2008 September | www.newyorkinjuries.com

New Law Makes It Harder to Introduce Evidence of Prior Incarceration or Conviction in Negligent Hiring Claims

September 29, 2008

Under a negligent hiring theory, an employer’s liability arises from its failure to take reasonable care in making hiring decisions, thereby placing the newly hired employee in a position to cause foreseeable harm to others. The negligent hiring theory creates an incentive for employers to avoid hiring previously incarcerated individuals. To avoid such tort exposure, many employers choose not to hire ex-offenders when they apply for employment even though New York Law provides that to do so under certain circumstances constitutes unlawful discriminatory practice. The employer’s dilemna poses a serious problem for society. (more…)

Posted under: Civil Practice Comments Off

Sixteen Athletes, Including Six Former NFL Players, Agree To Donate Their Brains To a Study of the Long-Term Effects of Concussions

September 26, 2008

Sixteen athletes, including six former NFL players, have agreed to donate their brains to a program that will study the long-term effects of concussions. Of particular interest is a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.), which has been likened to pugilistica dementia seen in boxers. Common symptoms of the condition, a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) include dementia, parkinsonism, irritability and short-term memory problems. The condition can be confirmed only by post-mortem tissue analysis; X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging tests cannot yet detect it. Five out of six former N.F.L. players’ brains that have been examined in this manner have been found to have suffered from C.T.E. (more…)

Posted under: Health & Science, Sports Safety | Comments (1)

“Google Transit” To Help Customers Navigate New York City Transit System, But At What Cost to the Privacy of Its Customers?

September 23, 2008

This is cool! Google Transit, a feature of the Google Maps online mapping service, provides point-to-point public transit trip planning. Google Transit will now allow travelers to access streamlined, regional trip-planning based on up-to-date schedule data across the subway, bus and rail systems, including walking directions for the beginning or end of the trip. The new service will include transit services throughout the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) service territory including: New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bus, Long Island Bus and Staten Island Railway, as well as other regional connecting services participating in the initiative, such as New Jersey Transit, the Port Authority’s AirTrain and Staten Island Ferry. (more…)

Posted under: Consumer Issues, Internet Safety | Comments (0)

Yo-Yo Waterball, Bearing Risk Of Strangulation, Target of Legislation in New York; Children’s Product Safety and Recall Effectiveness Act of 2008 Also Signed Into Law

September 21, 2008

New York Governor David A. Paterson signed into law a bill prohibiting the importation, manufacturing, distribution, or sale of dangerous yo-yo waterball toys, and providing for enforcement by the attorney general. The New York State Consumer Protection Board has issued two warnings calling yo-yo waterballs a serious hazard to children. The second warning was issued after a five-year-old girl from the Rochester area was nearly strangled by the toy`s long elastic cord. Similar to other choking incidents involving yo-yo waterballs, the elastic cord became wrapped around the child`s neck after she had been twirling it above her head. The cord was wrapped so tightly that her father had to use a pair of scissors to cut the cord. The victiim’s mother said that her husband found their daughter “blue in the face.” (more…)

Posted under: Children's Toys, Dangerous Products, Personal Injury | Comments (0)

New Suffolk County Law Sets $150 Fine for Texting While Driving

September 19, 2008

Starting September 21, 2008, Suffolk County drivers caught driving while text messenging will face a $150.00 fine under a new county law that is the first of its kind in New York State. Westchester and Nassau recently approved similar laws, but those measures have not taken effect. New York City is considering a similar ban. Four other states have such a law: Alaska, Washington, Minnesota and New Jersey. County officials said they hope that the new law will encourage New York lawmakers to approve a statewide measure. (more…)

Posted under: Events, Motor vehicle accidents, Personal Injury | Comments (1)

Talcum Powder: Not as Fresh and Innocent as You Might Think (Asbestos, Ovarian Cancer)

September 16, 2008

For many years, doctors have been discouraging the use of baby powder for infants. Though it works well as a drying agent and fights against rashes, ointments are now the preferred remedy for diaper-related rashes. Have you wondered why? Talcum powder, which contains the mineral talc, is potentially harmful to infants, and it should never be used as a powder during diaper changing. Inhaled talcum powder causes serious breathing complications. Talcum powder is toxic if swallowed. Inhaling talcum powder can cause twitching, fever, cough, breathing problems, convulsions, and collapse. (more…)

Posted under: Consumer Issues, Dangerous Products, Health & Science | Comments (0)

Increasing the Driving Age Requirement = Increased Safety

September 12, 2008

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a nonprofit, scientific and educational organization aimed at reducing loss on the nation’s highways, including deaths, personal injuries and property damage. Its research has divulged that in the year 2006 alone, 42,642 people died in motor vehicle crashes. In particular, they have found younger drivers to be at risk, especially drivers younger than the age of 18. Teen drivers are at significant risk on the road because they lack both the judgment that comes with maturity and the skill associated with experience. (more…)

Posted under: Consumer Issues, Motor vehicle accidents | Comments (1)

Are Those Plastic Baby Bottles Safe? Some Findings and Advice

September 9, 2008

What parent could not be concerned upon hearing worrisome reports that bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in many polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins such as plastic baby bottles, is dangerous to their newborns. The federal government and others are now studying this issue, but are not reaching the same conclusions as each other. Most recently, a final report released September 3, 2008, by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), finding that BPA is of “some concern” for effects on development of the prostate gland and brain and for behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children. “Some concern” is the midpoint of a five-level scale, ranging from negligible to serious, that the NTP uses.

Advice from toxicoligists includes the following: (more…)

Posted under: Children's Toys, Dangerous Products | Comments (0)

Enjoy A Relaxing Lunch as Traffic Whiz’s By Just Inches Away

September 5, 2008

Recently, on August 27, 2008, two cabs collided sending one of them onto a Times Square sidewalk. Shortly before that accident, on August 15, 2008, New York City carved a new public esplanade on the roadway of Broadway from 42nd to 35th Streets for people to sit, eat lunch, and to just enjoy being outdoors. Called “Broadway Boulevard” by the Department of Transportation, the area has a gravel coating glued to the pavement, and a bike lane next to the sidewalk. Café tables, benches, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters have been set out for people to use as cars and trucks whiz past. (more…)

Posted under: Motor vehicle accidents, Personal Injury | Comments (0)

Few Doctors Report Abuse of Elderly Patients

September 2, 2008

A recent article in The Providence Journal notes that although doctors in almost every state are required by law to report suspected elder abuse of their patients, hardly any of them do, even if they fear that their silence may subject an elderly person to continued abuse at the hands of a caregiver or in a nursing home. Physicians report just 2 percent of the elder abuse and neglect cases recorded each year by state protective service agencies, according to medical and legal experts and recent articles published in medical journals. (more…)

Posted under: Nursing Home Neglect/Abuse | Comments (0)