An investigation conducted over the past year by The New York Times highlights disturbing trends of abuse in group homes run for the mentally challenged and developmentally disabled. The emphasis of the survey, the lack of discipline imposed upon delinquent employees of such homes, underscores the importance of diligent oversight by not only authorities, but […]
Miscellaneous
Defendant Precluded After Improperly Obtaining Information From Treating Physician Without Authorization
Defense counsel in Muzio v. Napolitano, a recent medical malpractice case, conducted an interview of the plaintiff’s treating physician, a nonparty, without obtaining a Arons authorization. The Arons case requires that plaintiffs provide defendants with written authorizations allowing counsel for the defense to interview plaintiff’s treating physicians. However, this interview cannot take place without such […]
Summary Judgment for Defendant Reversed, Entered for Plaintiff in Labor Law 240 Suit
A Third Department Appellate Court recently ruled that an employee who fell from a ladder did, in fact, come under the protection of Labor Law 240, commonly known as the Scaffold Act. The plaintiff was installing a cable line at a subscriber’s house at the time. He had finished the installation, and proceeded to check […]
Jury Award Reduced In NYC Loss of Sepulcher Case
The City of New York improperly released the body of a 51 year-old male to a funeral home in Pennsylvania, where he was ultimately buried. The plaintiff-decedent’s mother had been informed that her son had died, and two of the plaintiff-decedent’s siblings had already identified the body at the medical examiner’s office before the body […]
Summary Judgment In Favor Of Plaintiff Affirmed in New York Labor Law Construction Accident
The Supreme Court of New York, Third Department (appellate court), recently upheld a summary judgment decision for the plaintiff, Joseph Miranda III, in a construction accident lawsuit. Miranda sustained a traumatic brain injury in a fall of approximately 30 feet at an Albany construction site. Commonly referred to as “The Scaffold Act,” Labor Law section […]
Bronx Man Files Suit Against City After Being Shot By Accident By NYPD
Jose Colon has filed a notice of claim after being shot by a New York City police officer in the early morning hours of January 22. The shooting, which left a bullet lodged near the pelvis of the 76 year old resident of the Soundview section of the Bronx, occurred as officers raided Colon’s home […]
New York Appellate Court Reverses Summary Judgment Decision in Motor Vehicle Accident Case
A New York Appellate Court recently reversed a trial level decision granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant in the 2009 case of Esther Jacobs v. Hector D Rolen. Plaintiff, who was involved in a car accident in New York, currently experiences limited range of motion in her lumbar spine, but full range of […]
Settlement Approved in Brighton, New York Fall Case
New York Supreme Court trial judge David M. Barry approved a settlement last week for the late Getrude Kash at the Jewish Home in Brighton, NY. The suit alleged negligence, medical malpractice, and violation of the Public Health Law. Shortly after Gertrude Kash, seen above, was admitted to the Jewish Home, she suffered a succession […]
Grandell Rehabilitation Fined For Failing To Provide Adequate Supervision To Resident Known To Have Suicidal Ideations
Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Long Beach, NY was recently fined $32,207.50 by the Federal government stemming from a January 26, 2010 NYS Department of Health Complaint Survey. Surveyors found that the facility failed to provide medically related social services to attain the highest practicable, physical, mental and psychosocial well-being of each resident. Tragically, […]
New York Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Report: CA Jury Awards $12.5 Million To Resident Attacked By Cook
In a recent nursing home abuse lawsuit, a California jury awarded a dementia resident $12.5 million after being attacked by a cook who worked at the facility. In 2007, Sophie Schwartz, a 92 year-old dementia patient, was asleep in her bed at Oakdale Heights of Santa Clarita when she was awakened by a man on […]
New York Car Accident Attorney Report: $10 Million Verdict For 80 Year-Old Female
A Brooklyn (NYC) jury returned a $10 million verdict in favor of an 80 year-old female, Josephine Pantano, who sustained a fractured neck and a fractured leg in a motor vehicle accident in May 2007. Both plaintiff and defendant motorist contended that the other ran a red light causing the collision. The jury sided with […]
New York Birth Injury Attorney Report: $485,000 Verdict In Erb’s Palsy Case
A New York jury awarded $485,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit to a 4-year-old child who suffers from a mild palsy as a result of an injury that occurred at birth. Jayden Bennet sustained an Erb’s palsy of his right arm during the first two years of his life. The condition limited the arm’s strength […]
Family Claims Nursing Home Failed To Monitor Dangerous Resident Leading To Sexual Assault
A lawsuit has been filed against a nursing home in Aurora, Ill., and one of its residents, Sylvester Graves, after he allegedly sexually assaulted a female resident. According to the lawsuit, Graves beat the woman severely and sexually assaulted her in his room at Fox River Pavilion nursing home. The plaintiffs claim that Graves has […]
