Personal Injury Attorneys - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and the Bronx

Retaining walls are designed to hold back soil that would move to a more natural slope or incline if the wall was not in place. Every homeowner is required by law to maintain their walls and their properties in a safe condition at all times. Under the No-Penalty Retaining Wall Inspection Program, homeowners may call 311 to request an inspection of their retaining wall without the penalty of violations. Every once in a while you heara story in the news about a retaining wall that collapsed on a worker engaged in a construction project on an adjoining property where the worker is injured ordies. This years program may be more important than in other years because this years unprecedented rainfall could compromise the stability of retailing walls. As temper

A March, 2010, Data Brief of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that nearly a third of cesarean sections in New York state may be performed unnecessarily, and a report released by Public Citizen this past Wednesday found that Long Island has among the state's highest rates of caesarean sections. The rapid rise in cesarean sections is due to the procedures being performed on women who had never had one before, as well as to a sharp decline in the rate of women who undergo a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean (VBAC). The Public Citizen report analyzes the rates of c-section by counties and hospitals in New York, and sets forth suggestions for expecting parents to try to avoid an unnecessary c-section. The NCHS paper describes major risks of undergoing a caesarean section: Cesarean delivery involves major abdominal surgery, and is associated with higher rates of surgical complications and maternal rehospitalization, as well as with compl

The New York City Buildings Departments Construction Safety Week has, since 2005, been a week-long series of events aimed at raising awareness about safe construction practices. Construction-related fatalities dropped 84% in 2009 when compared to 2008, and these events are a critical way to continue that trend. This year Construction Safety Week will run from April 26 to April 30, 2010. Events during the week will include construction site visits to discuss safety issues with workers, information seminars to review construction trends and specific operations and community meetings in all five boroughs. This years seminars are Maintaining Safety at Stalled Construction Sites, Requirements for Site Safety Professionals and Special Inspections, Safe Practices at High Rise Construction Sites, Building in a Dense Urban Environment, and Safety and Sustainability in the Building Code & Zoning

Youd be forgiven if you mistook a Camel Orb for a Tic Tac mint. They share a similar size and shape, and have candy flavoring. But Camel Orbs are no breath mint. Instead, Orbs are made of finely ground tobacco packed with nicotine, a highly addictive drug. Or if you prefer, you can chose a thin strip similar to some breath mint products or a stick resembling a toothpick. With their discreet form, candy-like appearance, and added flavorings that may be attractive to young children, smokeless tobacco products are of concern. From 2002 to 2006, there was an average increase of 6% per year recent increase in the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among adolescents. Smokeless tobacco products are designed and marketed not for smoking cessation but rather as temporary substitutes for cigarettes when smoking is not allowed. Worse, there is little doubt that these products being made to look like candy but containing nicotine - are not only marketed for children to use,

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) have been identified as a complication that can be avoided with proper care and procedures. To put pressure on hospitals to reduce if not eliminate HAIs, Medicare has included some infections on its list of never events, that is complicatoins that could reasonably have been prevented. As a never event, Medicare will not pay the extra costs of treatment when acquired in the hospital. Nonetheless, according to the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) issued April 13, 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) very little progress has been made on eliminating HAIs. For example, of the five types of HAIs in adult patients who are tracked in the rep

Unfortunately I can write from personal experience about the 60 red-light cameras that have been installed in Nassau County since last summer. No, not from driving, but from the envelope received that contained a friendly Notice of Liability Red Light Camera Violation. Although the vehicle was being driven by someone who shall remain nameless, the Notice stated that under the law the registered ownerof the vehicle is liable to pay a fine. The Notice even came with 3 color photos and an internet link to a video of the infraction, which video completely destroyed the defense being offered by the still nameless driver. My first reaction was that I would unfairly have points assessed against me when I wasnt even the driver. Not to worry the notice states that no points will be assessed. This was particularly good news because there was no opportunity to plead "not guilty" based upon the contention that the registrant was not driving at the time of the traffic

Deciding whether to have back surgery after a motor vehicle or other type of accident is a decision our clients often have to make. It is usually not an easy decision. No doctor in his or her right mind will guarantee the results of surgery to the contrary, in making sure not to do so, many doctors scare their patients when rightfully advising them that they may feel worse after the surgery. More than one client who had surgery have lamented that they wish they never had the surgery, especially when spinal fusion has been performed. Their concerns have been confirmed in a just released study that shows that invasive fusion procedures are associated with a higher risk of life threatening complications. The study was published in

New York's Appellate Division adopted new rules prohibiting certain types of attorney advertising and solicitation, which were to take effect February 1, 2007. The new rules barred testimonials from clients relating to pending matters, portrayals of judges or fictitious law firms, attention-getting techniques unrelated to attorney competence, and trade names or nicknames that imply an ability to get results. The amendments also established a thirty-day moratorium for targeted solicitation following a specific incident, including targeted ads on television or in other media. A New York attorney, along with his law firm and a not-for-profit public interest organization, challenged these provisions as violating the First Amendment. The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York held that the rules were unconstitutional except for the 30 day moratorium for targeted solicitation, 634 F.Supp.2d 239, and the parties appealed. Last month the Second Circui

Last week New York City's former chief crane inspector, James Delayo, admitted that he took "more than $10,000" in bribes to fake inspections and overlook unqualified crane operators. Prosecutors have said Delayo's individual payoffs ranged from $200 to $3,000. Delayos crimes are said to be unrelated to the two fatal crane collapses that occurred in 2008. Delayo's plea deal shaved his prison time from seven years to just two to six years. A good deal for him, but what message does it send?The money he took helped only him, but the phony inspections put the public in mortal danger. Its probably purely fortuitous that the fatal crane accidents did not involve Delayos crimes. Unless proving the crimes would have been difficult or Delayos plea is contingent upon information he already provided or will be providing to authorities, it is hard to justify the potentially short p