New York Personal Injury Attorneys BlogThe health condition of a family who suffered serious personal injury after being exposed to a banned pesticide while vacationing in a St-John luxury resort, last March, will most probably not improve, Governor Kenneth Mapp said last week in a status update. 49 year old Steve Esmond, his wife Theresa Devine, 48 and their two sons Sean, 16, and Ryan, 14, suffered seizures and never recovered fully after they were exposed to methyl bromide while staying at their Sirenusa Villa in St-John. As of Today, the dad suffers from severe paralysis and must be strapped even to sit, the oldest son remains paralyzed from the neck down and the youngest one is in and out of coma with no sensation in his limbs and no control of his body. Only the mother seems to be recovering and is doing rehab. The accident happened after Terminix , the company hired by the resort for pest control, used a pesticide identified as Meth-O-Gas to fumigate a condo adjacent to the family’s villa. Meth-O-Gas contains methyl bromide, a very dangerous pesticide whose indoor use is illegal on US territory. Read more in The Virgin Islands Consortium
A pedestrian who was trying to cross the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx, NYC, died after being hit by a car
A 29 year old male pedestrian died in a car accident in New York City last Saturday night. For some unclear reason instead of using the nearby pedestrian overpass, Caje Dawkins decided to walk across the Bruckner Express Way near Stratford Ave, half a mile from where he lived. As he was trying to cross the busy highway he was struck by a SUV . The driver of the SUV stayed at the scene of the accident. Read more in the New York Daily News
A 32 year old woman died and three other people suffered personal injury in a motorcycle accident on the Queensboro Bridge in New York City
An impaired motorcycle driver caused an accident that killed a 32 year old woman last Saturday around 3:20 am near the 60th street exit ramp of the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge. Tasha Rodriguez was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by a 30 year old friend when another of their friends, 28 year old Jeremy Perez who was riding behind them on another bike rear-ended them. Rodriguez fell off the bike and was ran over by Perez. She died in the accident. Both motorcycle drivers as well as the 21 year old passenger of Perez suffered personal injury. Perez was arrested and charged for driving while impaired. Witnesses said that just before the fatal NY motorcycle accident happened they saw five motorcycles driving at high speed and weaving in and out of traffic. Read more in the NY Daily News . Motorcycle riders must understand and respect the fact that motorcycles are powerful machines, not toys and the rider and passenger are totally unprotected. It goes without saying that one should never ride while impaired. Further riders should never ride bikes above their experience levels.
As Americans are driving less and using their bikes more, crashes between trucks and bicyclists are becoming a serious safety issue: in In New York, for example, trucks account for 3.6% of vehicles but for 32% of fatal bicycle accidents
In 20o9 fatal bicycle accidents represented 1.9% of all traffic deaths in the U.S. In 2013 this number was 2.3%. Big trucks such as tractor trailers and box trucks as well as garbage and dump trucks represent a small fraction of the traffic but they are involved in a disproportionate amount of the fatal bicycle accidents. As cities are encouraging cycling and walking and create specific bike lanes and other infrastructures, e- commerce also brings more trucks into urban neighborhoods at the same time.
Trucks are extremely dangerous for cyclists and in many of the fatal crashes involving a bicyclist and a truck, the cyclist is first hit by the side of the truck, slides under it and gets crushed under the wheels. Such crashes happen most of the time when the truck is making a right-hand turn in front of the bike. It is called the Right Hook. Because of the large dead angles, the truck driver often doesn’t see the cyclist riding on its side and the cyclist realized too late that the truck is turning right.
The installation of side guards on trucks is so far the best way to prevent bicyclists and pedestrians from falling under the wheels if they are hit by a truck. So far a few cities including New York have passed legislation to require the use of truck side guards but the approach is piecemeal and bicycle advocates are calling for federal action. Read more in Fair Warning
A 21 year old pedestrian was fatally hit by a hit and run driver in Queens, NYC
The police are still looking for a hit and run driver who struck a pedestrian last Saturday around 12:30 in Queens. 21 year old Betty Jean DiBlasio was crossing Ditmars Blvd near 19th Street in Astoria when she was hit by a Chevrolet Impala. The driver sped away leaving the young woman lying on the pavement with a severe head injury. She died later at the hospital. Read more in the NY Daily News.
According to the Vision Zero Queens Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, 16% of Queens pedestrians fatalities happen between 12:00 and 6:00 am though less than 4% of pedestrian activity takes place during these hours. 75% of Queens pedestrian fatalities are caused by dangerous drivers choices such as speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, red light running, distracted driving, and driving under the influence.
