About 1:00 A.M. this morning, police spotted a stolen Nissan meandering through the streets of Brooklyn.  The police claim they did not chase the car; that they just watched.

The people in the Nissan noticed the police interest in their vehicle and jumped onto the westbound Belt Parkway. Even though the police lost sight of the Nissan, it ran away and hit a car near 65^th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

In the other car: one died at the scene, and three were injured, including a pregnant woman. The injured taken to Lutheran Medical Center.

The two in the Nissan were arrested. One of the arrested persons was taken to Maimonides Medical Center.

The Belt Parkway was closed for two hours.

Commentary: Was this a police chase or not? Was the crash because of the chase or not? Hard to say right now.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

American Airlines Flight #896 was taking Brooklyn resident Carnine Desir from Port-Au-Prince Haiti to J.F.K. airport last Friday. She died on the plane.

According to a cousin flying with her, ignored were Desir’s requests that flight attendants assist her because she felt ill and thirsty. Apparently, they refused to give her oxygen.

The passengers got upset, and an attendant finally tried to provide oxygen from a portable tank - but it was empty. Doctors and nurses on the plane tried to help, but found a second oxygen tank was also empty.

After the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, Desir died and the flight went to J.F.K. anyway, with her body on the floor of the first-class cabin, covered with a blanket

The medical examiner says Desir, who suffered from heart disease, died of natural causes: complications from heart disease and diabetes.

The airline said that it did all that it could and that its equipment was working correctly.

Commentary:  Could she have been saved/revived? I’ll be following this story.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

About 2:30 this A.M. 28 year-old Albert Caban was driving the streets of Brooklyn with his headlights off. This caught the attention of one or more of our local gendarmes, who attempted a traffic stop. Caban, engaging all the mental powers at his disposal, decided to flee.

Tearing down Miller Avenue in Brooklyn, Caban bounced off some thirteen parked cars.

Parts flew off the banged-up cars and oil leaked, causing a police car to skid out and crash into Caban’s car. Both cars then ricocheted into other cars.

Two cops were hurt and taken to Jamaica Hospital.

Mr. Caban, was arrested and charged with drunk driving and marijuana possession.

Commentary:  At what point should the police not pursue? Caban was being chased for no headlights which normally would be, like, a traffic ticket. The officers could not have known he was drunk, but they may well have saved a life by taking him off the street. But what if Caban just fled because he was an idiot and didn’t want a ticket? Or maybe because he had a couple of marijuana joints in the car? What if someone had been killed because of the pursuit?

The police are held to a lower standard than that which careless civilians face. For most of New York, if we are negligent we can be held accountable for civil damages via a lawsuit. For police in hot pursuit, they are only liable if they are "reckless." If they are merely negligent in conducting the chase, they have no liability, no matter that maybe they should have just let the car go. So says New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, Section 1104. And our courts rarely find that the police were reckless, even if they run stop signs and such. Just some food for thought here.

From:  New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

On the morning of February 13, 2008, a husband and wife wallpaper-hanging team from Nesconset, Long Island, were driving to work together to an office complex in New Hyde Park. While trying to park on the roof of a partially constructed parking garage, the couples’ SUV hit a patch of ice.

Julie Simon, 46, and Charles Simon, 47, faced unspeakable terror as their vehicle, filled with wallpaper and scaffolding, slid across the ice, crashed through a metal cable and teetered over the edge of the garage.

Charles Simon was able to escape the SUV, but Julie couldn’t remove her seatbelt in time. The SUV plummeted some three stories – about 40 feet – to the muddy ground below and landed on its roof, killing Julie.

The Simons worked together as unionized wallpaper hangers. The couple, born-again Christians, had no children and were inseparable.

From: Bronx injury attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; also serving Brooklyn and Queens )

Matter of James P. Colliton

First Dept.
Admitted to Bar: 1989

Discipline imposed: Disbarred

This one ends with a whimper, rather than a bang.

Attorney Colliton worked at the top law firm of Cravath Swaine & Moore, earning, like, half-a-mil ($500,000) a year. He had a wife and kids upstate in Poughkeepsie, and spent his days perusing the complexities of our tax laws. 

