successful track record holding wrongdoers accountable. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.