New York Personal Injury Law Blog

Construction worker injured while working on New York bridge

When a person works on a construction site in New York City, there can be a certain amount of risk of injury from defective equipment, disregard of safety and improper handling of tools. Often, an injury received on a worksite can be a serious one, preventing the person from working for an extended period of time. For example a crush injury may require months spent in a hospital and while workers’ compensation will help with some of the care and loss of income, it may not cover everything.

This is likely the scenario facing a 46-year-old construction worker who was flown to a hospital after he was injured on a New York bridge. The details of the accident were not available but he was there as part of a repainting project for the bridge. This is the second accident to happen at the bridge and a safety review will be performed before the project continues. 

Multiple people injured in gas explosion at New York college

Dangerous property conditions cause dozens of accidents each year and while some may have been hidden, others were simply ignored. Property managers and owners are responsible for making sure that their buildings, grounds and other systems are properly maintained so that accidents don’t happen. Inadequate lighting, issues with foundations and other matters should be immediately addressed and the proper actions taken. When owners and managers fail in this responsibility, victims have the right to use the court system to obtain justice.

The causes and circumstances are unknown for a gas explosion that occurred recently at Nyack College in New York. It is also unknown if the explosion happened from a pipe, a heater or some other source but seven people are reportedly injured according to one account. No fatalities have been reported but home residents in the vicinity were asked to evacuate because of high gas levels. 

Motel sued for premises liability after fatal fire

Often, dangerous property conditions are easy to see, especially when a sidewalk has been damaged, tree branches are hanging precariously or a beam appears to be loose. However, there are some situations where the danger is not in a physical problem but rather in negligence on the part of the property owner in New York City to provide a safe escape in the instance of fire or some type of natural disaster. In such cases, victims may be able to hold a property owner responsible through a premises liability lawsuit.

Distracted driving a problem for many teens

Once a teenager turns that magical age of 16, they feel that they have reached that transition to adulthood with a driver’s license, but many teen drivers often cause accidents because of distractions like their cell phone, conversations, and even stereos and dash electronics. Distracted driving is a problem that exists for many drivers but teenagers often have the attitude that they are invincible, making it difficult to convince them that they can’t handle the demands of driving along with the demands of their incoming texts and phone calls.

A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that driver distraction is a common problem for many teen drivers. While this may not be surprising, given the fact that teens tend to be glued to their mobile devices, the survey did show that 45 percent of students out of 8,505 surveyed admitted texting while driving, which should alert parents to the real dangers and risks of their child causing an accident in which someone is seriously injured or killed. It is important for teens to avoid cell phone use while driving and to understand the consequences, should they cause an accident.

What to be aware of when dealing with a nursing home

While the ideal situation for older New York residents would be to remain in their home, this is not always possible due to their health and financial situation. In such a case, the only option may be to put a loved one in a nursing home and it is important to be aware of any signs of nursing home neglect or abuse. These signs can be bed sores, dehydration, cleanliness, or even malnutrition problems.

Several studies have been conducted to analyze the treatment that older Americans receive in nursing homes and these studies have led to a list of concerns that families should have. One of these concerns is the use of psychoactive medications on patients; a study revealed that many residents receive these types of drugs as a form of discipline. Another concern is physical restraints, which are only legally allowed in situations where the patient’s medical condition or treatment calls for it. 

Liability applicable for loose cows, New York court says

People in New York have a general understanding that if they suffer an injury on private property, caused by negligence on the owner’s part, they have grounds for a lawsuit against that owner. It is even understood that a dog bite or attack also fits under a liability for the property owner, even if the dog somehow escaped from its yard. What is not so clear when it comes to premise liability is if the same statute can be applied to animals that escape and cause accidents.

A woman filed a lawsuit against property owners in North Bangor after she hit a cow that was standing on the road at night. The lawsuit claimed that the owners were negligent in allowing the cow to escape and therefore should be liable for her injuries from the accident. The New York Court of Appeals agreed with the woman, giving her the legal right to move forward with her lawsuit after it was denied by the lower courts.

Failure to put emphasis on safety cause of injuries to workers

When workers rush into an area that has been devastated through a natural disaster or other large-scale event, often there is a feeling of urgency to rebuild and give people back their homes and businesses. However, in the rush to get things done, sometimes construction workers end up injured, putting a further delay on projects. Defective equipment, disregard of safety rules and other issues unnecessarily put workers in harm’s way. Back injuries can prevent a worker from providing for their family and have been known to cause a lifetime of pain and discomfort.

Queens car accident involving auto shop leaves 1 dead, 2 injured

When a car accident occurs, one factor that law enforcement looks for is a sign of distracted driving. Queens is an extremely busy community and it can be easy for a driver to be distracted by their cell phone, fatigue, a beautiful sports car or a pedestrian. Driver distraction can happen at any time so it is important for people to eliminate as many distractions as they can. This may involve turning off the cell phone, avoiding playing with a radio and keeping one's eyes on the road at all times.

An investigation of an accident that recently occurred in Queens may show that a driver was distracted by something at the time. For currently unknown reasons, a car ended up in an auto-body shop after it collided with another vehicle. The impact from the force resulted in the death of one of the shop's workers, a 33-year-old man.

New York construction worker reaches settlement in injury lawsuit

Scaffolding accidents can result in some pretty serious injuries because the victim usually falls more than a few feet. It therefore falls upon the construction company managers to ensure that scaffolds are secured and safe before they allow their construction workers to stand on them. When scaffolds give way, workers can suffer back injuries that result in permanent disability, preventing them from returning to work or being able to support their families.

A carpenter was working on a commercial building in East Amherst and needed to take some measurements for a wall on the second floor. He stood on what he thought was plywood and crashed 14 feet down. Instead of plywood, someone had put particle board over an opening, which was unable to support his weight. The accident paralyzed him, preventing him from moving into a new career opportunity and working.

Coroner checking for nursing home neglect after death

While many nursing homes in New York City strive to give their patients the best care possible, the job of caring for someone who needs constant attention can be draining physically, emotionally and mentally. At times, staff may grow negligent in their responsibilities, committing overmedication errors, failing to make sure that the patient eats the right foods or even allowing them to hurt themselves. In some cases, nursing home neglect may even go undetected when the patient dies, especially if the coroner isn't looking for signs of neglect or abuse.

A county coroner is actively conducting an investigation when a nursing home patient dies to make sure that they were not victims of abuse or neglect. The idea is to promote awareness and prevention rather than try and catch a nursing home that has mistreated a patient. However, if the coroner does find evidence of neglect as he has in past cases, he will likely make sure that someone else knows about it to protect the other residents in the home.