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
Two Men Severely Injured By Falling Shopping Cart
Two men were seriously injured in a department store accident when a shopping cart fell on their heads Monday. The men were walking outside a Bronx Home Depot, located near Yankee Stadium, when the cart fell from an overhead parking deck, similar to the case that left a mother brain damaged just a few months ago.
According to the Daily News, the men were about 50 feet from the front door of Home Depot when the Toys ‘R’ Us cart came crashing down on them. Witnesses say one man was immediately knocked unconscious and the other was trying to get up when help arrived on the scene of the department store accident.
Both experienced serious head injuries and the scene was reportedly quite bloody. One onlooker said you could see the skull of one of the men through the deep gash in his head. Both were taken to the hospital and though one was admitted in critical condition, both are now listed as stable.
No one knows why the cart tumbled and no arrests have been made.
In a previous department store accident case, a mother of two was hit in the head by a shopping cart outside of a Harlem Target store. Similarly, the cart fell 40 feet from a parking deck and initially left her in a medically induced coma. Now out of the coma, her husband says she has a long recovery process ahead.
In that case, two young boys were arrested and later pleaded guilty to felony assault.
Though it has not been substantiated, the men in this latest accident may have been working at the time. At least one source says that they frequently make deliveries to the stores in that shopping area. If that is the case, there could be a worker’s compensation claim. If not, and it can be proven that someone was negligent in maintaining the shopping area, there could be a premises liability case.
In a premises liability case, it must be shown that the injuries were caused as a result of the company’s negligence. Perhaps it’s Toys ‘R’ Us who was negligent in collecting the cart, making an unsafe condition. Or, maybe Home Depot was not cautious in the design of their store, ensuring there was a safe walkway for customers to enter without fear of injury or fear of a department store accident. There are many possibilities here, where the error of a large company could have contributed to the tragic department store accident that befell these men.
If you are injured in a department store, supermarket, shopping center, or any other business, you too could be entitled to compensation and justice. The department store accident attorneys with Omrani & Taub are experienced in handling department store accident cases. We understand what you’re going through and are here to help. Contact us for a free consultation.
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
Settlement Reached in Giants Stadium Escalator Accident
The company responsible for maintaining escalators at Giants Stadium settled with eight injured people last week over an escalator accident that occurred about four years ago. Schindler is only one defendant in the case involving serious injuries that occurred when an escalator sped up and quickly stopped, ultimately causing some serious injuries. The other defendant, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority who operated the stadium at the time, has not settled and their case will continue.
On December 29, 2007, Giants Stadium hosted a game between the Giants and the New England Patriots. It was after the game, as people were leaving, that the escalator accident occurred.
Witnesses said the escalator sped up and stopped, causing people to “tumble” towards the bottom. One man, Michael Harris, whose leg was caught in the bottom of the escalator, underwent five surgeries and three years of treatment before he ultimately had his leg amputated below the knee. Joseph Capuano has had more than twelve surgeries and could still lose his foot.
The settlement came after a break in the trial, following opening statements with a retelling of the escalator accident. According to the Associated Press, the account was graphic and included photos of the injuries.
Often, when a defendant in a civil case realizes they will lose at trial, a settlement becomes more alluring. This may have been what happened in this case after the moving opening statements.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
Schindler was accused of failing to maintain the escalators in a safe manner, from replacing a mechanical part to making regular inspections. The Sports Authority is charged with failing to limit the number of people allowed on the escalators at any one time.
The Sports Authority says it did not ignore warnings about overloading the escalator and said that other escalators were carrying the same numbers of people, and none of them malfunctioned.
The trial against the Sports Authority continues.
The plaintiffs in this case, or the people who were injured, merely want to be compensated for their injuries-including medical costs and the trauma associated with them. But it’s obvious, four years after the accident, that cases like these can take a long time to resolve.
When you are at a public sporting event, you take it for granted that you will be safe. When something catastrophic happens, it can catch everyone off guard. If you have been hurt in an escalator accident call us today for a free consultation. The experienced New York Escalator Accident Lawyers at Omrani & Taub, P.C. can make sure you compensated for your losses and injuries as well as pain and suffering.
Four die in New York subway accidents within 24 hours
Thousands of people use the subway in New York on a daily basis. For most, their travel ends with them safely walking up the stairs from the bowels of the city to their final destination. Most people enter and exit the subway without even thinking twice about their safety after traveling through one of the nation’s largest transit systems has become second nature.
For some, however their lives are changed when they walk below the streets. Within a single 24-hour span of time, four people lost their lives in a mass transit accident this past weekend. The four deaths all occurred on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Continue reading
Old Construction Accident Eventually Leads Man Into Homelessness
A man who once owned his own construction business was forced to live on the streets and in shelters, according to this story out of Billings, Montana. Stephan Larsen, 52, has reportedly never dealt with such hard luck, a former home owner and business owner, he misses being able to work.
Though a divorce forced him to move his construction operation in the pursuit of business, it was an old injury from a forklift accident that eventually caused him to stop working. What was once an inconvenient back pain became unbearable in his age.
He ended up sleeping at a Rescue Mission where he had formerly worked and found employees. A friend there eventually helped him into a housing program. But his injury still plagued him.
Requiring both knee and back surgery, Larsen was finally able to collect disability and get medical care with government assistance. Now, about thirty years after his forklift accident, he is scheduled to get the first surgery.
“I don’t want to be disabled,” says Larsen. “After the surgery is all done, I want to go back to school. I have too much time on my hands sitting around the apartment.”
Larsen’s case is not an unusual one. Though construction/work site accidents rarely lead to homelessness, it is possible, and they often lead to financial hardships and even the inability to work.
When you are hurt on the job, you may initially be sent to the doctor and be told by your employer that everything will be taken care of. But many people are surprised when their supervisor or a worker’s compensation representative starts urging them to finish treatment, basically to suck-it-up and get back to work.
Make no mistake, even if you enjoy your job and the people you work for, they are running a business, and the primary interest of any business is making, not spending money.
Being injured on the job can present unique frustrations as your job is the one who should be made to pay for any safety oversights or negligence. But it’s you, as the patient and employee, that are often made to feel like the situation is your fault.
An experienced personal injury attorney from Omrani & Taub, P.C., can help. We are dedicated to seeking justice for our clients. We know what you are going through as we’ve represented many clients in similar situations.
If you’ve been hurt on the job, you can’t wait 30 years to seek relief. By then, it may be too late.
NYPD Slow to Respond in Bicycle Death
Canadian bicyclist and artist Mathieu Lefevre was killed by a crane truck about three months ago, and his family is highly critical of the NYPD, who took all three months to hand over the police records of the accident.
Only after filing a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act did the Lefevre family receive the file which included 115 pages and four videos, including the initial bicycle accident report.
Lefevre was riding his bicycle in Brooklyn when he was killed. The large crane truck was on his left at a corner, and the driver admittedly failed to signal a right turn. When Lefevre went to pass the truck on its right, he was hit, causing the fatal bicycle accident. 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