New York — A man was hit by a car and severely injured three days ago on a New York City street, while standing against a parked van. The accident victim was apparently leaning against the livery van when a car crashed into him. Reports show that the injured man is 53 years old and has been hospitalized for his accident injuries. A New York City personal injury law firm points out that several streets in Queens have a high rate of pedestrian accidents. The city’s Department of Transportation has apparently started to address some of these trouble spots in order to reduce the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities caused by road engineering issues. Some pedestrian and motorist advocates question why the city waits for people to be injured or killed before they correct dangerous engineering problems. They note that visibility issues and safety signs, for example, should be dealt with well in advance in order to prevent the hazardous condition. In one recent case, a pedestrian woman was walking near an intersection and was hit by a school bus that hit the curb after a car accident. Public safety advocates wonder if better road and sidewalk design or metal barriers near the intersection should have been installed to protect people walking in the high-traffic area. Read up here for more projects that the New York City Department of Transportation is working on to promote safety.

New York — Officials report that four separate subway accident cases killed four victims on a single Saturday in January 2012. This has many citizen and transit advocates concerned. They feel these injuries and wrongful deaths highlight the dangerous condition posed by many subway stations and tracks throughout New York City. Each of these incidents involved different trains and stations, which some believe is a testament to the many hazardous conditions that exist in the city’s mass transit system. Advocates say that the Manhattan Transit Authority (MTA), that runs the system should install safety gates or fences at dangerous subway stations to prevent these injuries and deaths. A top New York injury lawyer explained that a subway train accident can include anything from a slip and fall, to being grazed by the side of a passing train and up to being hit by a train. Many subway accident injuries occur when the victim trips in a gap between the platform and the floor of the subway car. Other injury victims are hurt when train doors close prematurely and crush the passenger. Experts note that the types of injuries can vary greatly and can leave some victims permanently injured or even disabled. Some of these injured victims need the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer in order to help them obtain needed medical treatment, file an injury lawsuit or file for disability. Families of train accident victims who are killed may need the help of an attorney who specializes in wrongful death lawsuits. You can find out more about these recent train accident deaths here.

Investigators have identified headphones as a significant cause of preventable injury. Research on the causes and preventions of accident, injury and death has shown that distractions of various sorts can increase the odds of being involved in an accident. This, for example, is one of the reasons most states have a law against driving while talking on a cell phone without using a hands-free device. In fact, some accident experts contend that the use of cell phones even while using a headset is still distracting drivers and causes accidents or motor vehicle crashes. However, recent research also shows that pedestrians who walk while wearing headphones are also distracted and are more likely to be involved in an accident or be injured. This is especially true, according to the investigators, when wearing headphones in areas with moving vehicles – such as roadways, parking lots, construction zones or other work areas. Accident types caused by headphone use can include a car accident, bicycle accident, construction accident, slip and fall or even a work injury. No differences were reported in types of headphones or reason the pedestrian was wearing them. Headphones are commonly worn by pedestrians and bicyclists when listening to MP3 or MP4 players, CD players or walkmans and with cell phones. Some safety experts say that better quality headsets are more dangerous due to their ability to block out outside noise. Some accidents and injuries can be avoided if the person can hear a screech, bang or even the approach of a car before a motor vehicle crash. An accident lawyer in New York explains that many accidents are caused by inattention and this remains an important area of research. Read more about this recent research on pedestrian accidents here.

New York — A school bus accident in Jamaica, Queens injured several accident victims after a car crashed into the bus. Reports show that the car may have run through a red light, causing the bus crash. Police and ambulance crews treated at least six victims of the crash, including a pedestrian that was struck by the bus after the car hit it. Witnesses say the bus was pushed onto the curb, struck the pedestrian and then hit a wall. The car accident victims were taken to New York City hospitals in the area for treatment of their injuries. Investigators were brought to the scene of the motor vehicle accident to help determine the cause of the accident. They spoke with witnesses as well as the drivers of the car and bus to help determine if there was any negligence that caused the accident. Some residents voiced concerns regarding the safety of that intersection, noting that there have been other car accidents there as well. Safety and road engineers are normally tasked with determining if further warning signals are necessary to make the area safe. However, an accident lawyer in New York City explains that the city sometimes doesn’t take action until someone is seriously injured. Further investigation about the safety of the intersection and who was at-fault in the accident will be necessary to determine more details. Find out more details about this bus accident here.

A recent study published from the United States Department of Health and Human Services shows that as many as 86% of hospital errors that cause harm to Medicare patients are not reported. The report notes that hospitals are required to have reporting mechanisms in place but many doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers may not even know when to use them. Officials say that better training and protocols are necessary to ensure proper usage of these medical error reporting systems. Some healthcare workers have explained that the reason they don’t report some medical mistakes is because they believe some of the adverse events were normal side effects of a treatment or just so common that there was no reason to report it. However, the concern of some patient advocates is that hospital administrators and healthcare workers may be trying to avoid reporting their mistakes because they are worried about a medical malpractice lawsuit. Advocates say that the point of reporting medical errors is to improve patient safety and care in the long-term by allowing analysis of what goes wrong in the hospital that leads to mistakes. However, some doctors and nurses may see it as something that is embarrassing and are afraid of being blamed for a wrongful death or negligence. A top medical malpractice lawyer in New York explained that some patients aren’t even sure what caused their injury, illness or complication that may be attributable to a doctor’s mistake or nurse’s error. Some of these patients require an advocate, such as an attorney, who can investigate the situation and help discover the facts. Read about how an experienced medical malpractice attorney successfully recovered millions of dollars in compensation for victims of physician malpractice and failure to diagnose an infection. Find out more about the recent report on reporting of hospital mistakes here.

New York — Reports show that an elevator repair company in New York City has eight accident lawsuits pending against it. The negligence lawsuits stem from unrelated accidents that caused eight different victims to become injured due to the elevators. This is the same elevator maintenance company that had worked on an elevator in Manhattan only hours before a woman was crushed to death by the elevator. The woman’s apparent wrongful death occurred when the elevator suddenly shot upwards and crushed her between the floor of the car and the top of the doorway. An eyewitness to the accident filed a lawsuit, contending that she suffers from a form of post traumatic stress disorder, fearing personal injury in elevators now. Records show that amongst the other personal injury lawsuits filed against the maintenance company is a man who fell into an elevator shaft when the doors opened but no car was there. Another accident occurred when the elevator doors opened with the floor of the car well above the entrance, causing the accident victim to slip and fall. Yet a third injury victim was crushed by elevator doors that slammed closed, trapping the man between them. Further investigation is ongoing to determine if the elevator repairman or owners are at-fault due to any negligent maintenance.

New York — The City of New York is still battling personal injury lawsuits and from last year’s blizzard. The snow and ice storm took many days to clean up and reportedly left many people injured by various types of accidents, including slip and fall accidents, tripping on improperly shoveled snow, and icy sidewalk hazardous conditions. Some injuries stemmed from a car accident due to the ice. Nearly 1,200 lawsuits were filed against New York City following the snow storm, claiming the city was negligent in not properly and quickly plowing, shoveling and removing dangerous ice and snow. According to the city’s records, it has paid close to $2 Million in lawsuit settlements and judgments against it. Many observers have noted that the city acted negligently even before the storm by not preparing equipment and not issuing proper safety warnings to the public. Public advocates hope that this experience and the subsequent negligence lawsuits will push the city and building owners to think ahead to protect the public. They say that the storm last year will set a precedence for the importance and the liability for those who don’t properly shovel, plow and salt areas under their responsibility. Catch more details about the winter blizzard and subsequent accident lawsuit here.

New York — A woman was fatally injured in an elevator accident in a Manhattan, NY office building last week. The accident victim was getting into the elevator car when it suddenly moved upward and crushed her. Police reported that the injured woman worked in the office building where the elevator injury occurred. According to witnesses and video cameras, the elevator doors were opened when the car started to move, trapping the victim between the elevator floor and top of the doorway. Investigators were continuing their investigation into the horrible accident to determine if there was any foreseeable hazardous condition or negligence that led to the woman’s wrongful death. Two other people were injured on the elevator and were taken to New York University Medical Center’s emergency room for treatment of their injuries. A New York City accident lawyer noted that the building’s elevators had been cited multiple times over the past several years for code violations. In addition, reports say that the elevator had been worked on recently and this may have contributed to the cause of the accident. Negligent repair maintenance is being investigated but further research would be necessary to determine specifics regarding the cause and who may have been at fault in this woman’s death. You can catch updated details about this deadly elevator accident here.

New York — A woman was struck by a garbage truck and killed during the accident last week. The accident occurred in Brooklyn, New York as the victim was crossing the street in the early evening. Reports show that the accident victim was from Long Island, New York and was in college in New York City. Police were investigating the sanitation truck accident but did not believe the any criminal charges would be filed. A New York City personal injury lawyer noted that the fact that police were not recording criminal charges does not mean a personal injury lawsuit could not be filed. In fact, many car accidents, including a pedestrian accident like this one, can be caused by negligence even when not specifically criminal in nature. A full investigation would be necessary to determine if the garbage truck driver or the owner of the truck, in this case the City of New York, acted in a negligent manner that could have caused the deadly accident. Some accident investigations require a private investigator to determine details about the cause of the crash. Pedestrian accidents like this can be caused by driver inattention, equipment failure from improper maintenance, or even human error. Catch more details about this truck accident here.

New York — Shoppers across the country, from New York to California, were injured during the Black Friday mad rush. Two women were injured in a popular discount retail store in New York during a fight, while 20 shoppers were injured in a store in California. Reports show that the injuries ranged in severity. Many public safety advocates warn that the dangers caused by Black Friday sales are increasing and should be taken seriously. Some note that the large stores who create the dangerous condition are doing so recklessly. A top New York personal injury lawyer explained that a Black Friday injury may be due to negligence on the part of the owners and management of stores that do not properly prepare ahead of time. This may include the need for extra security staff, longer hours, and better planning of the layout of a store. Negligent actions on the part of the store can easily lead to a serious injuries and even a personal injury lawsuit from the victim. Store owners can no longer claim that the sudden onslaught of customers and the subsequent injuries were a surprise because this is an annual occurrence on Black Friday. A person being injured in a store on this day should be anticipated and prevented, say many consumer advocates. In fact, several wrongful death cases have been attributed to the dangerous frenzy created by these sales. Only several years ago a New York worker was killed when he was crushed by a stampede of customers. Find out more about the injured shoppers here.