Doctor Pleads Guilty in Drunk Driving Accident; Civil Suit is Probable
Last August, 32-year old homeless man, Jason Farnham was struck by a BMW while walking. That BMW was driven by Dr. Frank Vogel, 66, of Franklin Square. Just this week, Vogel pled guilty to driving drunk in the accident and is expected to be sentenced in upcoming days.
Farnham was initially listed in critical condition, according to Syracuse.com. He is still recovering from his injuries at The Centers at St. Camillus.
The younger man was walking on the night of August 21, 2011 on the west side of the Onondaga Lake Parkway, on or near the shoulder of the road. Vogel was driving southbound when the drunk driving accident occurred.
In his plea, Dr. Vogel admitted to being intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of at least .18, more than twice the legal limit. But according to the prosecution in the case, his blood alcohol level was more like .20.
The fact that Vogel stopped his vehicle and rendered assistance to Farnham while waiting for emergency personnel likely affected the plea agreement. According to the agreement, Vogel will serve five years’ probation with the first six months being served in the Onondaga County Correctional Facility. Continue reading
NYS DOT Plows Not Responsible For Hitting Vehicles?
A Schenectady man was caught completely off guard this month when he was informed that the state wouldn’t be paying to fix his car after a DOT snow plow hit him and caused damage. The reason is a little-known law in New York, which makes plow drivers immune from legal responsibility in such auto accidents.
Frank Palumbo was driving his 1993 Ford Taurus after a snow storm. He saw the DOT plow clearing the road on the right and decided to safely pass the plow on the left. But, as he passed the plow, the truck crossed the center lane, hitting Palumbo’s Taurus. Though Palumbo stopped his vehicle, as you should when involved in an auto accident, the plow driver kept going, not realizing that he had just hit the Taurus. Continue reading
5 Months After Auto Accident, Driver Criminally Charged
He spent about 5 months in the hospital. And when he came out, it wasn’t to a “welcome home” party; it was to an arraignment.
Forty-three year old James E. Anderson was involved in a serious head-on collision on September 11, 2011, an accident that landed two other people in the hospital as well. He was found at fault after it was discovered that he was legally intoxicated. Now he faces criminal charges in addition to any civil liabilities filed by a New York car accident attorney representing the injured parties.
Anderson, of New York City, was driving on the Bear Mountain State Parkway early on that September morning. At about 1 a.m., according to The Daily Cortlandt, he crossed the center line and drove into oncoming traffic. 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
Red-light cameras, a pain in the rear-end
I was driving on Northern Boulevard, yesterday, heading westbound approaching Douglaston Parkway, when the traffic light at the intersection turned yellow. I was approximately twenty (20) feet away from the intersection traveling approximately 30 mph. Immediately, I realized that if I was going to bring my car to a stop at the intersection, I would have to make what would be an unusually abrupt stop. I immediately glanced into my rearview mirror and observed a van that was more than twice the size of my car was tail-gaiting my car by about ten (10) feet. It was clear to me that if was to hit the brakes I would surely be rear-ended by the van.
Normally, in such a scenario, the defensive driving move would be to go through the yellow light rather than risk being rear-ended; however in this particular instance, I knew that the intersection was controlled by a red-light camera; therefore, I knew that going through the light would almost guarantee me getting a fine for $50.00.
I made a quick decision to blow the yellow/red light regardless of the changing traffic light. I am glad I did. Sure enough, the van also barreled through the intersection behind me.
It is very likely that in a few weeks I will be receiving a summons in the mail with photographs showing me going through the red light. But I am also certain of the fact that if I had stopped for the light, I would have surely been a victim of a horrific rear-end impact.
Rear-end impacts are no joke. They are the number one cause of whiplash injuries in the world, i.e., injuries affecting the human cervical spine (the neck) as well as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
Since the installation of red-light cameras, I have received an increased report of rear-end impacts attributed to the presence of such cameras or the fear of the presence of such cameras.
The City of New York as well as many other municipalities in the state of New York, not to mention the entire nation, claims that these red-light cameras are necessary to curb intersection accidents. I disagree. I submit that red-light cameras, while speciously create the image that our roads are safer, in reality are just a ploy for raising revenues by penalizing frequent drivers on the road.
Recently I observed a red-light camera at the intersection of Marcus Avenue and Lakeville Road on a weekday evening for a period of five (5) minutes. During this five minute period of time, the flash on the camera went off nice (9) times. That is 108 times per hour which equals 2,592 red camera summonses per day. At a rate of $50.00 per ticket, the total revenues equal $129,600.00 daily, for a total of $47,304,000.00 per year. This is from a single red light camera.
According to BIG John there are currently at least 320 red light cameras in NYC alone (54 in Manhattan, 47 in Bronx, 102 in Brooklyn, 90 in Queens and 27 in Staten Island). According to the Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency, and Suffolk County, in Nassau and Suffolk Counties there are at least 94 intersections with red light cameras some of which have cameras covering two or more directions of travel.
Doing the math, the annual revenues generated from red light cameras in NYC and Long Island on an annual basis appears to be in the ballpark of $19,583,856,000.00. There are more red-light cameras being installed on a daily basis.
If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of an auto accident at an intersection, whether or not the accident is attributed to the presence of a red-light camera, I am interested in hearing from you. Please contact me at 212-529-7848 (that’s 212-LAW-SUIT) or email me through my link at www.omraniandtaub.com