Fatal workplace accident under OSHA investigation
In New York City and throughout the country, construction sites are known to be very dangerous. There are many inherent dangers in and around construction sites that contribute to the risks that employees take each day when they step onto a worksite. As a result, it is extremely important for contractors to abide by all safety measures. When people ignore safety procedures or warnings that premises are dangerous, everyone on the worksite might at risk of suffering catastrophic injury.
Such was the recent tragedy that occurred on a construction site. There, the contractor was on notice that the premises were dangerous. Inspectors actually issued a stop-work order until the dangers could be rectified. Specifically, a 12-foot deep hole that had been dug was in danger of collapse when city officials inspected the construction project. The inspector demanded that the hole be made secure before anyone entered the trench. Otherwise, individuals would risk serious injury or even death from a collapse. Continue reading
Seven Years After Bus Accident, Lawsuit Settled and Healing Continues
On January 29, 2005 a team bus carrying the women’s Windsor Wildcats basketball team was involved in a bus accident. Four people were killed and 18 survived. Now, five years later, the lawsuit has been settled though many of the survivors still struggle with the events of that day.
Their coach, his son, a teammate and her mother were all killed in the accident. Many of the young women were seriously injured. According to the Windsor Star, some are lucky to be alive after the bus accident. Continue reading
Elevator Maintenance Company Named In Multiple Lawsuits
The attorneys at Omrani & Taub have been following and posting updates on a case regarding a young advertising executive who was killed when trapped by the elevator at her Manhattan office building. Transel Elevator, Inc., the company who was servicing that same elevator only hours before her death, was named in an unrelated lawsuit this week, regarding yet another elevator accident, this time at the New York’s Plaza hotel.
According to Bloomberg, a housekeeper at the hotel was injured in an elevator accident when the freight elevator she was on came to a sudden stop. The unexpected and “violent” stop is being blamed for fractures in one of the housekeeper’s feet. Transel Elevator, Inc. is said to have been responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the elevator and all of those at the Plaza.
This latest suit is said to mark one of many that have been filed against the company for elevator accidents around the city. The company works in construction, maintenance and repair of both commercial and residential elevators. Continue reading
New York construction accidents slowly decreasing
According to New York City data, the number of injuries experienced by workers in construction accidents has begun to decrease. From 2010 to 2011 there was a 7.8 percent decrease in the number of workplace accidents that resulted in at least one injury to an employee. The total number of accidents fell by approximately 18 percent last year.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited the 2008 safety measures as the reason for the decline. “Even as construction activity rose by nearly 8 percent last year, the number of construction-related accidents fell,” he said. Continue reading
HP fails to recall batteries one year after found to be defective
If a New York company manufactures a defective product and then fails to report it to authorities after learning that the product is defective, they could be subject to federal sanctions and injured parties could seek compensation. Hewlett Packard, a major computer company, learned that some of its lithium-ion batteries were defective to the point where the batteries could cause injury.
In fact, a study by the company was completed in 2007, but it waited a year to notify the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission about the problems. According to the study, faulty batteries could overheat and cause a fire. They were sold with laptops, as separate accessories or as parts for those computers. Continue reading
Costly U.S. work-related injuries and illnesses
How does $250 billion per year in health costs sound to an employer? Not very healthy! A newly released government study shows that amount and more is the cost to employers in New York and across the U.S. for work site accident injuries and illnesses. This total exceeds all costs for cancer, more than costs for diabetes, and it is more than double the costs for strokes.
The author of this study, Paul Leigh, claims that not enough attention is being paid to occupational health. The University of California (Davis) professor of public health sciences says risk from job-related injury and illness is so high because the average worker does spend about 40 percent of his or her time at the workplace. Continue reading
Bus, truck crash en route to New York City
We have all heard the adage that “no news is good news.” This is especially true when it comes to bus accidents. When we cannot write about the damages caused to victims of an accident where they were a passenger on a mass transit vehicle, it is a good thing. Passenger injuries can change the lives of victims in an instance.
It is sad to have to report another bus accident that occurred with passengers en route to New York City. The bus was operated by Trans-Bridge and was carrying four passengers on Monday morning, Jan. 16, 2012 whose lives were about to change. Continue reading
Criminal/Civil Cases Possible in Elevator-Death
A criminal investigation has been launched by the Manhattan District Attorney in the tragic elevator death of an advertising executive at Y&R. Suzanne Hart was killed when the elevator at Y&R’s Madison Avenue headquarters crushed her between the first and second floors on December 14.
Initial reports said there were no “safety issues” when the elevator was last inspected in June, 2011. But Tony Sclafani, a spokesperson for the Department of Buildings, said that there were many violations issued in the past but all were for “administrative or non-hazardous conditions.” In the aftermath, 11 violations were written against the building’s 13 elevators.
According to the New York Post, the only violation written against the elevator that killed Ms. Hart, was one regarding problems with paperwork. Other, “more serious” issues were found on the 25-story building’s other elevators. Continue reading
In a place that is supposed to nurture, child drowns in pool
Parents in New York and across the country are naturally concerned with safety issues that relate to their school children. It is always terrible when a school child is injured or dies during some school activity. Great shock and disbelief were the first reactions by students, teachers and parents in East Hartford, Connecticut, to recent news of a student drowning in their high school pool.
Legal responsibility issues for cases like this student drowning are addressed under laws of premises liability. When a child is in an environment where parents assume they are safe, such as a school, parents rightly expect that all reasonable precautions have been taken at that facility to assure child safety. The death of a young person is tragic and unexpected, and grief over that tragedy can affect an entire community. Continue reading
Mix-up at pill plant could impact health of New York consumers
A pharmaceutical company has become concerned about potential product liability that may result from the mix-up of several of its prescription pain pills and over-the counter medicines. This story is worth paying attention to because the underlying facts could affect the healths of New York residents.
Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, operates a drug manufacturing plant in Nebraska. That plant was shut down last week as a result of numerous complaints that mistakes had been made with respect to several of the products made at the facility. Continue reading
Starbucks to pay out for slip-and-fall accident
Residents in New York and across the country are familiar with the feeling that there is a Starbucks around every corner. That feeling is not too far off from the truth with the thousands of coffee shop locations operated under the name across the country.
The very profitable coffee mega-giant is going to have to pay out some mega bucks after a jury awarded a chiropractor $7.5 million in a slip-and-fall lawsuit. Continue reading
New York elevator accident continues to affect workers
We have been following the story of the Dec. 14 elevator accident that took the life of a New York woman. The woman had stepped onto the elevator at the exact moment in which it spontaneously began to rise, trapping the woman between the bottom of the elevator and the ceiling of the floor above.
The premises liability tragedy has affected many more people than just the woman and her family. We often forget that accidents such as these generally do not occur in isolation. There are more often than not many witnesses to these events, especially in New York City. Continue reading