Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Insurance companies for a long time have put profits ahead of their insured’s best interests. It seems to this experienced bad faith insurance lawyer that claim denial rates have been increasing to the point where government regulation of the insurance industry is more critical and necessary. It would be helpful for the average consumer to know the rate at which his or her selected insurance company denies claims when purchasing the policy. Most insurance companies do not release this information and they are not required to release this information by law.

To identify the worst insurance companies for consumers I suggest that one review The American Association for Justice report entitled “The Ten Worst Insurance Companies of America.” According the AAJ report, Allstate was named the worst insurance company in America. The report claimed “There is no greater poster child for insurance industry greed than Allstate.” The report further concluded that the company publicly touts its “good hands approach” while it privately instructs agents to employ a hardball boxing glove strategy against its own policyholders.

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For the last two years, I have noticed increasing attention paid by the federal government on sleeping disorders causing automobile, truck, and commercial bus accidents. The NSTB has been investigating sleep apnea, a disorder that causes people to fall asleep while at the wheel of a vehicle making that vehicle a deadly weapon. I have written before about the dangers of sleep apnea and driver fatigue with regard to truck drivers. However other incidents cited in letters to the NSTB Chairman Deborah Hersman indicate the following incidents:

Motorcoach with passengers in January 2008 careened down a mountainside killing 9 people and injuring 43 others

Airline pilots on a flight from Hilo, Hawaii flew past their destination while the pilot was later diagnosed with sleep apnea

A trolley train crash in Newton, Massachusetts was caused most likely because the driver fell asleep from sleep apnea

It is noted that at least seven to ten percent of adults have sleep apnea in some moderate form and many people do not even know they have it. The NSTB said the issue of people falling asleep behind the wheels of vehicles has long been a concern and they are now taking steps to address this issue.

If you or a loved one is aware of a tendency to fall asleep, please seek immediate medical examination so that you too do not present a danger to others on the road. The experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are committed to promoting vehicle safety. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, please contact one of our experienced lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Thank you to Governor John Corzine for signing a law into effect on Tuesday, October 20th placing fines of $25.00 to $75.00 for drivers with “dangerous accumulations” of snow or ice on their cars or trucks. This law is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation and the experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily hope that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and other states will soon follow due to the fact that we have represented many catastrophically injured people who have lost control of their car and had a car accident as a result of a snow bomb flying off the roof or rear window of another car in front of them or on the side of them obstructing their vision. We are all too familiar with the case of many people being injured or killed due to car accidents caused by ice and snow flying off cars. It is never a comforting sight to have snow or ice fly into your windshield and obstruct your view and shock the daylights out of you.

As an experienced school bus accident lawyer carefully studying trends with regard to school bus accidents, I am noticing a disturbing and unfortunate trending spike in school bus accidents. Contributing factors that are causing a spike in car accidents and resulting school bus accidents is the distraction of drivers due to sending text messages or talking on cell phones while driving. Statistics indicate that approximately 6 children were fatally injured inside school buses annually and another 16 fatally injured as pedestrians in the loading and unloading process around school buses annually.

The week of October 19th is National School Bus Safety Week. Every day 23 million children across the United States ride school buses and among the many topics to be discussed or shared is the continuing use and inattention to the road by drivers talking on cell phones and by those sending text messages and not paying full attention to the precious cargo at hand on school buses.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a school bus accident, please contact one of our experienced school bus accident lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

This morning I received a call from an insurance agent of a defendant who was clearly responsible for damages to my client under his homeowner’s policy. The naive agent, a representative of one of the nation’s largest insurance carriers, questioned me on why I felt this was a valid homeowner’s claim despite the fact that I have been practicing law for over 30 years and clearly this was a valid claim. However, the agent informed me that she did not wish to report it to the carrier for some unknown reason.

Most of us are confident that when we purchase insurance for our home that the insurance carrier will be there to protect us. After all we have paid the premium and given them prompt notice of a claim as well as provided them with all the necessary paperwork and we had nothing to do with causing the loss.

Well the real answer is that in today’s age this may not always be the case. Today more than ever many of the insurance companies and their agents and adjusters are acting unfairly and in bad faith in failing to provide proper and full coverage to their insured, looking at each and every loophole in the policy in a biased way towards the insurance company. This insurance agent represented to me that the insurance company was not going to cover the loss without even consulting the company or the adjuster. Frankly, I believe that the homeowner and the insured has a cause of action against his insurance carrier for failing to deal in good faith and breaching their fiduciary obligation to protect his or her interests.

I recommend to all of my readers that they read their policies closely to make sure that they have the appropriate coverage that they think they have. Do not always count on your insurance agent or delegate the making of the claim to another person. Always be honest with your insurance carrier and never exaggerate the claim.

If you have a question regarding an insurance issue, please feel free to contact one of our experienced bad faith or insurance claim lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

The Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily want to inform their clients that there has never been a better time to get a deal on automobile insurance. Sometimes many of our clients get lazy and are hesitant to make changes. However, we are finding that when shopping for car insurance you can now get substantial savings in yearly premiums often amounting to reductions of 30 to 50%. Many automobile insurers have lowered their rates setting the stage for car drivers to shop around. With fewer cars on the road during the recession and industry competition there have been fewer accidents added to a cut back on driving due to higher gas prices and a slowing economy.

I recommend that all Pennsylvania car drivers, particularly those living in Philadelphia, obtain a Full Tort automobile insurance policy with both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. We are offering all of our clients and potential clients a free insurance check-up.

For an appointment or to have a telephone conference contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A recent study noted that the trend of driving without insurance coverage is growing. The increase in the number of uninsured motorists is an unfortunate consequence of the economic downturn according to Elizabeth A. Sprinkle, Senior Vice President of The Insurance Research Council. If you are operating a vehicle without an auto insurance policy in Pennsylvania, penalties are expected to get harsher. Currently the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation suspends a vehicle’s registration for failure to maintain coverage and if a motorist is caught driving without proof of a policy, the individual can have his or her license suspended. But worse yet if a motorist causes injuries to self or others during an accident, he or she would have to bear the expenses for the property damage and bodily injuries, potentially forcing the motorist to file for bankruptcy. Right now insurance rates seem to be lower than ever and it is highly recommended that all motorists in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have automobile insurance. I emphasize that one should purchase a Full Tort automobile insurance policy with uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to fully protect your family and financial interests.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver, please contact one of our experienced car accident attorneys for a free consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Recent statistics indicated that there have been 1,137 DUI arrests by State Police in Philadelphia since the start of 2008, the most arrests by troopers in any Pennsylvania county. In fact, state troopers who patrol Bucks, Lehigh, and Northampton counties also made 63% more drunken arrests this past Labor Day weekend than in 2008 as part of a state-wide crack down on drunken driving. While studies suggest that there were fewer people on our roadways, state troopers are tallying more arrests and issuing more tickets as part of an initiative by state and local police to crackdown on dangerous driving, particularly drunk driving. There have been more car accidents attributable to drunk drivers to date in 2009 than 2008.

The staff of Reiff & Bily, a law firm experienced in handling car accident cases since 1979, has seen a dramatic increase in the intake of cases involving drivers operating a vehicle under the influence. Many times tragic accidents occur, resulting from motorists driving under the influence, causing harm, catastrophic injuries or wrongful death to motor vehicle passengers. Coupled with an increase in DUIs, we are also noticing an interesting trend in that many operators of such vehicles do not have adequate insurance or, in fact, are uninsured thereby leaving innocent victims unable to collect for their catastrophic injuries.

I have also observed that many of the operators who have been apprehended while driving under the influence are driving on suspended driver’s licenses and have had multiple arrests for driving while intoxicated. The bottom line is that many of these people should not have been operating a motor vehicle in the first place and take their lack of responsibility further by drinking and causing easily preventable injuries.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by a driver operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating substance, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer and one who has been cognizant about the risks of texting and speaking on mobile phones while driving, I salute President Obama’s signing an executive order prohibiting all Federal employees from text messaging while they are operating motor vehicles. For many years now, I have represented people who have been catastrophically injured or killed as a result of driver inattention due to text messaging or speaking on cell phones. I have written many articles on the subject because unfortunately until you or a family member is a victim of such an accident you are not fully cognizant of the risks of harm and damage involved. Understandably, the Senate is discussing a national ban on text messaging. The Department of Transportation recently held a summit addressing the subject of distracted driving. As an experienced car accident lawyer, I can state with certainty that texting while driving is irresponsible and reckless and a major distraction to the task at hand, namely driving. I have handled numerous cases involving texting teenagers with resulting fatalities and catastrophic injuries. Many times texting and cell phone usage goes hand in hand with marijuana and alcohol usage. Add adverse weather and roadway conditions to the equation, together with teenager drivers, and it can be an accident waiting to happen. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of victims injured or killed while occupants in a vehicle operated by distracted drivers who were text messaging and we urge legislatures in all the states, as well as the federal government, to ban the use of cell phones and prohibit text messaging while operating motor vehicles. If you or a family member has been injured in a car accident, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Philadelphia has more bicycle commuters per capita than any of the nation’s other top ten most populated cities according to new census figures. Philadelphia’s rate of bicycle commuters is more than triple the national average of .55% according to analysis performed by The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. This statistic calls to issue an interesting query. With the growing number of uninsured motorists in Philadelphia, what happens when a bicyclist is hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist? The uninsured motorist clause on your own automobile policy may pay if you are hit and run down while bicycling. Check your policy carefully.

