New York Injury Talk Blog

A 47-year-old woman who had suffered serious spinal injuries from a fall while boarding a Metro-North Railroad car has been recently awarded more than $500,000, The Journal News reports. According to the article, Karen McIlvenny, 47 slipped on the icy platform of the Brewster train station while boarding, causing her to fall into the gap between the car and the platform.

The December 2003 accident had caused “permanent injuries" to McIlvenny’s sacroiliac joint, found at the base of the spine, and her pelvic bone and will require long-term medical care, the report said. State Supreme Court Justice Andrew O'Rourke of Putnam County awarded McIlvenny $518,000 in compensation, including $228,000 in lost income, $250,000 for physical pain and mental suffering, and $40,000 for out-of-pocket expenses.

Continue reading "New York Train Accident Victim Wins Award" »

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Train Accidents

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An auto accident in Brooklyn involving a New York City bus has injured 10 people – one of them seriously. According to this recent Associated Press report, the injury crash happened January 20, 2009 at the street intersection of 49th Street and 14th Avenue. All the injured were taken to Maimonides Medical Center for evaluation and treatment for cuts and bruises.

The article does not provide any information whether another vehicle was involved or whose fault it was that the crash occurred. Hopefully an official investigation is underway and will soon reveal all the details of this motor vehicle accident. However, all public carriers, including operators of New York City buses, owe their passengers a standard of “utmost duty of care.” The injured victims in this New York City bus accident deserve to be compensated for their suffering.

If you have been injured in a New York auto accident from the negligence of others you should contact the experienced personal injury law firm of Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro. We will have our experts working on your case to reconstruct the accident, obtain information and complete an independent investigation. Our dedicated team of attorneys focuses on identifying the parties at fault and holding them accountable for their actions. Call us today to learn how we can help you with our vast experience of successfully representing clients who were injured in similar automobile accidents.

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Posted In: Bus Accidents

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Hayley Ng, 4, and Diego Martinez, 3, died in a Manhattan auto versus pedestrian accident that occurred when an unoccupied delivery van hit a group of children, reports The Blade in a recent article. A third child was seriously injured and 14 other children were hospitalized with minor injuries, police said. Preliminary investigations showed the truck’s driver had double-parked to make a delivery and left the vehicle believing the shift lever to be in park.

Tragically, the lever turned out to have been in reverse and this caused the van to move backward and jump a curb before running down the children. Apparently, the children, who belonged to the Red Apple Child Development Center, were returning from a trip to the Chatham Square branch of the New York Public Library when the collision happened in Chinatown’s commercial area.

Continue reading "New York Delivery Truck Accident Kills 2 Children" »

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents

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The parents of a New Jersey man killed nearly two years ago have filed a lawsuit against the driver of the vehicle, The Star-Ledger reports. The plaintiffs, Norma Jean and John Grieves, alleged that driver Adam Gibbon was “careless and negligent” when he wrecked his Audi S4 on March 13, 2007 on a road in Washington Township. The couple’s son, 25-year-old Christopher Grieves, who was a front seat passenger in the Audi, died from injuries suffered in the crash.

Gibbon apparently crashed the car into a utility pole. Both men were wearing seatbelts. The wrongful death lawsuit also identifies unnamed entities as defendants who are stated to be responsible for clearing the snow and ice on the roadway and for defective design of the roadway. Gibbon was indicted January 7, 2009 on a second-degree death by auto charge. Prosecutors allege Gibbon drove recklessly and caused Grieves’ death.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed By Parents Of Auto Victim" »

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Wrongful Death

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A worker was seriously injured at Staten Island’s Fresh Kills landfill after a bulldozer ran over his legs. According to this news report, 61-year-old Charles Kish was airlifted to a local hospital by a medical helicopter. Kish reportedly suffered serious toe damage to his left foot and a laceration to his right leg. Kish was apparently getting out of the small “swamp cat” in the landfill when he was run over by the heavy equipment. He is a 20-year worker at the Sanitation Department.

Although many state and federal regulations as well as industry standards require employers to implement a wide variety of safety measures, every year thousands of workers are killed or seriously injured on the job. Employees who are injured or disabled on the job are entitled to receive workers compensation benefits. However, these benefits are hardly sufficient to compensate an injured worker for current and future medical expenses and loss of earnings.

In many cases, employees are able to file what are known as “third party claims” where they can sue a party other than an employer – for example, a sub contractor or the manufacturer of a defective product, whose negligence contributed to or caused the accident and resulting injury. In third party claims, workers can get additional damages for pain and suffering, wage loss and medical expenses. If you or a loved one has suffered severe injuries on the job, please call a New York workers compensation attorney at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro to find out more about your rights and legal options.

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Posted In: Workers Compensation

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A bill sponsored by New Jersey Democratic Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan seeks to ban train conductors and bus drivers from text messaging or sending e-mails when their vehicles are moving. According to this news report, only emergency electronic communication would be allowed under this particular bill.

Introducing this bill is a result of a fatal commuter train crash that occurred in California last year killing 25 people and injuring close to 150. The Metrolink engineer involved in the accident was apparently sending a text message 22 seconds before the catastrophic collision with a freight train. Diegnan said that he believes some people have become so addicted to these electronic devices that they expose other people to grave danger without even thinking about it. New Jersey already has a ban in place for texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving.

Continue reading "Bill Seeks Ban on Electronic Devices by Train Operators" »

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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A commuter plane – Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, N.J. -- missed the Buffalo airport coming in for a landing and crashed into a suburban house in a fiery crash. According to this Associated Press news report, 49 people aboard and one person in the home were killed in this nation’s first deadly crash of a commercial airliner since 2006. Two others inside the home, Karen Wielinski, 57, and her 22-year-old daughter, Jill, escaped with minor injuries.

Official reports state that the plane was new and had a clean safety record. William Voss, the current president of the Flight Safety Foundation, proposed that the nearly vertical drop of the plane suggests a sudden loss of control. He also said that mechanical failure or ice forming on the plane’s wings could have caused alteration in aerodynamics in this New York plane crash.

Apparently, witnesses heard the 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft sputtering before it fell directly through the roof of the house, shooting flames at least 50 feet high.

Continue reading "Clarence New York Plane Crash Tragically Kills 50" »

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Posted In: Aviation Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A New York City construction worker suffered a broken leg in an on-the-job accident that occurred at a toxic ground zero tower where two firefighters were killed more than a year ago. According to this Associated Press news report, the accident happened at the basement level of the former Deutsche Bank tower, where the workers were removing debris. Official reports state that an excavator struck the worker, who is an employee of LVI Environmental Services.

New York City’s Buildings Department has apparently cited the contractor for not providing enough shoring or netting for fall protection. Worker-related injuries have continued as work has progressed in ground zero. Last month, prosecutors indicted the former subcontractor, John Galt Corp., and three construction officials on manslaughter charges for the deaths of two firefighters in a 2007 blaze.

Continue reading "Worker Suffers Broken Leg in New York Construction Accident" »

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Posted In: Construction Accident

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Fisher-Price is recalling about 200,000 Simplicity Rainforest portable play yards after they received numerous complaints of rails collapsing and creating a fall and entrapment hazard to young children. According to this news report, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Fisher-Price is voluntarily recalling these defective products although it did not manufacture them.

The manufacturers – Simplicity Inc. – did not respond to the federal agency’s request that they recall these defective products. Simplicity has been involved in massive recalls last year for defective bassinets and cribs that officials say were responsible for several infant deaths in the United States.

Continue reading "Defective Play Yards Create Fall and Entrapment Hazard" »

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Posted In: Product Liability & Recalls

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Chrysler is recalling about 33,000 model year 2009-09 Dodge Ram 2500, 3500 and 3500 cab chassis pickup trucks, according to a recent report in Consumeraffairs.com. The recall involves these Dodge trucks which are equipped with a steering linkage from the supplier, Powers and Sons.

The product defect prompting the recall is being described as a possible fracture of the tie rod that causes a loss of steering control and the inability to turn the vehicle in a particular direction. The recalls start this month and owners are asked to contact their dealers to have the defective truck’s steering linkage drag link inner tie rod assembly replaced and the steering linkage damper bracket inspected. This service will be performed free of charge. If you’d like to learn more about this auto defect you may contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 1-888-327-4236 or at www.safercar.gov.

Continue reading "Dodge Ram Trucks Recalled For Defective Steering" »

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Posted In: Product Recalls

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A woman suffered severe injuries after a drunk driver reportedly crashed into her car and then narrowly missed colliding head-on with a police cruiser in Staten Island. According to this news report , Anthony Gentner, 21, is being charged with felony reckless endangerment and other counts in the police chase which began on the Martin Luther King Expressway and ended at the College of Staten Island in Willowbrook.

Police say Gentner, a reputed crack dealer whose license has been suspended at least three times, took off in a 2005 Mercury when an officer tired to pull him over. During the high-speed chase, Gentner almost collided with a police car and smashed into a Dodge van. The woman in the van suffered a broken ankle as well as neck and back injuries. She was taken to an area hospital. Gentner was eventually arrested after he crashed the car into a utility pole.

Continue reading "Staten Island Drunk Driver Causes Injury Crash " »

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Posted In: Drunk Driving Accident

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