Bedsore Verdict Includes Punitive Damages
A Philadelphia jury awarded $5 million in punitive damages to the widow of a man who died of bedsores (pressure sores, decubitis ulcers) in 2008. The damages are divided between Jeanes Hospital and a Wyncote nursing home. The lawsuit had accused both the hospital and the nursing home of failing to provide adequate care for […]
NYC Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Report: $19 Million Verdict After Brooklyn Nursing Home Allows 20 Bedsores to Develop And Falsifies Records
A Kings (Brooklyn) County jury recently returned a $19 million verdict in favor of the family of 76 year-old nursing home resident, John Danzy, who developed more than 20 bedsores (pressure sores/decubiti) at Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home. The award included $3.75 million for pain and suffering and $15 million in punitive damages. Mr. Danzy died from […]
New York Personal Injury Lawyer Report: NYC Federal Judge Awards Staten Island Ferry Victim $813, 480.00
At least 4 more New York personal injury claims remain open regarding the catastrophic Staten Island Ferry crash in 2003. In the most recent case involving the crash, plaintiff AnnaMarie Trombetta, a painter, was awarded $813,480 by a Federal Judge in Brooklyn (NYC) Federal Court. After a five-day bench trial, the judge’s ruling surprised City […]
Bronx (NYC) Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Report: Resident Dies After Bronx Facility Fails To Monitor Lab Values
Beth Abraham Health Services, a Bronx (NYC) nursing home facility, was recently fined $21,150 by the federal government based on findings of substandard care in a April 27, 2009 inspection, according to a Long-Term Care Community Coalition report. The facility was sanctioned due to its failure to properly monitor and act upon a 66 year-old […]
New York Elder Abuse Lawyer Report: $7.75 Million Verdict In Nursing Home Abuse Case
The family of a resident at a California nursing home, Fillmore Convalescent Center, was recently awarded $7.75 million in a case involving nursing home abuse. The resident was a 71-year-old stroke victim. The attorneys for the resident and her family showed the jury a secret videotape of the woman being abused. Members of the residents […]
New York Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer Report: Illegal Immigrant Awarded $135,000 After Car Accident In Dutchess County, NY
An illegal immigrant was recently awarded $135,000 by a Dutchess County, NY jury in a motor vehicle accident case. The plaintiff claimed he was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by the defendant. He allegedly sustained serious neck injuries including post-traumatic cervical myelo-radiculopathy, herniated nucleus pulposi from C3/4 to C5/6, and nerve root compression, […]
Torn Quadricep Yields $75,000 Settlement In Queens County (NYC) Slip And Fall
A 41 year-old female allegedly slipped and fell in a Brooklyn (NYC) parking lot of a catering hall. She claimed that the parking lot was dangerous due to uneven pavement. She reportedly fell, and suffered a tear of her quadricep. The owner of the parking lot denied that the lot was dangerous and questioned whether […]
Westchester Personal Injury Attorney Report: $125,000 Settlement In Wrongful Death Trucking Accident Case In Queens (NYC)
The estate of a 55 year-old single mother with four children settled a trucking accident case involving a tractor-trailor for $125,000 In Queens County, NY. The plaintiff died instantly after being struck by the tractor-trailer. Plaintiff’s estate claimed that she had completed turning after stopping at a stop sign. The defendant tractor-trailer contended that the […]
Clerk Awarded $237,000 By Westchester County Jury After Falling On Ice
The plaintiff, a 38 year-old administrative clerk employed by a tenant in an office building in Armonk, NY was recently awarded a $237,000 verdict by a Westchester County, New York jury. She claimed that she tripped and fell on an icy patch while exiting the building. Plaintiff claimed that the owners of the building failed […]
Pedestrian Struck In Westchester County Settles Bulging Discs Case For $700,000
The plaintiff in a Westchester County, NY pedestrian car accident case recently settled for $700,000. The plaintiff, a 45-year-old male, allegedly suffered bulging discs at L4-5 and L5-S1 after being struck by defendant’s car while crossing the street. The defendant’s vehicle (vehicle #1) was reportedly trying to avoid a collision with another vehicle (vehicle #2), […]
Right Of Sepulcher Under New York Law: Melfi v. Mount Sinai Hospital
Generally speaking, the “right of sepulcher” means the right to choose and control the burial, cremation, or other final disposition of a dead human body. Under New York Law, the next of kin of a decedent can commence a lawsuit for a violation of his or her right of sepulcher when 1) a next of […]
Suffolk County (NY) Nursing Home Fined For Cover-up And Falsification Of Records After Resident Breaks Hip
Medford Multicare Center For Living, a Suffolk County, Long Island, NY nursing home must pay a $35,300 civil penalty due to neglect of a resident that was caught on videotape. Two certified nurses’ aides (C.N.A.’s) at the nursing home transferred a 94 year-old resident from her bed to a wheelchair without using a hoyer lift […]