Soldier who rescued New York bus accident victims receives honor
Over the summer the lives of several citizens were dramatically altered when they were involved in a New York bus accident. The crash was so severe that the bus burst into flames and could have ended the lives of many on board if it were not for a young soldier who risked his life to save the injured on board.
The soldier was honored this week for his selfless participation in the rescue of a number of passengers. The ceremony took place on Tuesday afternoon at a military post in New York – the same post the soldier had driven home from on the day of the crash. The man was honored with one of the highest military awards for a noncombat act of heroism, the Soldier’s Medal. Continue reading
New York elevator accident claims life of one woman
Building owners have a duty to keep their premises safe, whether it is by ensuring that floors are not slippery, sidewalks do not have protruding cracks and that basically everything on the property is kept in a safe condition. It is unclear at this point whether it was faulty repair work or something else that caused a New York elevator to unexpectedly rise this week, crushing a woman’s body between the shaft wall and the elevator floor.
The 41-year-old woman lost her life as a result of the injuries she sustained in the accident on Wednesday morning. There were two other passengers on the elevator at approximately 10 a.m. when it began its un-signaled ascent. The two other passengers did not appear to have serious physical injuries, but were immediately treated for the trauma that was caused when they saw the woman crushed in front of their eyes. Continue reading
Congressional advocates of intercity bus safety try again
Recently, there have been several horrific bus accidents in New York. In March 2011, 15 people were killed and 18 injured when a chartered tour bus, traveling at high speed from a Connecticut casino to Manhattan’s Chinatown, overturned in the Bronx on Interstate 19. Some of the victims were thrown out of the bus while others were trapped inside and at least one was decapitated.
In July, two people were killed and 35 injured in a crash in upstate New York in a tour bus headed for Niagara Falls. In another upstate New York accident that month, a tour bus coming from Canada crashed into a tractor trailer, killing the truck driver and one bus passenger, and injuring 30 passengers. Continue reading
Father loses son under Manhattan streets in construction accident
New York has one of the largest underground mass transit systems that transport children to school, employees to work and tourists to famous see famous sights. While the residents and visitors to the large city benefit every day from the network of tunnels, maintenance and construction workers must work in the dark tunnels to build the system and keep it safe for travelers.
A26-year-old New York construction worker recently lost his life approximately 140 feet beneath the Manhattan street level. Not only did the construction accidentclaim the life of the young man, but a father was forced to watch the one thing that should never happen to a parent. He watched the young life of his son slip away before his eyes. Continue reading
New York bus driver fails to report accident while students onboard
A large number of fender benders do not result in injury. When a driver feels fine, it is completely up to them whether they will seek medical attention to determine any injury. When the driver is a school bus driver with passengers on board, there is a duty to make sure that the students are taken care of after even the smallest accident.
New York officials are investigating a school bus driver after he failed to report a bus accident that occurred while 21 students were onboard the vehicle. Not only did the students have to rely on the driver to bring them to school on time, but they also had to rely on the driver to keep them safe. Continue reading
Desperate Housewife sued by injured restaurant patron
Eva Longoria is known as the fashionable and very feisty one of the female bunch on the hit television series “Desperate Housewives.” Most of her character’s investments in the show are made by her husband, but in reality, the star has made several investments of her own including opening a fine dining restaurant called Beso – the Spanish word for kiss.
The restaurant has not been kissed with the success that the star had hoped for, however. The restaurant first hit financial troubles after suffering losses of about $76,000 per month forcing the restaurant to file for bankruptcy. Now, a slip and falllawsuit names the restaurant and Eva Longoria as defendants and claiming over $25,000 in damages suffered as a result of the accident. Continue reading
Risk of bacterial infection prompts tampon recall
New York personal injury attorneys familiar with product liability cases took note recently that certain types of Kotex tampons have been recalled as an “unsafe product” because there may be danger to users from bacteria that may be contained in some of the plastic tubing used for packaging the tampons.
Persons with compromised health and immune system problems — such as HIV positive women — may be at higher risk of a dangerous infection from using those tampons. The recall clearly illustrates the efforts of Kimberly-Clark to mitigate possible repercussions from that product defect. Continue reading
New York injury cloud looms dark over shoppers on Black Friday
New York shoppers remember Black Friday for more than just great deals and huge discounts on clothes, electronics, toys and jewelry. Shoppers remember a Long Island stampede that injured several patrons and employees and left one employee dead and caused a pregnant woman’s miscarriage. The Wal-Mart stampede was not the only serious injury or fatality in Black Friday’s history. The day is known as one of the best savings days, but in terms of premises liability, one of the most dangerous shopping days.
The number of people out for door buster deals can be extremely dangerous and stores have been accused of not taking adequate precautions to prevent deadly stampedes. The 2008 Wal-Mart stampede occurred when 2,000 people tried to force themselves through the door. The only thing that the store operators did was organize a human chain they hoped would slow thousands of people pressing against the few employees. Continue reading
Chantix may increase risk of suicide in New York smokers trying to quit
Giving up cigarette smoking is one of the hardest things a person can do. Smokers will try just about anything that may help them break the nicotine addiction, but only 3 percent manage to quit for six months or more. Unfortunately, one smoking cessation aid may be more harmful to a smoker’s health than smoking, and some New York physicians have suggested that a cessation pharmaceutical may be adangerous product.
One research study has shown that the smoking cessation drug Chantix raises the risk of suicide and depression eight times higher than products such as the nicotine patch. Researchers recommended that smokers only try Chantix when it is clear that other treatments had failed. Even then, only 10 percent of smokers who take Chantix quit smoking for at least a year. Continue reading
Charity may have been on notice about Sandusky sexual allegations
When a supervisor of children abuses his power to coerce or force them into performing illicit acts, the individual will have to answer to criminal charges levied against him. Charges for intentional criminal acts are certainly for the one who commits them, but what about those who negligently allow the acts to go on? Should they be required to prevent possible victims once they become aware of an injury risk?
The Sandusky criminal investigation into sexual allegations of abuse against young children has brought civil focus on the charity foundation that the former football coach founded in 1997. Some experts say that the charity could be held responsible for negligence in allowing Sandusky to continue to work with the children at the charity after having allegedly been notified twice about the possibility the sexual allegations. Continue reading
Construction workers injured, one dies in Brooklyn building collapse
On Tuesday morning construction workers arrived at their Brooklyn job site as usual. They set up their gear and began construction on the 14-unit condominium in Brighton Beach. As the day wore on, the workers were unaware of the structural problems lying in wait and increasing in danger. The building finally gave out at 2:30 in the afternoon, collapsing on top of the group of workers.
Firefighters were immediately called to the scene to rescue the men from the debris, including corrugated metal and freshly poured concrete that fell on top of them. Firefighters were able to rescue the four trapped workers, but they later learned that the collapse had turned into a fatal workplace accident when medical doctors pronounced the death of one of the men. Continue reading
Pharmaceutical settlement shows how great injury costs can be
A recent agreement made by GlaxoSmithKline illustrates the depth of damages that can arise from personal injury lawsuits over defective products and failure to warn consumers. According to the New York Times, this agreement stipulates that the company will pay $3 billion to settle allegations of illegal drug marketing and fraud against Medicaid.
This is the largest pharmaceutical settlement to date, breaking previous records of $2.3 billion and $1.4 million settlements. The product that was the focus of this lawsuit is the drug Avandia and the company’s methods of marketing it to doctors. Also under legal scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department were the company’s alleged manipulation of research. Continue reading