Colliton, age 39, had a taste for underage girls. You may remember this case from the newspapers. Arrested in September, 2006, Colliton claimed that the two teenage sisters that he had sex with, aged 13 and 15, were pimped to him by their mother.

Before he could be arrested this mutt tried to run away. He ran to Toronto, Canada, but was released due to a communication foul up. He fled back to Manhattan.

Finally, he was arrested alone in his room at a flea bag hotel in Manhattan. This criminal mastermind made the desk clerk suspicious when he tried to register under two different names.

He was recognized, and the cops called.

According to Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Colliton was carrying identification in the name of "James Sullivan," and "had a bag with a lot of cash in it and a lot of American Express gift cards."

Finally, as related by the Departmental Disciplinary Committee:

On October 2, 2007, respondent [Colliton] pleaded guilty in Supreme Court, New York County, to rape in the second degree in violation of Penal Law § 130.30(1), a class D felony, and to patronizing a prostitute in the third degree in violation of Penal Law § 230.04, a class A misdemeanor, in full satisfaction of Indictment No. 0861-2006. On that same day, respondent also pleaded guilty to rape in the third degree in violation of Penal Law § 130.25(2), a class E felony, in full satisfaction of Indictment No. 1748-2006. The charges to which respondent pled guilty alleged that he engaged in sexual intercourse with a person who was less than 15 years old and a person who was less than 17 years old, and that he patronized a prostitute who was less than 17 years old. On October 11, 2007, respondent was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year on each charge, to be served concurrently, and was required to register as a sex offender.

And the case ends with a whimper: Upon conviction of a felony, Colliton was automatically disbarred, and so holds the Departmental Disciplinary Committee.

Commentary:  This rather dry opinion marks the end to a high-paying legal career. It being well known that prison is particularly tough for child molesters, one can only wonder as to how tough prison will be for a child-molesting tax attorney.

From:  New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

My last blog – of February 13, 2008 – needs updating. The garbage truck driver who mowed down and killed two people and seriously injured another Tuesday night in midtown Manhattan has been arrested and charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Auvryn Scarlett, 52, was charged in the deaths of Jacklyn Timmons and Andy Hardie.

While I previously reported that Scarlett had a heart attack causing him to lose control of his truck and jump the curb, apparently he suffered a seizure. Said seizure was brought on by his alleged failure to take prescribed anti-seizure medication. Hence the criminal charges.

From:  Bronx injury attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; also serving Brooklyn and Queens )

A garbage truck jumped the curb near Herald Square at about 10:30 last night, killing two pedestrians and injuring one.

Apparently, the driver had a heart attack and lost consciousness.

The truck’s driver tested negative for alcohol. He was not charged.

From:  Queens injury attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; also serving Brooklyn and Bronx)

Way back in March, 2005, Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau indicted fifteen people, including four doctors, a dentist, a psychologist, and an acupuncturist, on charges of participating in an insurance scam in which insurance companies and the N.Y.C. Transit Authority were over-billed for No-Fault insurance charges, for medical care arising out of automobile accidents. Also indicted were a medical billing company, two health care clinics that were also professional medical corporations and three other professional medical corporations.

The defendants were charged with insurance fraud, grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and scheme to defraud. An examination of financial records revealed that the clinics billed more than sixty insurance carriers for millions of dollars in claims over a ten year period.

Abraham Pustilnik, a/k/a Abraham Post, and his mother, Isabella Pustilnik, a/k/a Isabella Post, used their ownership of a medical billing company and their control of medical clinics and professional corporations to defraud insurance carriers who paid out claims believing that the clinics were providing legitimate services. They also cheated patients by providing them with inadequate or medically unnecessary procedures.

The D.A.’s investigation revealed that the two Pustilniks, neither of whom is a doctor, operated Premier Medical Care and Omni Medical Care. They also Owned Empire Medical Management, a medical billing company. In addition, they were the covert owners of five medical corporations: both medical clinics, Premier Medical and Omni Medical, as well as University Psychological, Focus Acupuncture and Optimal Healthcare Medical.

