New York Injury Talk Blog

Kroger Onion Soup & Dip Mix and Kroger Beefy Onion Soup & Dip mix are being recalled because of the possibility of salmonella being present. This recall is for Onion Soup & Dip Mix with a "sell by" date of January 6, 2011 to February 17, 2011 and for Beefy Onion Soup & Dip mix with sell-by dates of December 28, 2010 to February 23 2011.

Salmonella is a potentially lethal bacterium and may attack the bloodstream and intestines. The most common symptoms of a salmonella infection include abdominal cramps, fever, joint pain, urinary tract infections and diarrhea. These symptoms typically begin as quickly as six hours after you consume the contaminated product and as long as four days after. So far, no illnesses have been reported in connection with these Kroger products.

It is the responsibility of the food manufacturing or processing company to provide safe products to the consumer. If you eat at a restaurant and consume food contaminated with salmonella or E. coli and develop a food-borne illness as a result, the restaurant may be held liable for your illness and subsequent costs of treatment. In some instances, these food-borne illnesses have caused long-term or lifelong adverse health effects in victims.

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A 39-year-old pedestrian was killed in a New York car accident after she was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Broadway and 90th Street. According to a CBS News report, the woman was walking in a marked crosswalk when she was hit by a 2010 Ford. The vehicle sped away after striking the woman. The critically injured pedestrian was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Police arrested a 25-year-old man who they said was the hit-and-run driver in the Ford.

Hit-and-run or leaving the scene of an accident is a serious crime in New York State. If you are a motorist involved in an accident, you are required under the law to stop, provide information and render aid to the injured victim, if it is possible to do so safely. Leaving a seriously injured victim can result in a felony charge for the hit-and-run driver. Motorists are also required to stop for a pedestrian who is walking legally in a marked crosswalk.

Continue reading "Fatal New York City Hit-and-Run Car Accident" »

Since November, in New York State, there has been a secondary law in effect banning texting while driving. What this means is that police can only enforce this law when pulling you over for some other violation. A new law will now allow police officers to pull over drivers just for texting while driving. Currently, only New York State and Washington State have similar laws where texting while driving is a secondary offense.

This comes on the heels of various reports that show texting while driving is in fact negligent driving and can lead to serious personal injury or death. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) reported that you increase your chances of being in an accident by 23 percent when you text. The number of fatalities from these crashes seems to be on the rise. It was only a few years ago that almost no one was texting and now 16 percent of all fatal accidents are caused by texting drivers.

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This summer, Chrysler plans on fixing over 355,000 minivans. They are quick to point out that this is not a "recall" in the vein of the recent Honda and Toyota recalls. Chrysler claims that even with this new problem with the airbags, their vehicles still meet the federal standard for safety. In addition, no personal injuries due to defective airbags in New York or throughout the U.S. have been reported at this time, officials say. Apparently, the front airbags in certain Chrysler minivans can fail if the sensor is cracked and then gets wet.

A proper working airbag can save your life. Of course, an airbag will not help if it is not working properly and dos not deploy. Since airbags became mandatory in the mid 1990s, more than 18,000 lives were saved by use of an airbag by the year 2006. However, between 1990 and 2006, there were 262 deaths due to malfunctioning airbags. Faulty airbags can cause serious injuries when they fail to deploy or when they deploy suddenly or at a time when they are not supposed to release.

Continue reading "Chrysler Will Repair the Airbags in Over 355,000 Minivans" »

A 32-year-old pedestrian was seriously injured in a New York hit-and-run car accident in Elmont. The woman was crossing Linden Boulevard at 239th Street when she was hit by a driver whose car did not stop, according to a news report in the Long Island Press. She was brought to a local hospital and is said to have sustained a brain hemorrhage, facial and spine fractures. Police are describing the car as an older green Toyota Camry. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers in Nassau County at 1-800-244-TIPS.

Driving away from the scene of an accident is against the law in New York State. If you are a motorist who has been involved in an accident, the law requires you to stop and exchange information with the other parties involved. Such information can include driver's license, auto insurance and other contact information. Pedestrian accidents can result in major injuries including brain injuries, back or neck injuries, broken bones or paralysis. Pedestrian accidents could even result in death.

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Two people were injured after a New Jersey Transit train caught fire on its way to New York City. According to a CBS news report, the train was traveling from Atlantic City to New York City when passengers noticed smoke in a cabin. Riders were forced out while crew members attempted to put out the fire. The fire apparently started in the diesel engine and burned itself out. Passengers reported seeing flames of up to 20 feet shooting up from the roof of the train.

There may be many factors that contribute to a train accident. These include derailment, collision with another vehicle or train, mechanical failure, malfunctions, or operator negligence. In train accidents that are caused by operator negligence or mechanical failure as a result of poor vehicle maintenance, the transit authority could be held liable for the accident and injuries caused. In such cases, injured victims could seek compensation for medical expenses, loss of pay, cost of hospitalization and other related expenses.

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If you have suffered injury or harm as a result of someone else's negligence, it is critical that you act quickly to protect your legal rights. It is important that you consult with a attorney before you make statements to an insurance adjuster or another attorney, which can be misconstrued, misinterpreted or can be used against you to reduce the value of your claim. Experienced personal injury attorneys in New York who devote their work to injury investigations understand aggressive insurance company tactics and strategies. They know how to deal with these insurance companies, whose sole purpose is typically to pay you as little money as they can.

You would be well-advised to retain an attorney as soon as possible, so he or she can get down to collecting evidence and commencing an investigation into your case as soon as possible. The longer the delays, the tougher it becomes to collect evidence that may be crucial to your case. In an auto accident, for example, it is important to preserve the crashed vehicle. An attorney will be able get the necessary court orders to preserve important evidence. For example, if a vehicle is lost in an accident case where an auto product defect is suspected, then the victim may never be able to prove that the accident occurred as the result of a defective auto.

Continue reading "Why Should You Contact a New York Personal Injury Lawyer?" »

A Jackson Heights worker was killed in a New York construction accident after he fell from scaffolding while working on an elevator shaft in a Manhattan building. The New York Post reports that the 51-year-old worker was inside an elevator shaft on the third floor of a construction site at 603 W. 129th St. when he fell from scaffolding to the bottom of the shaft. The man was transported to a local hospital where he died.

This man's death was apparently the first fatal New York City construction accident in 2010. Last year, the city's Department of Buildings reported an 84 percent drop in construction accident fatalities from 19 in 2008 to three in 2009. However, the total number of reported construction accidents rose from 151 in 2008 to 224 in 2009 and the total number of reported injuries rose from 178 in 2008 to 246 in 2009. Officials say the increase in the number of incidents can be attributed to better accident reporting by construction companies.

Falls from scaffolding are the most common types of fatal accidents, which occur at New York construction sites. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a number of scaffolding accidents occur because scaffolds are not constructed per manufacturer's guidelines or companies fail to install proper fall protection systems such as guardrails.

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A 33-year-old woman was killed in a New York truck accident, which police say was caused by an exhausted driver who was watching a pornographic film on his laptop while driving. According to a WKBW news report, the woman's vehicle was stalled on the Interstate 90 after her car struck deer. Her stalled vehicle was then hit by the truck driver. New York State Police say the driver was operating the tractor-trailer while keeping false log books and was actually operating the vehicle with very little sleep. He also had a computer on his lap that was streaming porn while he was operating the truck at the time of the fatal collision.

In this case, police say the driver was in violation of a federal transportation law, which allows 10 hours of driving within a 15-hour on-duty period after eight hours of off-duty time. The law also prohibits commercial truck drivers from driving after their 15th hour on duty in a workday or after 60 hours on-duty in seven consecutive days or 70 hours on-duty in eight consecutive days. In this particular case, the driver was also distracted by a movie he was allegedly watching on his laptop. He has been charged with second degree manslaughter in connection with this fatal auto accident.

Continue reading "Fatal NY Truck Accident Caused by Tired Trucker Distracted by Laptop" »

A 37-year-old single mother of four died after a botched abortion at a clinic in New York City. According to a news report, the doctor performing the abortion severed an artery during the woman's procedure. This medical mistake led to massive bleeding and eventually cardiac arrest. The patient was transported to a nearby hospital where she died. The clinic is apparently under investigation by the New York State Medical Board for this incident.

A number of things can go wrong during or after a surgical procedure. During surgery, a surgeon may operate on the wrong body part or operate on the wrong site of the body. After surgery, the patient may suffer from or even die as the result of an infection caused by substandard post-operative care. Things can go wrong even in procedures that may be perceived as "simple" medical actions. If you have been injured because of a surgeon's error or doctor's negligence, you may be able to file a NY medical malpractice lawsuit against the negligent party.

Continue reading "Woman Suffers Fatal Injuries during Abortion" »

Honda Motor Company has expanded its vehicle defect recall to include an additional 438,000 vehicles worldwide, including 379,000 in the United States. According to a news report, Honda officials said the driver's airbag inflators in these vehicles may expand with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to break. This could result in injury or death. The expanded airbag defect recall in New York and throughout the nation includes 2001 and 2002, Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V and selected 2002 Acura TL vehicles. So far, 12 incidents have been reported in connection with the airbag inflator problem.

The original recall stemming from these problems was issued in November 2008 for 2001 and 2002 models of Accords and Civics as well as some 2002 model year Acura TL vehicles. Last summer Honda added 443,727 vehicles to that recall in the United States. Now, that total number of vehicles recalls is up to more than 826,000 in the United States. Last month, Honda announced a separate recall for 646,000 Fit, City and Jazz models over defective power window switches that pose a potential fire hazard. That auto product defect caused one death in South Africa.

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