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Tag Archives: traumatic brain injury

Serious injuries including a traumatic brain injury in Queens car accident

New York – Two cars collided in a horrific motor vehicle accident (MVA) in Queens, leaving three injury victims. The first vehicle was being driven by an off-duty police officer when the second vehicle broad-sided him at an intersection, according to reports. His car then struck parked cars and slammed into a telephone poll. The poll cracked and then collapsed according to witnesses. The vehicle then caught on fire and fire rescue was dispatched to the accident scene. It is unclear whether or not the cop was wearing a seatbelt, however, he was ejected from the car during the impact. This raised a question of a safety equipment malfunction during the MVA. Emergency first responders explain that they found the injured driver on the street suffering from a traumatic brain injury and neck injury. Spinal injuries in this context present a special difficulty in treating patients with a serious head injury according to doctors. The other two accident victims from the second car suffered less serious injuries. However, they will require additional testing to determine the nature and extent of their wounds. Trauma specialists note that some accident-related injuries can start out as appearing not serious but eventually develop into chronic pain or even permanent disability ones over time. This can especially be true if the wounds are ignored or not picked up on early enough. See this article for additional information regarding this Queens car crash.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo credit: Joel Kramer [License]

Queens bus accident injures passengers

New York – MTA transit officials report that a New York City bus was involved in a bus crash this week. The motor vehicle accident (MVA) occurred when a car collided together with the bus. The force of the car accident caused the bus driver to apparently lose control. The bus jumped the curb and crashed into a wall. Multiple passengers in the bus were thrown about and fell during the collision. Trauma doctors note that this type of mechanism of injury increases the types and severity of injuries that can be suffered during the crash. They note that there are primary, secondary and tertiary impacts that can lead to carious injuries such as spinal injury, head injury with traumatic brain injury, broken bones or fractures and internal organ damage. This latter category can include liver laceration or a spleen laceration with internal bleeding or even a tension pneumothorax that can be life threatening. The other car involved in the car crash had most of the front of the vehicle ripped right off and crushed. Specifics about the injuries suffered by the accident victims are not available at the time of this report. You can see this article for more details about this MVA with injuries.

Image of bus accident for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Oran Viriyincy [License]

Building facade collapse kills woman on Manhattan sidewalk

New York – Building debris collapsed down onto the sidewalk below in Midtown Manhattan just two days ago. A heavy section of facade apparently fell off of the face of the building and collapsed onto the pedestrians walking below. At least one section of rubble struck a 60-year-old woman, causing her to lose consciousness. She reportedly suffered a head injury with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the deadly accident. Emergency responders arrived to find the woman in cardiac arrest from the accident injuries. They believe the traumatic arrest was due to a skull fracture with massive bleeding in her brain. Emergency medical services attempted to resuscitate the injury victim but were unsuccessful according to witnesses. Her injuries were so severe that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene according to officials.

Citizens in New York City expressed concern for their safety when hearing about this tragedy. No one expects debris to suddenly fall from the sky. City safety inspectors from the buildings department had cited this very building’s owner for an apparently related safety hazard. Records show that this building owner was issued a ticket for improper maintenance of the building’s facade only around eight months ago. They apparently paid the fine but it is unclear whether the underlying hazardous condition was fully addressed. A safety law in New York City requires proper professional inspections of the facade of buildings every five years minimally in order to prevent a dangerous situation similar to this pedestrian accident. Building inspectors will continue their investigation into this tragedy to determine the cause of the accident with fatal injuries. In the meantime, a scaffolding was constructed around the building to prevent another immediate accident or wrongful death. You can see this article for more.

Photo of safety scaffolding for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: therealbridgetpalmer [License]

Single vehicle rollover accident kills one and injures two more victims

New York – The FDR Drive was the scene of a horrific car crash that involved a single vehicle. The driver of the car, an off-duty police officer from the NYPD, apparently lost control of the car and roller over. There was significant damage to all sides of the car and roof and the vehicle came to rest on top of the center median. Witness reports say that the accident occurred when the car hit the center guardrail but the exact cause of the collision is still under investigation. The off-duty cop who was driving suffered a severe head injury with traumatic brain damage or traumatic brain injury (TBI) according to reports. He died at the hospital after doctors and staff tried to resuscitate the car accident victim. Two passengers in the vehicle were ejected from the car and also suffered serious injuries. An off-duty fireman with FDNY suffered internal organ injuries but is expected to survive according to trauma specialists. In the meantime, a young woman passenger suffered a leg injury with a traumatic amputation of her foot. While she is also expected to survive, it is unclear whether or not surgeons were able to successfully reattach the severed limb. Police investigators are continuing their investigation into the details of the car collision in order to determine if there was reckless driving or speeding involved, in addition to whether or not drugs or drunk driving could have contributed to the crash. Mechanical failure of the car and road conditions are also factors that need extensive evaluation. Read this article and see the video for further details about the deadly rollover car accident.

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

Construction work accident in Lower East Side of Manhattan

New York – A wall collapsed at a construction site this week. The construction accident left one injured worker fighting for his life after he suffered crush injuries. He had to be extricated from under the broken and fallen debris. Responders say that he had a leg injury with possible broken bones or crush fractures. Doctors in the hospital have reported that the injury victim is still in serious condition. A second construction worker suffered fatal injuries after he was trapped under the collapsed wall. It is believed that the wounded man sustained a serious head injury with traumatic brain injury. However, he may have also suffered internal injuries with internal bleeding.

Investigators have been researching the cause of the construction collapse. They will need to determine if negligence was involved, specifically to investigate the use of proper safety equipment. Employers are required to provide their employees with safety equipment such as hardhat helmets, goggle eye protection, harnesses and reinforcement scaffolding when needed. In addition, they are supposed to provide extensive safety training to their workers in order to prevent such work accidents. This particular building was undergoing renovations at the time of the collapse. It is not fully clear but it appears that the workmen were attempting to reinforce the wall at the time of the wall caved in. however, it is unclear why the workers were standing right underneath an unstable wall. You can find out more about this construction accident here.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Jose Saez [License]

Electric bicycle accident leaves one dead and another injured in Central Park

New York – An intersection in Central Park was the scene of a pedestrian struck by an electric bicycle. The cyclist apparently lost control of his e-bike and crashed into an elderly pedestrian and then both fell to the ground. The electric bicycle driver suffered a severe head injury with traumatic brain injury. He subsequently died of his bike accident injuries according to doctors. Reports show that the injured bicyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the collision. According to New York City laws, it is actually illegal to ride an e-bike or electric scooter on city streets and sidewalks. Pedestrian and public safety activists explain that the speed and recklessness of those driving electric bikes and scooters poses a danger to public safety. They contend that this type of accident is all too common and must be prevented. The pedestrian hit in this case suffered injuries but is expected to survive. However, activists say, the next accident victim may not be so lucky. In the meantime, the rider killed in the accident demonstrates in vivid reality the dangerous situation created for everyone involved. Many cases have been documented of riders texting while driving or talking on a cell phone while driving. These distracted drivers can cause horrible accidents and injuries due to the speed and problems of bicyclists who weave in and around traffic and pedestrians.

Proper statistics are hard to determine but there seems to be an easygoing attitude when it comes to these electric bicycles and scooters. Many riders treat them as children’s toys while they are capable of very fast speeds and cause injuries and wrongful death. Many drivers can be seen not holding on with both hands or maintaining control and concentration over their driving. It is still unclear whether or not this specific driver was guilty of being a reckless driver or who had the right-of-way at the time of the crash. Further details of this pedestrian accident and debate over the legalities of these electric vehicles are discussed here.

Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: osseous [License]

Driver under the influence of drugs crashes head-on into another vehicle

New York – This horrific head-on collision occurred when a speeding driver entered the Queens-Midtown tunnel heading in the wrong direction. The wrong-way accident vehicle slammed into a car coming in the opposite direction, when it couldn’t swerve out of the way in time. A dashcam video of the car accident was taken from the car that was struck by the wrong-way driver. The video shows the car crash and the vehicles colliding and ultimately coming to an abrupt halt. Police indicated that the driver of the car that entered the tunnel in the wrong direction was high on drugs. They believe that he had been using both cocaine and marijuana at the time of the motor vehicle collision. He apparently fled the scene of the accident with injuries. The hit-and-run accident was witnessed and a police officer who had just entered the tunnel stopped and arrested the fleeing man. In addition, that driver was apparently unlicensed and using his father’s vehicle. It is unclear if the father was aware or gave permission to the unlicensed man to use the car. Likewise, it is not certain whether or not the parent knew that his son would be driving while under the influence of drugs. Specifics of the injuries suffered by the car accident victim are not clear. However, trauma doctors note that this type of head-on accident can cause traumatic brain injury, spinal injuries and broken bones as well as internal injuries in the abdomen. See this article and video for more about this hit-and-run accident.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Chris Sampson [License]

Driver fleeing from police caused motor vehicle accident with injuries

New York – A driver who refused to pull over for police ran through a stop sign and then crashed into an SUV. This car accident caused the SUV to roll over and injured both the passenger and driver in that vehicle. In addition, the three passengers of the car that struck the SUV also suffered serious crash injuries. Included amongst those passengers were a one-year-old baby and two adults. The driver of that car that was fleeing police didn’t stop there. He apparently pretended that he was just an innocent bystander and left the scene of the accident with injuries. He has been found and arrested by police and brought up on multiple and extensive criminal charges. The injury victims are all being treated and face possible lifelong disabilities as well as pain and suffering. The injuries include broken bones, spinal injuries and internal organ injuries. The possibilities of nerve damage, traumatic brain injury and even wrongful death associated with their injuries remain a possible issues as well, according to a trauma specialist. Read more about this horrific SUV accident in this article.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Kim Scarborough [License]

Harlem construction accident injures workers with falling crane

New York – Two construction workers were injured when a mini crane fell from the side of a building that they were working on. The falling crane accident occurred when one of the workers was operating the crane but was apparently not trained to do so. The crane was lifting a heavy glass panel when it fell forward and off the side of the open floor. It rolled over during the accident and fell several stories onto the ground below. The crane collapse left two ironworkers injured, including the man operating the machine. According to reports, the crane was not properly secured to the work surface as is required by safety operating guidelines. In addition, the construction company operating the device didn’t have the required safety permit and is under investigation. Supervisors for the construction employer have been arrested and are being charged for assault due to possible negligence that led to serious injuries of the workers.

Hospital officials report that the workers suffered life threatening injuries. These include a head injury with traumatic brain injury that left one of the workers fighting for his life. The other injury victim suffered spinal injuries. The neck and back injury can possibly leave the workman paralyzed and disabled. Investigations continue into the specifics of this accident and the following of safety regulations at the construction site. See this article for more about the roll over work site accident and investigation.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: johnrosman [License]

Truck accident leaves injured victims and one death in the Bronx

New York – Emergency workers responded to a van that rear-ended a truck on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. The van accident left the female driver of the van dead and several other people injured. Friends note that the woman was pregnant at the time of the fatal crash. Two children in the vehicle were passengers in the back and suffered serious injuries. Reports show that construction debris and other scrap metal objects were being transported in the van at the time of the collision. It is believed that the flying debris during the impact is what caused the critical wounds and injuries to the child passengers. One teenage girl suffered a significant traumatic brain injury with bleeding in her brain. She has undergone surgery for this as well as for a broken spine and she remains in a coma. The extent of her spinal injuries are still unclear.

In addition, a front seat passenger of the van suffered injuries and was also taken to the hospital. Doctors say that he has a leg injury and will receive treatment. The truck that was hit from the rear left the truck driver also injured. He was evaluated and given emergency treatment. Investigators were continuing to assess the damage and the cause of the truck crash. Find out more about this rear end collision here.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Mohsan Dabiri-e Vaziri (Own work) [CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons