In order to prevent bicycle injury and make streets safer, the New York City Department of transportation has been distributing free helmets to New Yorkers for the last seven years. This Saturday the DOT will give its 100,000th helmet at at this weekend’s Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn.
Read more here .
Among all construction accidents, falls are the leading cause of death. Contractors are required by law to protect their employees from falling by supplying and ensuring the use of legally required safeguards that can prevent personal injuries and save lives.
Flintlock Construction Services LLC, the Mamaroneck-based general contractor for the construction of a 23-story hotel in Midtown Manhattan at 325 W. 33rd St. (see picture) did not follow these rules and OSHA proposed a penalty of of $249,920 and cited for seven violations of OSHA‘s fall protection and scaffolding standards that involved workers exposed to scaffolding accidents and potential fatal falls of up to 26 feet. Flintlock failed to provide and ensure the use of fall protection for workers on the scaffold. The scaffold lacked a safe means of access, the work platforms were not fully planked and the scaffold was not tied off to restrain it from tipping. Flintock also failed to provide training on the hazards associated with erecting scaffolds and failed to have a competent person determine the feasibility of providing fall protection for workers erecting and dismantling the scaffolding. Additionally a scaffold walkway was found too narrow and an anchorage was found inadequate for the fall protection system.
3 other contractors were also cited. V&P Altitude Corp., a Brooklyn-based siding contractor was cited for lack of fall protection; no safe access to the scaffolding; not fully planking the scaffold platforms; failing to tie off the scaffolding; and not locking mobile scaffold wheels and casters. SMK Associates, a masonry contractor, was cited for electrical hazards and failing to provide eye and face protection and Maspeth Steel Fabricators Inc failed to provide training on the hazards of working on scaffolds.
Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. This bacterium may be present in any of the smoked products sold by the Alaskan Firm Big Blure Fisherie. The company said that some of the products may not have been properly cooked and have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum.
For more Info see FDA.
Nissan just recalled more than 161,000 defective cars. The M35 and M45 sedans of model years 2006 to 2010 could have accelerator pedal sensors that deteriorate. The sensor could send incorrect signals to the engine, causing it to stall while the vehicle comes to a stop or is idling, Nissan said.
Mazda just recalled 161,400 defective cars in the US because loose screws can cause the side doors to come open while the car is being driven. All Mazda6 produced during 2009 to 2013 at a plant in Flat Rock Michigan are affected. Mazda will apply a thread-locking adhesive to the screws and re-tighten them free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by October 18
76,000 defective cars are being recalled by BMW. According to BMW the oil supply for the vacuum pump that operates the brake booster used for power assist can be “interrupted”. The brakes will still function, but the driver will have to press much harder on the brake pedal. That means stopping distances could be greater.
Cars affected are the 2012-14 320i and 328i, and the 320i and 328i xDrive Sedan; the 2013-14 328i xDrive Sports Wagon; the 2012-13 528i and 528i xDrive Sedan; the 2013-14 X1 sDrive28i and X1 xDrive28i; the 2013-14 X3 xDrive28i and 2012-14 Z4 sDrive 2.8i
BMW has been experimenting issues with brake booster since 2010 with a total of 306,000 defective vehicle recalled since that year for that particular defect.
Most Surgical Fires result from Medical Malpractice or negligence causing serious injury, disfigurement, and even death. They occur in, on or around a patient who is undergoing a surgical procedure. An estimated 550 to 650 surgical fires occur in the United States per year. Despite the fact that the root causes of surgical fires are well-understood, surgical fires still occur.
To promote actions to reduce the risk of risk of surgical fires.The Preventing Surgical Fires Initiative is celebrating its second anniversary during National Fire Prevention Week, October 6-12, 2013.
Fires happen during surgery because the 3 elements needed to start a fire (fire triangle) are present in an operating room:
Cases of hepatitis B reactivation leading to serious personal injury and death after cancer patients have been prescribed Arzerra (ofatumumab) and Rituxan (rituximab) are still occurring even though the risk of HBV reactivation is already described in the Warnings and Precautions section of the labels for both drugs. For this reason the FDA has recently approved changes to the prescribing information of these two drugs.The revised labels also will include additional recommendations for screening, monitoring, and managing patients on these drugs to decrease this risk.
Go to the FDA website to learn more and listen to a podcast on this subject.
Errors when prescribing opioids may constitute medical malpractice that can lead to the death of a patient. In the US, the use of opioids to treat chronic non-cancer pain has increased dramatically in recent years and because of their highly addictive nature, some patients may use prescribed opioids for non-medical purposes increasing their risk for injury or death.
Providers may make multiple errors when prescribing opioids for non-cancer pain. Most common errors are inadequate screening for safe and effective opioid use, inability to monitor adherence, improper selection of opioids and insufficient consideration of co-morbid conditions.
In a recent case study, Web Morbidity and Mortality analyses the case of a 42 year old man who died of an overdose after doctors did not follow appropriate prescription practices.
Toyota announced a new car recall in the US yesterday because a defective lever system in some Sienna minivans can cause the vehicles to shift out of park mode “without the driver depressing the brake pedal” and resulting in a vehicle roll-away. 24 accidents related to the defective car have been reported to Toyota so far. The recall affects approximately 615,000 Sienna minivans from Model Years 2004-2005 and 2007-2009. This is the second time in a month that Toyota has issued a recall of its vehicles in the US market. Earlier this month, the car manufacturer issued a recall for more than 780,000 vehicles to address a defective suspension in its RAV4 and Lexus HS 250h models.
Nissan also announced yesterday that it was recalling nearly a million defective cars worldwide because a defective accelerator sensor could cause the car to stall. No accidents have been reported so far according to the manufacturer. The recall affects Infiniti M, Serena, X-Trail, Lafesta and Fuga models produced in Japan between 2004 and 2013.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog