Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

According to news sources, a Pastor with a commercial driver’s license steered a Megabus to safety after the driver was reportedly incoherent and weaving in and out of traffic on a Pennsylvania highway.

Megabus officials confirmed that this incident occurred at approximately 6:00 p.m. on August 27, 2012 near the Bedford exit as the Megabus was westbound from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Initial reports indicate that the Pastor of City Reach Church, Pittsburgh’s North Side, noticed that the driver was incoherent and he grabbed the wheel after other passengers also noticed the bus was weaving.

News sources report that the bus driver told the Pastor that she needed to change her eyeglasses and indicated that she had forgotten to take her blood pressure medication. A passenger identified as Stefon Braxton stated that the Pastor “jumped on her (driver’s) lap and started steering the bus, and the other passengers, they pulled her out.”

Continue reading " Another Potential Megabus Disaster is Avoided by the Saving Actions of a Religious Official " »

A 41-year-old female driver was operating her vehicle on a state highway when a 10 lb. corner iron securing raisin crates on a tractor trailer came loose. The corner iron struck the windshield of another driver’s vehicle, hitting her in the head and causing her to suffer a traumatic brain injury and seizure disorder which prevented her from driving. According to news sources, medical expenses amounted to $178,900.00 and the victim, a teacher, was forced to retire and apply for disability benefits. The defendant was sued with the allegation that they failed to properly secure the corner iron and the jury awarded $12.23 million dollars after hearing the facts of the case.

Each year, the negligent operators of trucks seriously injure or kill thousands of pedestrians, drivers, and motorists. Unsecured truck loads continue to pose hazards for innocent drivers who are often wrongfully killed or catastrophically injured as a result of the unsecured or improperly secured cargo. I am sure that many of my readers have observed trucks and other vehicles improperly loaded with cargo traveling down highways at high rates of speed. It is reported that over 50,000 truck accidents occur every year due to unsecured cargo and often trucks are hauling hazardous materials or flammable materials which are not properly secured and result in horrific consequences if an accident or malfunction occurs.

Continue reading " Failure to Properly Secure Cargo on a Truck Results in Catastrophic Injuries and Significant Eight Figure Jury Verdict " »

As a Philadelphia car accident attorney who has been prosecuting hit and run cases for over three decades, I have long called for tougher laws applicable to hit and run offenders. I have also called for more stringent enforcement of these laws. Without teeth, the current or new hit and run offender laws are meaningless.

Soon Pennsylvania hit and run drivers will face up to 10 years in prison for fatal hit and run accidents, up three years from the current seven year maximum. Additionally, while there is no change to the minimum sentence of one year in prison, the crime has been upgraded from a third degree offense to a second degree felony. The new hit and run law will take effect on September 4, 2012.

There is almost not a week that goes by that the experienced Philadelphia hit and run accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily are not contacted by a victim or their family who has sustained a catastrophic injury or even worse, death, as the result of an irresponsible hit and run driver and hit and run accident. Lives are often permanently altered by the actions and non-actions of these irresponsible and cowardly individuals who leave the scene of an accident.

Continue reading " Will Stiffer Penalties for Hit and Run Drivers in Pennsylvania Really Make a Difference? " »

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as well as our intakes during the summer months for the last three decades as an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers, we understand that August is the most dangerous month to drive. In the month of August, camps are over, companies slow down, and employees and families typically head to the mountains or shore for summer vacation before kids head back to school. Drinking, distracted driving, increased glare, fatigued travelers, and increased roadway temperatures are all contributing causes to car accidents.

As a skilled auto product liability attorneys, we are also aware that the hot summer months are frequently a time of year when roadway temperatures elevate to the point that cause weaknesses in tires to be revealed by virtue of blowouts and de-lamination of tires causing the loss of control of a vehicle. Flash storms and microbursts are becoming more common with global warming and hydroplaning accidents are not uncommon.

Continue reading " Pennsylvania and New Jersey Drivers Beware: August is the Most Dangerous Month to Drive " »

One would normally think that the winter months with ice and snow on the roadway in the northeast would be the most hazardous time for drivers resulting in more car accidents.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer since 1979, I have noticed that our firm receives many more inquiries with many more serious injuries resulting from vehicle collisions during the summer months. Obviously during the summer, kids are on break from school and families are taking vacations. Road surfaces are hot which may cause tire failures or delamination of tires as the hot air increases the tire pressure when combined with the friction of the tire on the heated road surface. Additionally, the oils used in many roadway surfaces can rise to the top and when combined with moisture from rain or humidity can lead to unknowing slick surfaces.

When we combine these factors, drivers who text while driving or drive while intoxicated after attending a summer barbecue or party and sudden summer rain storms, it is no surprise that there is an increase in fatalities resulting from catastrophic car accidents during the summer. In the Philadelphia region, many times people leave the beach to commute back to Philadelphia and are fatigued, sunburned, or dehydrated and simply put, not in the best physical and mental condition to be driving.

Continue reading " The Summer Months Are the Busiest Times for Car Accidents and Catastrophic Injury According to Experienced Philadelphia Trial Lawyer " »

For the last 33 years, I have concerned myself with prosecuting legal cases involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths resulting from bus accidents, truck accidents, and car accidents. In the last few years, I have all too often met with families who lost a mother, father, or child as a result of extensive safety violations that contributed to their death.

Recently, it was determined that U.S. regulators failed to shut down a discount bus operator, Sky Express, after finding extensive and obvious safety violations prior to the accident. Four people were killed. Our office represents an individual who sustained some of the worst injuries that one can imagine in one of these bus accidents and like many of us, we are unable to comprehend how the discount bus carrier was operating after being cited for 204 violations and 95 roadside inspections in the ten months preceding the accident. The facts in this case are egregious. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had conducted four safety reviews in four years at Sky Express which is unusual for an agency that inspects 2 to 3% of buses a year due to limited resources. So, in effect, this company was prominent on the radar screen. The crash and resulting injuries and deaths were entirely preventable. While many individuals and non-specializing lawyers may point the finger at a tired driver and the owner of the bus company, in this case, federal regulators failed in their oversight of an industry ripe with issues, problems, and safety concerns. In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also issued a blistering report on Tuesday, July 31st when NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman also blamed ineffective government oversight for the accident.

As a consumer safety advocate attorney who has investigated thousands of car accidents, fatal bus, and truck crashes over the last three decades, I am always amazed when manufacturers, owners, and operators, fail to make changes in the name of public safety including stronger roofs, safety belts, and maintenance issues, and my concern raises to an even higher level when despite notice of these problems, the government takes no corrective action.

It is my hope as a committed commercial vehicle accident attorney that the passengers who died and those who suffered catastrophic injuries will serve as a monument of action and that those responsible will be held deeply accountable for the damages sustained by the victims in a horrific accident that should have never happened.