Case Results & Settlements

The law firm of Reiff & Bily have over three decades of legal experience and have successfully handled numerous cases from amusement park accidents to wrongful death. Below are samples of various cases we have successfully been involved with. Click on the links for more information on each case.

Substantial confidential settlement reached by survivors and next of kin against funeral home and funeral director for wrongful cremation, funeral, and burial abuse of loved one.

A funeral home wrongfully cremated the body of our client’s mother (decedent) rather than providing a proper funeral and burial as the family requested and contracted for. The purpose of a funeral is to celebrate, sanctify, and remember the life of the person who died. Unfortunately, funeral homes are not as careful as we would like to think and often make appalling mistakes. In our case, a renowned funeral, burial, and wrongful cremation expert opined that despite all arrangements to make a dignified and honorable funeral, the funeral home and funeral director acted in direct contravention to the wishes of their survivors as expressed in writing, reduced to contract and acknowledged by representation of the funeral home. Our expert concluded that the funeral director’s behavior, actions and non-actions rose to a level of calloused indifference to the emotional well-being of survivors who trusted them to provide services in accord with what they wanted and what the funeral home had agreed to do.

No one entrusting the remains of a loved one to a funeral service provider evidencing a desire for a proper service with a body present should ever have to experience being told that all opportunity for emotional closure with a funeral and a body present has been taken away by a professional misadventure or ineptitude knowing full well that the consequences of such misadventure or proper protocol and standard of care dictate that this type of error should never happen.

It is the inherent nature of the calling of the funeral home industry and service that sacred trust must be given by a funeral provider to serve survivors and a higher standard of care exists with respect to identification of deceased persons while entrusted to a funeral director’s care. Reiff & Bily proved that the misidentification or lack of identification allowed such a grievous act to occur and that such actions amounted to reckless desecration of remains.

The understanding and purpose of a funeral service business as a profession is to relieve or minimize grief and facilitate the grieving process. Plaintiff sought and received compensation for intentional infliction and emotional infliction of distress. In addition, plaintiff claimed punitive damages based upon the fact that the funeral home’s unauthorized cremation of the decedent constituted extreme recklessness, outrage, and wanton conduct for which extraordinary damages were warranted. Plaintiff alleged and proved that the next of kin and other surviving family members were prevented from experiencing a significant event in the grieving process resulting in extreme anguish, emotional distress, grief, and extraordinary emotional pain.

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CONFIDENTIAL WRONGFUL DEATH AND SURVIVAL ACTION RECOVERY

Mother of two children loses control of an SUV on interstate highway while making an emergency evasive action during an accident avoidance maneuver. Vehicle commences a multiple on road rollover pattern which causes roof crush and ejection of the victim from the vehicle. Police officers investigated and blamed the driver for careless driving. Lawsuit attributed negligent vehicle design alleging that deficient design caused the roof crush, seat belt spooling, and ejection. Plaintiff alleged and demonstrated that during the SUV rollover the roof pillars, side roof rails, and front roof header collapsed invading the occupant safety zone and complete failure of the restraint system.

Plaintiff’s counsel immediately preserved the vehicle to avoid spoliation of evidence and had a team of investigators on the site working with state accident personnel, biomedical and biomechanical experts, and safety engineers.

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Confidential 8 Figure Settlement - for a motor vehicle rollover case.

$4,000,000 Result-Surgical Malpractice
Substantial Confidential Accord: Patron sustained fractured vertebrae in amusement park/waterslide accident

$1.8 Million Settlement: In a slip and fall case, our client sustained multiple herniated discs from slipping on a sidewalk outside a restaurant.

$1.675,000 Million Dollar Result: Intersection car accident resulting in dental fractures, pneumothorax injury, rib fractures, rotator cuff injuries, and closed head injury. As a side note, another lawyer assigned a maximum value of $200,000, which is exactly 1,475,000 less than Reiff & Bily attorneys were able to secure for our client. With over three decades of experience and working with our finest team investigators and experts, we were successfully able to maximize the value of this claim.

$1.6 Million Dollar Settlement: Our client slipped and fell, sustaining spinal injuries that required a laminectomy, a lumbar fusion, and an autograft of left iliac crest.

$1,539,803.50 Medical Malpractice Verdict: Our client was injured when a laparotomy sponge was left inside her during a hysterectomy. The plaintiff sued her doctor and the hospital after the malpractice error resulted in an abscess, months of suffering, and required another surgery to extricate the sponge.

Over $1.5 Million for Medical Malpractice: Wrongly administered medication.

$1,450,000 Medical Malpractice Recovery: A woman with depression that was referred to a psychiatrist by her health care provider's HMO referral booklet (HMO) was drugged and sexually assaulted by the doctor. Evidence later revealed that the psychiatrist was not a licensed doctor and the health care facility never checked his credentials.

$1,250,000 Wrongful Death Recovery: For the estate of a woman who died after she was release from a city prison because she did not receive the proper medical care while incarcerated.

Confidential Substantial Award: Nursing negligence case where a senior patient was incorrectly secured and dropped during transport in an ambulance that was taking him from a nursing home to the hospital.

$1,100,000 Wrongful Death Settlement: Construction worker was killed when a steel beam fell off a forklift at construction site. Case settled at mediation for $1,100,000.

$990,000 Product Liability: Plaintiff decedent electrocuted while installing air conditioner in a window. Settled immediately prior to trial for $990,000.

$990,000 Premises Liability Result: Client experienced a subdural hematoma and post-concussion syndrome when a building facade fell on him.

$960,000 Slip and Fall Awarded: Plaintiff was on crutches due to pre-existing ankle fracture. Fell on wet floor and suffered an aggravation of her ankle injury requiring total ankle reconstruction. Jury returned verdict of $960,000.

$940,000 Recovery: A premises liability plaintiff sustained bodily and head injuries after being struck by a collapsing building facade.

$850,000 Product Liability: Product liability action against manufacturer of 3-wheel all terrain vehicle. Plaintiff suffered a traumatic stroke resulting in partial paralysis. Settled immediately prior to trial for $850,000.

$800,000 Medical Malpractice Award: Jury awarded plaintiff damages after surgeon left 40 X 60 cm fabric towel in the abdomen after an exploratory laparotomy and the repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The hospital was also a defendant in the medical malpractice lawsuit.

$800,000 Recovery: A carpenter was hurt when the nail he was hammering chipped, causing a particle to enter his eye.

$775,000 Personal Injury Settlement: Furnace repair technician became entrapped in still-hot industrial furnace when employee shut furnace door without knowledge of individual's presence inside. Plaintiff suffered burns to 40% of his body. Settled prior to adverse ruling on Motion for Summary Judgment for $775,000.

$750,000 Motor Vehicle Accident Settlement: A husband and wife suffered serious injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome (release), bulging discs, and cervical lumbar strain after their vehicle was rear-ended during a traffic accident.

$750,000 Motor Auto Collision Result: Client sustained mild neuropsychological injuries and a herniated disc during auto crash.

Substantial Confidential Wrongful Death Award: Teenager killed after being struck by a bus in Pennsylvania.

$650,000 Medical Negligence Settlement: delayed diagnosis of breast cancer in a 32 year old woman. Settled immediately prior to trial for $650,000.

$550,000 Construction Negligence Settlement: Three year old suffered severe burns to his arm and torso when he fell out of bed and landed on a baseboard heater. Case settled following jury selection.

$550,000 Medical Negligence Settlement: common bile duct was severed during laparoscopic gall bladder surgery. Settled after jury selection for $550,000.

$500,000 Medical Negligence Settlement: Physician failed to properly treat respiratory distress in an asthmatic teenager resulting in death. Case settled after 4 days of trial.

$500,000 Auto Crash Recovery: Plaintiff was seriously injured after another motor vehicle forced him off the road and into an embankment.

$450,000 Auto Accident Result: Teenager was hurt while riding in a friend's motor vehicle. The driver was speeding and lost control of the vehicle before striking a pole.

Substantial Confidential Bicycle/Bus Accident Settlement: In Lehigh County, a teenager riding a bicycle died when she lost her balance and fell underneath a bus's wheels.

$450,000 Medical Negligence Settlement

$446,627 Jury Verdict: The driver of a public transportation bus had improperly fastened the wheelchair of the plaintiff, who was suffering from multiple sclerosis. When the bus stopped abruptly, the wheelchair came loose, smashed into a supporting pole and bus bench seat, and caused the plaintiff's leg to twist and fracture.

$410,000 Car Accident Recovery: Teenager sustained soft tissue injuries during a motor vehicle collision while riding in his friend's car.

Confidential Medical Malpractice Settlement: Woman was wrongly diagnosed with a coronary.

$400,000 Policy Limits Result - unbelted passenger in vehicle rollover on country road with severe arm injury.

$400,000 award - front seat passenger broke arm in vehicle struck by another vehicle making left turn and failing to yield right-of-way. Confidential settlement - child run over by defective trailer on Halloween hay ride. Mother also recovered for emotional distress after observing trailer incident.

$350,000 Premises Liability Result - slip and fall on ice at restaurant.

$350,000 Medical Negligence Settlement: Death of a newborn child due to excessive administration of potassium. Settled for $350,000 one month after suit was instituted.

$335,000 Product Liability: Plaintiff sustained tear of anterior cruciate ligament to his knee when an industrial scissor-lift he was operating fell after drifting into a small hole. Case settled at mediation for $335,000.

