Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

According to sources, on January 29, 2009 a 15-passenger van that was pulling a trailer left from Hobe Sound Bible College heading up I-95. The original plan was to drive to a youth convention in Pennsylvania. In the van were siblings Paul and Julia Stetler, school secretary, Karen Hoffman, and two students, Luke Brinkman and Ally Lavy. About 60 miles down the road, the tire tread separated from the rear tire causing this already defectively designed and unstable vehicle to cross over three lanes of traffic, completely turn around, and exit the roadway in a strip of land that was miraculously cleared of trees two weeks ago. The van turned on its side, all the windows on the driver’s side broke out and one of the passengers was ejected out of the window and rolled from the van.

I have all too often written about the dangers of 15-passenger vans and the incredible number of miles being logged on these by church groups, school children, as well as campers. Miraculously, none of the passengers were killed in this accident. Normally these types of crashes result in the most catastrophic injuries and fatalities and usually all too often the victims leave in body bags. This is truly a miracle.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a 15-passenger van accident, please feel free to contact the experienced 15-passenger van lawyers at the 15-passenger van rollover law firm of Reiff and Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Philadelphia car accident lawyer and dram shop lawyer, Jeffrey Reiff, sends out another plea to his clients and those on the roadways of Pennsylvania to be aware that Super Bowl Sunday has historically been one of the most dangerous days on Pennsylvania highways due to impaired driving caused by driving under the influence. Every year we see a spike of new consultations after Super Bowl Sunday concerning individuals catastrophically injured as a result of an alcohol-related car accident.

According to George C. Geisler Jr., Director of Law Enforcement Services, Pennsylvania DUI Association in Harrisburg, fatalities and alcohol impaired driving crashes nationwide accounted for 32% of all motor vehicle fatalities last year. On Super Bowl Sunday from 12:10 a.m. Sunday to 5:59 a.m. Monday 48% of the fatalities that occurred nationwide on highways were the result of a driver who had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.8 and higher beyond the legal limit. In Pennsylvania, there were 83 impaired driving crashes causing fatalities. Play it safe and don’t drink while driving. Being caught driving drunk beyond the legal limit will result in a costly penalty from law enforcement and could result in a turn over of your driving privileges. Always designate a sober driver who should be on the top of everyone’s Super Bowl driving list.

Continue reading " Philadelphia Dram Shop Lawyer Warns That Super Bowl Sunday May Also Be The Most Dangerous Sunday For Drunk Driving Accidents " »

The closed head injury and brain injury lawyers at the Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff and Bily urge you to buckle up and be a careful and safe driver due to the fact that according to a study released by the National Institute of Health, half of all traumatic brain injuries are caused by collisions involving cars, motorcycles and bicycles.

Since 1979, the Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily have been working with individuals who sustained traumatic brain injury and head trauma. The symptoms can be mild, severe or sometimes only barely noticeable and detected by virtue of scientific testing. Some people who have sustained a major traumatic brain injury may experience at least one seizure during the first week after the injury. However, most of the time, the symptoms are mild and may go unnoticed, exhibiting themselves by virtue of impaired memory such as forgetfulness, change of behavior patterns, increased irritability or anxiety, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, double vision, problems thinking and reasoning, diminution of fine motor skills, trouble with processing information and problem solving, slow down of mental processing, poor judgment, inability to pay attention and inability to multi-task.

Continue reading " Half of All Traumatic Brain and Closed Head Injuries Are Caused By Collisions Involving Cars, Motorcycles and Bicycles " »

The Philadelphia car accident and Pennsylvania Dram Shop attorneys at Reiff and Bily salute the efforts of the Pennsylvania State Police who recently announced that they will be stepping up their efforts to stop drunk driving on Pennsylvania highways conducting more DUI sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols. These welcome actions by the Pennsylvania State Police will help protect Pennsylvania citizens from the hazards of drunk drivers which often irresponsibly leads to catastrophic injuries and fatalities.

The Pennsylvania State Police promise “zero tolerance” and remind drivers that penalties can range from fines to license suspension for first offenses and prison for repeat offenders. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation statistics reported over 14,500 DUI crashes annually on Pennsylvania roadways with over 500 fatalities and 13,000 injuries.

