New York Injury Talk Blog

In a tragic example of the dangers of our city’s highways, a 27-year old Queens woman was killed in a NY Auto Accident on Saturday, April 19th when the car she was driving and a fire engine collided at an intersection in South Jamaica, according to an article published in the New York Times.

The accident took place during daylight hours, at approximately 9:45a.m. and the woman was driving a 1995 Nissan southbound on 155th St. The fire engine was traveling westbound on 111th Ave. with its lights and sirens on as it responded to a fire, according to police. Five firefighters were taken to the hospital after the collision with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Every New York Car Accident has unique circumstances. In this instance, the parties involved in the crash add to the prospects of possible liability. The questions an attorney asks in instances where a municipal vehicle is involved in an accident differ from those they would ask if it were two civilian autos that were involved. Only an experienced NY Auto Accident attorney, like the ones at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro have the experience to analyze the facts of the accident and ask the proper questions about cause and liability.

Continue reading "Woman Dies in Collision with Fire Truck" »

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In a natural escalation of the recent spike in fatal NY construction accidents and administrative miscues, Patricia J. Lancaster, New York City’s first female building commissioner, resigned on Tuesday, April 22nd. She becomes the first commissioner to leave the Bloomberg administration under a cloud of public controversy. The move comes as Lancaster faced escalating pressure from City Hall and growing criticism from the media and public at large after a series of administrative blunders.

The proverbial “final straw” may have come after an appearance at a City Council hearing when she admitted that the department had mistakenly issued permits for the East Side building where a crane collapsed last month, killing seven people and injuring 24 others. According to the article, Ms. Lancaster’s performance before the council “not only cast unwanted light on her department’s bureaucratic failings” and the recent rash of construction accidents, but “also drew attention to her awkward public manner and unclear explanations that diminished her credibility”.

Continue reading "NY City Building Chief Resigns Following Rash of Construction Accidents" »

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It has been one thing after another since the Deutsch Bank Building was severely damaged and contaminated after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. The New York Times reports that the troubled building has passed through a few owners and, most recently, last August 18th two firefighters were killed and two others hurt while fighting a blaze in the building. Just this week a family member of one of the dead firefighters filed suit against a government agency the sister claims created the dangerous conditions at the construction site that caused her brother’s death. Robert Beddia, 53 died as a result of toxic smoke created by the fire. Apparently, the fire was a result of a discarded cigarette on the 17th floor, and while an investigation is ongoing there are serious questions about a malfunctioning standpipe that made it impossible to bring water up above the fifth floor. The second firefighter, Joseph Graffagnino, 33, died as a direct result of the broken standpipe in the basement because it could not deliver water to the fire.

At a news conference last August, Mayor Michael Bloomberg indicated that three senior
fire officials had been relieved of their command as the investigation into the fatal fire continues. Mayor Bloomberg further commented that the local firehouse had conducted none of the required inspections of the bank building since 2006, even though it was on the edge of ground zero.

Continue reading "2 FIREFIGHTERS KILLED AND MORE HURT IN SEPARATE CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS AT THE DEUTSCH BANK BUILDING" »

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Proof positive that the dangerous nature of crane accidents are not reserved for New York alone, a seven-ton section of crane fell 30 stories in Miami recently, killing two workers and injuring 5 others. Fire and rescue officials said the collapse occurred about 1:45pm as a construction crew tried to lengthen the crane for work on a 46-story luxury high-rise overlooking Biscayne Bay. The 20 foot section dangled before dropping through the roof of the home contractors used as an office.

This crane collapse may appear eerily similar to the collapse that occurred in New York, but upon closer inspection, there are some major differences. While the cause of the collapse had not been determined, the circumstances in New York were unique, where a six-ton steel collar meant to help hold the crane in place broke free and plummeted from 18 stories high, leading the entire crane to detach from the building and fall toward the ground, with one section landing on a town house. In the Miami instance, a large 20-foot section of the crane itself weighing seven tons fell through the Spanish style home in Miami.

Continue reading "Two Killed in Crane Accident – This Time in Miami" »

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The New York Times cites a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating that while older women suffer more injuries on escalators than older men, it seems that 85% of all escalator injuries result from a NY slip or a fall.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s report is based on data collected and analyzed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which was published in the March issue of the Accident Analysis and Prevention journal.

Dr. Joseph O’Neil, an associate professor of pediatrics at Indiana University, indicated he had no idea why accident rates on escalators for both men and women had doubled from 1991 to 2005. The report shows that nearly 40,000 people over 65 were injured while riding an escalator-an average of 2,660 per year. Dr. Neil further commented that normally riding an escalator is not seen as a dangerous thing to do but that older adults ‘need to use caution’.

According to WebMD, there are several things older adults can do to prevent slip & falls:

1. Exercise regularly to improve muscle strength, tone and sense of balance.
2. If you have any problems with dizziness call your doctor to check to see if you have an inner ear infection.
3. Have your vision and hearing checked on a regular basis.
4. Know all the side effects of your medication and how they might affect your balance.

Continue reading "ESCALATOR INJURIES FOR OLDER ADULTS ON THE RISE" »

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According to a study performed by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and reported in the New York Times, car-related fatalities among youth go up at age 12 and continue to increase for several years. The researchers, led by Dr. Flaura Koplin Winston, based the data after a review of more than 45,000 crashes over a 6-year period in all 50 states.

Researchers pointed to several possible reasons for the increase in youthful auto accident fatalities. One possible theory is that the children were more likely to be riding in cars with young drivers at the wheel. Failure to wear seat belts was another factor. The study indicated that passengers in cars that were driven by a 16-17 year old were at a substantial increased risk of death.

Young drivers are more easily distracted with passengers in the car. In fact, in a recent survey performed by the University of California, more than 1/3 of teenage drivers surveyed admitted they had been distracted when young passengers were in the car. The drivers surveyed cited talking, yelling, and arguing as distracting them while driving.

Continue reading "EARLY TEENS - A DEADLY TIME FOR CAR CRASH FATALITIES" »

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According to the New York Times, building officials believe it was highly unlikely that a missed inspection resulted in the deaths of 7 people on March 15th, however, Edward J. Marquette, 46, was arrested anyway after he faked a report indicating that he inspected a construction crane on the East Side of Manhattan on March 4th, just 11 days before the crane collapsed killing 7 people. The deaths occurred when workers were ‘jumping’ the crane, which is the process used to add sections to the tower, making it taller.

Officials believe that the accident occurred when a 6 ton steel collar, being fitted around the crane’s tower, as a part of the bracing operation, broke free-plummeting 18 stories, and shearing off braces in place on the 9th floor. An investigation is ongoing, and in addition to the crane falling two nylon slings that had been holding a collar in place high on the crane also broke.

Patricia Lancaster, New York Buildings Commissioner commented that every crane supposedly inspected by Marquette over the last six months would be re-inspected. Further, the New York Investigations Department will be performing a full review of the Buildings Department’s cranes and derricks division.

Continue reading "7 DIE IN CRANE ACCIDENT AFTER FALSE REPORT FILED" »

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