$325,000 Auto Crash Result: Motor vehicle accident that occurred at an intersection left client with post-concussion syndrome.

$325,000 Work-Related Injury Result: Kitchen employee sustains back injury because commercial oven was improperly installed.

$300,000 Recovery: A 45 year old woman sustained an aggravation of a pre-existing herniated disk when another vehicle made a sudden left hand turn in front of her vehicle to enter a parking lot.

$300,000 Auto Collision Result: Client sustained knee injury in a motor vehicle crash at a T-bone intersection.

$300,000 Result: Because of the failure to properly supervise a child in a private van, a 9-year-old sustained a fractured femur.

$300,000 Result: An elderly woman on a charter bus tour got hurt while leaving a restaurant.

$280,000 Invasion of Privacy/Harassment Settlement: Eight employees of a steel company who had suffered job related injuries were harassed by management, subjected to audio and video surveillance and required to wear pink name tags. Case settled prior to jury selection.

$250,000 Result - Bad faith action against insurance company who refused to negotiate an underinsured motorist claim in good faith after initially offering policyholder $25,000. We successfully obtained ten times amount offered. Insurance company tried to deny, delay, and defend this position.

$250,000 Premises Liability/Slip and Fall: Woman trips on a carpet tear in a hotel restaurant while on vacation.

$250,000 Automobile Collision: Shoulder injury.

$250,000 (Maximum Policy Coverage): A pedestrian struck by a bus was seriously injured.

$235,000 Result: A truck company employee suffered injuries during a multi-truck crash. Lien reduction from $175,000 to $42,500.

$230,000 Result: Municipal bus strikes and injures pedestrian.

$227,500 Premises Liability: Woman injured at airport when a skycap failed to properly secure a wheelchair.

$205,000 Product Liability: Plaintiff sustained open, comminuted fractures of tibia and fibula when lawn mower blade broke and struck plaintiff's leg. Jury awarded verdict of $205,000.

$160,164 Products Liability Post-Verdict Settlement: Plaintiff is injured at work while cutting asphalt with a saw blade.

$150,000 Car Accident Result: Elderly woman dislocates her shoulder.

$126,000 Slip and Fall: Passenger on airplane slips and falls on loose cable in aisle and fractures wrist.

$125,000 Result: For school injury caused by defective hydraulic door closing on student.

$125,000 Premises Liability: Child's arm goes through a non-tempered window in a door panel.

$125,000 Car Crash Result: Client sustains mild neurological and psychological dysfunction.

$125,000 Pedestrian Injury Result: Airport courtesy bus strikes pedestrian.

$125,000 Motor Vehicle Injury Result: Motor vehicle strikes pedestrian while making a left turn. Client sustains fractured metatarsals.

Confidential Settlement Civil Rights Action: Police car involved in a chase hits innocent bystander and kills her.

Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement: Errant motor vehicle strikes and kills jogger (a retired teacher) who dies.

$125,000 Result: Municipality and agencies allow sexual harassment--results in civil rights violation.

$120,000 Motor Vehicle Accident Verdict: Plaintiff struck by trash truck that backed into her vehicle sustains multiple injuries, including a fractured ankle.

$115,000 Result: Public bus passenger sustains knee injury after hitting a seat back during a bus accident involving another motor vehicle.

$112,000 Result: Client sustains soft tissue injury during motor vehicle crash at intersection.

$110,000 Medical Malpractice Case: Depression medication caused priapism and client had to undergo surgical intervention.

100,000 policy Limits Auto Accident: Pedestrian struck by car pulling out of parking space.

$100,000 Partial Settlement - broken ankle in car accident. Also pursuing a secondary Dram Shop action against casino.

$100,000 Result: Woman was thrown from airport cart while being transported at a fast speed through Philadelphia Airport.

Confidential Settlement: Client suffered brain injury after prominent hospital wrongly administered narcotic medication.

$100,000 Products Liability Jury Verdict plus $60,163.00 in Delay Damages: Plaintiff required surgery after cutting teeth of defective 14-inch high-speed saw blade separated and penetrated plaintiff's boot and right ankle.

$100,000 Slip and Fall Result: Client was injured because condition of hotel bathroom violated building codes.

Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement: Hospital failed to supervise elderly patient that used a walker and experienced dizzy spells. Patient died shortly after breaking hip.

Confidential Medical Malpractice Settlement: Client suffers from blindness because of the failure to diagnose both eye laceration in a timely manner and refer patient to an ophthalmologist.

Confidential Medical Malpractice Settlement: Following a procedure to repair an aortic aneurysm, a foreign object was left in the patient.

$100,000 Slip and Fall Result: Client fell on ice from downspout.

Confidential Civil Rights Settlement: The dwelling lacked operable fire alarms and a child died in a fire.

