A hit and run driver struck a young pedestrian in Brooklyn, NYC last Friday around 12:55 am. The car accident happened at the intersection of Broadway and Marcy Ave in Williamsburg. The 15 year old boy was critically injured. Read more in the NY Daily News.
NFL players who suffer repetitive traumatic brain injury during their career have a high risk to develop Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a progressive degenerative disease. Individuals affected by CTE often show symptoms of dementia such as loss of memory, confusion, depression and aggression.
Dr. Bennet Omalu, now the chief medical examiner, San Joaquin County in California, was one of the first doctors to detect CTE in NFL player’s brains. Thirteen years ago as he was working at the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office in Pittsburgh he autopsied Mike Webster, a Hall of Fame center for the Steelers. Webster became so mentally ill that he ended up living in his pick up truck. During a dementia crisis, he pulled out his teeth and glued them back with superglue. He also shocked himself with a taser on a regular basis.
malu found that Webster’s brain was riddled with dark tangles of tau protein, which he explained had choked Webster from the inside out. He identified the condition as CTE and attribuDuring the autopsy, Dr Oted it to the estimated 70,000 hits to the head that Webster endured during his career. Dr Omalu then examined other players such as Terry Long, Justin Strezelczyk and Andre Waters and found they were afflicted by the same condition. When he showed the results of his research to the NFL they publicly ridiculed him and intimidated him calling him a quack.
A fire at a New York High-rise left seven people badly injured last Monday night. The fire started in a trash compactor located on the 9th floor of the Lionel Hampton Houses in Harlem, NYC (see picture). A heavy smoke spread through the building forcing residents to break their own windows to be able to breath. Seven people had to be transported to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation injuries including a woman who is still in a coma. The fire may have been the result of a negligent tenant who threw something flammable such as a cigarette into a compactor. Read more in the NY Daily News.
Smoke inhalation can result in severe respiratory injuries and sometimes death. Respiratory injuries are the number one cause of deaths related to indoor fire accidents. When an indoor fire erupts, the combustion of multiple building materials releases a hot smoke that spreads toxic amounts of carbon monoxide and cyanide in the air. The heat of the smoke can cause internal burning to the respiratory system. The carbon monoxide and cyanide released during the combustion can lead to poisoning, pulmonary irritation and swelling. If severe, these injuries combined together are often fatal.
The same night, a 53 year old woman suffered serious burn injuries in a Bronx apartment fire. The investigation determined that the fired was caused by a discarded cigarette. (Read more in the NY Daily News).
Seven of the best New York personal injury attorneys as well as an ethics attorney and the Honorable Douglas E. McKeon will be discussing some of the most challenging issues that trial attorneys face during trial in a seminar organized by NYSTLA. This seminar will be co-chaired by our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz and by Jeff S. Korek from Gersowitz, Libo & Korek P.C. It will take place on January 26th and February 9th 2015 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, 132 Nassau Street in Manhattan. The seminar will also be broadcasted live. An audio CD and a video DVD will also be available as well as printed materials. They can all be ordered here.
During this seminar the following subjects will be covered:
4 children and 3 adults were injured in an accident involving a school bus and a passenger car. The accident happened at the dangerous intersection of First Street and Fourth Ave in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NYC last Friday around 3pm. The school bus was traveling northbound on Fourth Ave and was trying to make a left turn onto First Street when a Mustang struck it. The impact was so strong that the bus flipped on its side. The passengers, 4 children and 2 adults as well as the driver of the mustang were all transported to the hospital.
Located one block away from a school, the intersection of First Street and Fourth Ave is both dangerous for drivers and for pedestrians. On the Vision Zero map two people complained about poor visibility at this intersection. One of them expressed concern about the fact that many school buses were turning left onto First Street from Fourth Ave with almost no visibility. The other one called the intersection chaotic. Double parking as well as a nearby car wash are also adding to the chaos according to the comments.
A pedestrian died in a car accident in Brooklyn, NYC last Thursday. The driver was charged with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care and issued a desk appearance ticket. The victim is a 77 yearl old woman. She was crossing the road at E. 21st Street and Gravensend Neck Road in Sheepshead Bay when a van making a left turn hit her. The driver 23 year old Zafrom Ghafoor was driving South on E. 21st Street. He drove thru a stop sign before making the left turn. If he had stopped he would probably have seen the elderly woman and the accident could have been avoided.
Earlier during the day, a 67 year old female pedestrian was severely injured after being hit by a car in Queens, NYC. The accident happened at the intersection of 39th Street and Queens Blvd in Sunnyside, Queens, NYC. The driver was making a left turn when he hit the victim. He said he didn’t even see the victim. The woman was severely injured and her leg was partially amputated at the right ankle according to the FDNY.
That same day a 31 year old bicyclist crashed into a 65 year old pedestrian in Brooklyn, NYC. The pedestrian was crossing 60th street at Eighth Ave in Sunset Park when the bicyclist plowed into him. Both of them were injured and taken to the hospital. The pedestrian who suffered head trauma was in critical condition. The bicyclist only suffered minor injury.
3 pedestrians suffered personal injury after being hit by a car in New York. The pedestrians were walking on the Upper East Side of Manhattan when a car plowed into them. The driver identified as 27 year old Cameron Cohello fled the scene of the accident, striking another car. He continued to drive toward the Queensboro Bridge. He abandoned his car near the bridge. He then tried to force a cab driver out of his car to steel his vehicle. A traffic agent ran to the rescue of the taxi driver. As the traffic agent was trying to grab him, Cohello punched him in the chest. Cohello was finally arrested by the police and sent to the hospital for psychological evaluation. He was charged with felony, assault and attempted robbery.
Read more in the NY Daily News
One man died and another one was critically injured in car accident in Queens, New York City. Monday early morning, 30 year old Jorge Bermudez was driving his car on Laurel Hill Blvd with a passenger at his side. As he was near 49th street just under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Maspeth, he lost control of the vehicle. The car slammed into a median and both the driver and the passenger got pinned inside. Witnesses reported that the crash was very loud. The victims were rushed to the hospital where Bermudez died. Read more in the NY Daily News
One pedestrian died and two others where injured yesterday night in Brooklyn, NYC, after an unlicensed driver lost control of his vehicle and jumped the curb. Yesterday around 5:30 pm, 30 year old Victoria Nicodemus was walking with her boyfriend on a sidewalk of Fulton Street near South Portland Street in Fort Green when a SUV jumped the curb and hit the two of them as well as a 75 year old female pedestrian. Victoria died and the two others suffered personal injury.
Marlon Sewell, the driver, didn’t realize that there was a bus stop nearby and that the bus in front of him was about to stop. He swerved to avoid it and jumped the curb killing one and injuring two. He was arrested by the police and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle without insurance. Read more in the Gothamist
Later on, disturbing footage of a surveillance video was released showing a woman that happened to be steps away from the crash looking at the victim and then continuing to walk down the street eating her pizza, unfazed after the crash.
776 pedestrians, 513 bicyclists, 1236 passengers and 1960 motorists suffered personal injury in motor vehicle accidents in New York City in September compared to respectively 714 pedestrians, 565 bicyclists, 1448 passengers and 2010 motorists in August and 751 pedestrians, 485 bicyclists, 1677 passengers and 1523 motorists in September 2014.
While the number of pedestrians injured in NYC traffic accidents has been below 1000 since the beginning of 2014, the number of people injured in bicycle accidents stayed over 500 for the last 3 months. The number of motorists injured has also been unusually high and staying above 2000 for the last 3 months.
4 pedestrians, 2 bicyclists, 2 passengers and 6 motorists died in motor vehicle accidents in September compared to 11 pedestrians, 3 bicyclists, 2 passengers and 5 motorists in August and 13 pedestrians, 1 bicyclist, 4 passengers and 8 motorists in September 2014. The Vision Zero Initiative is having a positive impact. Since the beginning of the year, it is the fourth month that the total monthly traffic fatalities are below 15. In 2014 it happened only twice and in 2013 the monthly number of people dying on New York City Streets never went below 15.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog