Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Over a year ago, a detached utility trailer caused a crash on Interstate 95 in Anderson, South Carolina that killed the parents of two young children. The trailer was not licensed and the driver kept going and has yet to step forward taking responsibility for causing a multi-vehicle accident car accident as well as multiple wrongful deaths.

Defective trailer accident and consumer advocate Ron Melacon of Virginia has devoted his lifetime to lobbying lawmakers to improve trailer safety and demands accountability from legislators. In South Carolina, as well as many other states, most utility trailers weighing less than 2,500 lbs. do not need to be licensed or registered according to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. In the trailer accident mentioned, a small homemade utility trailer was being towed by a truck when it broke free, came to stop in the middle of the highways whereupon a gray Honda Odyssey struck the trailer and then swerved into the path of an 18 wheeler traveling in the right lane and the force of the collision caused the crumpled minivan to hit a parked SUV that had pulled over to the side of road to make a 911 call about the unattended trailer. The Odyssey’s front seat occupants ages 34 and 35 died at the scene, while their two daughters ages 3 and 6 remained in the rear seat.

Our experienced trailer accident attorneys salute the work of Ron Melacon and understand that tens of thousands of people will continue to die across the United States unless stricter legislation is enacted involving passenger vehicles towing trailers. Every day individuals in the United States will continue to lose their life as the result of an accident with a detached trailer.

The defective trailer accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily have been investigating and litigating truck accidents, car accidents, and trailer accidents for over three decades and have recently joined forces with the legendary Beasley Firm. Together our attorneys have been awarded billions of dollars since 1957 representing the interests of catastrophically injured victims and their families and those who have sustained wrongful deaths. We always offer a free, no obligation consultation. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Seemingly, the trailer industry continues to manufacture products and couplers that are devoid of federal regulation and the regulation of many states including Pennsylvania. I have noticed on my blog repeatedly that for every trailer that is manufactured under a 3,000 pound threshold there are no minimum regulatory safety or manufacturing requirements. In fact, anyone can build one, anyone can drive one and anyone can take one home in ten minutes with very little or no training.

There is a gentleman by the name of Ron Melacon who has been a consumer crusader for many years and I urge you to go to his website at www.dangeroustrailers.org for more information on this pressing issue.

As one drives down our streets and highways, we often see trailers swaying in a dangerous fashion and yet local, state, and federal governments have done very little to regulate or enforce rules regulating the thousands of trailers that are hitched to vehicles that travel on our roadways on any given day. Many of these trailers are built in an improper manner creating a situation of extreme danger for otherwise unsuspecting travelers on our roadways. In the past five years, more than 123,000 individuals have sustained injuries as a result of defective trailers and trailer hitches. Additionally, there have been in excess of 342,000 damage related claims as a result of trailers that have been jettisoned or unhitched due to defective coupling devices or as a result of defectively constructed trailers.

The Philadelphia defective trailer and defective product law firm of Reiff & Bily urges the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the other states of this great country to pay more heed to the extraordinarily dangerous trailer and trailer hitch designs and to require additional safety devices and controls to reinforce the attachment of trailers to vehicles.

The defective trailer design lawyers at the Pennsylvania defective trailer and catastrophic injury law firm of Reiff & Bily have extensive experience representing victims injured as a result of defective trailer and defective trailer coupling devices.

If you or a family member has suffered an injury resulting from the defective manufacture or coupling of a trailer to a vehicle, please contact the defective trailer lawyers at Reiff & Bily. Our aggressive legal team of investigators and experts will offer a free consultation and bring the wrongdoers to justice to achieve the best results for you and your family. Please call for a free, confidential consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for more information.

There have been an increasing number of defective trailer cases in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and nationwide. On May 7, 2009, a wayward trailer slowed traffic after it became unhooked, spun out and flipped over, dumping its contents on the roadway. The trailer was being hauled by a Dodge Durango. Although no other vehicles were involved in this accident, what would have happened if this trailer hit another vehicle or a school bus? Fortunately, this accident occurred at 5:00 a.m. when the roads are normally empty.

Unfortunately, the defective trailer and car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily have participated in cases where other victims were not so lucky and there were multiple catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths. If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident involving a loose trailer, defective trailer, or has sustained catastrophic and serious injuries as a result of a car accident, please feel free to contact the Philadelphia car accident lawyers at Reiff & Bily for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Michelle Kott of North Strabane Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania died after the car she was driving was hit by a trailer which came loose from a pickup truck and crossed over a median on Route 19. An investigation by the police revealed that the trailer became dislodged from the truck as the driver of the pickup truck applied his brakes causing the trailer to rotate around the driver side of the vehicle, causing it to break free of the truck and cross over a cement median. The truck went up over the hood of the Kott vehicle and through the windshield. The young mother sustained massive head fractures, eye and ankle injuries, and an abdominal blood clot. The driver of the pickup truck, Ryan Bier, told investigators in North Strabane that he “felt the trailer pulling hard on the side and then heard a loud pop”. Our hearts go out to the family of Michelle Kott and the passengers in her vehicle.

The experience defective trailer lawyers at the Philadelphia defective trailer law firm of Reiff & Bily have had extensive experience representing victims that have been injured or killed as a result of trailer accidents.

Continue reading "Trailer Breaks Free From Pickup Truck And Kills Woman After Going Through Her Windshield" »

A Washington County, Pennsylvania woman was killed and another woman and child were severely injured when a runaway trailer broke loose from a truck that was pulling it and struck a car on Route 19 in Washington County, Pennsylvania (video report).

Unfortunately, the force of the trailer’s impact on the driver of a Ford Tempo in oncoming traffic was devastating. According to an eyewitness, the trailer went through the windshield peeling back the car’s roof, killing the victim, Michelle Kott, on the spot. The crash also catastrophically injured Kott’s friend, Brandy Curtis, and her 5-year old daughter. The driver of the pickup truck, Ryan Bier, told North Strabane police investigators that he “felt the trailer pulling hard on the truck and heard a loud pop.” Bier also told police investigators that “the wind moved the trailer from side to side and that a large crosswind came across Route 19 and picked the trailer up off the roadway and tossed it into oncoming traffic.” The driver’s twin brother also told a of a “yank on the truck, a loud pop and a large gust of wind pulled the trailer off the roadway and crashed into the car.” Apparently, Pennsylvania State Police investigators are testing the hitch and chain of the towing hitch and the investigation continues.

Continue reading "Runaway Trailer Kills Pennsylvania Woman and Injures Two Others - Philadelphia Defective Trailer Lawyer Speaks Out" »

Seemingly, the trailer industry continues to manufacture products and couplers that are devoid of Federal regulation and regulations of many states including Pennsylvania. I have noticed on my blog repeatedly that for every trailer that is manufactured under a 3,000 pound threshold there are no minimum regulatory safety or manufacturing requirements. In fact, anyone can build one, anyone can drive one and anyone can take one home in ten minutes with very little or no training.

There is a gentleman by the name of Ron Melacon who has been a consumer crusader for many years and I urge you to go to his website at www.dangeroustrailers.org for more information on this pressing issue.

A week before Christmas there was a very high profile accident in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania resulting in death due to a defectively hitched trailer. As one drives down our streets and highways, we often see trailers swaying in a dangerous fashion and yet community, state and Federal governments have done very little to regulate or enforce rules regulating the thousands of trailers that are hitched to vehicles that travel on our roadways on any given day.

Continue reading "Defective Trailer and Trailer Hitch Lawyer Claims That Minimal or Non-Regulation of Trailer Industry and Trailer Towing Requires Complete Overhaul in Pennsylvania and Many Other States" »