Confidential Premises Liability Settlement: Tenants sustained burns and blisters because the landlord failed to properly set and adjust the water heater temperature according to code.

$100,000 Slip and Fall Result: Casino injury case.

$100,000 Auto Crash Result: Client sustains mild neurological injuries.

$100,000 Motor Vehicle Accident Result: School teacher fractures wrist during intersection accident.

$100,000 Premises Liability Recovery: Pedestrian suffers multiple injuries after being struck by a tree branch that fell from a decayed tree. Property owner was named the defendant of the lawsuit for failing to properly maintain the premise and keep the surrounding area in a safe condition so others wouldn't get hurt.

Confidential Motor Vehicle Injury Settlement: In Delaware County, plaintiff sustained physical scarring, fracture at the base of the left fifth metacarpal, traumatic arthrotomy of bilateral knees, and disfigurement.

$90,000 Settlement: In this civil rights case, client was falsely accused and arrested for robbery.

$90,000 Result: Prescription error.

$80,000 Recovery against doctor after anesthetized patient fell off an examination table during a procedure while lying on her side.

$80,000 Result - pedestrian struck by car while crossing street at intersection.

$78,500 Recovery: Woman using cosmetic cream that doesn't come with directions or the proper warning sustains skin burns under her eyes.

$78,500 Result: Woman at Philadelphia International Airport is thrown from an airline cart while airline personnel transport her from one gate to another.

$75,000 Premises Liability Result - slip and fall on icy hospital parking lot.

$75,000 Result: Untrained teacher injures client at a martial arts academy.

Substantial Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement: Teenager is killed in hit and run crash. Driver is later apprehended and charged with vehicular homicide.

Confidential Wrongful Death and Survival Action Recovery: Family member of plaintiff suffered a thyroid storm and died shortly after release from correctional facility where the victim was denied proper medical attention during a stay lasting several weeks.

$65,000 Premises Liability - chair collapsed at circus, soft tissue injuries suffered by event patron.

$50,000 dog bite: Dog bites child and leaves small scar. Dog had never bitten anyone prior to this incident.

$45,000 Slip and Fall Result: Client sustained soft tissue injuries after slipping and falling down steps.

Confidential Products Liability Recovery: Plaintiff suffered second-degree burns on upper torso because the cooling system in his motor vehicle erupted violently. The defective products case was filed against auto manufacturer.

Confidential settlement - against School District of Philadelphia for permanent scarring caused by door glass pane failure.

Confidential Settlement - 15 passenger van rollover. Multiple deaths and multiple catastrophic injuries of passengers.

Confidential Settlement - for dental malpractice involving improper medication/procedures resulting in death.

Confidential Settlement - for automobile explosion involving injury and burns.

Confidential Settlement - for wrongful death of prison inmate.

Confidential Settlement - for medical malpractice involving blindness. Failure to protect eyes during surgery.

Confidential Settlement - for complications resulting from bed sore ulcers while hospitalized.

Confidential Settlement - Motor vehicle accident. Shoulder separation injury.

Confidential Settlement - Medical malpractice. ER treatment.

Confidential Settlement - SUV rollover resulting in catastrophic injuries.

Confidential Substantial settlement - Premises liability claim where an apartment dweller fell from an improperly installed, improperly maintained, and improperly inspected three story apartment balcony causing multiple fractures and resulting disabilities.

Confidential settlement: Plaintiff lost eyesight as a result of an over-aggressive airbag deployment during a minor impact with a pole. Defective products case filed against manufacturer.

Confidentia Settlement - for sexual assault by a physician.

Confidential Settlement - for sexual assault of a customer by an employee of American fast food franchise.

To schedule your free consultation with an experienced Reiff & Bily Philadelphia, Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer, call (800) 421-9595 or contact us online.

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Client Reviews

5 We don't have the words to show the full extent of our gratitude for Jeffrey Reiff.

Whether it was fate or luck that let our paths cross, Mr. Reiff saved us. With the relief that we were originally promised by another attorney, we literally thought that our lives were over. Thankfully Mr. Reiff took over our case, as without him we don't know where we would be right now...

- Irina

1125 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Local: (215) 246-9000
Toll Free: (800) 421-9595

Reiff & Bily Practice AreasSee all of our areas of practice

• Product Liability
• Personal Injury
• Amusement Park Accidents
• Slip and Fall

• Medical Malpractice
• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents

• Wrongful Death
• On the Job Accidents
• Catastrophic Injuries
• Brain Injuries

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Jeffrey M. Reiff

Disclaimer: The personal injury, car accident, wrongful death, or other legal information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice, nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney client relationship. Any results set forth herein are based upon the facts of that particular case and do not represent a promise or guarantee. Please contact a Car Accident Lawyer for a consultation on your particular personal injury matter. This web site is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the State of Pennsylvania.

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