Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

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" »

As a Philadelphia tire defect attorney, I am always keenly aware of auto product and tire recalls. In the last month, many product recalls have occurred. One of the most significant recalls concerns Goodyear Tires. When a recall occurs, it’s important for two reasons: making sure that people know about a potential problem with a product so they get necessary repairs, and also to notify victims who have been injured by the product that the injury may not have been their fault, but the manufacturers’.

In late February, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced it would be recalling 41,000 of its Wrangler Silent Armor tires, which were produced in 2009. The concern surrounding these tires is that a small number of them could tear, have tread separation, or delaminate, leading to crashes. Goodyear believes that about 27,000 of these tires are still on vehicles throughout the country. The Goodyear tires are on multiple vehicles including pickup trucks, sports-utility vehicles, and vans. The recalled Goodyear tires are also often used on construction vehicles for off-road applications.

Part of the reason for this recall may be related to a 2011 crash in which two people died in a vehicle equipped with Wrangler Silent Armor tires. Additionally, in May 2010 Goodyear received an increased number of warranty and property damage claims related to their Wrangler Silent Armor tires.

Goodyear has said that the “use of these tires in severe conditions could result in partial tread separation which could lead to vehicle damage or a motor vehicle crash."

By March 22, 2012, Goodyear states that they will notify people by mail of the recall. As an experienced Philadelphia products liability attorney, I am extraordinarily concerned about flaws in this plan. When recalls are sent out to a home, this does not mean an immediate fix comes about. Oftentimes, people do not get the information - they misplace it, or simply do not have the time to immediately take their car in for service.

At Reiff and Bily, we want to express our concerns about Wrangler Silent Armor tires still on the road. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and you believe it might have been due to Wrangler Silent Armor tires, contact our Philadelphia car accident attorneys at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Since 1979, the experienced Philadelphia car accident and auto product liability and automobile defect lawyers of Reiff and Bily have handled tens of thousands of car accident cases. Over the three decades of our legal practice, we began to notice more and more significant injuries and deaths to victims due to seat belt failures, airbag defects, tire defects, as well as seat back failures and motor vehicle crashworthiness issues. While many attorneys look for the easy “A” and fail to explore issues beyond normal negligence theories, we began to pioneer inroads into auto defects, automobile manufacturer failures, and design defects which resulted in significant catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths. Of course, the learning curve was significant and the costs were quite expensive. However being curious lawyers committed to the best interests of our clients, we understood that there were many puzzles to be solved, and since have successfully resolved many cases against not only offending third party defendants or negligent automobile drivers but also against the automobile manufacturers and automobile component manufacturers as well. We practice car accident law with the same degree of intensity required for the most complex cases. We understand that when you put your mind to it, it can be done and further understand that chance always favors the prepared mind.

The Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily are committed to automotive and motorist safety and always offer a free, no obligation consultation and a no recovery, no fee guarantee. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

In 2004, a 15 passenger church van rolled over. The plaintiffs’ lawyers representing the deceased victims argued that the Ford Motor Company knew that the vehicle had faulty tires but refused to do anything about it. Plaintiffs’ attorney stated to the jury “the evidence is uncontested that Ford made a conscious decision to not communicate information to dealerships and they made a conscious decision not to tell their customers.” The facts of the case alleged that a tread separation and tire defect of the van’s rear right tire, manufactured by Goodyear, caused the accident. Plaintiffs’ attorney claimed that Ford (the manufacturer of the 15-passenger 1993 E-350 Ford Econoline van) knew about the recall and was negligent for never informing its dealers or customers. However, not so surprising in this case, is the fact that Ford claims the deaths of the driver and passenger was due to their not wearing seat belts. The case has not yet gone to the jury.

As an experienced Pennsylvania 15 passenger van and SUV rollover attorney who has investigated and litigated many rollover claims involving tire defects over the years, one thing is for certain, that these vans and SUVs have a higher center of gravity and when fully loaded become very unstable if a tire should experience a blowout due to a defect or the driver enters into a sudden accident avoidance maneuver. I trust that the jury will carefully evaluate all of the evidence and render a just verdict in the California courtroom where this case is being tried. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

When Bill Brownwell was cruising in a 15 passenger van and suddenly felt a shake in the back of the van and to his right, he became concerned and alarmed and turned around to take a look at what the noise was. Brownwell was driving a 1993 Ford Econoline E350 15-passenger van on a church outing for a spring concert tour in 2004 when he lost control of the 15 passenger van when the right rear tire tread separated. Like most other 15-passenger van operators in a similar situation, he tried to regain control of the vehicle and bring it back to the roadway after which point the 15-passenger van flipped sideways and then rolled over four times ejecting the driver Brownwell and another passenger leaving them both dead on the side of the road. This 15 passenger van rollover case is currently being tried in California with allegations that the Ford Motor Company knew that the 15-passenger econoline van was dangerous and failed to notify its customers about its alleged defects.

As an experienced 15-passenger van rollover attorney who has witnessed a similar scenario over and over, and unfortunately has dealt with the families of those who have unnecessarily died or have been catastrophically injured due to the alleged defects of the 15-passenger vans, it is important that the manufacturers of these 15-passenger vans be held accountable for their conduct and lack of actions. 15-passenger vans have a high center of gravity and have a high risk of crashes and rollovers in an accident avoidance maneuver or if they are not properly driven or maintained by those who have knowledge of its specific handling characteristics. Many states and school districts have now banned 15-passenger vans. However, they still be the dominant vehicle of choice for church groups, many of whom have limited knowledge of their dangers. The Federal government recently banned the use of 15-passenger vans for school transportation purposes and NHTSA has recently stated that only trained drivers should operate their vehicles and to make sure that the vehicle is properly balanced and loaded.

While NHTSA advises passengers to buckle up for every trip, our experienced 15-passenger van and crashworthiness attorneys have been able to demonstrate even in a van rollover, a weak roof structure, and inadequate and defective design still renders the occupants subject to life altering catastrophic injuries including quadriplegia or paraplegia or death. Many times 15-passenger vans are operated in the South or Southwest where roads have high surface temperatures and tires blow out or delaminate preceding the rollover accident. Many 15-passenger vans still have recalled tires on them, that is, defective tires that are prone to blow out or tread separation. There are currently in excess of 500,000 15-passenger vans on the road, and according to safety and consumer advocate Sean Kane, the 15-passenger van “has a unique position in the world of defective vehicles in the United States”. These vehicles, Kane added, were cobbled together to meet certain needs but were never vetted in terms of safety. There really weren’t any standards applicable to these kind of vehicles.

For over three decades, the experienced vehicle rollover accident and 15-passenger van accident attorneys of Reiff & Bily have been successfully investigating and litigating SUV rollover crashes, 15-passenger van rollover crashes, and other product liability claims, including but not limited to defective seat belts, airbags defects, fuel fed fires, roof crush, and crashworthiness. We are committed to consumer and automobile safety and believe that automobile manufacturers must be held accountable and safety rather than profitability must be priority number one.

As an experienced Philadelphia 15-passenger van rollover attorney , I always lose a part of my heart and soul representing innocent victims and their families who were catastrophically injured or killed as a result of a 15-passenger church van rollover accident. Recently this past weekend yet another single van rollover catastrophically injured and took the lives of church members after returning from an amusement park outing. Members of the church group state that there was a tire failure causing the driver to lose control whereupon the vehicle rolled over. A 19-year old recent high school graduate died in the accident. Eight other children or teenage passengers were ejected from the van with many remaining in critical condition.

I have written many articles and spoken to church groups and school groups about the dangers of 15-passenger vans and the epidemic of rollovers that continue to take the lives of unknowing and innocent individuals. There is not a week that goes by without news of another catastrophic 15-passenger van rollover.

The experienced 15-passenger van rollover lawyers of Reiff & Bily have known for a long time what manufacturers have also known, simply that the 15-passenger van is one of the most unsafe and unforgiving vehicles on the road as they suffer from a multitude of design defects. Most times the 15-passenger van rollover crash occurs due to a defective tire coupled with an inexperienced and untrained driver. The 15-passenger van is extraordinarily easy to roll over when it is fully loaded due to the fact that it has a high center of gravity and the known design defects create unsafe conditions and instability in an accident avoidance maneuver. Extensive research performed by the lawyers of Reiff & Bily together with some of the finest experts in the world has revealed that many manufacturers knew about these van defects which was evidenced in internal and testing documents. Yet they continue to sell them due to high profit margins despite minimal expenditures to fix even though their own test drivers were being injured during testing procedures.

Continue reading "Its Summertime and Experienced 15-Passenger Van Lawyer Not Surprised To Learn More Tragic News About Catastrophic Injuries and Fatalities In Church Van Rollover Accidents" »

Many SUV and 15-passenger van rollovers are precipitated by a tire failure. Recently 10 people were killed and many others catastrophically injured in two separate 15-passenger van rollover crashes involving church groups when the rear tires failed causing the vehicles to lose control and rollover multiple times.

As an experienced Philadelphia 15-passenger van and SUV rollover lawyer who has handled many tire failure and rollover cases, it is my personal opinion that the 15-passenger van is the most unsafe vehicle on the road. If you, a friend, or a loved one must travel in one of these vehicles, it is important to check the tires and check the pressure before each use following the manufacturer recommended tire size and pressure to avoid the loss of control, blowout, or possible rollover. It is also important in any vehicle that you drive to avoid using old spare tires. Even unused tires weaken with age. Tire failures often lead to catastrophic consequences.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a vehicle rollover caused by tire failure and have sustained catastrophic injuries or wrongful death, please contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania wrongful death lawyers 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.

The other day I was traveling on Route 80 at approximately 65 mph when a tire delaminated on a truck in front of me causing a large piece of rubber to peel off one of the tires, become airborne, causing me to swerve and almost lose control of my car. There are numerous reported deaths and injuries as a result of tire delamination and resulting tire failure despite the fact that safety features were developed decades ago to prevent treads from peeling off. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky drivers on the road and many times a delamination of a tire results in the loss of control of a vehicle or an accident avoidance maneuver where drivers are not so lucky.

Many trucking companies and tire manufacturers cut costs by failing to take proper safety measures which would cost a minimal amount of money to prevent delamination peel offs. In this tough environment everybody from tire manufacturers to trucking companies and bus companies facing intense cost reduction pressure take short cuts which ultimately lead to catastrophic injuries and many times preventable fatalities.

The experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily are all too familiar with these dangerous situations involving defective or aged tires and have the necessary experience to investigate and prosecute an automotive product liability and defective tire claim. We are passionate advocates for victims of serious accidents and understand the pain, financial difficulties and physical struggles that accompany these injuries. The results we have achieved for our clients and our reputation in the legal community reflect our commitment to consumer safety.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car or truck accident caused by a tire delamination or peel off or any other automotive defect accident, please contact the experienced Philadelphia product liability and car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.