Recent Blog Posts
NYPD Stop and Frisk Data Under Fire
Every time a New York City police officer stops and questions a person on the street, the police department Patrol Guide requires the officer to transfer the individual’s personal information to Form UF-250, the NYPD’s Stop, Question and Frisk worksheet. Since 2006, this information has been compiled into a centralized database, which according to… Read More »
Comptroller Liu Recommends Fixes to Decrease NYC Motor Vehicle Accidents
In the recent Claims Report issued by the City of New York Office of the Comptroller for fiscal year 2012, City Comptroller John C. Liu reports that NYC paid out nearly $486 million in tort claims for the year. Over $75,000,000, or 16% of the total, went for motor vehicle accidents. As the Chief… Read More »
NYPD Accused of Racial Profiling in Stop and Frisk
A federal trial concerning the “Stop, Question and Frisk” policy of the New York City Police Department concluded in May, and a decision is expected soon. The two-month trial of Floyd v. City of New York began on March 18 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York with… Read More »
Recalls of Defective and Dangerous Drugs are Frequent and Ongoing
There are three different ways in which a recall can occur: a voluntary recall initiated by the drug company; a voluntary recall at the request of the FDA; or a mandatory recall required by the FDA. Drug recalls are classified into one of three classes according to the level of danger posed by the… Read More »
Parked Cars and Pit Bulls A Lesson in Liability
As a woman walked by a parked car (parked illegally in a no-parking zone) at a gas station/convenience store, a pit bull stuck its head out an open window and bit the woman on the breast. The injured woman (Reyes) sued the owner’s insurance company (GEICO), which offered to settle the case for $25,000,… Read More »
New York City Restaurant Agrees to Pay $600,000 to Settle Same-Sex Harassment Lawsuit
Earlier this year, Sparks Steak House in Manhattan agreed to pay $600,000 to settle charges brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging sexual harassment of 22 male workers by a male supervisor. The lawsuit in EEOC v. Michael Cetta, Inc. d/b/a Sparks Steak House alleges that the floor manager, or maître… Read More »
Actual Notice of Hazard Leads to Record New York Damage Award
Last week this blog reported on the case of Fama v. NYC, where a Department of Sanitation worker could not recover for his slip-and-fall injury because he could not prove that the City knew about the dangerous condition (a puddle of oil on the garage floor) yet failed to correct it in a reasonable… Read More »
Highway Construction and Fuel on the Floor
A couple of personal injury lawsuits against New York City were recently resolved in the courts. One case resulted in a jury award of $7.25 million for the injured plaintiff and his wife. In the other case, the court refused to hold the City liable for its worker’s on-the-job injury. Lack of Signage Causes… Read More »
Court Determines Mishandling of Teen’s Corpse Only Worth $600,000, Despite Jury’s Million-Dollar Verdict
New York Public Health Law provides that every body of a deceased person is entitled to a decent burial or cremation within a reasonable time after death. Section 4215 in particular addresses the remains of a body after an autopsy dissection has been performed and requires that these remains be buried as well. In… Read More »
Doctor Misdiagnoses Man with Terminal Brain Cancer
Mark Templin was given a bleak diagnosis from his physician, Dr. Patrick Morrow – he was informed that he had terminal brain cancer, and had only months to live. Templin didn’t question the diagnosis. He quit his job, sold his pickup truck, and made prearranged funeral plans. Templin celebrated what he thought would be… Read More »
