Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Another hit and run car accident tragedy struck in the western suburbs of Philadelphia on the evening of Tuesday, September 28, 2010, when a Villanova student was killed and another critically injured when their car was hit by a stolen Land Rover in Bryn Mawr, PA which thereafter took off a high rate of speed. News sources state that the SUV was racing at approximately 100 mph when it finally slammed into the back of a Volkswagen Jetta carrying two Villanova students from New Jersey. The force of the impact caused the Volkswagen to overturn, trapping the two students inside the mangled wreckage. The victims had to be cut from the wreckage. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other transported by medical helicopter to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he remains in critical condition.

Hit and run accidents in southeastern Pennsylvania are out of control and the situation requires immediate attention and action by our lawmakers. As an experienced Pennsylvania car accident and hit and run accident lawyer, I have spoken out many times and written many articles noting that the current Pennsylvania hit and run accident laws actually benefit those who leave the scene of an accident. Obviously no responsible person takes off from an accident scene with a good reason. Most of the time it is due to the fact that they are under the influence, do not possess proper insurance, carrying contraband, or involved with some other type of illegal activity. In the last 4 days, I am aware of a row of at least 4 other hit and run accidents that have killed and catastrophically injured college teens in the prime of their life. It is time for all of us and our legislators to take action to create laws with teeth and severe penalties to punish these irresponsible wrongdoers.

If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a car accident or hit and run accident, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident and hit and run 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 and hit and run lawyer, I have long been concerned with the epidemic of hit and runs that seems to be growing in the city of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, another victim was claimed on the evening of Saturday, September 25th when Derrick Martinez, age 2, was fatally struck by a late model silver Mercedes Benz as he and his mother were crossing the intersection at 6th Street and Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. The Mercedes was described as having tinted windows and chrome wheels. This accident was described by AAA MidAtlantic as being “senseless and preventable”.

On the following evening in Philadelphia, another hit and run car accident claimed the life of yet another victim. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to the families of the victims and once again, these tragic incidents calls to question what the legislators are doing to close hit and run loopholes that currently exist under Pennsylvania hit and run laws. Currently the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have loopholes that reward hit and run drivers if they were under the influence. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill an individual approximately every half hour and non-fatally and catastrophically injure someone in America every 10 minutes. Believe it or not, the current Pennsylvania hit and run law actually benefits those who leave the scene of the accident when intoxicated. When someone is intoxicated and kills or catastrophically injures someone in a motor vehicle, that person will have a much different penalty than if they left the scene of the accident and reported it the next day. I have been writing for years that hit and run accidents penalties need to be much tougher and have more teeth. Most people who are intoxicated or under the influence drive irresponsibly and leave the scene of the accident either for this reason or for no other good reason. After all, why would any responsible citizen leave the scene of a hit and run accident when there is no good reason particularly when someone is catastrophically injured or killed. The hit and run epidemic is becoming pandemic in Philadelphia and it is time for our legislators to step to the plate and make strong laws to punish the irresponsible wrongdoers.

If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a hit and run accident, please contact one of our experienced hit and run car accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia personal injury and car accident lawyer since 1979 whose law firm has handled thousands of cases, I have never before witnessed anything as extreme as what the insurance companies are manifesting by their tactics in order to deny and delay rightfully obligated legal claims.

When I first started practicing law in 1979, deals were able to be effectuated with a hand shake and a conversation with an insurance adjuster or insurance defense attorney. In those days, a hand shake and contract stood for something. When one purchased insurance with hard earned dollars, it was understood that an insurer’s main objective was to protect you. Today, in fact, many insurance companies have instituted a campaign of misinformation and will do anything possible to try to avoid payment of even the most justified claims. I have spoken to many adjusters and defense attorneys who quite frankly have misrepresented coverage issues and look for every loophole in the policy and even use language that was not set forth in the policy in an effort to wrongfully deny a claim.

In one case that I am currently handling, one of my clients purchased insurance for over 20 years with a reputable insurance company and yet when he was catastrophically injured, losing limbs, his company claimed that he never purchased the coverage that he was seeking to recover from under the policy. In fact, the company was dead wrong and we currently have filed a lawsuit taking a very aggressive stance against his insurance agent and the company seeking bad faith damages in the courts of Pennsylvania.

The misrepresentation campaign that seems to be gathering momentum among the insurance companies and their agents, servants, and employees is unconscionable and widespread. The harsh reality of the situation is that now more than ever if you are involved in a catastrophic accident, product liability case, or car accident, you need to have a fearless and well funded advocate on your side to get you the monies that you deserve.

If you have been involved in a Pennsylvania car accident, truck accident, or sustained an injury from a defective product, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers for a free no obligation consultation and always remember we offer a no fee, no recovery guarantee. For further information, you may reach us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

This phrase was never more true than it is today in hardball personal injury litigation. If you have sustained a catastrophic injury whether it be due to a defective product, amusement park accident, swimming pool accident, defective automobile, or even for that matter a simple car accident, it has become unquestionably true that now more than ever, in view of a tight economy, corporate defendants are taking extreme measures to hide the truth resulting in a surge of unnecessary litigation.

As an experienced and practicing catastrophic injury lawyer since 1979, I am all too aware that the tort reformers, defense attorneys, and insurance companies like to blame the greedy trial lawyers for this problem. The unquestionable truth is that if a person is catastrophically injured or wrongfully killed as a result of someone else’s negligence or fault, then that person is due protection of his or her rights which is in the greatest interest of every man or woman on earth. In this age of emphasizing corporate profits over consumer welfare and safety, the lawyers at the experienced Philadelphia personal injury law firm of Reiff & Bily are calling for government regulators to pay more attention to, rather than turn a blind eye to, holding manufacturers accountable on a stringent basis for product defects.

The recent Toyota sudden acceleration debacle calls attention to the fact that while Toyota boasts that it achieves favorable safety outcomes, consumer complaints of unintended acceleration continue to grow despite ample evidence provided to the government noting the contrary. Even in a simple car accident case that was recently handled by our firm and successfully tried to verdict, we were told by a prominent defense attorney representing a prominent insurance company that he had marching orders to appeal every win by plaintiffs and eventually discourage them and their lawyers by forcing them to spend more time and money on cases.

As an experienced Philadelphia trial lawyer who grew up on the streets, I have always believed in fighting for the little guy and taking a David vs. Goliath approach to big business, fighting on behalf of my clients against big insurance companies and corporate defendants. If we continue to let corporate defendants and over-indulged insurance companies engage in this game of greed while pointing the finger at trial lawyers and injured claimants, the government will continue to side with these big business interests and the revelatory greed of the recent Wall Street debacle will continue to repeat itself in this vicious cycle.

The experienced Pennsylvania car accident and catastrophic injury law firm of Reiff & Bily has been committed to protecting consumers rights since 1979 with a successful track record. For a free no obligation consultation and to inquire about our no fee, no recovery guarantee, please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Seven people were killed and at least 7 other church members are catastrophically injured after a tire blew out on a 15-passenger church van resulting in a loss of control sending passengers tumbling and ejected out of the vehicle. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and it saddens me as an experienced 15-passenger van rollover and accident lawyer every time I learn of another accident involving what I consider to be the most dangerous vehicle on the roadways of America today.

The experienced 15-passenger van accident and SUV rollover lawyers at Reiff & Bily have known for a long time simply that 15-passenger vans are one of the most unsafe vehicles on the road and suffer from a multitude of design defects.

We successfully handled a case almost completely identical to this accident involving another church group, and it is not surprising that the facts are almost identical. We have shared the pain and loss of all too many parents, children, and church-goers who are unknowing about these defects and dangers of the 15-passenger van until it is too late. Government research and research done by the automotive manufacturers indicates that there is significant risk of rollovers in 15-passenger vans when they are fully loaded. Most times, 15-passenger van rollover crashes occur due to defective tires and inexperienced and untrained drivers. The victims and their families of this unfortunate and tragic accident would be well advised to contact an experienced 15-passenger van accident and rollover attorney to fully investigate this accident and get them the proper compensation they rightfully deserve from the manufacturer of this van. The 15-passenger van is extraordinarily easy to roll over when loaded because they have a higher center of gravity and design defects create unsafe conditions and instability in an accident avoidance maneuver if a tire problem occurs such as news sources indicate existed here.

Our extensive research has revealed that manufacturers knew about these defects which was evidenced on internal documents. Yet, they continue to sell these defective vehicles due to high profit margin despite a minimal expenditure to fix the defect that they knew about even when their own test drivers and experts were being injured during testing procedures. Because these vehicles carry a large number of people and weight and the drivers are not required to have a special commercial driver’s license, they were generally a smart choice for transporting millions of school children and churchgoers across the United States until reports of rollover deaths in 15-passenger vans began rolling in. Those injured or wrongfully killed have the legal right to hold the manufacturers responsible for physical and financial injuries and go a step further and make the manufacturers admit in court what they have known all along, that these vehicles are simply not safe.

If you or a loved one has been injured or wrongfully killed in a 15-passenger van or rollover accident, please contact the experienced 15-passenger van rollover lawyers at Reiff & Bily for a free, no obligation consultation. We can provide references and free legal consultation. Our record of success speaks for itself. Please contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney since 1979, many times I am confronted with tragic situations where there simply is not enough insurance to pay for the injuries and resulting damages caused to a victim. However, when one buys a policy, particularly in this tight economy, insurance companies will do anything to get you to pay a premium, but after they collect the money, they fight you tooth and nail to pay a claim. If you have a minimal insurance policy on your vehicle, and by some stroke of bad luck or negligence you happen to injure another person catastrophically, then your assets could be on the line and you could be driven into personal bankruptcy. If you are struck by an individual who has minimal insurance and you did not purchase full tort or underinsured motorist coverage, you could be stuck with a lifetime of endless medical bills that could bankrupt your family.

After 31 years of experience, the cheapest car insurance almost always ends up costing more in the long run whether you are a victim of someone else’s negligence or by some stroke of bad luck you have caused an accident due to your, your child’s, or your spouse’s negligence.

If you have any concerns about your auto insurance or have been in a car accident and want to know your rights, please contact us for a free, no obligation auto insurance checkup at 1-800-421-9595.

Many times in an automobile collision, the injured victim strikes their head and may not even know it due to the fact that the impact and accident took place so quickly and they are in a momentary daze. As an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer who has handled thousands of head trauma and brain injury cases, I am well aware that many people have strikes to the head that don’t seem like injuries yet many hours or days later experience symptoms of concussion and closed-head trauma. If you have been in a car accident and had an impact to your head, it is important to contact a doctor or go to an emergency room as soon as possible after the accident. As Louis Pasteur once was quoted as saying “chance favors the prepared man.”

Symptoms of a concussion include but are not limited to headache, nausea, dizziness, balance problems, confusion, disorientation, trouble concentrating, unusual display of emotion, blurred vision, seeing spots, bright lights, halos, and light sensitivity and may also sometimes manifest themselves as irritability or lethargy. A brain injury left untreated can cause chronic headaches, learning difficulties, memory problems, and unfortunately sometimes even death. As we are all aware, actress Natasha Richardson died last year after a skiing accident that at first did not appear to have been serious and was only indicated by a headache. She declined medical attention at the scene and returned to her hotel but later developed a severe headache and was taken to the hospital where she died three days later due to head trauma.

Car accidents that cause concussions and potential closed head injury are serious business and should not be taken lightly. The Pennsylvania car accident and traumatic brain injury law firm of Reiff & Bily have obtained some exceptional levels of compensation for our seriously injured clients. We are dedicated to helping persons who suffer from traumatic brain injuries and provide a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your claim. We offer a no fee guarantee which means if we don’t win, you don’t pay. For more information, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or call us toll free at 1-800-421-9595.

It never ceases to amaze me why people do the things they do. As an experienced Pennsylvania car accident attorney since 1979, I have handled many cases where people have been catastrophically injured or killed by the actions of a drunk driver. Recently a 22-year-old Chester County woman was charged by police for furnishing alcohol to minors who were involved in a fatal car crash several hours later according to Pennsylvania State Police. The defendant, Jessica Lynn Copeland, of Honeybrook, Pennsylvania, faces misdemeanor charges including furnishing alcohol to minors and corruption of minors.

The 16-year-old driver of the vehicle, Monte Wood, was shown to be under the influence of alcohol when he crushed a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution on July 16th. Wood and his front seat passenger, Britany Leger, 15, were killed and two other 15-year-old passengers, Damien Paterno and Cameron Merlino, were injured. The night before the crash Copeland took Wood and Ledger to a local wine and spirits store and to a beer store where she purchased alcohol for them. According to police, the four juveniles left with the alcohol, went to a wooded area where they consumed it, and then took a high-powered sports car out for a middle of the night spin. None of the teenagers were licensed drivers.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragic car accident. As the father of a 16-year-old teenager and new driver, this is the nightmare that I and most other parents worry about. Someone dies in America in an alcohol-related accident every 30 minutes and yet each one of these tragic deaths is preventable. In Pennsylvania, individuals who are harmed or killed as the result of the actions of a drunk driver may file lawsuits against those indirectly responsible, as well as against the intoxicated driver. The intoxicated driver who causes a catastrophic accident, as well as a business, personal establishment, or social host that gave alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person or minor is legally responsible for any damage that that person may cause.

The Pennsylvania Dram Shop and alcohol-related injury lawyers of the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff & Bily have fought long and hard against drunk driving and resulting catastrophic injuries and fatalities since 1979. If you have been in a car accident caused by the negligence or criminal activity of another related to alcohol usage, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania Dram Shop and alcohol-related accident lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

In what was described as a “freak accident,” Mike Edwards (a founding member of The Electric Light Orchestra) was killed on Friday, September 3, 2010 when an unsecured bale of hay rolled off a tractor trailer into the path of the van he was driving. According to news sources, Edwards’ van swerved and hit another vehicle causing catastrophic injuries which resulted in death. While the news sources state that this was a “freak accident,” the experienced Philadelphia truck and trailer accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with this type of falling cargo and unsecured materials accident. As I have noted in my blog, every time an accident such as this occurs, the newspapers refer to them as “freak accidents.”

The experienced Pennsylvania truck accident lawyers of the law firm of Reiff & Bily offer their deepest condolences to the family of the victim who died in the tragic and unfortunate accident. Obviously he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was the victim of someone else’s negligence. Unfortunately, freeway debris and containers falling off of trucks is not so infrequent on our nation’s highways, and in Pennsylvania, a motorist can be fined and held liable for dropping anything from their vehicle onto the roadway which causes an accident. In addition to fines, motorists can be held civilly and criminally responsible for the consequence of debris on the highway.

The experienced Pennsylvania truck accident and car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have successfully handled many major truck injury and truck fatality cases caused by highway debris and objects falling from trucks and trailers. A person injured in a car accident caused by debris and falling objects has the right to be compensated for their injuries not only from the person who drops the debris on the highway but also from the underinsured or uninsured motorist provision of their own insurance policy.

If you or a loved one has sustained a catastrophic injury in a Pennsylvania car accident or Pennsylvania truck accident, please contact us for a free no obligation consultation with an experienced Philadelphia automobile accident or truck accident attorney at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

In 2006, a 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck was driven by the family of then 10-year-old Jesus Guzman. The left front tire separated from its tread causing the vehicle to swerve into oncoming traffic whereupon the truck collided with a Chevrolet Suburban head on killing all six passengers inside the Suburban. The jury determined that a manufacturing flaw in a Goodrich tire made by South Carolina-based Michelin North America substantially contributed to the 2006 crash. The F-250 pickup was riding on B.F. Goodrich All Terrain T/A tires manufactured during the 24th week of 2004 at the Tuscaloosa, Alabama B. F. Goodrich plant. Attorneys argued that leaks in the roof of the Tuscaloosa manufacturing plant damaged machinery used to make hundreds of tires, resulting in a faulty manufacture of the tire of the Guzman family’s F-250 truck. Plaintiffs successfully proved to the jury that there was a manufacturing and product defect in the tire and that the driver of the F-250 truck was not negligent.

Unfortunately defective tires are responsible for thousands of traffic accidents and resulting catastrophic injuries and deaths every year in the United States. Tire failures are one of the most likely causes of vehicle rollovers, particularly when they occur on vehicles with a high center of gravity such as many popular SUVs. Many tire design defects that contribute to tread separation include deficient skim stock and the lack of nylon overlays. Improving the skim stock can lead to better adhesion or bonding of the rubber to the steel, making tread separation less likely. Many times tire defects are a result of both design and manufacturing defects and are often frequently traced to poor bonding or adhesion of the tire components during manufacturing when moisture, impurities, and other foreign materials enter into the mix getting cured into the tire.

If you have suffered an accident caused by a defective tire due to a manufacturing tire defect, it is important to contact an experienced defective tire or defective product lawyer. The Pennsylvania vehicle accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have experience in the field of tire and automotive defect law. For a free no obligation consultation, please contact one of our experienced automotive defect and tire defect lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

A study by Allstate Insurance Company concluded that Philadelphia is a city where there is an abundance of car accidents. Allstate Insurance Company released a study indicating that Fort Collins was the safest city in terms of car drivers and accidents and that Philadelphia, although not being the worst, landed in the bottom 10 of 193 cities. The Allstate study was based on the likelihood of drivers experiencing a vehicle crash compared with the national average. Allstate concluded that a driver in Philadelphia is 53.5% more likely to be in a car accident than the national average. The average number of years between car accidents for Philadelphia is 6.5 compared to 10 years nationally. For more information google “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report.”

In the event that you or a loved one has been involved in a serious car accident, the experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily offer a free no obligation consultation. We always offer a no recovery, no fee guarantee. For further information contact us at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident and catastrophic injury lawyer since 1979, I am all too well aware that there are many myths surrounding closed head trauma and brain injury and one does not have to lose consciousness in order to sustain a brain injury. Many times a brain injury will not be revealed in a CT scan or other objectively defining test. If you have sustained a serious head trauma, you must be aware of the symptoms. A headache is the number one symptom after a concussion. You then may notice sleep disturbances or mood changes or difficulty concentrating or with memory. Many of these symptoms can mimic depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, and need to be carefully evaluated.

I recently met with a client who sustained a fairly minimal impact to her head in a car accident, yet one and a half years following the accident, she has been diagnosed with a severe closed head injury and brain trauma and she is unable to return to her job as a well functioning executive. Her medical bills have climbed into the hundreds of thousands. A family member told me that never in his wildest dreams did he think that the symptomatology and consequences of the accident would have such a devastating impact financially and emotionally. He described a feeling of helplessness as a caregiver.

One should understand that the brain is compromised of soft tissue cushioned by a fluid inside the hard protective skull similar to the yoke of an egg floating inside the shell. When a person sustains an impact to the head, the brain can be thrown around violently inside the skull and even bang against its rough interior surface. This can lead to a bruising or contusion of the brain, a tearing of the blood vessels, and an injury to the nerves. When this happens, the person can get a concussion which is defined as a temporary loss of normal brain function. A closed head injury or concussion should not be taken lightly and one should seek immediate medical attention.

The experienced closed head injury and brain trauma lawyers of Reiff & Bily work with expert physicians who use neuro-cognitive testing to assess a patient’s memory, mental speed, cognitive function, and neurological abilities. The Philadelphia brain injury lawyers of Reiff & Bily have obtained exceptional levels of compensation for those who have sustained traumatic brain injury as a result of another’s negligence. For a free no obligation consultation, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. We may be able to obtain compensation from the party responsible for your injuries to cover your medical expenses, rehabilitation, lost income, pain and suffering, and home or resident care.

As an experienced Philadelphia personal injury and car accident lawyer since 1979 whose law firm has handled 20,000 to 30,000 cases, there is no longer a smooth road to easy wins or hefty settlements. Many of the insurance companies and the defense law firms hired to represent them are using a “scorched earth” approach to handling law suits filed against them by never settling cases and by then exhausting every appeal. This tactical change coupled with friendlier appeals courts have given the insurance companies a sense of power where they freely delay, deny, and defend even in the clearest liability case. As an experienced Pennsylvania trial lawyer who has been aggressively fighting the insurance companies every day, I can honestly state that the insurance company has been corrupted from a business that was bound by promise and contract to one of profit through deception.

Recently defense counsel for a major insurance company told me that his insurance company would outspend and outlast anyone who wants to challenge him and that it was good for his business and that he and his firm were making more money than ever in the process. Now more than ever, if you or a loved is injured in a car accident or as the result of a defective product, you need aggressive legal representation to force the insurance company to pay a justified claim. From stonewalling and low balling claims to instigating arbitrary fraud investigations, the insurance companies are increasing failing to live up to their contractual commitments.

The Pennsylvania personal injury and car accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily are passionate advocates for victims of serious accidents. We understand the pain, financial difficulties, and physical struggles that accompany catastrophic injuries. We are honored to have been chosen Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and to have received the highest of reviews from our clients and peers on avvo.com and believe that adversity causes some lawyers to break and others to break records. For a free no obligation consultation, please contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 1-800-421-9595. We offer a no fee guarantee which means if we don’t win, you don’t pay.