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A 32-year-old woman suffered serious injuries after her hair become trapped between escalator stairs on July 3, 2013. The woman, who suffers from epilepsy, suddenly lost consciousness while riding an escalator at a subway station at 125th Street and Broadway in Harlem, New York. After her head hit the steps, the escalator kept moving, trapping the […]
Personal Injury Law
Long Island Woman Charged Under Leandra’s Law after Allegedly Driving Drunk with Five Children in the Car
Elba Ayala, a 43-year-old Shirley resident, was arrested over the Fourth of July weekend for allegedly driving drunk with five children in her car. The children ranged in age from seven months to eight-years-old. Another adult was also a passenger in the vehicle. Ayala was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated. Under Leandra’s Law, she […]
Parents of NY Teenager Killed in Car Crash Seek Tougher Distracted Driving Laws
The parents of Even Lieberman, a 19-year-old college student killed in a 2011 car accident, are calling upon lawmakers to toughen distracted driving laws in New York. In response to their son’s death, which was caused in part by distracted driving, parents Ben and Debbie Lieberman formed the organization DORCs–Distracted Operators Risk Casualties. The organization seeks […]
Repairman Charged with Felony Assault after Woman Seriously Injured in Brooklyn Elevator Accident
A Brooklyn grand jury indicted Jason Jordan, an elevator maintenance man, on felony assault and reckless endangerment charges in December 2011 for allegedly causing an elevator accident that severely injured a woman’s arm and leg. In addition to causing the accident, prosecutors accused Jordan of fleeing the accident scene “without saying a word or offering help” to the victim. […]
Elderly Driver in Diabetic Shock Crashes into White Plains Gas Station
A 69-year-old driver who was in diabetic shock crashed his vehicle into a gas station off of the Hutchinson River Parkway in White Plains in June 2014. The elderly man, who was incoherent at the time of the accident, was pulled from his burning car by an off-duty state trooper before it was engulfed in flames. The […]
Five Men Wrongfully Convicted in Central Park Jogger Attack to Receive $41 Million Legal Settlement
New York City Controller Scott Stringer approved a $41 million legal settlement in June 2014 for five men who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for beating and raping a woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. Stringer stated that “this settlement is a prudent and equitable solution for all parties to the lawsuit and closes a very […]
Settlement of Class Action Lawsuit Forces NYC to Repair Elevators Used by Disabled Tenants
A class action lawsuit settled in September 2012 forced the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), a governmental agency that provides housing to low-income tenants, to repair malfunctioning and broken elevators used by disabled residents. The NYCHA operates more than 2,600 buildings throughout the city and is responsible for maintain 3,300 elevators. The class action lawsuit, which was […]
Long Island Contractor Fined Over $460K for Repeated Fall and Scaffolding Violations
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), the governmental agency responsible for workplace safety, fined Painting & Decorating Inc., a Ronkonkoma based painting and stucco contractor, $460,350 for chronic and repeated fall and scaffolding violations in December 2013. The Long Island company received 10 citations and fines totaling $429,600. Over the past several years, the company […]
Toddler Suffers Injured Hand in NYC Escalator Accident
A 21-month-old boy was injured during an escalator accident in February 2013 at a Barnes & Noble bookstore on the Upper West Side. The toddler was going down the escalator with his nanny when his hand became trapped between two steps after he tripped and fell. A store employee stated that the escalator shut off automatically, and […]
Suffolk County Agrees to $200K Legal Settlement for Video Journalist Who Was Wrongfully Arrested
Members of the Suffolk County Legislature approved a $200,000 legal settlement in June 2014 after a video journalist filed a lawsuit that claimed he was wrongfully arrested for recording police activity in a public area. The settlement also states that all members of the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) must be trained and tested about the public’s First Amendment […]
NY Cardiologist Charged with DWI after Car Crash Kills Mother of Three
Thomas Stavola, a 54-year-old cardiologist, was arrested and charged with a DWI in June 2014 after he crashed into a vehicle driven by Monica Peterman, a 45-year-old mother of three. Peterman was taken by ambulance to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Stavola was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was […]
Suffolk County DA Calls Upon Albany to Toughen Sentencing for Hit-and-Runs
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota called upon Albany lawmakers in June 2014 to toughen the penalties for hit-and-run drivers. Spota stated that many drivers who are drunk or impaired by drugs often flee the scene of accidents because they know that hit-and-run penalties are not as severe as sentences for DWI charges. Spota remarked, “A drunk or […]
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 […]
NY Construction Company Fined $165,000 after Crane Collapses on Yacht
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) fined Concavage Marine Construction Co., a marine contractor based in Port Chester, New York, $165,000 in May 2014 for a crane accident that occurred over a year ago in Stamford, Connecticut. The accident damaged a $120,000 yacht. The company was issued sixteen citations for crane safety violations. OSHA inspectors concluded that the […]
Federal Report: Motor Vehicle Crashes Cost U.S. Economy $871 Billion Per Year
According to a May 2014 report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), automobile crashes cost the U.S. economy $871 billion in 2010. The costs include lost productivity, property damage, and medical and rehabilitation care. The economic impact also includes court and legal costs, emergency services costs as well as costs associated to insurance premiums. […]
Former NFL Players File Class Action Lawsuit Claiming that the League Illegally Provided Them with Pain Medications
In May 2014, eight former NFL players filed a class-action lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court. The suit, which has since been joined by 500 other former players, alleges that NFL doctors and trainers illegally provided them with powerful pain medications in order to ensure that the players could return to the field. The suit claims […]
Self-Driving Cars Raise Safety and Legal Questions
In May 2014, Google introduced its first prototype of a self-driving car. The vehicle doesn’t contain a steering wheel, brake, or accelerator petal. Occupants of the car simply enter their destination into a computer and then hit a button to be driven to their destination. The vehicle is directed by multiple sensors and cameras linked […]
Family of Son Killed in NYC Crane Accident Awarded $1 Million Settlement
Michael and Colleen Simermeyer, the parents of Michael Simermeyer, a 30-year-old construction worker who was killed in a crane accident in April 2012, received a $1 million settlement in 2013 after they filed a wrongful death lawsuit over their son’s death. According to the lawsuit, Yonkers Contracting, the main contractor at an MTA construction project site, failed […]
Eight Victims of Giants Stadium Escalator Accident Reach Undisclosed Financial Settlement with Maintenance Company
While attending a football game at Giants Stadium in December 2007, eight people were seriously injured after an escalator they were riding suddenly malfunctioned. After filing a lawsuit against Schindler, the company in charge of maintaining the escalator, the case was finally brought to trial in January 2012. However, after only one day in the court room, […]
Inmates File Class-Action Lawsuit Alleging Deplorable and Inhumane Conditions in Suffolk County Jails
In April 2012, over 100 former and current inmates at the Riverhead and Yaphank jail facilities in Suffolk County, Long Island filed a lawsuit claiming that the conditions of the facilities were inhumane and deplorable. The lawsuit states that the alleged conditions at the jails violate the inmates’ constitutional rights because the jails’ conditions amount to cruel […]
Mother Files $25 Million Lawsuit after Mentally Ill Son Dies in Custody at Rikers Island
Alma Murdough, whose 56-year-old mentally ill son died while in custody at Rikers Island, filed a $25 million lawsuit in April 2014 against New York City. The suit claims that employees at Rikers Island were careless and negligent after they failed to check up on Murdough’s son, whose cell reached a temperature of 101 degrees. According to […]
Ninety-Three-Year Old Woman Killed in East Northport House Fire
According to officials of the Suffolk County Police Department, Alice Woods, a 93-year-old resident of East Northport, Long Island, died in a fire that broke out in her residence in May 2014. At 9:25 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call about the fire at 55 Grover Lane. Two minutes later, East Northport Fire Department First Assistant […]
New York Man Files Lawsuit Alleging Excessive Force by Nassau County Police Officers
Westbury resident Kyle Howell, 20, filed a lawsuit in early May 2014 against the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) that claims two officers used excessive force against him during a routine traffic stop on April 25, 2014. After being punched and kneed in the face by the officers, Howell suffered from a broken nose, facial fractures, nerve […]
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 […]
Crash Avoidance Technologies Can Prevent Crashes or Mitigate Injuries Caused by Car Accidents
According to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, if all passenger vehicles were equipped with front crash prevention, lane departure warning, blind spot detection and adaptive headlight systems, one in three fatal crashes could be avoided and one in five crashes resulting in an injury could be prevented or mitigated. While […]
