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

In The Matter Of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation vs. New York State Commission Of Correction (May 8, 2012), the Court of Appeals enforced a subpoena issued by the Medical Review Board ("Board") of the New York State Commission (“Commission”) to Elmhurst Hospital of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (“HHC”) for records of a prison inmate who died subsequent to transfers from the New York City facility where he was incarcerated to Elmhurst Hospital and then to Bellevue Hospital.  HHC refused to turn over the records on the grounds that Mr. Frazier had been treated at Elmhurst in a non-prison unit, and that his records were shielded from disclosure by the physician-patient privilege. The Court of Appeals held that the Board's authority to “investigate and review the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility” trumped HIPPA medical privacy laws.

Your first reaction may be, “You mean right now they’re not?!”  After three accidents, two of them fatal, in six months, the City Council is considering licensing elevator mechanics for the first time. The council is also considering a bill to require safety devices in some residential buildings to prevent elevators from skyrocketing to the ceiling.  New York is among just 14 states that do not require that elevator technicians be licensed.  Three-dozen other states already license elevator mechanics.  According to the International Union of Elevator Constructors, 25 percent fewer elevator accidents occur in states where licensing and mandatory inspections are required.  There are about 60,000 elevators in the city, and about four elevator fatalities a year.  In 2011 in the city there were 43 elevator accidents, compared with 105 in 2007.

In 1975 New York enacted a “no-fault” insurance plan that in theory was designed to keep small cases involving motor vehicle accidents out of court in exchange for relatively immediate payment of expenses for hospital and medical bills and reimbursement of lost earnings without the injured party having to prove that the other party was at fault for the accident.  One would think that needing to undergo surgery to repair injuries sustained in an accident would not be considered too small of a case to be allowed to proceed, particularly where the surgeon states that the injuries he observed during the surgery would result in a permanent limitation of motion and other problems.  Wrong.  In Ramkumar v. Grand Style Transportation Enterprises Inc., 2012 WL 1164882 (April 10, 2012), the Appellate Division, Second Department in Brooklyn dismissed just such a case.

The 2011 Annual Report, released last month, touts New York City as the nation’s safest big city in 2011.  2011 marked a near-historic low number of fire fatalities, a 10th consecutive year of fewer than 600 murders, a record-breaking low number of traffic deaths — and an 18% decrease in construction-related accidents, which follows an almost 28% reduction in 2010 from 2009.  Construction-related injury rates also continue to improve. There were approximately 8% fewer injuries in 2011 over 2010, following a nearly 32% decline in 2010 from 2009. Construction-related fatalities remained low, with five caused by falls or shoddy construction.  The Buildings Department issued 23% fewer Stop Work orders.

Whether or not to get out of your car is a big question, maybe a life-determining one.  With cars, trucks and buses speeding by so closely, you feel that if your vehicle is hit your will defineitely be injured, if not killed.  And you worry about everyone else in your vehicle.  But if you get out, you lose the protection the vehicle's metal provides to you, especially if your vehicle is struck and debris flies.

On Monday of last week it was reported that Federal regulators planned to announce this week that automakers will be required to put rearview cameras with in-vehicle display in all passenger vehicles by 2014 to help drivers see what is behind them.  By Wednesday the plans were put on hold to allow more time for “study and data analysis”.  Auto-lobbyists estimated that the required cameras would cost the auto industry $2.7 billion annually, or $160 to $200 a vehicle. They suggested car manufacturers be able to add expanded mirrors instead of the cameras.  If that would be good enough and economically feasible, where has the auto industry been all this time?

In Dahar v. Holland Ladder & Manufacturing Company, the plaintiff was injured when he fell from a ladder in a factory while cleaning a product manufactured by his employer.  The product was a steel wall module that was at least seven feet high. After the module was fabricated, it had to be cleaned before it was shipped. Plaintiff was cleaning the unit while standing on a ladder when it broke and he fell to the ground. Plaintiff claimed that the ladder failed to provide “proper protection”; and liability should be imposed under Labor Law 240(1). The Court of Appeals rejected the plaintiff’s contention that the product was a structure within the meaning of the statute and held that his activity was not protected by Labor Law 240(1). The decision is important for plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers because it contains helpful language that should be cited in every motion, brief or legal writing involving a Labor Law 240(1) claim.

In the Court of Appeals decision Martino v. Stolzman, the defendant attended a New Year's Eve party at a friend’s home where he consumed alcohol. At approximately 12:30 A.M., the defendant left the party and got into his truck, with another party guest in the passenger seat. The defendant backed his truck out of the home’s driveway onto the main road and collided with an oncoming vehicle driven by the plaintiff. Following the accident, a test revealed that the defendant had a blood alcohol content of .14 percent, nearly twice the legal limit. He later pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. The Court of Appeals found that the hosts were no longer in a position to control the defendant when he entered his vehicle and drove away, and that they had no duty to assist the defendant as he pulled out of their driveway. The Court of Appeals also conclude that the hosts had no duty to assist the defendant as he pulled out of their

A study by Newsday of pedestrian accidents reports from 2005 through 2010 published in today’s paper finds that pedestrians are killed an average of more than five times a year on Hempstead Turnpike’s 16 miles through Nassau County, making it Long Island’s most dangerous road.  Thirty-two people were killed and at least 427 injured in 457 pedestrian accidents.  Three more people have died since last July.  Even crossing at intersections is not safe.  More than half of the incidents examined occurred at intersections.  Pedestrians were struck far more often by drivers turning left than turning right.  Seventy percent of the pedestrians killed were not at intersections.

There was an 18 percent decrease in construction-related accidents in New York City for 2011, despite a 7.7 percent increase in the issuance of construction permits citywide. Construction-related injuries also decreased across the City last year – falling from 165 reported accidents in 2010 to 152 in 2011, a reduction of 7.8 percent. In total, there were five construction-related fatalities in 2011, a slight increase from four fatalities in 2010, but a 73 percent decrease when compared to 2008.  While the most common construction accident remains workers falling, the number of workers who were injured in a fall declined from 66 in 2010 to 52 in 2011, a 21 percent decrease.