Category Archives: General Personal Injury
“No Special Duty” Court Dismisses Wrongful Death Lawsuit Despite Unheeded 911 Calls to New York City Police
Back in 2008, a 90-year old Staten Island man died shortly after being mauled in his backyard by a couple of pit bulls which belonged to his neighbors. In the three months prior to the attack, nine separate 911 calls had been made by neighbors about unleashed dogs roaming the neighborhood. Based on the… Read More »
New York City and State Officials Caught Up in Sexual Harassment Claims
Two notable sexual harassment cases are currently in the news. New York State Assemblyman Vito Lopez has lost his leadership position in the Assembly and may eventually face criminal charges, while a New York City Police Department Deputy Chief is defending himself in a civil lawsuit brought in federal court in Brooklyn. New York… Read More »
Class Action Lawsuit filed by the United States Against New York City Regarding Rights of Police Officers Following Return from Military Service
Earlier this month, the United States filed a class action lawsuit against the City of New York for violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, commonly known as USERRA. USERRA is a federal law guaranteeing certain employment rights to National Guard and other military servicemembers who are called into… Read More »
Fatal Fall in Manhattan Apartment Building Stairwell Ruled Accidental
The death of a young woman in a Manhattan apartment building earlier this week has been ruled accidental. Carlisle Brigham, 29, was found bleeding from her neck in a stairwell of an apartment building on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Her death was apparently caused by a fall down the marble stairs. This story has… Read More »
Vehicle Rollover Accident Causes Serious Injuries, Death
In a horrific car crash on the Van Wyck July 29, two children and three adults were killed, and three others injured, when the 2008 Mercedes Benz SUV they were traveling in slammed into a concrete pillar or pole, flipped over several times, and then caught fire. While speed was likely the main factor… Read More »
Governor Signs New York Cyberbullying Act into Law
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 9 signed into law a measure aimed at reducing bullying and cyberbullying of children both inside and outside of schools. This law requires school employees to report incidents of cyberbullying or online harassment which they observe or otherwise learn about. Teachers will also be trained to identify… Read More »
Evidence Spoiled by Surgery?
In a lengthy opinion that is sure to generate considerable debate and controversy, a judge earlier this week in the Queens County case of Mangione v. Jacobs et al. ruled that a plaintiff who underwent spinal surgery damaged her personal injury case by doing so, holding that the operation “spoiled evidence” of her injury… Read More »
Demolish With Care
In March of this year, a construction worker died and two others were injured in a building collapse in downtown New York City. The building, a century-old, two-storey warehouse in a West Harlem neighborhood in Manhattan, was being demolished as part of a planned expansion project for Columbia University. Obviously, although the building was… Read More »
Deaths, Injuries Result from Construction Accident while “Jumping the Crane”
No, it’s not the latest extreme sport, although it does have a high element of danger and requires plenty of safety gear and equipment. “Jumping the crane” refers to adding sections to a crane to make it taller. If not done correctly, a section of the crane can come loose and fall from a… Read More »
Spate of Bus Crashes Around the Globe Kill Many and Injure Many More
Gospic, Croatia, June 23 – Perhaps the bus driver fell asleep in the early morning hours last Sunday, as eyewitnesses noticed the bus “swaying” moments before it crashed through metal barriers dividing the highway and overturned in the opposite lane. The bus was carrying a group of Czech tourists, of whom at least eight… Read More »