Continue reading " Philadelphia Dram Shop and Car Accident Attorney, Jeffrey Reiff, Salutes Pennsylvania State Police In Their Efforts To Step Up DUI Sobriety Check Points With Roving Patrols On Weekends " »

A Washington County, Pennsylvania woman was killed and another woman and child were severely injured when a runaway trailer broke loose from a truck that was pulling it and struck a car on Route 19 in Washington County, Pennsylvania (video report).

Unfortunately, the force of the trailer’s impact on the driver of a Ford Tempo in oncoming traffic was devastating. According to an eyewitness, the trailer went through the windshield peeling back the car’s roof, killing the victim, Michelle Kott, on the spot. The crash also catastrophically injured Kott’s friend, Brandy Curtis, and her 5-year old daughter. The driver of the pickup truck, Ryan Bier, told North Strabane police investigators that he “felt the trailer pulling hard on the truck and heard a loud pop.” Bier also told police investigators that “the wind moved the trailer from side to side and that a large crosswind came across Route 19 and picked the trailer up off the roadway and tossed it into oncoming traffic.” The driver’s twin brother also told a of a “yank on the truck, a loud pop and a large gust of wind pulled the trailer off the roadway and crashed into the car.” Apparently, Pennsylvania State Police investigators are testing the hitch and chain of the towing hitch and the investigation continues.

Continue reading " Runaway Trailer Kills Pennsylvania Woman and Injures Two Others - Philadelphia Defective Trailer Lawyer Speaks Out " »

Philadelphia car accident attorney, Jeffrey Reiff, of the Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff and Bily warns Pennsylvania drivers that an insurance research group forecasts that the fallout from the recession would lead to an increase in the number of motorists driving uninsured to more than 1 in 6 nationally by next year. Unfortunately, in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania we are seeing a higher number of uninsured and underinsured motorists due to recessionary fallout.

A report from the Pennsylvania based research council on Wednesday, January 1, a not for profit group funded by the insurance industry, stated that a percentage of uninsured motorist usually rises with the unemployment rate and it expected that 16.1% of motorists would be uninsured next year, the highest rate since 1980's and up from 13.8% in 2007. The national unemployment rate was 7.2% last month, up from 4.9% a year earlier.

Based upon our own Reiff and Bily car accident research and findings, we are seeing an extraordinary increase in the number of uninsured drivers, as well as individuals selecting limited tort coverage instead of full tort. The increase in the number of uninsured motorists is an unfortunate consequence of the economic downturn and hence, we urge anyone reading this blog to contact us for a free insurance checkup and strongly suggest that you consider the purchase of uninsured motorist automobile insurance if you wish to be fully protected in these uncertain times.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, please contact the experienced Philadelphia car accident attorneys at Reiff and Bily for a free consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Seemingly, the trailer industry continues to manufacture products and couplers that are devoid of Federal regulation and regulations of many states including Pennsylvania. I have noticed on my blog repeatedly that for every trailer that is manufactured under a 3,000 pound threshold there are no minimum regulatory safety or manufacturing requirements. In fact, anyone can build one, anyone can drive one and anyone can take one home in ten minutes with very little or no training.

There is a gentleman by the name of Ron Melacon who has been a consumer crusader for many years and I urge you to go to his website at www.dangeroustrailers.org for more information on this pressing issue.

A week before Christmas there was a very high profile accident in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania resulting in death due to a defectively hitched trailer. As one drives down our streets and highways, we often see trailers swaying in a dangerous fashion and yet community, state and Federal governments have done very little to regulate or enforce rules regulating the thousands of trailers that are hitched to vehicles that travel on our roadways on any given day.

Continue reading " Defective Trailer and Trailer Hitch Lawyer Claims That Minimal or Non-Regulation of Trailer Industry and Trailer Towing Requires Complete Overhaul in Pennsylvania and Many Other States " »

On April 7, 2008 and August 17, 2008, I addressed on the Reiff and Bily blog issues concerning the usage of a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. I noted that the Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily have handled numerous car accident cases that could have easily been prevented which were caused by drivers not paying attention while having a conversation or text messaging on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle, causing permanent and catastrophic injuries.

Any “plain fool” can recognize that a person with a cell phone or PDA in one hand and driving with the other hand will not have their complete attention paid to the road and hence, will not have their vehicle in complete control if an emergency situation arises. The distracted cell phone driver is a major cause of accidents and rollovers in Pennsylvania and around the country.

The National Safety Council, a Federal watchdog group, has called for the total ban of cell phone use behind the wheel which is a much stricter rule than the state’s law against hand-held cell phones. The Congressionally chartered watch group stated that its proposal is based on scientific studies that reveal that talking on the phone while driving quadruples the risk of a crash.

Continue reading " National Safety Council Watchdog Group Joins This Philadelphia Car Accident Attorney In The Calling For A Total Ban On Cell Phone Use While Driving " »

Not surprisingly many 2008 - 2009 holiday car accidents resulted in fatalities that were alcohol related. Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski was quoted as stating “Too many lives are lost because people drive after they have been drinking.” A State Police spokesman also noted that 5 of the fatalities were individuals who were not wearing seat belts. During the holiday period, there were 312 DUI arrests, 4,512 speeding citations and 984 crashes. As a reminder, the level at which a driver in Pennsylvania is considered drunk is 0.08%. Unfortunately, every year the holiday season brings forth more fatalities due to driving under the influence.

On another note, some commentators have stated that the downturn in the economy has lead to more drinking and henceforth, more drunk driving. Surprisingly, a story came over the wires on January 7th whereupon a Pennsylvania police officer was accused of crashing his patrol car while drunk on duty as the officer’s blood alcohol level was 0.123%. According to the police officer’s attorney, his drinking was triggered by job-related stress.

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a car accident, please call the Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily for a free consultation. We have been protecting the rights of seriously injured victims of car accidents since 1979 and our successful track record speaks for itself. Please browse our website at www.reiffandbily.com or contact us at 1-800-421-9595.

In the last month, the Philadelphia car accident and SUV rollover law firm of Reiff and Bily has received a number of calls from operators of SUVs that have rolled over or been involved in serious car accidents as a result of loss of control due to icy roads. Obviously, when roads are icy, the number of vehicle accidents is noticeably higher and normally there is a spike around the first snow fall or icing of the roadways. Afterwards, drivers seem to get used to conditions and adjust accordingly.

Many drivers of SUVs over confidently assume that their vehicles are safer for travel in snowy and icy conditions. However, due to their higher center of gravity, this is simply not the case. While many motorists think that SUVs or other four wheel drive vehicles are the ticket to safety while driving on snow or ice, it turns out that they slip and slide as much if not more than other vehicles. In fact, the operators of many four wheel drive vehicles may be operating their vehicles with a false sense of security and may be over confident on snow or ice which is a dangerous combination. On many snowy roads, there is often an icy undersurface and any breaking, swerving or accident avoidance maneuver can cause the SUV to lose its traction and roll over due to its high center of gravity. The key to staying safe on winter roads isn’t the type of vehicle you drive but using common sense and driving cautiously.

Continue reading " Icy Roads Contribute to Increase In Vehicle Rollover and Automobile Accidents - Winter Driving Safety Tips " »

Many of us have been driving down the streets or highways of Pennsylvania when another truck or car passes us and a huge amount of snow or ice is blown off that car, hitting our windshield totally obliterating our vision causing or almost causing a serious accident.

Many times car owners or truck owners are too lazy or don’t care about clearing snow and ice from the tops of their vehicles and just as recently as last year, legislatures of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania considered fines for drivers who caused crashes due to the fact that they did not clear their vehicle roofs of ice and snow.

Ice and snow missiles from trucks were the cause of several of the worst wrecks in recent nasty winter storms in Pennsylvania. Vehicle roof snow has long been a debated issue in Pennsylvania and ice and snow missiles from vehicle rooftops have inflicted such heavy casualties and economic losses that more legislative action and programs are necessary to prevent injuries.

Continue reading " A Snow and Ice Missile Flew Off A Truck Ahead of Me Causing Me To Lose Control and Get Involved In An Accident On A Pennsylvania Roadway - What Do I Do? " »