As I have noted before in my blogs, Philadelphia has an uninsured motorist as well as hit and run accident pandemic and we are contacted many times a week by bicyclists in a bicycle accident with a hit and run driver or an uninsured motorist. It goes without saying that when a car strikes a bicycle, the injuries are generally catastrophic and many times fatal, often resulting in catastrophic consequences when there is no insurance or limited insurance. If you do not own a motor vehicle, you should contact an insurance agent to purchase a comprehensive insurance policy. A comprehensive bicycle insurance policy, like its counterpart for car insurance, will cover cyclists for risks such as liability, personal injury, uninsured motorists and theft.

Generally, if you own a car insurance policy, UM/UIM coverage will be available within the comprehensive automobile policy providing insurance against collisions with uninsured or underinsured motorists. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is not mandatory in Pennsylvania. This type of coverage is important for a cyclist to have. I recommend seeking more than the minimal level of insurance due to the fact that most times when a car is in a collision with a bicycle, the injuries are sufficiently more than the policy coverage unless there is a minor collision.

If you were involved in a bicycle accident with an automobile or a hit and run driver, one should select the services of an experienced bicycle accident and car accident lawyer to fully investigate the claim and make an informed decision regarding your options. Never accept a settlement from an uninsured driver’s insurance company without getting approval from your own insurance company. You may jeopardize your own company’s rights to pay a UM/UIM claim. If you or a loved one has been involved in a bicycle accident or car accident with a hit and run or uninsured motorist, please contact one of our experienced bicycle and car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A few years ago, certain interests in the powerful insurance industry requested that the Insurance Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania eliminate the inclusion in automobile insurance polices of mandatory arbitration for uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. In the past, if the claimant could not agree as to the fair value of his claim with his or her insurance company then the case would proceed to a mandatory arbitration whereupon the insured would select an arbitrator, the insurance company would select an arbitrator and a neutral would be selected by the two arbitrators and if a neutral could not be agreed upon then the neutral arbitrator would be appointed by the Court upon the filing of a motion by the plaintiffs’ attorney. Insurance companies claimed that this process was unfair and even went so far as to suggest that it was corrupt and therefore changed the policy language in Pennsylvania insurance policies.

This experienced Philadelphia uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance attorney argues that the limitation of mandatory arbitration is resulting in voluminous numbers of uninsured and underinsured claims clogging up the Court of Common Pleas and Federal Courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and resulting in an unnecessary expense to taxpayers and in fact, costing litigants more in litigation costs rather than proceeding through a less formal process of mandatory arbitration.

Continue reading " The Elimination In Pennsylvania Automobile Insurance Policies Of Mandatory Arbitration For Uninsured And Underinsured Motorist Claims – What Does This Mean? – An Experienced Lawyer Speaks Out " »

According to news sources a woman in her forties riding a bicycle in center city was critically injured by a suspected drunk driver on Saturday evening at approximately 7:30 p.m. at 22nd and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA. The operator of the truck continued after the impact but was flagged down and stopped by SEPTA police at 22nd and the Parkway. The victim was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and reported in non-stabled condition with severe trauma. The driver of the truck, a 79-year old man, was arrested on the suspicion of driving under the influence.

I have been writing now for many years that the hit and run car accident situation is out of control in Philadelphia and enough is enough. Penalties are needed with more teeth in them. For the last year, we have noticed an interesting upward trend whereupon many cases of hit and run occur involving repeat DUI offenders with minimal insurance coverage or no coverage at all where innocent victims have been catastrophically injuried or killed. Believe it or not, the current law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania actually benefits those who leave the scene of an accident when intoxicated. DUI punishments and hit and run penalties need to be much harsher in Pennsylvania as DUI and hit and run accidents tear families apart. Pennsylvania has a significant loophole that actually rewards people who leave the scene of an accident while intoxicated.

The experienced hit and run car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily feel strongly that with the rate of hit and runs and recidivism on the rise, minimal prison sentences and fines are not enough. The hit and run car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily feel that anyone operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol is no different than a man carrying a gun who kills someone where the penalty is much higher.

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

According to news sources a two vehicle car accident in Chester County claimed the life of a 59-year old Maryland man on Monday, September 28, 2009 at approximately 4:37 p.m. in East Nottingham Township. According to the news sources, a 2004 blue Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Kristia McMichael, 34, of Rising Sun Maryland was traveling westbound on Forge Road approaching its intersection with Hopewell Road which had a stop sign. Terrance Duncan, 43, of East Nottingham Township was traveling westbound on Hopewell Road in a 1994 black Toyota Tacoma. Police noted that as Duncan entered the intersection, McMichael entered directly in front of his Toyota, which struck McMichael’s Chevy on the passenger’s side door. McMichael’s passenger, her father, Larry McMichael was pronounced dead at the scene and Kristia McMichael was taken to Christiana Hospital for moderate injuries. Duncan was uninjured. The investigation is continuing.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragic car accident. They would be well advised to seek the services of an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.

The experienced car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have been successfully representing catastrophically injured victims of car accidents since 1979. For more information, please contact us for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.