Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney since 1979, I have handled many cases over the last few years that have been caused by driver inattention due to the fact that the driver was distracted while using a cell phone, either texting or speaking, rather than paying attention to the task of driving and the roadway ahead. One of those cases involved the driver of a truck owned by a corporate defendant who hit our clients head on, catastrophically injuring a husband and wife with permanent injuries. Due to the fact that the employer had deeper pockets than the single driver and that the employer’s liability insurance policy had greater value than the employee’s automobile coverage, we sued both the employer and the employee and were successful.

In Pennsylvania, an employer can be held responsible for an accident caused by their employee when the employee is driving a company vehicle or using his or her personal vehicle while engaged in business related activities. Employers do face potential liability for an accident caused by their employees in the course and scope of their employment by a doctrine known as respondeat superior.

I have been an outspoken advocate against the use of cell phones while driving and all too frequently have represented people who sustain catastrophic injuries or death as a result of driver inattention while using a cell phone. New laws restricting cell phone usage or texting while driving make it important for employers to consider adapting or adopting cell phone policies concerning employees while driving and it is more important than ever for lawyers representing injured persons to fully investigate this area of recovery.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident and you believe that cell phone usage is an issue, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident attorneys for a free, no obligation consultation.

If you live in Philadelphia, which is being crippled by the recession, your auto insurance costs approximately 3 to 4 times what it would cost other cities. Philadelphians traditionally have paid more for insurance than their counterparts in Baltimore, Chicago, and Cleveland despite much higher theft rates in those other cities. So, why is insurance in Philadelphia much higher? The answer is simple. Many Philadelphians have few assets and no insurance and therefore, people involved in car accidents with an uninsured motorist have to collect from their own insurance company through their uninsured or underinsured motorist policy. The theory is that uninsured motorists and drivers cause premiums to be higher and when premiums are higher more people opt out against buying car insurance thereby creating a vicious circle.

At the Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff & Bily, we are seeing more and more uninsured motorist cases coupled with bankrupt defendants who have no assets. Unfortunately, state regulatory agencies and law enforcement officials are not doing a great job enforcing mandatory insurance laws. Simply enacting a mandatory insurance law, which a majority of the states have already done, is not the same as enforcing a mandatory insurance law. Now more than ever, it is important to completely review your automobile insurance policy to make sure that you are properly covered as chance favors the prepared mind.

The experienced Philadelphia hit and run and uninsured car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily offer a free no obligation consultation to review your policy and have represented thousands of uninsured and underinsured motorists since 1979.

Recently a story was published where it was noted that a motorist was distracted by her talking Tom Tom GPS, missed a stop sign, and collided with a 16 passenger van transporting a family, causing the van to rollover resulting in serious injuries. The driver of the colliding vehicle stated she was noticeably distracted by the talking GPS causing her to run a stop sign and injure 9 members of the family in the other van. As GPS and navigation systems become more and more sophisticated and actually talk to you, it is easy to become distracted or shocked and take your full attention off the road at hand. As you are no doubt aware, there has been an epidemic of texting and cell phone usage and the resulting driver distraction has caused tragic accidents and the same has come under attention by many state and federal legislatures.

My own particular vehicle contains a night vision system that illuminates the driveway and forces you to look down at the speedometer rather than straight ahead at the road to see what is ahead. Mercedes Benz night vision in my mind seems more like a gimmicky distraction than a useful safety feature due to the fact that it focuses your eyes from the windshield downward to the dashboard speedometer area. Although Mercedes Benz notes that it can reduce the risk of injury during night time accidents by avoiding night time accidents, to me it seems a bit gimmicky and in my opinion, could possibly cause accidents.

I emphasize, of course, that this is only my opinion as an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who also regularly handles automobile product liability lawsuits against the major automobile manufacturers. Though no doubt it is a great conversation piece for occupants in the vehicle, I was very impressed when I first purchased the car and “had to have” the night imaging system. The goal is to shine infrared beams down the road to illuminate passages that are beyond the reach of the headlights. The issue is, should you be looking straight ahead or down at the display on the dashboard. In the instant it takes to shift your focus, one could easily strike a deer or other object on the road and become easily distracted.

Although Mercedes Benz claims that the S class nightview assist is a milestone in the area of passenger car technology designed to relieve driver stress during tiring journeys at night, I believe that better positioning of the display perhaps closer to the windshield would be a safer place to help avoid accidents and driver distraction.

According to news sources, Joseph J. Owsiak, Sr. was traveling east of Bradford Road on County Line Road when he lost control of his vehicle on the icy highway and slid into the westbound lane colliding with a 2007 Dodge van. Mr. Owsiak was pronounced dead at the scene. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Joseph J. Owsiak, Sr.

According to the news source, several other vehicles on that highway wound up involved in accidents due to icy road conditions. Unfortunately, we see many catastrophic car accidents when roads are slick and when there is black ice on the road that is not apparent to the innocent eye. As a matter of fact, I had my own black ice accident a few weeks ago. It is important to consider that when driving in freezing and below conditions to pay extra caution to roadway conditions and drive a bit slower and more carefully than normal.

If you were involved in a Philadelphia car accident as a result of an icy road, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.

The survey recently issued by Insurance.com claiming that lawyers are the most dangerous drivers would seem to offer a golden opportunity to crack wise about the only profession held in lower esteem than journalists. I am going to resist the temptation to crack wise, however.

Insurance.com's data is based on the numbers of customers requesting a quote from the Web site, hardly a scientific survey. Perhaps these drivers are worse than average and are seeking quotes because their insurance companies are dropping them for being bad drivers. There also is no differentiation between fender benders and more serious accidents involving injury or death.

Insurance.com is trying to gin up publicity by bad mouthing lawyers, long seen as the arch enemy of the insurance companies without having the facts to back up its claims. The company sure does sound sure of itself.

"Attorneys topped the list at No. 1 with 44 percent claiming a prior accident when receiving a car insurance comparison quote from insurance.com. (We bet 44 percent of them talked their way out of a ticket, too.)," Insurance.com says, with tongue firmly in cheek. It insists the study is no joke.

"We looked at quotes from a seven month period (June to December 2009).The number of quotes compiled in the research was in the tens of thousands. In terms of our data, the occupational designation of attorney/judge is the No. 1 accident reported to quote requested occupation," says Tom Tennant, a company spokesman, in an e mail.

Attorneys specializing in accident cases tell me that their fellow members of the bar tend to be careful drivers. Jeffrey Reiff, founding partner of the Philadelphia firm of Reiff & Bily, tells WalletPop that he has never had a case of a lawyer involved in an accident who was multi tasking. Lawyers, he says, probably pay low insurance rates because they tend to be good drivers.

"I have never heard of anything like this," Reiff says of the survey. "I find it astounding."

Insurance.com has no idea why lawyers topped the list.

"... we can make the educated guess that it is for the reasons previously stated: stress, when they are on the road, road conditions, number of distractions, propensity to shop for insurance (request quotes)," Tennant says.

Other professions are also maligned by Insurance.com. For reasons that are baffling, dog groomers were rated as the sixth most dangerous profession, edging out marketing/advertising professionals, barbers/stylists (for humans), coaches and nurses. Why dog groomers would be such a menace on the roads is a mystery. Perhaps they're driving with their clients on their laps.

Since 2008 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the rest of the country has been in the grip of a painful recession and the citizens of Philadelphia and other parts of the state appear to be hit the hardest as the rate of uninsured and underinsured motorists continues to skyrocket. Unemployment is standing greater than 10% and blame game continues to be the hidden elephant in the room, namely that people cannot afford insurance coverage. As rates continue to climb and more and more people are unemployed or are in a “no pay” raise environment, the stage is set for financial disaster if you are not properly insured. More and more our office is dealing with catastrophic injury cases or wrongful death cases where there just is not enough insurance or asset coverage to pay the proper value of the claim and people are left unprepared, thrusting them into a greater state of financial distress. Now more than ever, it is important to have full tort with uninsured and underinsured automobile insurance with the maximum amount you can afford.

Our firm is offering a free car insurance checkup to any Pennsylvania citizen with no obligation. The Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff & Bily is committed to consumer and motorist safety. If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured vehicle or the victim of a hit and run accident, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident attorneys for a free, no obligation consultation to make sure that your rights are protected.

On February 16, 2010, I wrote a blog addressing the safety issues of school buses on snow and ice covered roads. As a witness to two accidents yesterday, I expressed my concern that even though four wheel drives and SUVs were unable to traverse the highways, school buses were carrying our precious cargo and that transportation officials and school administration officials should be most diligent with regard to the conditions of the roads.

Unfortunately, a 26-year old Pennsylvania man was killed on February 17, 2010 when his vehicle slammed into a school bus at the entrance to the Perkiomen Valley Middle School west of Lower Frederick Township. According to news sources, the fatality was identified as Richard Taylor, 27, of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. The car’s driver, Fred Carroll, of Perkiomenville had to be cut out of the mangled 1999 Honda Civic and was flown by helicopter to Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating to determine the cause of the accident. Five students were treated for injuries by the school nurse. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Richard Taylor and the others injured in this tragic accident. It is not clear from the news report who or what caused this school bus accident in Pennsylvania.

Bus companies, whether they are private or public carriers, owe their passengers the utmost duty of care which means that they must ensure that all passengers are transported safely. If the driver of the other vehicle was determined to be at fault, then he could be held liable for the victim’s wrongful death. In such cases, all of the victims would be well advised to seek the counsel of a reputed Philadelphia catastrophic injury and car accident lawyer who would make sure that their rights are best protected and that they get fair and proper compensation for any injuries and loss. It would also be in the best interest of these accident victims not to talk to any insurance adjusters or attorneys or other parties before they have consulted with their own catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawyer.

On the morning of February 16, 2010, I decided the roads were too snowy and ice covered to drive to work in my normal fashion so I decided to take the train which is approximately a mile and a half from my home. On the way to the train station, I noticed two school bus accidents and was curious as to why school openings were not delayed or what the heck the school buses were doing on the snowy roads without chains or their proper traction devices while we were entrusting the safe transportation of our precious cargo to these carriers.

In the last few days, there have been many crashes involving school buses in Pennsylvania as well as throughout the northeastern part of the United States. This morning the snow was falling and the roads were ice covered and the roads were slippery even for a four wheel drive vehicle let alone a vehicle such as a school bus with a high center of gravity and no seat belts. As a matter of fact, just last week an SUV collided with a school bus in the Scranton area of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania State Police noted that slick roads played a role in the crash. 35 children grades kindergarten through 5th grade were aboard the school bus when it collided with a Ford Explorer. As a concerned parent whose student must travel a number of miles to school, I was concerned today that my child’s school did not have a two hour delay in view of the hazardous and icy road conditions. It would have been much better if school was delayed two hours so my son did not have to board the bus at 7:00 a.m. when our roads were slick and rush hour traffic was beginning to build. It is scary and frustrating for a parent to have to put a child on a school bus in such conditions, and as a parent, I do not like to see delays but also believe that the school districts and school personnel have to err on the side of caution. I attempted to contact the local school bus company. I was referred to the school administration and Superintendent who were unable to be reached for comment. When children are involved, road conditions and weather must be closely monitored which may require the Transportation Director or Superintendent to drive the roads in the district prior to making the important decision of whether or not to issue a delay warning.

The experienced Philadelphia car accident and school bus accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with children and school bus accidents. If your loved one has been injured in such an incident, please contact one of our experienced lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation.

I recently reviewed a story relating to two of the nation’s and Philadelphia’s most epidemic problems, namely hit and run accidents and defective trailers. According to news sources, an individual who was operating a Toyota Forerunner northbound on a highway when a triple axle utility trailer he was towing broke free crossing the median, glancing off another vehicle, and then striking another vehicle head on pinning two women inside who had to be cut from the vehicle by the Jaws of Life. The victims were age 63 and 88 and sustained catastrophic injuries including multiple broken bones and permanent scarring.

The driver of the vehicle towing the triple axle utility trailer which broke free “ran” from the scene in his vehicle. When he was apprehended by the police, the hit and run driver stated “it was a true accident” and he had been working two jobs in order to survive. This situation highlights something I have been writing about for months if not years, namely that as the economy continues to worsen more and more people are going without car insurance or are minimally insured and flee the scene of accidents in fear rather than stay to render assistance and exchange information required by law.

Additionally since the trailer industry and towing of trailers is so unregulated, stricter government or state regulations are necessary due to the frequency or epidemic nature of these incidents resulting in catastrophic injuries or fatalities.

The experienced Philadelphia hit and run car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are well versed in both of these areas and are committed to promoting motorist safety and once again call for stricter regulation on both of these fronts.

If you or a loved one was injured by a hit and run car accident or a defective trailer accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia hit and run and defective trailer accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation.

A new non-profit known as Focus Driven held an introductory news conference to announce that this new national organization will try to make driving and talking on cell phones as illegal and socially unacceptable as being drunk behind the wheel.

The experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have long been outspoken critics against talking or texting on cell phones while behind the wheel of a car and salute the efforts of Focus Driven and share the vision to prevent injuries and save lives by eliminating cell phone use while driving. While behind the wheel of a car, it is important to concentrate on the road ahead rather than on conversations which take your mind and thoughts off the task at hand. An inattentive driver is operating a weapon at a high speed and often irresponsibly causes catastrophic injuries and fatalities. Many times these accidents involve people who have been drinking while on the phone - a most deadly combination indeed. It is important to note that the five leaders of Focus Driven have all lost loved ones in crashes. I am all too familiar with this scenario and we offer whatever assistance and contribution we can make to this wonderful new cause.

In Pennsylvania we note that the House of Representatives may vote soon on a text messaging ban and that the Senate has passed a measure last year. Other pending legislation in Pennsylvania would ban all cell phone usage by junior drivers.

A school bus crash in Hartford, Connecticut last weekend, resulting in the tragic death of a teenager, brought further attention to the topic of equipping school buses with seat belts. The topic engenders a debate between those who argue seat belts would cost too much versus the safety concern for protecting children. The school bus industry is quick to point out that school buses are already among the safest vehicles on the road due to the compartmentalizing of the occupants and argue that school buses are approximately 7 times safer than passenger cars and trucks. Many experts, as well as product liability lawyers (including this writer) demand that legislators take a closer look at requiring seat belts on school buses.

It is interesting to note that small school buses with gross vehicle weight of less than 10,000 lbs. are required to be equipped with lap/shoulder belts at all designated seats. However, the school bus industry points out that lap belts have been proven to cause abdominal injuries in crash victims. Whenever a crash occurs where a student is killed due to the lack of seat belts, the school bus industry is quick to claim that it is an isolated tragedy. The truth is that every time a child is lost, the loss could have been prevented by the use of a seat belt installed for minimal cost. This truth is added to the fact that bus drivers have seat belts and are required to wear them. The cost benefit and responsibility analysis must be made and in this writer’s opinion all school buses should have seat belts on all new models and such belts should be retrofitted to all older models.

At the Philadelphia school bus accident law firm of Reiff & Bily, we have over 30 years experience investigating and litigating catastrophic school bus accidents and car accidents. We are committed to promoting the rights of motorists and consumer safety.