Tips for outdoor construction workers to prevent injury and death related to heat
During the summer, outdoor construction workers such as those raking asphalt or sweating pipes can suffer from personal injury such as dizziness, discomfort and the fogging of safety glass and put themselves and others at risk of accidents. In some cases heat exhaustion can even lead to death. According to OSHA statistics an average of 30 construction workers die every year from heat stroke.
Construction workers can mitigate these types of injuries by arriving at work rested, wearing light clothing, drinking water every 15 minutes, doing demanding tasks in early morning when the heat is lower and when resting in a shady area is possible. Workers should also check their colleagues for signs of illness. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, weakness, moist skin, mood changes such as irritability or confusion, upset stomach and vomiting. Heat stroke is an immediate threat to life. Rapid cooling with ice packs or cold water must begin at once. A victim may sweat a lot, but some may have hot, dry skin and no sweating. Either way, it’s an extreme emergency. Call 911 immediately. For more info see the CPWR Hot Weather Toolbox
The Center for Justice and Democracy just released their third edition of their Medical Malpractice Briefing Book
Briefing Book: Medical Malpractice by the Numbers is a yearly compilation by the Center for Justice and Democracy of all recently published statistics and research related to Medical Malpractice in the US. The Briefing book cover Medical Malpractice Litigation, Health Care Costs and “Defensive Medicine” , Tort Reform, Medical Malpractice Insurance, Patient Safety and a special chapter related to Army Medicine.
Medical Malpractice Litigation
Recent studies added to the briefing book confirm that a very low percentage of individuals are filing claims or lawsuits when medical malpractice is being committed against them or a family member. A 2014 analysis of National Practitioner Data Bank(NPDB) by Public Citizen indicates that between 93 and 98 percent of deaths from medical negligence did not result in any liability payment. Compared to 2001, the year in which the most medical malpractice payments were made, the number and size of medical malpractice claims, lawsuits and payments stayed at an historical low in recent years. Most of the compensation theses days is made for serious personal injury or wrongful death and high verdicts are almost always reduced.
Medtronic is recalling defective neonatal and pediatric Tracheostomy tubes worldwide after the company received 12 reports of children suffering serious personal injury
Medtronic announced yesterday that certain lots of its neonatal and pediatric Covidien Shiley(TM) tracheostomy tubes are defective and can seriously injure children. The defective products were formed with a wider-angle bend than standard models, making it difficult for patients to breath. In its press released Medtronic indicates that it already started to notify hospitals and distributors at the end of May. The company also asks that customers and distributors notify primary care physicians and home care providers to whom they provided such devices. Read the press release
A bicyclist died yesterday morning after being struck by a box truck in Brooklyn NYC
A man died in an accident between a bicycle and a truck in New York City. The man who was 57 years old was riding his bicycle at the Corner of Church Ave and Ocean Ave near Prospect Park in Brooklyn when he was struck by a box truck.
According to the police both the cyclist and the truck were riding in the same direction when they collided. The bike rider was run over by the rear wheels of the truck. The police found him with severe trauma to his body and he was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital. Read more in the Mean Streets section of the Brooklyn Paper
For the last two years 3 people died in a bicycle accident in the month of June. Even though the Vision Zero Program includes several measures to protect bicyclists from being hurt or dying in dangerous traffic crashes the recent collision statistics published by the NYPD show no decline in deaths and injuries related to bicycle accidents in New York City.
A carbon monoxide leak coming from a defective boiler is suspected in the death of a woman in Brooklyn, NYC
55 year old Nilda Sing was found dead in her apartment after she was apparently poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes coming from a defective boiler. The woman was living in a basement apartment of a four-story building on Fort Hamilton Parkway near 55th St. in Borough Park, Brooklyn in New York City. She was discovered dead by her brother early Saturday morning. When the police and the firefighters arrived they detected a high level of CO in the basement and the 16 apartments of the building were temporarily evacuated. Nilda Sing’s sister who was also in the apartment but in another room with AC survived and only suffered personal injury. The origin of the deadly gas leak seemed to come from the boiler that was located just below the appartment of the victim. The boiler was not working proprely and a repair crew had been working on fixing it for the last two weeks. One of the workers didn’t comply with safety guidelines and secured the exhaust pipe with tape. The pipe burst on Friday.
Read more in the NY Daily News and see video on New York CBS Local
