Earlier this month, Transportation Alternatives (TA) released Executive Order: A Mayoral Strategy for Traffic Safety, which TA says shows startling gaps in the way NYC deters the most dangerous driving behaviors. TA’s stated mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile, and to advocate for bicycling, walking and public transit as the best transportation alternatives. More than 30 experts on enforcement, traffic, public health and litigation were interviewed for TA’s Executive Order. Based on analysis of the known rates of driver infraction and summonsing by the NYPD, Executive Order produced the following key findings: (more…)

In Alexander v. Hart, — N.Y.S.2d —-, 2009 WL 1955556, 2009 N.Y. Slip Op. 05716 (N.Y.A.D. 3 Dept., 2009) the plaintiff, a service technician, fell while working on a rooftop heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit at defendants’ fitness center on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in Franklin County. The defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s Labor Law §§240(1) and 241(6) claims on the ground that these construction worker safety statutes do not apply on the grounds that (1) the statutes do not apply to accidents that occur on an Indian reservation, (2) since the tribe is the title owner of the land, the individual and corporate defendants are not “owners” within the meaning of the Labor Law statutes, (3) the plaintiff was engaged in repair work that is not an activity covered by Labor Law §240(1), (4) the plaintiff’s work was not covered by plaintiff’s Labor Law §241(6), and (5) the plaintiff’s actions in using an inadequate ladder and failing to use a safety harness that was in his van were the sole proximate cause of his accident. (more…)

While driving on the highways in the New York metropolitan area, have you noticed that when the overhead highway electronic traffic signs have no traffic jams to report, they warn that only hands-free devices can legally be used? While happy to not have to deal with a traffic jam, who knew that this seemingly friendly advice was false – that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) withheld data showing that drivers talking on their cell phones experience the same potentially deadly distraction whether they are using a handheld device or hands-free technology. Records obtained by consumer advocacy groups Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety show that the government has known of the hands-free risk since 2003. (more…)

“If you spend an hour reading this report, chances are that five to 11 Americans will die from preventable medical errors by the time you finish. Chances also are better than 50-50 that not a single malpractice payment will be made as a result of any of these avoidable deaths.” “Policy makers intent on reducing the legal liability of our health care system should address the crisis that experts acknowledge – the shocking prevalence of medical errors – instead of falling prey to the special interests’ fiction that lawsuits are at the root of the problem.” So begins and ends the July 1, 2009, report by Public Citizen titled The 0.6 Percent Bogeyman debunking the myths concerning the so-called medical malpractice crisis. (more…)

Under New York City’s Weights and Measures law, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) tests all gas pumps for accuracy. In the past year, DCA has performed more than 1,800 gas station inspections, checking more than 12,000 individual gas pumps throughout the five boroughs. The Department condemned 227 gas pumps for inaccurately dispensing fuel over the past year. On average, DCA’s gas squad inspects each gas station in the City approximately twice a year. In a press release dated July 1, 2009, the DCA announced a 98 percent compliance rate for the City’s gas pumps, which the Department considers to be very good. (more…)

Around midnight on November 5, 1999, Erik Ramsey was a passenger in a friend’s Camaro that was in an accident with another vehicle and flipped and landed on an embankment. His injuries were devastating – a collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen, a ruptured diaphragm, ripped tendons in his hand, and a femur that was broken in two places. More so, a blood clot had caused a brain-stem stroke that cut the connection between his mind and his body, a condition known to neurologists as locked-in syndrome. He can still see, smell, and hear, his body could still register the itch of a rash or the pleasure of a warm breeze. But he cannot speak or make any voluntary movements other than with his eyes. Help, though, is on the way, as reported in a fascinating article by Chris Berdik that was published in the Spring 2009 issue of Bostonia magazine. (more…)

It’s been a tough couple of days for the safety of infants and toddlers. On July 7, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), in cooperation with Gromex Inc., of Passaic, N.J., announced a voluntary recall of about 700 Jaloma Pacifiers.  The next day the CPSC, in cooperation with Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. of Chicago, Ill., announced a voluntary recall of about 1 million Kolcraft, Carter’s, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle Play Yards. (more…)

On June 19, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7. As of June 25, the CDC reported that 69 persons from 29 states have been infected with the outbreak strain. Thirty-four persons have been hospitalized, nine with a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. No one has died. On June 25, 2009, the FDA found E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that can cause serious food borne illness) at Nestlé’s facility in Danville, Va. in a sample of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough currently under recall by the manufacturer and marketer, Nestlé USA. (more…)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on July 1, 2009, that it is requiring manufacturers to put a Boxed Warning on the prescribing information for the smoking cessation drugs Chantix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion) and to update the Medication Guides for patients that further discuss the risk of mental health events when using these products. The warning will highlight the risk of serious mental health events including changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility, and suicidal ideation and behaviors when taking these drugs.  The FDA has received additional information bolstering the suggestion of a possible association between both varenicline and bupropion and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms, in both patients with and those without previous history of psychiatric illness.  The FDA first informed the public about the possibility of serious neuropsychiatric symptoms with Chantix on November 20, 2007. (more…)

Part and parcel of many types of claims for bodily injuries is the medical examination conducted by a physician designated by an insurance company. This can occur in contexts including a personal injury lawsuit, a claim for motor vehicle no-fault benefits, a disability claim or a workers compensation claim. Once in a while one of our clients complains that they were injured by the insurance company doctor, although no one, as far as we know, has gone so far as to try to sue the doctor. But if a client did sue, would it be considered an action for medical malpractice or for negligence? It made a difference in Bazakos v. Lewis, — N.E.2d—, 2009 WL 1765980 (N.Y., 2009), a 4-3 split Court of Appeals decision dated June 24, 2009, because the suit was commenced after the 2 ½-year time limit for medical malpractice actions but before expiration of the 3-year limitation for negligence. (more…)