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" »

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" »

In a story reported in the New York Times, Nuevo Estilo, a barber, was an unlikely hero last December when he chased down a hit and run driver of a minivan, who plowed down a man and kept going. Witnesses said the victim, 73 year-old Francisco Guerrero, was carrying several bags of groceries and was walking home when they saw the minivan hit him.

Estilo was working in a barber shop on Fourth Avenue at 52nd street when he saw the blue minivan hit the man. As Estilo chased the minivan a delivery driver followed. The Dodge Caravan minivan went on to ram into a parked car and proceeded, finally coming to a stop near 50th Street and Third Avenue - where he got out of the minivan and started running down the street. After a short chase, the hit and run driver was eventually captured by Estilo and the delivery truck driver. Police arrested the man, Lawrence Meyers, 38, and took him into custody after he was driven back to the scene by the delivery driver.

Continue reading "HIT AND RUN DRIVER KILLS ONE-CAUGHT BY NEW YORK HEROS" »

When it comes to New York Auto Accidents, March is coming in like a lion! A Queen’s driver died after his car hit a guardrail on the Long Island expressway-plunging off the exit ramp and landing below in a Flushing Meadows Park where the car burst into flames.

Another reported accident occurred when a police car and a sedan collided on 6th Avenue in the West Village. Witnesses reported not hearing police sirens or seeing flashing lights according to a story in the New York Daily News. The officer was reportedly responding to a call for an ‘officer assist’. The patrol car suffered damage to its metal frame, which was characterized as severely bent, and airbags had been deployed. A witness located at a restaurant across the street from the accident indicated that the police were going fast when they crashed and he didn’t see anyone move from the cars. Four people were later hospitalized, but according to the NYPD Department of Public Information all of the injuries were minor. No further information was given.

Continue reading "INJURIES AND DEATH INVADE NEW YORK" »

In an example of a tragic motor vehicle accident, the New York Times reported that on February 14, 2008, after driving through a chain link fence's open gates, an SUV, filled with wallpaper and scaffolding, slid across about 150 feet of ice into a metal cable stretched across the edge of the garage, before it crashed 40 ft. below-landing on its roof- crushing and killing 46 year-old Julie Simon. Mrs. Simon and Charles, her 47 year-old husband, were working as wallpaper hangers as part of a crew of contractors working on a newly erected office building, police said.

"The car teetered on the edge for a moment and then flipped over. Nassau Police Detective Michael Bitsko indicated to the Times that Mrs. Simon’s husband was able to get out of the SUV right before it started teetering. The Times story reported that apparently Mrs. Simon was unable to unbuckle her seat belt in time to get out of the GMC Suburban before it plunged off the upper level of the garage in New Hyde Park, L.I., which was partially under construction.

The Times story reported that Police and investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating how the SUV got access to the off-limits area. Sgt. Anthony Repalone said "There is no concrete barrier to stop cars from going over”.

Continue reading "LACK OF BARRIERS LEADS TO FATAL DRIVE OFF ICY GARAGE DECK" »

In a frightening example of employee negligence that resulted in the wrongful death of two innocent people, a truck driver who is reported to have voluntarily quit taking his seizure medication lost consciousness and control of his garbage truck, killing two tourists from England when his truck jumped a curb, according to the New York Times. The crash took place in the late evening hours of February 12th, in Manhattan, on West 35th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of Americas. Action Carting Environmental Services of Newark are the owners of the truck driven by the truck driver, 52 year-old Auvryn Scarlett. A passenger in the garbage truck with Scarlett indicated he saw that Scarlett was driving erratically and he tried to grab the wheel and get control of the truck.

The two tourists who died were identified by police as Andrew Hardie, 47 and Jacklyn Timmons from Yeovil in southern England. Both were killed when the garbage truck hit them while they were walking on the sidewalk at 42 West 35th Street in Manhattan.

