Under the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, some employers in high risk sectors such as construction, manufacturing and building materials are required to report employees illnesses and injuries to OSHA. Until last year these employers reported these data manually in what was commonly called the “OSHA Log”. The OSHA log commonly refers to:
Extramammary Paget’s disease (EMPD) is a very rare form of cancer that is often misdiagnosed as a jock itch, a fungal infection in the skin of the genitals, inner thighs and buttock. EMPD usually invades the scrotum and requires multiple operations and skin grafts. The cancer is so rare that patients suffering from this cancer may feel extremely isolated. A year ago, Sandra G. Boodman published an article in her “Medical Myststeries” column about Stephen Schroeder, a patient whose doctors failed to diagnose EMPD. Schroeder wanted to speak publicly about his cancer because he wanted other men to be aware of the common misdiagnosis and also because he felt isolated and he was trying to connect with other patients who were suffering from the same rare disease.
After the article was published in October 2016, he received hundreds of emails and connected with 80 people who were suffering from the same rare form of cancer. He created an online support group where patients and doctors treating them can share information about the disease. Schroeder’s website contains so much information about Extramammary Paget’s disease that scientists used his data for a study recently published in Urology.
The article was also read by patients who had been mistakenly diagnosed with jock itch. A 50 year old engineer read the article on the plane on his way back from China. He was diagnosed with a fungal infection but Shoeder’s story felt so similar to his own experience that he went back to his dermatologist and asked for a biopsy. He also used Shroeder’s website to figure out which questions to ask doctors. The biopsy results confirmed the man was misdiagnosed and he had cancer. He had surgery and he is now in remission. He developed a friendship with Shroeder and the two men met twice in person.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) not only failed to do critical lead safety inspections but also falsified paperwork to pretend inspections were done and buildings were meeting requirements according to a report released by the Department of Investigation (DOI).
By mid 2016, Shola Olatoye, the NYCHA chairwoman appointed by Mayor de Blasio in 2014, was aware that lead paint inspections that were supposed to be finalized over four years hadn’t been completed in many of the 180,000 NYCHA apartments. She knew NYSHA was violating federal rules and local law but instead of admitting the problem and trying to fix the issues she and other top managers at NYCHA decided to conceal it.
NYCHA submitted a false certification in October 2016, potentially putting numerous children at risk of lead poisoning. Young children are the most at risk of being poisoned by lead. They can can suffer from developmental delays that can have lifetime consequences. In some cases lead poisoning can be fatal.
Four NYC students suffered personal injury during a science experiment that went wrong at St. Catherine Academy, an all girls catholic high school in the Bronx, NYC. Two of the students were seriously injured, two others suffered minor injuries.
The accident occurred last Wednesday morning around 8:30 am. Students were participating in an experiment during which they clustered around their teacher who was demonstrating with fire how an atom goes from ground state to excited state. At one point, instead of going up, the flame spread and expanded, reaching students. Four of them were singed on their hands and their faces. They were transported to the hospital to be treated.
The teacher had been teaching chemistry for 3 years at the Bronx high school and never had any accident in the past. Read more in the New York Times.
A 14 year old cyclist died after being struck by a car in NYC Saturday a little before 6:pm. Edwin Ajacalon from Guatemala was working as a delivery boy for a local restaurant. He was crossing Fifth Ave in Greenwood when he was hit by a BMW. According to the NY Daily News, the BMW had the green light.
A surveillance video shows the car slamming into the bicyclist at full speed. A witness said he saw the cyclist going up in the air and falling onto the windshield. The witness also said the car then continued on its way dragging the boy down the block. An off duty cop saw the scene and was able to block the BMW with his own car forcing the driver to stop. Both the cyclist and the BMW driver were transported to the hospital.Edwin Ajacalon died from his injuries. He arrived in Brooklyn a year ago. His parents are too poor to come to the US to reclaim his body. Edwin was sharing a bedroom with five other delivery boys and was sending money to his parents in Guatemala. The driver of the BMW was cooperating with the police.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN4lGT-Ghis
The hit and run driver who critically injured a pedestrian in Queens, NYC on Thanksgiving Day was arrested by the police. 52 year old Carmine Minichino of Queens was charged with driving while intoxicated with a suspended licence and leaving the scene of an accident. Last Thursday Minichino struck 71 year old Paul Sim who was crossing the road at the intersection of Murray Street and 17th Road in Flushing Queens. Sim was coming out of a Thanksgiving dinner with other relatives and friends when the accident happened. Minichino hit him and continued to drive, dragging him as far as 40 feet according to the police. Sim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He is expected to survive. The police spotted Minichino’s car abandoned down the block from the accident. He soon appeared with the keys in his hands and was arrested. Read more on New York CBS website
Our managing partner, New York Personal Injury Attorney Ben Rubinowitz is the director of a new program developed by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. NTA Drills is a rapid-fire three-day program that focuses on direct and cross-examination of witnesses, including impeachment and expert witness variations, as well as methods for delivering killer openings and summations. It is designed for both new and experienced trial lawyers who want to improve and refine their skills.
The program will take place from December 11th to December 13th 2017 at the NITA Education Center in Boulder Colorado. Attendees will receive 23 CLE credits for their participation in this program.
The “learning by doing” method used during NITA programs ensures that every participant will learn and master amazing new skills such as how to use memory muscle to formulate great questions on the spot or how to think quickly and effectively inside the Courtroom.
6 people were injured in a scaffold accident in New York on Sunday. The accident occurred at the corner of Prince and Broadway in Soho. The area is a popular tourist shopping and dining destination. It is usually packed with pedestrians all day long.
Soho is also a very windy area of Manhattan. Sunday high gusts of wind that were shooting from the North down Broadway took down a large scaffold located on the sidewalk just at the exit of the subway station. According to the FDNY a large plywood piece on the scaffold acted as a sail and took down the entire structure.
A couple of pedestrians got buried under the pile of metal and wood while other passersby who witnessed the scene ran to the rescue. People started to frantically move the metal and wood pieces to pull people out of the debris. Shortly after the firefighters and ambulances were also on the scene of the accident. A woman who suffered critical head injury as well as five other people injured by the debris were rushed to the hospital.
A man died in a car accident in Queens, NYC on Saturday night. 18 year old Xylique Lovelace-Loney was driving his car on Sutter Avenue in Ozone Park when he got T-boned by another car coming from 80th Street. The impact was so intense that Xylique’s car careened into two other parked cars.
People who witnessed or heard the accident ran to the rescue. Xylique was traped in his mangled car and the crowd around him was talking to him and trying to to keep him alive until the arrival of the emergency team.
Firefighters had to cut the car to free the victim who was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately he couldn’t be saved.
9 people were injured in a multiple-vehicle crash in New York City on Saturday afternoon. Two police officers in plain clothes tried to stop a car in Clinton Hill Brooklyn. But instead of stopping, the driver just took off. He drove through a red light at the intersection of Clinton and Lafayette Ave and crashed into a bus and two other cars. As he was fleeing. the driver of the car ditched his passenger in the street. He was badly injured. The driver of the bus as well as other passengers including two children of the various vehicles involved in the accident were all taken to the hospital. One person was arrested and another one is still on the run. Read more in the NY Daily News
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog