Recent Blog Posts
Ladder Fall While Cleaning Creates Liability Under Scaffold Law
In 2010, a worker who was hired to clean the walls and window ledges at the Worldwide Plaza subway station in New York City fell 20 feet to the floor when the ladder he was standing on kicked out from under him while he was hosing down a wall. The injured worker sued the… Read More »
Why is This State Different from Other States? New York is odd man out when it comes to medical malpractice law
In most New York personal injury cases, there is a three-year statute of limitations, meaning that you have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. If you miss that deadline, you can be prohibited from suing. In medical malpractice cases, however, the statute of limitations is only 2 and… Read More »
Court Reverses Itself Over Cow in Road Could Dog Bites Be Far Behind?
Last April we reported on the case of Doerr v. Goldsmith, where the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court refused to hold a dog owner liable for calling her dog to run across a Central Park road, despite a shouted warning from an oncoming bicyclist, who could not avoid colliding with the… Read More »
Court Doesn’t Care What Caused Accident: Holds New York Liable for Construction Worker’s Injury Under State’s Scaffold Law
A recent case in the New York State Court of Claims illustrates how an employer – in this case, the state of New York – can be held absolutely liable for a violation of New York labor law that leads to an injury, without the injured worker having to prove who was at fault,… Read More »
Mineola Auto Accident Case Sheds Light On Comparative Negligence
In some auto accidents, it is possible for both drivers to be partly at fault in causing the accident. In these cases, New York law follows a rule of pure comparative negligence. This rule allows a jury to assign a percentage of the total fault to each driver. A plaintiff who is found to… Read More »
Times Square Hotel Ironworker Shocked by Violations of Safety Regulations
Even without a trial, a judge has ruled that the owner and contractor on a New York City construction project are liable as a matter of law for the injuries sustained by an ironworker who received multiple electric shocks while bolting up the roof on a Times Square hotel construction project. Matthew Buckley was… Read More »
Federal Court Rules New York Stop-and-Frisk Search Policy Violates Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to U.S. Constitution
On August 12, federal judge Shira Scheindlin released her opinion in the case of Floyd v. City of New York, holding that the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional. Along with the 198-page opinion, the judge also filed a separate 39-page Remedies Opinion in which she issued an injunction against the NYPD,… Read More »
Californians Try to Raise Medical Malpractice Damages Caps, New Yorkers Try to Keep Them Out
The California legislature first put a cap on noneconomic damages (pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases in 1975, with the passage of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). Under MICRA, a person cannot receive more than $250,000 for pain and suffering caused by a doctor’s medical negligence or incompetence, regardless of the… Read More »
New York Scaffold Safety Law Under Attack in Legislature
New York’s so-called scaffold law protects construction workers from the hazards of working on heights and applies to ladder falls as well as scaffolds or any elevation-related accident. The scaffold law can be found in several sections of the New York Labor Code, such as sections 240, 241, and 241A. These provisions apply to… Read More »
Defense Puts Injured Plaintiff on Trial in NYC Personal Injury Lawsuit
Let’s say you are walking down the street near a building undergoing renovation when a piece of the building falls down and hits you on the head. You sue the people you believe are responsible and seek compensation for your injuries, which include orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injury, memory loss, emotional injuries, cognitive impairment,… Read More »
