Category Archives:News

Welcome to the news from the New York Injury Lawyer blog. Here we present interesting and relevant news stories involving our areas of specialty, including personal injuries, slip and falls, medical malpractice and brain injury claims. Have an interesting injury story? Tell us.
September 29, 2021 News
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Can construction companies convince New York to repeal essential work safety law?‎

New York – Labor laws are designed and passed to protect workers from work accident injuries. The ‎New York State Labor Law 240 is one such law that was written to prevent work-related injury by ‎requiring basic safety protocols and equipment for at-risk employees. Specifically, this so-called ‎‎“scaffold law” was an answer to a well-known and specific problem of construction accidents due to ‎hazardous conditions at work. However, some companies within the construction industry are ‎attempting to have lawmakers cancel the law in an effort for them to make more money. The goal and ‎specifics of the law were to require employers in construction companies to provide safety training ‎and equipment, such as harnesses, hard hat helmets, protective goggles and the like. The most ‎pressing of safety issues in construction sites is that of trip and fall accidents, especially a fall from a ‎height at work. These types of work accidents are common, especially in the dangerous confines of an ‎active construction zone.‎

When an employee reports that he fell at work or suffered some kind of on-the-job injury, the ‎employer should immediately investigate what went wrong that led to the work injury and what must ‎be done to prevent something similar in the future. Unfortunately, some bosses just care about ‎making money and simply refuse to buy expensive safety equipment. Others half-heartedly provide ‎some equipment but don’t provide the essential required training in the use and inspection of the ‎equipment. Many workers have complained that improper or negligent maintenance of safety ‎equipment is an even bigger problem than not providing the safety gear. They note that higher levels ‎of risk in dangerous situations may be taken while relying on the protection gear to operate properly. ‎However, when the gear breaks or malfunctions, the consequences can be devastating, including slip ‎and falls, head injury, spinal injury, nerve damage and even wrongful death. Read more about this ‎scaffold safety law as well as the attempts to cancel it here.‎

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Jnzl’s Photos [License]

September 26, 2021 News
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Horse carriage versus car accident on New York City’s streets

New York – The dangers of slow moving horse drawn carriages using the same streets as fast moving ‎cars has become much more apparent this week. A car crash involving a horse pulled wagon took ‎place in Midtown Manhattan. Differing accounts of the accident have created some confusion as to ‎who caused the collision with injuries. Some have noted that the car was possibly speeding or reckless ‎driving. Witnesses have reported that the car slammed into the side of the horse and wagon causing ‎the horse to trip and fall and suffer serious injuries. However, another account of the accident explains ‎that the horse charged into the car and then collapsed. In any event, this horse accident has brought ‎to the forefront about the dangers of having horses on public city streets. Some have charged that ‎such a dangerous situation is intolerable and can be expected to lead to accidents and injuries or even ‎possible wrongful death. This includes the dangers not only to drivers and passengers in cars and in the ‎carriage but also pedestrians, bicyclists and the horses themselves. According to officials, this horse ‎was actually on his first day on the job at the time of the work accident. This raises the question about ‎whether or not the horse and driver of the carriage had sufficient safety training before starting work. ‎See this article for more about this collision.‎

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Public domain via Greenville Daily Photo [License]

August 30, 2021 News
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Queens car accident leaves one woman dead and mutiple injury victims

New York – The Van Wyck Expressway was the scene of a deadly hit-and-run car crash one late night this month. An elderly woman was a rear passenger of a car that was struck by another ‎vehicle, leaving her with fatal injuries. Her vehicle was hit from behind by an SUV during the high ‎speed motor vehicle accident (MVA) that ultimately involved three cars. The rear-end accident also ‎caused multiple accident victims to suffer injuries of varying degrees. To make matters worse, the ‎reckless driver that caused the collision fled the scene on foot after hitting a guardrail and crashing ‎onto another road. Police believe that the driver of that SUV was speeding and possibly could have ‎been a drunk driver. The driver of the car that was rear-ended was also evaluated for injuries from the ‎accident. However, at least two more crash victims from a third vehicle involved in the same accident ‎were taken to the hospital with wounds according to reports. There are more details about this hit-‎and-run crash and other recent deadly New York City MVAs available at this site.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Carlos Ebert [License]

August 24, 2021 News
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Bus crash on New York State Thruway with multiple injuries

New York – Multiple accident victims have suffered a wide range of injuries during a tour bus accident. The bus crash occurred as ‎the bus exited the highway and rolled over and finally came to rest on its side, causing injuries to ‎nearly 60 victims. Officials say that all injury victims were rushed to the hospital and treated for ‎wounds that include spinal injuries, head injury with possible traumatic brain injury (TBI), broken ‎bones and internal bleeding. At least a few of the rollover accident victims suffered severe or even life ‎threatening injuries. Others suffered wounds that can lead to potential long term or even permanent ‎disability according to specialists. Photos from the crash scene show extensive damage to the sides ‎and roof of the bus as well as broken windows and glass. The cause of the bus collision is still under ‎investigation, including the possibility of reckless driving, speeding or even question of negligence. This ‎article shares more about this NYS Thruway bus motor vehicle crash.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Nate Cull [License]

July 29, 2021 News
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Suffolk County boy suffers facial injuries in horrific fireworks accident

New York – A young teenage boy suffered a serious injury when he was suddenly hit in the face by fireworks. ‎Reports show that the boy suffered severe facial injuries during the accident after a set of illegal ‎fireworks were fired in his direction. It is unclear as to where and how the group of teens obtained ‎the dangerous fireworks. However, police are investigating to determine if negligence or neglect ‎played a role in this accident with injuries. Doctors say that the boy was brought to the trauma center ‎at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island for emergency care. He was determined to have ‎suffered significant burn injuries as well as other damage from his wounds. Specialists say that such ‎an injury can also cause broken bones, head injury and even traumatic brain injury (TBI). The accident ‎victim was hospitalized due to his injuries but it is unclear whether he suffered a TBI. Residents in ‎the area complain that dangerous amounts of fireworks were fired off and some are outraged that ‎police and parents did not do more to prevent this tragedy. See this article for ‎further details about these fireworks injuries. ‎

Illustrative Photo Credit: MilitaryHealth [License]

July 13, 2021 News
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Injured worker in grocery store machinery accident

New York – Fire Department rescuers responded to a call for a man with his arm caught inside of a ‎meat grinder machine in a horrific accident. Witnesses say that the worker in the meat department was ‎operating the meat grinder when his shirt sleeve became caught by the machine. The machine then ‎pulled the man’s arm into the grinding machine by the entangled shirt. The first responder rescue ‎team had to disassemble the machine in order to extricate the work injury victim while medical ‎responders stabilized his condition to the best of their abilities. Paramedics explain that he suffered a ‎serious arm injury including lacerations of soft tissue and muscle as well as possible nerve damage and ‎laceration of blood vessels. In addition, there was concern regarding broken bones from the accident. ‎The injured accident victim was rushed to the emergency room trauma center for additional care. ‎Investigators are looking into whether proper training and safety gear was provided to the worker for ‎this specific machine. Also, machine maintenance records will need to be reviewed to ensure that ‎proper repairs were performed and preventative maintenance was up-to-date. Trauma and worker’s ‎compensation experts note that negligent maintenance can sometimes lead to similar devastating ‎accidents and injuries for workers. This article shares more details about this horrific work accident.‎

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Chuck D [License]

June 30, 2021 News
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Ferry accident in Brooklyn blamed on equipment failure

New York – A private ferry boat accident occurred when the boat ran aground this past ‎weekend. Reports show that the ship was filled with over 100 people when it suffered a steering ‎failure and the engine was apparently unresponsive. Luckily the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) ‎emergency responders were able to located the damaged vessel quickly and rescue the passengers. ‎Officials say that at least one person on board the boat crash suffered injuries. That injury victim was ‎taken to the hospital for emergency evaluation. It is unclear if any other accident victims sought ‎medical care after being rescued. Boat and sailing safety experts say that there have been several ‎boating accidents in New York over the past few months. Transportation and boat safety Investigators ‎will need to examine the maintenance logs and safety protocols followed by the ferry company in ‎order to determine if any negligent maintenance could have helped lead to this boat crash. See this ‎article for more about these ferry crash.‎

Photo of unassociated ship for illustrative purposes only. Photo credit:‎ -EZEK [License]

June 18, 2021 News
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Electric scooter accident kills actress in Manhattan

New York – Several days after being hit by a scooter, a famous actress was pronounced dead from her ‎accident injuries. The accident victim was crossing the street when she was ‎struck by the electric vehicle, causing her to suffer multiple critical injuries. Witnesses to the motor ‎vehicle versus pedestrian accident note that the driver of the scooter fled the scene of the scooter ‎crash. Police explain that the hit-and-run accident is still under investigation as details are gathered and ‎the search for the possibly reckless driver continues. It is unclear if this electric scooter collision ‎involved speeding or even drunk driving and these remain open questions for investigators. The ‎pedestrian struck was taken by ambulance to the hospital where she was treated in the emergency ‎department and admitted due to critical injuries. Unfortunately, despite extensive efforts and surgical ‎procedures, the woman died of injuries that she has sustained in the vehicle crash. See this article for more details about this hit-and-run accident involving a ‎motor scooter.‎

Photo of electric scooter for illustrative purposes only. This is not the scooter involved in the accident. Photo Credit: LHOON [License]

June 02, 2021 News
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Police officers injured in Sunset Park elevator accident

New York – Over twenty New York Police Department (NYPD) and federal law enforcement officers ‎were involved in an elevator collapse accident while at work. The on-the-job accident occurred ‎when the team of police officers and personnel were possibly moving equipment into the building. ‎The elevator apparently suffered an equipment malfunction when it suddenly collapsed down to the ‎basement level. Officials will need to look over maintenance records to determine if negligent ‎maintenance could have contributed to this accident with injuries. Extensive safety devices and ‎protocols are in place to ensure that such an elevator accident doesn’t occur. However, proper upkeep ‎is necessary to ensure that public safety is protected. Specifics of injuries suffered during this work ‎accident are unclear but at least one police officer was transported to the emergency department. He ‎was suffering with a back injury and he was taken by ambulance for treatment. Ambulance, paramedic ‎and rescue personnel rushed to the scene and described the events. Concern has been raised about ‎additional spinal injuries or occult fractures and even internal bleeding and injuries. Accident specialists ‎explain that an accident at work already raises significant concerns but an injured worker in law ‎enforcement includes additional problems that can add to injury and disability. The weapons and ‎extensive equipment that is carried by a cop or other enforcement agent can cause injuries and even ‎difficulty in functioning when trying to return to work. See this article for ‎additional information about this work related elevator accident.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Bob B. Brown [License]‎

May 11, 2021 News
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Faulty product recall: Popular treadmill indicated in personal injuries and one death

The New York Times is reporting that the Peloton company has issued a product recall on their treadmills after apparently initially refusing requests to do so by federal agencies. According to records, this applies to specific models of the Tread and Tread+ treadmills that were associated with quite a few product injury related claims. At least one of those accident injury cases involved a child that suffered fatal injuries after he fell and was pulled underneath the treadmill. Officials say that the child was just six years old at the time when he was killed in the treadmill accident. They note that this is a well-described type of treadmill injury that is well known to manufacturers of exercise equipment. In addition, this specific treadmill has been associated with a different type of accident where the heavy video screen console can collapse and fall on to someone below. Faulty product liability specialists say that special care must be taken during the design, manufacturing, labeling and marketing of exercise equipment like treadmills to prevent unnecessary personal injury or even wrongful death. The company who manufacturers and markets the Tread+ treadmill has expressed its regret for not listening to advice and requests to recall the potentially dangerous devices earlier. While they seem to have admitted to making a mistake in this area, it must be determined if any further injuries or deaths were suffered by the public during this delay. You can find out more about these treadmill injuries here.

Photo image for illustrative purposes only. Picture Credit: Ron Gilbert Peloton at CES [License]