According to the story in the Times, police investigators filed charges against Scarlett, because he was not taking medication prescribed to him to prevent seizures. The police said that Mr. Scarlett’s truck, owned by Action Carting Environmental Services of Newark, New Jersey, was traveling west, and struck lamp posts and storefronts before striking three people. The third person hit, also on the sidewalk, was identified by police as Abayomi Henderson, 23, of Queens. Mr. Henderson was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was in serious condition, the police said last Wednesday.

Continue reading "TRUCK DRIVER KILLS TWO IN MANHATTAN" »

Eight people were injured in a crash in Laurelton when a fire engine that was responding to an emergency was involved in an automobile accident with a United States Postal Service tractor-trailer and a taxicab, according to a New York Times report published January 18th. The Fire Department reported that three civilians and five firefighters were among the injured and were taken to area hospitals for various injuries. The truck driver, who was not identified, was in critical condition Thursday evening, authorities said. The injuries to the other parties involved in the accident were said not to be life-threatening.

This is a tragic example of the dangers of New York truck accidents on our state’s highways. Our firm has extensive experience in all types of injury accidents including truck accidents. We promptly and thoroughly investigate each case to assess liability and determine fault. We work with experienced investigators to obtain photographs, witness statements and other necessary investigation immediately when the evidence is still fresh. Our New York truck collision attorneys have an excellent understanding of the intricacies of personal injury law.

Continue reading "Eight Injured When Fire Truck Responding To An Emergency, Crashes" »

The Police suspect drag racing may have played a role in the deaths of three people and the serious injury of a fourth who were involved in a two-vehicle collision on Sunday afternoon on a New Jersey road. According to the New York Times article, the road had a reputation as a place for drag racing.

Maria Leyton, 79 from Fords, George M. Ghebrial, 19 and Mena S. Shafek, 18 both of Jersey City were all pronounced dead at the scene. The sole survivor, Doris Etchegaray, 54, Ms. Leyton’s daughter, was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center, where she underwent surgery, the police said. Investigators speculated that she survived because of an air bag on her side. There was no airbag on the passenger’s side.

The automobile accident occurred a little after 3pm in the 2500 block of Secaucus Road in North Bergen. Secaucus Road has had a recurring drag racing problem as the highway is in an industrial zone that is largely deserted on weekends. The road is two lanes wide and has long, straight stretches between traffic lights. Both vehicles involved in the crash were demolished and authorities believe the collision involved a speed well above the local limit of 25 miles per hour.

Continue reading "3 Dead In New Jersey Auto Accident" »

National Public Radio did a timely story recently on efforts to educate teens on drinking and driving. It comes on the heels of a report showing that young women -- who were once statistically safer drivers than their male counterparts -- are increasingly engaging in risky driving behavior like drinking and driving. And another story in the same newspaper earlier gave us a detailed view of the lives of several teenagers ten years after they were involved in a rollover accident that killed two and left two others with permanent brain damage.

While there's clearly no time of year when drinking and driving is a good idea, it's especially relevant right now, as summer approaches. More pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists will be out on the streets, teens will be out of school, and many of us will be heading for parties and barbecues in the approaching warm evenings. The blood on that teen is false, but they're putting it on him because the risk he runs is, unfortunately, quite real. Car accidents, as the report reminded us, are the number-one killer of American teenagers. We've handled thousands of motor vehicle accident cases, here at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro, so we know very well how serious the consequences can be -- medical, personal and financial. Especially for a teenager or young adult with an entire life ahead of him or her, it's just not worth it.

This article about a truck accident that took place upstate, along the New York State Thruway, is a good illustration of why drivers need to be extremely aware of the large trucks around them. According to the Lower Hudson Online:

Jackson Julien, the driver of a tractor-trailer, said he was in the northbound middle lane about a mile north of Exit 15A when the driver of a sport utility vehicle attempted to move left from the right lane.
Julien said he tried to move into the left lane to compensate, but hit another car with his trailer. The truck jackknifed and crashed into the guardrail, taking the SUV with it, and burst into flames, sending plumes of black smoke high into the sky.
"The lady said she didn't see me," he said, referring to the SUV's driver.

Fortunately, everyone involved suffered only minor injuries. But this accident demonstrates that it doesn’t take a high-speed collision to cause a serious, life-threatening accident when there’s a large truck involved. This accident was just a sideswipe (well, two sideswipes), but the size of the truck gave it so much force that it carried the SUV with it into the guardrail, making it a potentially much more serious accident than it would have been if it had taken place between two vehicles of equal size. The SUV driver appears to have been partly or totally at fault, which means she wouldn’t have much of a truck accident claim against Julien, the truck driver -- in fact, he might have a claim against her, though it doesn’t look like he’s seriously injured. (We’d be interested to know how the third driver, who Julien sideswiped while trying to dodge the SUV, fared.) But this accident does underscore the need to be very, very careful around large trucks, not all of which are driven by people who are as alert and conscientious as Julien. Regardless of who is at fault in an accident, the bigger vehicle always “wins.”

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has become a believer! Or at least, he's pretending to be one. From an article published this week, we learned that Corzine plans to use his experience as a survivor of a serious auto accident, in which he did not wear a seat belt, to help show others why that's a really bad idea. He taped a public service announcement on May 15 about the importance of wearing seat belts -- which he had to do from home, in a wheelchair, because he broke one leg, 11 ribs, his collarbone and his sternum in the accident, which was caused by another driver who swerved into his lane, forcing Corzine's vehicle into a guardrail. The New Jersey state trooper who was driving wore a seat belt and was able to walk away from the accident with only minor injuries.

"I thoughtlessly had not put on my seat belt, and it's a steep price to pay," Corzine said. While he said he will now always wear his seat belt, Corzine said riding without a seat belt wasn't uncommon for him.
"I'm one of those old guys that grew up where it wasn't a part of the habit, but there's no excuse," Corzine said. "I've been yelling at my kids for years about it. It was wrong, and I'm paying the price."

We're glad he sees it that way. We've handled thousands of auto accident cases, at Wingate, Russotti and Shapiroand we can assure you from that firsthand experience that seat belts make a big difference in the severity of injuries you could sustain in an accident. (Seat belt users show consistently lower rates of death and serious head injuries than nonusers. The federal Department of Transportation has collected a lot of information on the subject here.) Seat belts can also help your case if you should decide to file a personal-injury lawsuit after the accident. New York is a "pure comparative fault" state, meaning that anytime you sue someone for negligence (carelessness), the money you collect can be reduced if the jury decides that you were also negligent and it contributed to your injuries. Even in Corzine's case, where the other driver pretty clearly caused the accident, he wouldn't be able to claim 100% of the damages he could win, because he bears some fault for his own injuries for not wearing the seat belt. However, not wearing a seat belt is a lot less negligent than driving into oncoming traffic, so he'd probably be assigned much less than 50% of the fault -- assuring him of collecting the majority of the money. That's if it had happened in New York; New Jersey has a slightly different way of assigning liability that could have left Corzine with even less money in our hypothetical lawsuit. In any case, Corzine is fortunate enough to have his own resources and those of the state of New Jersey at his disposal, so unlike many car accident victims, he doesn't need to pursue auto accident litigation to cover his medical bills, repairs or time off work.

WABC is reporting that a "horrible truck accident" took place this morning (May 17) in the Bronx between a tractor-trailer and a truck cab. (It looks like the truck cab may have been attached to a cement mixer, although it's hard to tell from the report.) Here are two of their photos:

The article says nobody was injured (though of course, it'll mess up traffic in the area, at least for today). If so, kudos to the driver of the smaller truck for thinking quickly enough to escape in time, because it looks like the cab of the truck was flattened. In fact, this accident illustrates the fundamental safety problem with large trucks: the laws of physics say that in a collision between two vehicles of unequal size, the smaller vehicle always loses. Passenger vehicles are designed to withstand an impact with another vehicle of equal size -- not a larger vehicle, whose weight brings significantly more pressure to the accident. That's why a collision between a large truck and any private passenger vehicle will probably result in death or serious injury to the people in the private car. And as you can see, even large trucks of unequal sizes aren't immune.

Of course, professional truckers have training and experience that's supposed to keep them from getting into accidents. But it doesn't always work that way, as some of our clients have, unfortunately, found. We were able to win $550,000 for one client who was hit by a turning tractor-trailer while she was stopped at a red light, causing spinal injuries as well as damage to her car. Between two economy cars, that probably would have been just a minor accident, if it had occurred at all. And that's why truck drivers -- and the companies that employ them and provide the trucks -- have a legal duty to be careful when they share the road with oprivate vehicles.

May is National Motorcycle Safety Month, a fact that has probably escaped most of America. We haven't seen many public service announcements about it. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- the federal organization that researches and educates the public on transportation safety -- has launched a "Share the Road" campaign with some timely reminders about the vulnerability of motorcyclists.

While we doubt the biker in that picture would appreciate being described as soft and squishy, they have a point: Motorcyclists are some of the most vulnerable people on the road. The fact sheet (MS Word format) that accompanies the NHTSA's ad campaign repeats the often-quoted statistic that 80 percent of motorcycle accidents result in the death of the rider or a passenger, whereas only 20 percent of car accidents result in the death of the driver or a passenger. It makes sense: when you get into a car, you're getting into a safety-engineered cage of steel that has seat belts and air bags to cushion you in an accident. When you get on a motorcycle, there's very little to protect you and nothing at all to keep you from being thrown from the vehicle. And the fact sheet says that 40 percent of multi-vehicle motorcycle accidents are caused by drivers turning left in front of riders they "never saw." That's why "sharing the road," the theme of their campaign, is not just a pretty phrase to motorcyclists.

As you might imagine, motorcycle accidents are ugly. The number of deaths and head injuries from motorcycle accidents has gone down since the 1970s due to helmet use, but riders almost always end up with broken bones and severe cuts and scrapes. The unlucky ones also get spine, head or internal organ injuries that take months and hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat. We represented one motorcyclist who had a single-vehicle accident due to gravel in the road, causing him to spin out and lose control of his bike. He broke his collarbone and his foot and tore his rotator cuffs, which are muscles of the shoulder that you need in order to lift almost anything. We won $200,000 for that client, but we're quite sure he would have preferred to have his body and his bike in working order.

A few weeks ago, my friend John increased his automobile insurance policy limits to $300,000. He recently bought some real estate and said that he cannot sleep now that he has attachable assets; he is constantly worrying what will happen if he seriously hurts someone in an accident. I asked if he also obtained corresponding SUM coverage, which stands for Supplemental Underinsured Motorist Coverage. When he said he did not think so, I told him not to throw away his sleeping pills.

When John purchased $300,000 worth of liability insurance, he protected his assets and ensured that a stranger will be compensated if John causes an accident. But what if John is seriously injured in an accident and the offending vehicle only carries the minimum required coverage of $25,000? How will John be compensated for his losses? How will he and his family replace his earnings if he cannot work? How will he pay for his medical expenses not otherwise covered?

For a nominal extra premium, John could have obtained SUM coverage equal to the $300,000 he purchased to compensate others for their injuries. Now if John is severely injured and cannot work, his own insurance company must make up the difference. In the case of a minimally insured vehicle, he will receive an additional $275,000. Additionally, SUM coverage applies to injuries sustained by John=s wife, children, and any family member who might reside with him, and it applies to these people in any vehicle they enter. It even applies to them as bicyclists and pedestrians.

In an increasing number of states, insurance carriers must provide SUM coverage in every policy. In New York, it remains an optional coverage. Yet it is absolutely necessary. Especially in New York City, where pedestrian knockdowns and accidents involving taxicabs are routine occurrences, foregoing this coverage is simply not an option.