The investigation also revealed that the two Pustilniks used licensed professionals as 'fronts' or "Docs-in-the-Box" for the professional corporations to disguise their ownership of the clinics. New York State law specifically prohibits the "corporate practice of medicine" and does not allow a medical practice or clinic to be directly owned by anyone other than medical doctors.

Generally the defendants submitted three types of fraudulent claims:

Billings for services in which the defendants claimed that they had seen and treated patients on dates when they had not.

Billings in which the defendants "up coded" - i.e., claimed that a particular procedure or doctor's visit lasted longer than it actually did to obtain a higher reimbursement rate.

Billings in which the defendants ordered medically unnecessary testing and testing that was not performed; two doctors ordered numerous unnecessary MRIs for the and one doctor ordered a brain MRI for a patient who only complained of lower back pain.

The Pustilniks were believed to have spent the proceeds of their crimes on a Central Park West co-op, luxury cars and a $2 million property in upstate New York’s Catskill mountain area.

So now let’s update our report.

This past November, 2007, two of the medical doctors swept up in this bust were convicted in Manhattan on fraud, grand larceny and assorted other charges .

Yesterday (February 11, 2008) the two medical doctors swept up in by the Manhattan District Attorney were sentenced to prison. Dr. Victor Basbus, a neurologist, was sentenced Monday to two to six years in prison, while Dr. Gerardo Yanayaco, an internist, will serve up to 10 months in jail.

Commentary:  If you have an accident case and treated at one of these "dirty" clinics, your case will usually be worthless. The prosecutors have your medical records buried somewhere. And you can’t hardly have a doctor testify in court after a felony conviction. Also, the insurance companies know where these places are, so good luck getting them to pay you a fair settlement. So play it clean and steer clear of these places, some of which may offer you money to be a patient. See my free special report on dirty doctors. Also, I touch on this subject in my free book: Good Lawyers Don’t Call You First.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

Gaining in popularity are several new scams using tax refunds as a pretext.

Scammers are calling offering people a quick payment now, in exchange for your tax refund or tax rebate check later. Of course the early payment is far less than the expected refund. This kind of deep discounting illegal. New York’s Senator Charles Schumer is warning New Yorkers to beware of this scam.

There are also outright identity stealers. We all remember them, they grab your personal data and rob your accounts, or set up phantom credit lines to pilfer – destroying your credit in the process.

These crooks are calling people and pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service. They tell their potential victims that they can only get a tax rebate or tax refund check by providing bank account and other information over the telephone. Needless to say, the real tax people do not telephone for information.

Rather than calling, some thieves send e-mails, pretending to be the tax agency; sometimes they threaten an audit. They also are trying to gather your personal information.

Business and tax return preparers should also beware of unsolicited e-mails offering tax law updates. Clicking on the link provided may invite in a computer virus that allows crooks to remotely access the recipient’s computer. Thus, the scammers can steal all the confidential information stored on that computer.

Commentary: The I.R.S. advises not to open any links in e-mail supposedly sent by it.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

On February 4, 2008 the parents of a three-year-old girl sued Crocs, Inc. in federal court in Brooklyn, alleging that the shoes were defective. The child, Emma Hochberg, allegedly had a toe mangled in an escalator when one of her Crocs became stuck. As you may know, Crocs are those big, colorful, rubbery, clog-type shoes that have gotten popular in recent years.

Similar accidents have been reported in Virginia and Atlanta’s airport, as well as in Japan and Singapore. The flexibility of the Croc, combined with a child’s small foot size and the fact that kids just don’t stand still on escalators and rarely watch where they put their feet mean that a moment of distraction can lead to tragedy.

The Crocs can get caught in the "teeth" at the bottom or top of the escalator, or in the crack between the step and the side of the escalator.

Crocs, Inc. does not feel that its shoes pose a health hazard.

Commentary: Many of these accidents can be attributed to parental inattention or the failure to properly maintain the escalator, so that its parts wobble a little, causing gaps which can trap a small foot.

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

Matter of Michael Caliguiri

Appellate Division, First Dept.
Admitted to Bar: 1980

Discipline imposed: One year suspension

From 1984 until 2003 Caliguiri was employed by Garbarini & Scher, a law firm that mostly represented doctors and hospitals sued for medical malpractice. In 1999 Caliguiri became the firm’s managing partner. Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co. (MLMIC), a huge insurer of doctors, was one of the firm’s major clients.

In light of Caliguiri’s expertise, a neighbor of Caliguiri’s asked him to answer medical malpractice questions from one of his partners, for which no money changed hands. Caliguiri knew that the defendant doctor being sued by the neighbor’s law firm was insured by MLMIC.

Caliguiri’s wife worked for MLMIC and secretly copied MLIC’s confidential file on the neighbor’s law firm’s case and gave it to Caliguiri. Both Caliguiri and his wife testified that she did this without Caligiuri asking her to do so. Caliguiri looked at the file, which confirmed his opinion that MLMIC would not voluntarily settle the case because it felt it could successfully defend it.

The neighbor’s law firm disclosed Caliguiri’s participation to MLMIC and the medical malpractice case was settled.

At the end of 2005 Caliguiri left Garbarini & Scher over "philosophical differences." One month later his wife was fired by MLMIC.

Caliguiri says: The opinion he gave about the way the case would proceed was the same before he read the documents as after – he did not formulate his advice based on something he learned from the file.

The Appellate Division found: that while it believed that Caliguiri never requested the copy of MLMIC’s file and his wife copied it on her own, he should never have looked at it.

Despite the fact that Caliguiri made no money (no personal gain) the Appellate Division held that his conduct violated the attorney-client privilege – that he should have kept secret his client’s confidential information, even though his firm was not representing the client for that case.

Commentary:  The Court actually toyed with imposing a longer suspension, but found that in addition to not gaining financially from his misconduct, Caliguiri showed "profound remorse" and had suffered devastating financial and personal consequences. Plus he had a clean disciplinary record, this being his first infraction in an otherwise clean 25-year legal career.

From:  New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx)

I never tire of cases where lawyers get their butts kicked for not filing tax returns. I pay my taxes, why shouldn’t they? I particularly like when tax lawyers get prosecuted for not filing tax returns. Following is discussion of just such as case.

John Howley, a former partner at the fancy schmancy blue chip Manhattan law firm of Kaye Scholer, once argued a tax case before the United States Supreme Court. He lost. Even though he lost, he still should have known to file New York State tax returns, despite living in New Jersey.

He was prosecuted for failing to file returns for several years spanning the late 1990's and early 2000's. For a guilty plea, he avoided jail time, and agreed to pay $154,626 in back taxes and penalties and a $10,000 fine. In return, he got a conditional discharge, which means the charges eventually will be dropped if is a good boy and stays out of trouble.

Will he keep his law license? Stay tuned dear blawg readers.

Commentary:  While the authorities have a zillion ways to collect taxes, it is ont a crime to fail to pay taxes, only to fail to file a tax return.

From:  Bronx injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; also serving Brooklyn and Queens)

Two women on Long Island apparently hatched a plot to kill the husband of one of them. Anthony Curso, 41, was mowed down when Paige Lester drove her car onto the curb, flattening him. Curso’s wife was a passenger at the time.

Curso was taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center with multiple fractures.

Criminal charges were filed against the two, although investigators were still (officially) tying to work out their motive.

Commentary:  No one will be shocked to learn that there was drug and alcohol involvement. No word on how the two got their victim to stand still on the sidewalk while the car jumped the curb.

From:  Queens injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; also serving Brooklyn and Bronx)

Once considered a political up and comer, former State Assemblyman Ryan Karben of Rockland County was arrested for drunk driving Wednesday night, after his car hit a pole.

Karben was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2002. He resigned from the legislature rather than face sanctions in the face of ethics complaints about his improper behavior with male interns. No formal complaint was ever filed against him.

Karben has a private law practice and is deputy village attorney in Spring Valley. He was arraigned yesterday and released on his own recognizance.

From: Queens injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; also serving Brooklyn and Bronx)