Americans file approximately 17,000 medical malpractice claims a year. Studies have shown that 75% of doctors in low-risk specialties have faced a medical malpractice claim in their career with the number shooting up to 99% of doctors in high-risk specialties. A report by the American Medical Association in 2010 found that specialists, such as general surgeons and […]
Bodily Injury
Train Accidents Are More Common Than You Think
On March 24, a train accident occurred in Mentz, NY resulting in the death of a passenger in the vehicle. The accident occurred at the North Main Street railroad station when a work van drove around the flashing lights and horizontal bars that signaled a train coming; one person was ejected from the vehicle and died. The […]
OSHA Implements New Injury Reporting Regulations
In a report released January 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that there were 10,388 severe workplace injuries in 2015; 7,636 of those injuries resulted in hospitalization and 2,644 resulted in amputations. The manufacturing industry has the highest reported accidents, accounting for 57% of all amputations and 26% of all hospitalizations, followed by the […]
Patient Fell Off Scale at NY Hospital – Case Will Proceed
In Patel v. American Medical Response, Inc., et al, the representative of a deceased patient brought a negligence action against an ambulance operator and hospital to recover damages for personal injuries sustained after EMT left him unattended on a scale. The patient fell off the scale. The Supreme Court of Nassau County denied the hospital’s motion for […]
Plaintiff Loses Slip-And-Fall Claim By Failing to Submit Evidence regarding How She fell
In Giannotti v. Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, plaintiff was a patron who brought an action against Hudson Valley Credit Union, seeking damages for personal injuries she sustained in a trip-and-fall accident in the credit union’s lobby. On April 16, 2013, the plaintiff walked with a Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union employee towards an office presumably to discuss […]
New York Court Denied Defendant’s Request for “Independent” Medical Examination after Defendant Missed Deadline by One-year
As part of the personal injury civil system, discovery is a phase in litigation that prevents unfair surprises for all parties to a cause of action. The court system, including Federal and State courts, require disclosure of all relevant and material facts that pertain to the case, to be “disclosed,” to the other side prior to […]
Patron Punched By NY Bouncer Will Get Trial
Darin Hill, security guard at a nightclub in New York City, allegedly caused a patron, Plaintiff Fauntleroy, to suffer serious personal injuries during an altercation. Mr. Hill was employed by a security company, All Season Protection of NY, LLC. The operator of the nightclub, Sutol Operating Company, hired All Season Protection to provide security at the establishment. […]
Appellate Court Allows Case to Proceed Where Defendant Owner Allegedly Failed to Provide Protective Gear on Construction Site
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department in Montenegro v P12, LLC, 2015 NY Slip Op 05919 [130 AD3d 695] reversed a lower court’s decision granting a defendant’s motion for summary judgment to dismiss a cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 241(6), predicated on 12 NYCRR 23-1.8(a). The plaintiff was employed as a carpenter on […]
Grocery Store Owner may be Liable for Injuries Sustained During a Fire on the Premises
The plaintiff in Yehia v Marphil Realty Corp., 2015 NY Slip Op 05670 [130 AD3d 615] was injured in a fire that occurred on the premises operated as a grocery store by defendant Nahshal Food Corp. Marphil Realty Corp owned the premises and leased it to Nahshal. The plaintiff was employed at the grocery store and resided in […]
Second Department Finds Police Report Was Improperly Admitted into Evidence; Orders New Trial
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a trial court order for summary judgment in favor of the defendant driver in a pedestrian car accident case. The plaintiff was a pedestrian who was crossing the street when she was injured after being struck by the defendant’s car. The plaintiff argued that the defendants negligently drove […]
Recent Appellate Decision Comes Down In NYC Bar Fight Case
On November 27, 2007 the decedent (deceased) attended a party at Duvet Restaurant and Lounge, a restaurant and night club located on W 21st Street in Manhattan, where he was fatally stabbed. The decedent was stabbed outside the night club by another patron as the result of a fight that started inside the club. The […]
Appeals Court Upholds $1,640,000 Verdict in New York Motorcycle Accident Case
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a jury verdict that awarded $1,640,000 to the victim of a motorcycle accident. The plaintiff was driving down the road on his motorcycle when a car stopped in front of him. The occupant of the car swung the door open, climbed out of the car, and […]
First Department Upholds $250,000 Jury Verdict for Infant Injured by Projectile Rock
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a trial court’s order that denied both the defendant’s motion for new trial and the defendant’s motion to reduce judgment interest rate in a personal injury case involving a lawnmower accident. An employee of the New York City Housing Authority was mowing a lawn using a […]
Plaintiff’s Spinal Injuries Found to Constitute a Significant Limitation under Insurance Law 5102 (d)
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department held that the plaintiff had properly raised a triable issue of fact as to whether she suffered significant and/or permanent limitations to her spine as required under the Insurance Law. The plaintiff was injured in an auto accident due to the defendant driver’s negligence. The plaintiff suffered […]
Plaintiff Police Officer’s Case Car Accident Case Will Proceed Due to Lumbar Spine Injuries
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department modified a trial court order that granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed a negligence complaint in a car accident case. The First Department dismissed the claim under the 90/180 day rule but allowed the plaintiff to proceed with the “permanent consequential” and “significant” limitations […]
Car Accident Victim’s Shoulder Injury Deemed a “Serious Injury” Under the Insurance Law
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department modified a trial court order in a car accident case, denying the defendant’s motion for summary judgment regarding the “significant” limitation and 90/180-day injury claims. The plaintiff was involved in a car accident and suffered injuries to his left shoulder. After the accident, the plaintiff filed a negligence […]
Case Study: The “Serious Injury” Threshold
Lonnie Gates was rear ended by a truck owned by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and driven by Gene H. Longden. Under New York State’s no-fault insurance rule, a person injured in an automobile accident may recover for medical bills and other economic damages from the insurance company covering the vehicle they are riding in, or are hit by, regardless […]
Syracuse Police Officer Who Ran Red Light Without Stopping Liable for Injuries To Other Driver
In Ruiz v Cope, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department affirmed a decision by the Supreme Court of Onondaga County to award a man money damages after a non-jury trial against a police officer, Brendan Cope, the Syracuse Police Department, and the county. At the time of the accident Cope was being field trained under a […]
FDNY Officials: No Working Smoke Detectors in Fatal Apartment Building Fire
Officials of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) stated that were no working smoke detectors in a Queens apartment building that caught fire in October 2013. The fire, which began in the basement around 2:00 p.m., quickly spread up a stairwell. After firefighters found a man unconscious in the attic, he was rushed to Long […]
President Obama Holds Summit to Raise Awareness about Brain Injuries in Sports
President Barack Obama hosted the Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit at the White House in May 2014 to raise awareness about brain injuries in sports. Although Obama emphasized the importance of sports for many young people, he also urged parents and athletic organizations to take brain injuries, even mild concussions, seriously. Mr. Obama pointed to […]
Family of Woman Killed in Harlem Gas Explosion Sues NYC for $40 Million
The family of Griselde Camacho, a 45-year-old woman killed in a gas explosion in March 2014, recently filed a $40 million lawsuit against New York City. The suit claims that the city was negligent by not maintaining a major gas line that may have caused the deadly explosion. The lawsuit states that numerous residents called the city […]
Staten Island Fire Injures 34 People Residing in Townhouses
A Staten Island fire tore through three townhouses in June 2014 and injured 34 people, including 23 firefighters and 11 civilians. A spokesperson for the FDNY said that some of the injuries were serious, but none were life-threatening. Officials are currently investigating the cause of the blaze. At 1:00 a.m., 200 firefighters responded to a 911 […]
Research: Elderly Population 2.5 Times More Likely to Die in Fires
Fires and the Elderly: An Overview According to a joint 2006 report issued by the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Data Center, elderly people aged 65 and over are 2.5 times more likely to die in fires than the rest of the population. The study also indicated that a person’s chances of dying in a fire […]
Toyota Agrees to Pay $1.2 Billion Federal Penalty Over Safety Issue that Killed Family of Four
United States Attorney General Eric Holder announced in March 2014 that Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to pay a $1.2 billion federal penalty for misleading the American public and regulators about a safety issue that killed a family of four. The penalty is the largest ever imposed by the United States on a car manufacturer. The settlement […]
Nine Former National Hockey League Players File Lawsuit Over Concussions
Nine former players for the National Hockey League (NHL) filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court in Manhattan claiming that the league failed to warn players about the dangers of concussions. According to the class action lawsuit, the NHL “fostered and promoted an extremely physical game of hockey.” In addition, the suit asserts that […]