As an experienced Philadelphia school bus accident lawyer, I have been closely following the national seat belt debate with regard to students on school buses. Personally, I have been an advocate for seat belt requirements on school buses. However, the school bus industry and its lobbyists state that in a rollover situation or an extreme emergency, i.e. fire or collision, the driver would be challenged to unfasten 40 to 50 seat belts and claim that seat belts do more damage than good. The school bus industry alleges that school buses are created with enhanced structures for protection including high seat backs and cushions to protect students on impact.

A currently proposed Minnesota statute would require school buses purchased after December 31, 2010 to be equipped with approved three point lap/shoulder belts in each passenger seating position. All students would also be required to use the seat belts unless the school district received notification from the child’s parent or guardian. The statute further notes that in case of wrongful death lawsuits no school district, school bus driver, school personnel, or volunteer could be found liable for failing to assist the student with adjusting, fastening, or unfastening a seat belt on the bus.

I will be curious to follow this debate, as well as debates of other states where such proposals have been initiated. Personally, I believe that all school buses should be required to have seat belts when they carry our precious cargo.

As an experienced Philadelphia car and truck accident lawyer, we have handled all too many cases involving unsecured truck loads. Recently we had the opportunity to discuss a catastrophic case with a client where a large coil of steel rolled off a truck that failed to meet state safety regulations. It turns out that not only was this coil of steel unsecured, but the truck also had bare tires, malfunctioning turn signals, as well as a driver who was improperly trained. As you can imagine, these steel coils weighed approximately 8,000 lbs. and some of them can weigh as much as 44,000 lbs. One can only imagine the damage caused when it rolls off a flatbed truck traveling at a high rate of speed. Recently in June an unsecured steel coil caused more than $200,000 damage to an interstate when it rolled off a truck and injured a woman whose vehicle collided with the same.

When a dangerous or improper truck load causes a serious injury or fatal accident, it is crucial to determine whether the driver and trucking company complied with federal and state rules regarding load safety.

The experienced Philadelphia truck accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily work with an independent team of trucking industry experts and investigators and timely and thoroughly conduct investigation into causes of serious truck accidents. It important that trucking companies and any independent owner/operator who violates truck safety load regulations be held liable for damages, injury or wrongful death in the accidents that result.

Recently Alabama passed a bill regulating the hauling of steel coils on state highways. If companies follow state and federal regulations, debris often does not fall off of trucks. It important to put teeth in our state and federal regulations to prevent the loss of life or injuries on our highways.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney, I am normally one of the first calls made by a victim after a car accident when someone is seriously injured. As I have handled over 10,000 car accident cases since 1979, I have witnessed numerous changes in the automobile insurance and car accident laws of Pennsylvania and the in way that automobile insurance companies are doing business. Unfortunately, many of the low cost carriers will throw every obstacle in the way of an insured when it comes time to process a claim. Most times they emphasize their own profitability rather than their insureds interests.

Just last week, our office resolved a bad faith insurance case against one the nation’s major low cost carriers due to the fact that the carrier repeatedly failed, refused and neglected to pay proper attention to their insured’s cause of action and looked for every excuse in the book to delay, deny and defend against the insured’s claim at a time when their insured most needed a helping hand and coverage. Although many times the advertisements for these carriers are warm and fuzzy, it is often best to shop around and seek the opinion of someone well versed in insurance claims to determine which insurance carrier is best at handling claims.

At the experienced Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff & Bily, we offer free no obligation consultations and we would gladly open our telephones and doors to give you a free car insurance check up. If you buy an insurance policy, you expect security. Don’t fall into the no pay zone.

An epidemic of car accidents occurring while driving a vehicle and operating a cell phone either by talking or texting has resulted in a multitude of catastrophic accidents and fatalities. According to a recent study by the National Safety Council, 28% of all traffic accidents occur when people talk on cell phones or send text messages while driving. The study indicates that a vast majority of those crashes, 1.4 million annually, are caused by cell phone conversations and 200,000 more are blamed on text messaging. Because of the extent of the problem, federal transportation officials unveiled an organization on Tuesday patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving that will combat driver’s cell phone use. The group is named Focus Driven which grew out of a meeting of distracted driving sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who has handled many catastrophic car accidents resulting from cell phone usage and resulting inattention to the roadway, I salute the efforts of the Focus Driven organization and the attention being thrust upon this epidemic problem. Unfortunately, it is not until you look into the faces of those who have lost a loved one as a result of driver inattention is the gravity of this situation is recognized.

Law enforcement needs stronger laws and better tools to enforce these violations.

Another church van rollover has left 10 people injured. According to the Toledo Blade, an Ohio-based church van rolled over on U.S. Route 23 injuring 10 occupants on Sunday, January 10, 2010. Not so dissimilar from other church outings, this church van was coming back from a church retreat in southwest Michigan when the van allegedly veered left off of the road onto a snow covered shoulder causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The van rolled over twice before landing on its wheels in a ditch on the side of the highway and many of the young group members were thrown or ejected from the vehicle during the incident. Although the Michigan State Police report indicates that it appears as though the driver of the van fell asleep at the wheel of the vehicle, I have seen the same claim made in cases where that was not actually the situation.

As a strong advocate against the use of these large vans by church groups and educational groups, I feel compelled to warn once again that these vehicles are simply not safe and often an accident avoidance maneuver and over-correction results in accidents such as this with catastrophic injuries and fatalities.

To this experienced rollover and 15-passenger van attorney, the 15-passenger van is perhaps the most unsafe vehicle on the roadways today and it often claims unknowing victims from church and school groups.

According to an article published in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, Pennsylvania was noted to be the sixth worst state in the country when it comes to driver safety legislation which ultimately leads to more Pennsylvania car accidents. According to the article, Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety graded states on whether they enacted laws regulating 15 safety-related items such as requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets, restricting teenagers from driving unsupervised after 10:00 p.m. or with multiple teenage passengers, and banning texting while driving. Pennsylvania was among nine states ranked as “red” for lacking many of the groups recommended restrictions and furthermore, Pennsylvania dinged for not making violations of its seat belt and booster seat laws “primary” offenses, meaning that police cannot cite drivers who don’t wear seat belts or put children 4 to 7 years of age in booster seats unless another violation such as speeding is observed.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who handles catastrophic car accident and traffic accident cases throughout the state of Pennsylvania, we strongly urge the following recommendations set forth by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety as follows:

1. Teenagers must be supervised by an adult driver for at least six months and remain citation free before getting a license.

2. Teens must have 30 to 50 hours of supervised practice behind the wheel.

3. Only issue learner’s permits to youth 16 or older.

4. Charge drivers with child endangerment if driving drunk with a child in the vehicle.

5. Ban open containers of alcohol in the vehicle’s passenger area.

6. Mandate blood alcohol testing for any driver killed in a crash or involved in a fatal crash.

7. Require ignition interlock devices for all drunk driving offenders. (Pennsylvania only does this for repeat offenders.)

8. Prohibit drivers younger than 18 from driving between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. (Pennsylvania’s limits start at 11:00 p.m.)

9. Ban teen drivers from using cell phones to call or text even with hands free devices.

10. Prohibit unsupervised teen drivers from having more than 1 non-related teenage passenger in the vehicle.

11. Allow police to ticket motorists for not wearing seat belts as a primary offense.

12. Require motorcycle riders to wear helmets.

13. Require all children ages 4 to 7 to ride in a booster seat as a primary offense.

14. Set the minimum age for unrestricted licenses at 18. (Pennsylvania drivers with no citations or crashes on record can get a full license at 17 years 6 months.)

15. Ban texting while driving for all drivers except for emergencies.

As no doubt many of our readers are aware, there have been several instances of runaway Toyota and Lexus vehicles due to unintended acceleration causing catastrophic injuries and death. Recently Toyota concluded that those cases were the result of floor mats becoming lodged under the accelerator panels. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well as attorneys and experts/investigators familiar with those cases have stated that the floor mat issue is not necessarily the only cause.

Toyota has announced that a brake override software system will shift the engine to idle if it detects that the driver is attempting to apply the brakes without success. Toyota has indicated that it will install brake override systems on all Toyota, Lexus, and Scion vehicles by the end of this year in order to prevent unintended acceleration. The brake override systems will be installed on the Camry, Avalon, Lexus ES 350, IS 350, and IS 250 models. This brake override system will be made standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus product line beginning January 2010 starting with the production of the ES 350 and Camry and scheduled to be incorporated in production of most new models by the end of 2010.

The Philadelphia car accident and vehicle product defect firm of Reiff & Bily has been intimately involved in unintended acceleration cases and if you or a loved one has suffered an injury or death as a result of an unintended acceleration case, please feel free to contact one of our experienced vehicle defect lawyers for a no obligation consultation.

It’s winter time in Pennsylvania and snow missiles and ice can fly off of motor vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed causing serious car accidents and resulting injuries. It is important to help reduce car accidents and protect your assets and prevent accidents from happening by clearing your vehicle of snow and ice. When debris falls or blows off of a vehicle, accidents often occur. Unsecured loads on vehicles and snow missiles account for in excess of 25,000 accidents each year in North America resulting in approximately 80 to 90 fatalities according to the AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety. Although your failure to clean your car or secure loose material may be unintentional, not properly securing or clearing your vehicle even when going a short distance can expose you to serious liability.

According to Pennsylvania law, it is against the law to operate a vehicle on the highway if it is improperly covered, constructed, or loaded so that any part of its content or load spills, drops, leaks, blows, shifts, or in any other way escapes or falls off the vehicle. Any vehicle transporting such matters must have the load secured or debris secured to prevent any part of the load or debris from spilling on the highway. Failure to secure materials in your car can result in strong fines going up into the thousands and even result in criminal liability if someone is catastrophically injured or killed. There is nothing more dangerous than a piece of ice flying at a high rate of speed into the windshield of another vehicle.

As an experienced Philadelphia personal injury and unfair insurance claims practice lawyer since 1979, it seems to me that the insurance companies will stop at nothing to intimidate plaintiffs even when the plaintiff is their own insured. I am currently involved in several unfair and bad faith insurance claims cases where the actions of the insurance companies have been unethical and seemingly criminal. In one of these cases, an insured who was catastrophically injured was repeatedly intimidated by insurance company claims investigators, insurance company attorneys and insurance company claims representatives to the point of requiring psychiatric intervention. Of course, what the insurance company adjuster failed to recognize is that all of these “boxing gloves strategy actions” against its own policyholder benefited the plaintiff’s bad faith action and made the plaintiff’s case stronger in the hands of a lawyer with experience in bad faith insurance litigation.

Unfortunately with many companies, unless you accept the initial or continuing low ball settlement offers, which is often not enough to pay medical bills or wages, the posture becomes more aggressive at every step as the insurance companies attempt to deny claims at any and all costs. While I make my living fighting insurance companies, it always amazes me that if insurance companies would attempt to fight fairly from the beginning, in the majority of cases an amicable resolution could be achieved. In most bad faith cases, the insurance company goes to extreme lengths to avoid paying claims and often they are not shy about using aggressive lawyers, unfair claims handling tactics, and the courts to their own advantage in attempting to stack the deck.

In one of our recent cases, intense discovery revealed obvious and intentional misrepresentation by the insurance adjuster representing the insurance company. Our client, a successful business person, was astounded when the company would not pay full benefits under the policy he purchased. He claimed to have many sleepless nights and in fact, went to see his cardiologist who told him that he had suffered an anxiety disorder and stress syndrome as a result of the insurance company’s activities.

Most people are not equipped to combat the insurance companies on their own and the first time you find yourself being low balled by an insurance adjuster, it would be wise to get an experienced unfair insurance claims and bad faith insurance attorney involved who has the experience and tools necessary to fight back aggressively.