New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog

Published on: April 3, 2014

To reduce the number of drug overdose deaths, the FDA approved Today a new hand-held auto-injector to reverse opioid overdose

Poisoning, driven largely by prescription drug overdose deaths, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury related deaths in the United States – surpassing motor vehicle accidents.

In order to fight this tourbling trend, The FDA just approved a hand held auto injector device to deliver a single dose of Naloxone, a drug that can rapidly reverse the effect of opioids in case of overdose. Evzio (naloxone hydrochloride injection) can be injected into the muscle or under the skin. It is designed to be used by family members and caregivers.

The first Queens’ Vision Zero project will adress the dangerous Northern Blvd and 61st Intersection where a 6 year old pedestrian was killed in a truck accident

By GGCRBHS&M

A dangerous Queens intersection where a young boy was killed in the crosswalk by an unlicensed truck driver making a left turn will be the first Vision Zero project in Queens. The site of the truck accident was visited by Mayor de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Bratton and DOT Commissioner Trottenberg as well as Queens officials and shortly after additional crossing guards were added.

Last Friday, Dalila Hall, Queens Borugh Commissioner for the DOT announced in a letter to local elected officials and community boards that the agency wants to start to redesign the intersection to make it safer. The redesign includes the addition of concrete pedestrian islands and the elimination of left turns from westbound Northern Boulevard to southbound 61st Street. It will also adjust signals to increase crossing time for pedestrians and feature new school zone crosswalk markings and signage. DOT has already restricted some on-street parking to “daylight” the intersection’s northeast corner and improve visibility for pedestrians and drivers. Construction is set to begin this month and wrap up within weeks.

Young New York woman dies from cosmetic surgery complication in Dominican Republic

By GGCRBHS&M

Getting cheap cosmetic surgery in a foreign country can be risky. Medical malpractice such as surgical errors and hospital negligence have a higher risk of happening in foreign hospitals because medical standards are lower than in the US. Recently, a young New York woman who decided to go to The Dominican Republic to get a cheaper tummy tuck and liposuction died from a massive pulmonary embolism on the operating table.

Beverly Brignony was 28 years old. She was married and had a 4 year old daughter. She had gastric bypass surgery a year earlier and since she had lost 80 pounds. she was very excited about getting a tummy tuck and liposuction her friends said.

Because her flight was delayed, she arrived at The Dominican Republic Hospital late at night before the surgery started early the next morning. She may not have received a proper medical evaluation before the surgery and the medical staff may not have taken into account the higher risk of embolism related to the fact that she sat on a plane for several hours before the surgery.

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Published on: March 31, 2014

New York Nursing Home Business Manager Sentenced For Stealing Residents’ Funds

By GGCRBHS&M

A business manager who was stealing money from the residents of a New York nursing home by falsifying the books and forging names on receipts was sentenced to 3 years probation including counseling for gambling problems. Wendy Vice a former business manager at Highland Nursing Home admitted to stealing $18,000 in residents funds. Read the press release

Financial exploitation is a widely spread form of nursing home abuse. It is a crime but it is not always reported. If you or a loved one is residing in a nursing home, make sure you fully understand nursing home residents’ financial rights and watch for warning signs such as caregivers taking money for gifts, discharge notices due to non-payment, changes in financial practices, unknown charges to credit cards or statements from unknown credit cards. If you suspect you or a loved one has been a victim of a financial abuse share your concern with the nursing home administrators and contact your Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, your state licensing and certification agency, Adult Protective Services (APS) and your local law enforcement agency.

For additional information regarding elder abuse, neglect or exploitation visit the National Center

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Published on: March 31, 2014

Dangerous Roosevelt Island Bridge Bike Lane puts Bicyclists at risk of an accident

By GGCRBHS&M

Metal grating and gravel in the bike lane increase the risk of bicycle accidents on the Roosevelt Island Bridge. Residents who are using the bike lane to commute to Manhattan say debris on the bike lane makes it extremely slippery and bicycle accidents are going to happen. As the spring is coming more commuters are using their bikes and Roosevelt Island cyclists want the city to fix the dangerous bike lane.

Speed cams cut out of final New York State budget deals a blow to vision zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities in NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

Speeding is the leading cause of traffic accident deaths in New York City but the 160 new speed cameras requested by New York City Mayor De Blasio as part of the Vision Zero action plan have been denied by Albany. Also denied were speed cameras for Nassau County, Long Island.

The installation of new speed cameras are part of De Blasio’s Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities. According to the Vision Zero action plan, previous studies in other cities such as Washington DC show that fatalities have been reduced by 20% at intersections where speed cameras were installed.

There is still hope that New York may get new speed cameras though. A bill from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver would make up for much of what was lost in budget negotiations, bringing speed cams to Long Island and expanding NYC’s automated speed enforcement program by 120 cameras. With Silver sponsoring this bill, it should pass the Assembly. The question is whether it will also find a champion in the State Senate majority. Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein led the push to create NYC’s school zone speed cam program after Senator Marty Golden stymied automated speed enforcement in last year’s budget.

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Published on: March 31, 2014

A man suffered serious injury after trying to escape from a building on fire and plunging to the ground from several stories up, the fall was caught by a cell phone video

By GGCRBHS&M

A total of 13 people suffered personal injury in a fire in Brooklyn, NYC. Among the victims a man who was trying to escape the blaze by using a bed sheet out of his window and plunged several stories. He was critically injured. His wife who was also in the apartment was saved by the firefighters.

A cellphone video posted to Instagram captured the man falling from his apartment window as firefighters rushed to save him. See below

Published on: March 31, 2014

Only 90 days in jail for a hit and run driver who was drunk and had smoked marijuana when he struck a 23 year old pedestrian causing his death in the Bronx, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

Seth Johnson was drunk and high on marijuana when he struck and killed 23 year old Thomas Riley, a pedestrian who was hailing a cab on the side of Fordham Road in the Bronx, NYC in 2011. He was initially charged with drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident and criminally negligent homicide but a jury acquitted him of all charges except drunk driving for which he will receive 90 days in jail with 3 years probation.

Taxi and Limousine Officer suffers personal injury after being struck and dragged on the street by hit and run limo driver

By GGCRBHS&M

A TLC officer suffered cuts and lacerations after a limo driver who struck her and dragged her down the street before fleeing the scene near the Jamaica Station Long Island Rail Road. The lieutenant and a co-worker were hunting for limo drivers who illegally pick up passengers in this busy area. As the lieutenant approached a black limousine to question the driver, he just backed up with the passenger door open, striking the female lieutenant and dragging her on the ground before speeding from the scene. The police are still looking for the negligent driver.

Published on: March 28, 2014

New York Medical Malpractice: Interesting statute of limitations decisions by the Appellate Division, First Department

By GGCRBHS&M

Ann Pfau is the Statewide Coordinating Judge of the New York Medical Malpractice Program and former chief administrative judge of the New York State Judiciary. In a recent article in the New York law Journal she looks at two interesting statute of limitations decisions recently handed down by the Appellate Division, First Department, both involving medical malpractice actions, one directly and one indirectly.

In Perez v. Fitzgerald, 2014 NY Slip Op. 00744 (1st Dept. Feb. 6, 2014), the court held that the statute of limitations period for chiropractic malpractice was three years, not the two and one-half years applicable to medical malpractice.

In Cabrera v. Collazo, 2014 NY Slip Op. 00611 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 4, 2014), the court put the bar on notice that, whatever the medical malpractice statute of limitations may be, an attorney may be liable for legal malpractice if attorney neglect causes the client to miss the statute of limitations-even if the attorney’s death occurs before the statute runs.

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