Personal Injury

Published on: February 14, 2018

NY State Health Department to investigate lead exposure on NYCHA residents

Lead based paint exposure can cause serious personal injury, especially to young children. Lead poisoning builds in the body over months, sometimes over years. A small quantity of lead such as paint on the wall or dust is enough to create severe mental and physical impairments in children and a larger quantity can lead to death. Lead paint was widely used to paint residential interiors in the past but after its toxicity was discovered it wasn’t used anymore. Lead paint can still be found on the walls of old buildings that haven’t been renovated for a long time. Some of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings for example still have lead paint. NYCHA was supposed to inspect its buildings and address issues but recently the Department of Investigation found out that NYCHA not only failed to inspect buildings for lead paint but also falsified documents to pretend inspections occurred (see previous blog).

NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECT FROM MOLD INVESTIGATED TOO

On Monday the New York State Department of Health announced that it was opening an investigation over the health impact of NYCHA’s failures to tenants in Southern Queens. The Health Department will not only study the consequences of lead paint exposures but also health problems related to mold. Mold is affecting thousands of NYCHA apartments. It can cause asthma and other serious respiratory diseases. Additionally the Health Department will also study the health impact of the recent heat and hot water outages. Since October including during the coldest days, more that 320,000 NYCHA tenants (80%) have been experiencing heat or hot water outages. These outages are especially unhealthy for younger or older tenants.

Continue reading →

Published on: February 7, 2018

Less deaths but more injuries in NYC traffic accidents in 2017, pedestrian deaths at their lowest, cyclists deaths at their highest

By GGCRBHS&M

In 2017, 102 pedestrians, 20 cyclists, 24 passengers and 63 drivers died in auto accidents in New York City compared to respectively 134, 18, 17 and 54 in 2016.

According to the traffic collision data released monthly by the NYPD, a total of 209 people died in traffic accidents in 2017 compared to a total of 223 in 2016 and 286 in 2013 before Vision Zero was launched. This is the lowest number of motor vehicle accident fatalities ever recorded since the city started to create statistics in 1910.

The decline in traffic fatalities is mostly due to the decline in pedestrian deaths that went down by 39% from 168 in 2013 before Vision Zero to 102 in 2017. During that same time fatal bicycle accidents almost doubled going from 11 to 20. Passenger deaths stayed almost stable from 23 to 24 and motorists fatalities declined by 25%.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 31, 2018

Our New York Personal Injury Lawyers are representing 20 victims of the recent terror attack by a truck driver on a bicycle path

By GGCRBHS&M

Our partner, NYC Personal Injury Attorney Howard Hershenhorn and his team including Christopher Donadio and Anthony Gair have filed notices of claim against the City of New York, the Hudson River Park Trust and the State of New York for more than $600 million on behalf of 20 individuals who were either fatally struck or injured during the terror attack that occurred on October 31, 2017. The attack occurred on the Hudson River Greenway, a popular Manhattan bike path along the Hudson River. Our personal injury law firm represents the families of 7 of the 8 bicyclists who were killed by the terrorist, as well as 13 individuals who were injured. Our clients include families and individuals from Argentina, Belgium and New York.

Our New York personal injury lawyers believe that authorities failed to “to implement measures and precautions to prevent vehicles from intentionally entering the bicycle path despite the fact that it was foreseeable”. It was foreseeable, based on various prior incidents, including the death of Eric Ng who was killed by a driver on the same bike path in 2006. In addition, following Mr. Ng’s death, multiple studies have shown that necessary precautions were needed to prevent motor vehicles from driving on the Hudson River Greenway bike path. Also, for the past ten years, safety advocates have been asking for the installations of steel bollards and other safety measures to prevent cars and other motor vehicles from driving on the bike lane. The City of New York, Hudson River Park Trust and State of New York were presented with detailed plans to prevent collisions between cars and cyclists on the bike path. Unfortunately, no action was taken.

In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security, in light of concerns that terrorist groups using vehicles to ram innocent people, issued a warning to the City of New York and State of New York about the need to secure public pedestrian and public bicycle areas from motor vehicles. Again, despite this warning, no action was taken.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 30, 2018

NYC Truck accident caused by naked driver on meth

By GGCRBHS&M

A woman was injured in a truck accident in NYC after the driver of the truck, naked and high on meth, crashed into her car. 38 year old Stephen Walker had spent Saturday night inside his box truck on a parking lot doing meth and having sex with his lover. In the morning the pair was caught naked by a jealous boyfriend. The couple sped away with the box truck to escape the angry boyfriend. Both men in the box truck were naked from the waist down. As they were escaping, the driver still high on meth rear-ended a car on Old Rockaway Blvd. and North Boundary Lane in Springfield Gardens, Queens. The truck careened off the road and crashed through a fence.

Walker who was driving the truck first ran away and hid from the first respondents in an empty horse trailer at a nearby animal shelter. However a few minutes later, consumed by remorse, he returned half naked to the scene of the accident to let the responding officer know that his lover was stuck in the truck. First responders were able to use “jaws of life” to cut though the truck door and liberate the half naked lover. The two men as well as the woman who was driving the car were transported to the hospital. The woman suffered neck and back injuries.

The truck driver was charged with with reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, drug possession, driving under the influence of drugs and obstructing government administration.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 28, 2018

3 pedestrians injured in postal truck accident

By GGCRBHS&M

3 pedestrians were seriously injured in an accident in New York wednesday morning around 10:00. They were struck and rolled over by a postal truck backing up in the crosswalk. The USPS truck was parked on First Ave just in front of the crosswalk at the intersection of 37th Street. As pedestrians were crossing the street, the driver backed up into the crosswalk and struck three of them. The driver continued to back up and rolled over them without realizing what just happened. According to the NY Daily News, the driver didn’t see the pedestrians because they were in his blind spot. He kept on rolling over them because he thought there was a bump on the road.

The 3 pedestrians were rushed to the hospital. They were in a lot of pain but all 3 of them were conscious. The driver of the truck remained at the scene of the accident and was given a summons by the police.

Published on: January 28, 2018

Close the door to prevent deaths and injuries in fire accidents!

By GGCRBHS&M

After 13 people died and 4 were critically injured in a fire accident in New York City, the FDNY reminds New Yorkers that a simple move can save lives. If you are fleeing a room on fire, shut the door behind you! In apartment buildings this simple action can prevent the fire from spreading to hallways and stairs. In houses, closing a door can save the whole structure. Above all all it can prevent others from being injured or from dying.

Last month, a fire started in the kitchen of an apartment located at 2363 Prospect Ave in Belmont. A young mother was in the kitchen and ran away leaving the kitchen door opened behind her. This allowed the fire to spread upstairs and then throughout the entire building. 12 people died in the fire including four children. 4 other people were critically injured. Among them was a man who died from his injuries a few days later. The FDNY believes that if the kitchen door had been closed, the deaths and injuries may have been prevented.

If you find yourself in a situation were you have to flee from a fire just remember one thing: Close the Door!

Continue reading →

Published on: January 24, 2018

Two pedestrians injured by NYC school buses in two separate accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

A reckless school bus driver hit an 11 year old boy as he was on his way to school early Tuesday morning. The accident occurred on Sutphin Boulevard near Liberty Avenue in Jamaica, Queens at 6:50 pm. 60 year old Marc Saget struck the boy and continued to drive without noticing what just happened. He was stopped not far away from the accident and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. The 11 year old boy was transported to the hospital with a bump on his head as well as scratches and bruises

A few minutes later in Manhattan another school bus hit a 56 year old pedestrian. The woman was crossing West 124th Street at the intersection of Lenox Ave when the accident occurred. She suffered serious injury and was rushed to the hospital. The police are still investigating what caused the bus driver to hit the pedestrian

Read more in the NY Daily News

Continue reading →

Published on: January 24, 2018

Recalled Panasonic TVs posing risk of injury or death to children were sold to schools and hotels

By GGCRBHS&M

A potentially defective tabletop swivel stand sold with a 55-inch flat screen TV was recently recalled by Panasonic. The Panasonic 55-inch, LED/LCD flat screen televisions with a tabletop swivel stand is a model that was sold to schools, government buildings and hotels from July 2012 through March 2014 . The mounting screws that connect the stand to the TV can become loose and the TV can unexpectedly fall off the stand. This pose a risk of severe injury or even deaths to children.

If you see one these TVs on a swivel stand at your child’s school, at work or in a hotel please inquire if it was recalled and repaired. If it wasn’t please make sure that the TV is detached from the stand and placed in a safe location before calling Panasonic for a free repair kit.

Panasonic indicates that so far nobody was injured. 755 models have been sold in the US and 130 in Canada. The TV is black with Panasonic printed in the front and the swivel stand is in a glossy black color and is 50 inches long. The model number for the television is TH055LRU50. It can be found on a tag on the back of the television.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 24, 2018

Occupational Fatal Injuries on the rise for the third consecutive year in 2016

By GGCRBHS&M

5,190 workers suffered fatal injury on the job in 2016, an increase of 7% compared to the 4,836 fatal injuries recorded in 2015. This is the first time since 2008 that the annual number of fatal work injuries is above 5,000. The fatal injury rate was on the rise as well with 3.6 per 100,000 full-time workers being injured on the job compared to 3.4 in 2015.

Almost half of the fatal work injuries occurred during transportation events. Among the 2,083 workers who suffered fatal injury in a transportation accident, 1,252 died in roadway accidents involving motorized land vehicles, 342 were pedestrians struck by a vehicle, 245 were involved in accidents involving motorized land vehicles, 130 in accidents involving an aircraft, 50 in accidents involving a rail vehicle, 48 in accidents involving a water vehicle and 16 in accidents involving animal transportation or pedal vehicle.

866 workers died from violence or other injuries by persons or animal. Violence at the workplace is the second most common cause of fatal work injuries. It increased by an alarming 23% last year.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 23, 2018

Limited Trump Impact on OSHA in 2017

By GGCRBHS&M

To prevent workers, especially construction workers, from being killed or injured on the job, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducts thousands of work sites inspections every year. After Trump took over some worried that OSHA power would be diminished and that workers might be exposed to riskier work conditions. So far it hasn’t been the case.

During the fiscal year 2017, OSHA conducted 32,396 inspections compared with 31,948 during the fiscal year 2016. The average penalty per violation was $3645 during the 2017 fiscal year compared with $3415 during the 2016 fiscal year. Between 2010 and 2015 there was an average 8.4 $1 million cases reported yearly however in 2017 there were only 6 $1 million cases.

Despite being nominated by the president to head OSHA, Scott Mugno, currently vice president for safety, sustainability and vehicle maintenance at FedEx Ground hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate yet. So far the career OSHA people are still running the show and things are not expected to change dramatically. This is mainly because the lack of political leadership and the language and requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act are preventing deregulation.

Continue reading →