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

Feels funny to be writing this piece, but two things have just popped up to get me thinking.

FIRST: A potential client met with me yesterday. In 2005 she was buying tea in a coffee shop in Queens County that's part of a well-known chain. In an unfortunate accident the cup was slid to her on the counter and dropped off, burning her. Luckily, she only suffered first and second degree burns. Like a bad sunburn; nothing that would scar her.

Sensing correctly that this accident was due to the carelessness or negligence of a coffee shop employee, she decided to sue. Hiring a local attorney a few days after the accident, she got on with her life, just needing a few months of doctor's care for her burn injury. And then she got mostly better.

The attorney that she hired, an older lawyer, did nothing with the case for 2½ years. Apparently he recognized that the deadline to sue ("statute of limitations") was three years and so he started her case in New York State's Supreme - which is New York State's lowest-level court of general jurisdiction, even though "Supreme Court" makes it sound like our highest court.

And the case moved slowly along.

Then it gets interesting. Because the accident victim and the defendant coffee company were both from outside New York State, the coffee shop's lawyers were able to transfer ("remove") the case to New York Federal Court. And the game changed.

Federal Court requires all documents to be filed electronically. Everything is "email this" and "email that" which is a pain, but that's how it's done in the 21^st Century. But the accident victim's lawyer couldn't seem to get on board with the program. From the papers his (still) client showed me it appears that he wrote to the Federal judge to ask for special permission to not have to file stuff with the court by computer. And the judge told this lawyer, "no."

Then the accident victim's lawyer started missing court dates and not filing papers, until the judge wrote and order that the burn victim's case was on the verge of being dismissed for "failure to prosecute" because her lawyer seems not have known what the heck to do.

A simple and proper solution would have been for this lawyer to recognize he was in over his head when the case got moved from state court to federal court and get another, computer-savvy lawyer to assist him. But, alas, such was not the case.

So I had to advise this woman to return to her lawyer and find out if he had managed to keep her accident case from getting thrown out of court. And when she calls me back, whatever she tells me, I'm not sure what I'm going to suggest to her.

SECOND: I saw a news piece out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Philadelphia attorney lost the right to recover a fee of $35,000 because he did not receive an email notifying him of an upcoming fee arbitration hearing. Now I don't know if this was an accident case or divorce case or what kind of case it was. It appears that this lawyer relied on his wife, who was also his office manager, to work his computer. She had fractured her arm and missed work for a long time. Her husband, the lawyer, did not hire a temporary replacement. Or even a high school or college student who could read this email.,

Needless to say, this attorney didn't know how to use Philadelphia's electronic court filing system. And never advised the court that he couldn't check, or wasn't going to be checking, his email for a while. So rather than learn the technology or get help, my Philadelphia colleague did nothing - in his case, only hurting himself and only costing himself money. Like the ostrich, Philadelphia lawyer stuck his head in the sand. Much like the New York attorney who seems to have blown the case of his burn-accident-victim-client who came to consult with me.

Comment: What have we learned here, Dear Readers? While your attorney doesn't need the best website or the greatest blog, he or she should be computer literate and not stuck in old technologies. Unfortunately, clients must sometimes protect themselves, which is not the way it's supposed to be when you hire a lawyer. Ask lots of questions.

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LAWYER WITH GAMBLING PROBLEM CRAPS OUT     (Posted by Queens Accident Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on December 16, 2009)

LYING LAWYER DISCIPLINED (AND HE WASN'T EVEN UNDER OATH)    (Posted by Queens Accident Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on November 27, 2009)

TAX LAWYER SPANKED FOR NOT FILING TAX RETURNS    (Posted by Queens Accident Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on February 5, 2008)

FAKING HIS WAY TO THE TOP    (Posted by Queens Accident Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on January 31, 2008)

ATTORNEY HID BUSINESS ASSETS FROM CLIENT'S WIFE IN DIVORCE CASE    (Posted by Queens Accident Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on December 13, 2007)

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

On Monday, March 28, 2011, a car exiting the Ed Koch-Queensboro-59th Street Bridge climbed a curb and struck a 68-year-old man killing him.

The unidentified man was on the corner of Queens Plaza North and Crescent Street at 4 a.m. when the 2007 Volkswagen slammed into him, police said.

The driver, an unidentified 35-year-old man, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. He lost an arm in the accident. His female passenger, 31, was also in stable condition at Cornell Hospital.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was on the sidewalk in front of the Villa de Beaute hair salon in Long Island City about 4 a.m. when the car veered from the off-ramp and struck him, cops said.

He died at the scene.

"It was a horror movie - pools of blood running onto the street," said carpenter Yama Dastagirzada, 41, of Far Rockaway, who was the first person to come upon the wreck.

Cops said the 35-year-old driver lost an arm and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. A 31-year-old female passenger was taken to Cornell Weill Medical Center. Both were in stable condition and expected to live.

A police source said investigators took a sample of the driver's blood to check for alcohol, but the cause of the accident was unclear.

The car - a red four-door 2007 Volkswagen - slammed into the beauty parlor and the neighboring Espinal's Caribbean Restaurant II before coming to rest in the shadow of Silvercup Studios.

"I saw one man face down in the sidewalk. He was wearing all black. He wasn't moving," Dastagirzada said.

He then noticed the man was covered in blood and called 911. Dastagirzada then turned his attention to the passengers in the crushed car.

"I looked in and saw a hand moving," he said.

"I was going to try and turn off the ignition but the car was crushed from the top. I couldn't get in," he said. "The whole front end of the car was taken off."

"I stuck my head in there and asked him, 'Can you hear me?' There was no response. I told him an ambulance was coming and 'Just hang on.'"

The crash caused heavy damage to the two hair salon and restaurant. Salon owner Jiwani Akber said he didn't now when he would be able to reopen.

"Everything is destroyed," he said. "Everything I had was put into this shop."

"I'm glad it didn't happened during the daytime," he added. "It could have been worse."

Kathy Anderson, who owns a check cashing business along the same row of shops said it was not the first time a car had gone up onto the sidewalk after coming down the off-ramp.

"My store's been hit a few times," she said. "But this car must have been going really fast to do this kind of damage."

RELATED POSTS:

VAN JUMPS CURB IN HARLEM; SEVEN PEDESTRIANS HURT     (Posted by Queens Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on May 17, 2008)

TRUCK JUMPS CURB, STRIKES THREE PEDESTRIANS ON SIDEWALK    (Posted by Queens Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on February 13, 2008)

CAR JUMPS CURB AND BREAKS MAN'S BONES; NO ACCIDENT   (Posted by Queens Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on February 4, 2008)

VAN KILLS WOMAN EATING IN ARBY'S    (Posted by Queens Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on January 10, 2008)

TRUCK JUMPS CURB IN BROOKLYN, INJURING DRIVER AND TWO CHILDREN     (Posted by Queens Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on December 23, 2007)

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

The Case: "Mike" worked for an electrical contractor for over 15 years. In his younger years, he worked installing electrical boxes and running electrical wiring and cable. This was a physically demanding job. As he grew older, he was no longer physically able to work as an on-site electrician. Consequently, he took a less physical job that his boss offered in the shop, dispatching trucks and keeping inventory. He did this for several years until he had a work-related accident where he fell and broke his hip. The injury was severe; Mike's orthopedic surgeon recommended a hip replacement. He was kept out of work for two months.

Regardless, within a month after the hip replacement surgery, his employer drove to Mike's house and pushed Mike to return to his job. He offered Mike a position that would be less physically intense, a special "light duty job" in the company's warehouse. Disregarding his doctor's instructions, Mike went back to work. But just traveling to work and climbing stairs made his hip hurt and hampered his recovery from surgery.

Mike's doctor eventually cleared him to return to work with restrictions on his physical activity. These restrictions didn't allow Mike from performing his old job in the warehouse.

Once more, his employer pressed Mike to take a special job supposedly crafted to avoid heavy lifting or too much walking. The employer assured Mike that his new job would be answering the phones and working a computer. The problem was that Mike had no prior office or computer experience. Thinking he would be trained to operate the computer and handle office work he went to work. And Mike waited to be trained, but his supervisor seemed to have no time to instruct him. And so it continued until Mike was dismissed from his job for lack of productivity and for being unable to operate the computer and handle the office and telephones that no one had ever trained him for.

Therefore, Mike's employer fired him after 15 years of loyal service on what can only be described as a pretense. Mike engaged an attorney to bring a claim against his employer for "retaliatory firing" because of Mike's Worker's Compensation claim for injury to his hip.

The employer argued that firing Mike had nothing to do with his injury, so he was not entitled to any further compensation, since he was capable of working.

Had simply turned down the office job, and stayed out of work. because of his work-related hip fracture, the Worker's Compensation insurance carrier would have had to continue to pay him weekly benefits.

Here's what was done: Mike's claim was vigorously pursued and discovery commenced, which allowed Mike's attorney to explore the employer's legal position. In the face of questioning about the "special" office job and how Mike came to be fired, information unfavorable to the employer was uncovered. Mike's lawyer revealed details which allowed his attorney to convincingly argue that:  (a) the office job was "make-work," and, (b) the Mike was fired for reasons related to his on-the-job accident and workers' compensation claim.

This claim ultimately settled in Mike's favor.

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SUBWAY WORKER ELECTROCUTED IN FATAL ACCIDENT     (Posted by Queens accident attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on April 26, 2010)

CONSTRUCTION WORKER SERIOUSLY INJURED IN BROOKLYN BUILDING COLLAPSE    (Posted by Queens accident attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on March 29, 2010)

POSSIBLE NEW YORK LABOR LAW VIOLATIONS LEAD TO ACCIDENTAL FALL OF CONSTRUCTION WORKER AT WORLD TRADE CENTER    (Posted by Queens accident attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on March 9, 2010)

JACKSON HEIGHTS WORKER GETS THE SHAFT; FATAL ACCIDENT AND INJURY LEADS TO DEATH   (Posted by Queens accident attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on February 12, 2010)

ONE WORKER KILLED, OTHERS INJURED, IN TRUMP SOHO TOWER ACCIDENT    (Posted by Queens accident attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on January 15, 2008)

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

According to the New York City Fire Department, a fatal accident occurred when a bicycle rider was struck by an M15 New York City bus on New York's Upper East Side, at around Second Avenue and 96^th Street. Qi Yu Weng, age 28, was making deliveries when he was knocked off his electric bike.

The accident took place in the late afternoon on Friday, March 25, 2011, at about 4:15 PM.

The man died at the scene. This accident victim's identity was not immediately known; he lay dead in the street with a white sheet on top of him as horrified pedestrians walked by.

The bus driver kept going, apparently unaware he had hit someone.

Local resident Cynthia Gagan, age 66, who saw the accident's bloody aftermath while walking home from the grocery store said that the intersection is accident prone, a view shared by a worker from a nearby Rite-Aid pharmacy.

"I see accidents happen here all the time. This one just happened to slip by because you didn't hear a loud bang or a crash," said one employee who declined to give his name.

"Everything went on as normal until people found him on the street and started calling 911."

The bus was later found after it arrived at a Yonkers depot earlier this (Saturday) morning after the driver completed his shift, said MTA spokesman Charles Seaton. The driver was unawares of the accident.

"We examined all possible buses as they came into the depot," said Seaton.

The driver will be interviewed by the NYPD and drug and alcohol testing will be performed, he added. There appears to be no criminality, cops said.

RELATED POSTS:

DRIVER WHO OPEN DOOR AND FORCED BICYCLIST UNDER BUS CHARGED WITH FELONY "LEAVING THE SCENE"     (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on January 31, 2011)

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

Seems that if you can't be bothered to carry a knife with your axe, this was the tool for you. Except now it isn't because you can cut yourself by accident.

Gerber Legendary Blades Recalls Combo Axe Due to Laceration Hazard.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Gerber® Gator® Combo Axe

Units: About 103,000

Importer: Gerber Legendary Blades, of Portland, Ore., a division of Fiskars Brands Inc., of Madison, Wis.

Hazard: The knife in the axe handle can come out when the axe is used for chopping or hammering, posing a laceration hazard to the user. That would be an accident.

Incidents/Injuries: Gerber has received five reports of laceration injuries. All required stitches.

Description: This recall involves the Gerber Gator Combo Axe, which has a 7-inch knife in the hollow axe handle. The axe is approximately 8.75 inches long with an axe head that is 4.75 inches x 2.7 inches. The axe handle is marked with the "Gerber" trademark. The Gerber Combo Axe II, which holds a saw in a longer axe handle, is not included in this recall.

Sold at: Retail stores nationwide, including The Sportsman's Guide, Dick's Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops/American Rod & Gun and online since March 2005 for around $28 - $60.

Manufactured in: Taiwan

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the knife from the axe handle and contact Gerber to receive a free handle cap, which will hold the knife in the axe handle during transport and storage, instructions for the use of the handle cap, and a warning label to affix on the axe head. (That warning label should help!)

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Gerber Legendary Blades toll-free at (877) 314-9130 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's website at www.gerbergear.com.

Comment: My readers will be comforted to know that this recall only involves the axe model with a knife in the handle and not the axe model with a hand-saw in the handle. Whew.

RELATED CASES:

RECALL OF CRATE AND BARREL BRAND GLASS WATER BOTTLES; THEY PRESENT RISK OF ACCIDENT AND INJURY DUE TO LACERATION HAZARD    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on April 6, 2010)

WIND CHIME TOYS RECALLED; THEY PRESENT PUNCTURE AND LACERATION HAZARDS TO CHILDREN     (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on February 13, 2010)

LACERATION/CUTTING HAZARD CAN SLICE AND DICE AND INJURE CONSUMERS    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on January 21, 2010)

PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY - TAKE ACTION NOW AND FEEL BETTER    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on December 13, 2009)

MAN TAKES SWORD TO COURT: COPS     (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on December 11, 2007)

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

Tuesday March 22, 2011, Eight people were rounded up by the NYPD and charged with insurance fraud for staging car accidents in the Bronx this past June. One more suspect is being searched for.

Apparently, video surveillance showed police that they deliberately crashed their three cars into each other.

Last June, the NYPD Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad set up surveillance video to bust the scam artists who purposely crashed their own vehicles into each other. According to police, they cruised the neighborhood slowly, trying to select an "accident" location.

They were seen driving around Cromwell Avenue and West 168th Street in the Bronx in a

a 1995 Subaru, a 1999 Land Rover, and a 2000 Ford. When their first try at a staged accident didn't do much damage to the cars, the crashed them together again.

The suspects called 911 to file a police report and sought medical treatment, milking $39,000 from insurance companies. Why the authorities waited until the bills for this not-accident totaled $39, is beyond me. It is not reported if those arrested recovered any money for their so-called injuries.

Even before reviewing the surveillance video, police were suspected that there was no genuine accident because all none of the cars were newer models, they had little body damage and they cars were packed with "accident victims."

Three women and five men were charged with insurance fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records. They are:

*Drivers -

Hector Cruz, 21

Julio Rivera, 28

Carmine Navarra, 33

*Passengers -

Dekodar Vascones, 25

Luis Garcia, 31

Julie Dilonardo, 25

Venecia Reyes, 23

Sor Perez, 30

RELATED POSTS:　

MORE NEW YORK CITY ACCIDENTS HERE THAN ANYWHERE    (Posted by Bronx Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on May 23, 2010)

ACCIDENT DOCTOR ACCUSED OF NO-FAULT INSURANCE FRAUD     (Posted by Bronx Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on April 1, 2008)

11 INDICTED FOR PHONY ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES     (Posted by Bronx Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on March 12, 2008)

MORE TRICKS -HOW CAR OWNERS CHEAT THEIR INSURERS   (Posted by Bronx Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on November 26, 2007)

CHEESE! UH-OH ... CELLPHONE PHOTOS PROVE PERPS' GUILT    (Posted by Bronx Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on December 9, 2007)

BRONX COUNTY COMMUNITIES

Serving Bronx neighborhoods of: Baychester, Bedford Park, Belmont, Castle Hill, City Island, Clason Point, Country Club, Eastchester, Edgewater Park, Fieldston, Fordham, Hart Island, High Bridge, Hunts Point, Kings Bridge, Longwood, Melrose, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Mount Eden, Mount Hope, Norwood, Olinville, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, Port Morris, Rikers Island, Riverdale, Schuylerville, Soundview, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, Unionport, University Heights, Van Nest, Wakefield, West Farms, Westchester, Westchester Square, Williamsbridge and Woodlawn.

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

On Thursday March 17, 2011 a tractor-trailer driving in reverse pinned a Brooklyn resident between the trucks rear bumper and a street sweeper, crushing him to death.

The accident occurred in a recycling plant located in Maspeth, Queens, New York.

The man, identified by a relative as Ciban Pilaxi, age 22, was standing near the entrance to the Maspeth warehouse as the rig backed into the doorway, police said.

He was dead by the time emergency responders arrived at the warehouse on Railroad Place around 11:30 a.m.

Pilaxi's sister-in-law Mirian Huerta, 20, said he came to the United States from Ecuador three years ago. He had worked at the recycling company for about a year, and lived in Bushwick.

Huerta, who spoke to a Daily News reporter outside the recycling facility, said Pilaxi wanted to work, and then go back to Ecuador to be with his mother, sister and brother.

Police officials say there was no criminality on the part of the truck driver, who works for a New Jersey-based company. The warehouse is owned by a company called Boro-Wide Recycling Corp., an NYPD official said. A company representative could not be reached for comment.

The Federal Occupational and Safety Health Administration is investigating the accident, a spokesman said.

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BROOKLYN, QUEENS AND BRONX (NEW YORK CITY) TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYER    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on March 27, 2010)

BOY SLIPS ON ICE, KILLED BY BUS    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on February 18, 2010)

DEATH, DEATH AND MORE DEATH IN ONE DAY OF MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS - CARS, BUSES, TRUCKS AND PEDESTRIANS ALL INVOLVED     (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on January 6, 2010)

CAUSES OF CAR, TRUCK, BUS AND MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on January 5, 2010)

TRUCK JUMPS CURB IN BROOKLYN, INJURING DRIVER AND TWO CHILDREN     (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on December 23, 2007)

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Girl's Dress

Units: About 1,500

Importer: Matilda Jane LLC of Fort Wayne, Ind.

Hazard: The buttons can come off, posing a choking hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Matilda Jane has received one report of an incident with no injuries.

Description: The Chelsa dress is a girl's sleeveless sundress in sizes 2, 4, and 6. The top is white with green polka dots; the bottom is printed with a green and yellow floral design and has a multi-colored floral border at the hem.

Sold at: In-home trunk shows and online from February 1 through February 25, 2011.

Manufactured in: China.Remedy: Anyone possessing this dress should return it for repair or refund by contacting Matilda Jane Clothing.Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Matilda Jane Clothing at recall@matildajaneclothing.com, call collect at 260-424-3511 or visit www.matildajaneclothing.com

Name of Product: Girls' Jeans for ToddlersUnits: About 1,600 unitsImporter: Parigi Group, Ltd., of New York, NYHazard: Decorative rhinestones and sequins on the jeans' pockets can pose a choking hazard to young children.Incidents/Injuries: None reported.Description: This recall involves "Baby Phat" branded jeans for toddlers in sizes 2T to 4T. Style number BM02545 can be found on a label sewn in the rear waistband. The rear pockets have colored rhinestones and sequins attached and the right rear pocket has an appliqué of a cat below the sequins.Sold at: Various specialty stores nationwide and online through Amazon.com from May 2010 through June 2010 for about $13.

Manufactured in: China.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the jeans away from children and return them to the retail store where they were purchased for a full refund, or contact the firm for instructions on how to return the product by mail for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Parigi Group collect at (212) 378-1205 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at www.parigigroup.com

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BABIES GET INTO EVERYTHING! BABYLEGS RECALLS BABY SOCKS AND LEG WARMERS WITH HEART APPLIQUES DUE TO CHOKING HAZARD    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on January 12, 2011)

PARENTS: PREVENT HALLOWEEN COSTUME AND DECORATION-RELATED ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES   (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on October 30, 2010)

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RECALL OF CHEAP PACIFIERS THAT CAN CHOKE BABIES    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on July 31, 2010)

NEW YORK PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER - PRODUCT LIABILITY    (Posted by Brooklyn Accident Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on July 12, 2010)

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

New York City police have slapped bicycle riders with 230 tickets to date this year; staking out the six mile bicycle loop in Manhattan's Central Park.

Officers aim to remind bicycle riders that New York traffic laws apply in the park and to bicycles.

A bike is "a vehicle and the traffic law applies," said Captain Philip Wishnia, commanding officer of the Central Park Precinct. "You can't blame officers for doing their job."

Wishnia insisted his officers use discretion before issuing summonses, factoring in speed and safety.

To prevent accidents, both between bicycles and with pedestrians, tickets are given for running red lights and even for speeding.

"I'm not against bicyclists. There is a reason the law was put in place," Wishnea said. "One injury to pedestrians is one injury too many."

Bicycle riders -- many who ride custom bikes that can sell for up to $10,000 -- point out that it's impossible to get keep up the heart rate and get a good workout when you have to stop every few feet.

"There would be no point of riding in the park if I stopped at every red light. What's the fun in that?" gripped Tom Laskey, 52, former president of the NY Cycle Club, who griped about getting a $270 ticket for running a red light in the park in January.

"Enforcing red lights to protect the crosswalk is meaningless," he said.

"Pedestrians don't cross in the walk, they cross wherever they want."

Michael Bar, 39, of the Upper West Side, kvetched, "It's a park and you're supposed to get vigorous exercise. If you stop at 47 red lights, you wouldn't get exercise."

He was stopped by cops Sunday for riding his $6,000 Merlin bike outside the painted bike lane, which he claims was blocked by runners. He was not issued a summons.

"It's about getting a good workout," said Bar.

Unlike fines for specific infractions by motorists, which are set by law, punishment for cyclists are at the discretion of the judge. And, of course, a conviction can not add points to a driver's license.

Some 200 angry cyclists packed a meeting with some of the NYPD's honchos on the Upper West Side to confront them about what they claim is an overly aggressive campaign to ticket cyclists.

Cyclists argue that it is unnecessary to stop for traffic lights during the early morning and late night hours when few pedestrians use the park.

Police maintain that the law is the law, and it applies to cyclists in the park as it does on streets, and accident avoidance is in every park user's best interest.

The enforcement is part of the NYPD's "Operation Safe Cycle," a citywide initiative that kicked off in mid-January and applies to cyclists in all five boroughs.

The Department of Transportation has dismissed a proposal by City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, who suggested traffic signals in the park be changed to a flashing yellow during hours that cars are prohibited.

RELATED POSTS:

BICYCLIST PLOWS INTO PEDESTRIAN IN MANHATTAN'S CENTRAL PARK, AND KEEP GOING    (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on August 8, 2010)

BROOKLYN BICYCLE ACCIDENT LAWYER'S TOP TEN THINGS THAT GO THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU HAVE A BICYCLE ACCIDENT    (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on April 29, 2010)

BAD DAY FOR NEW YORK CITY BICYCLE RIDERS     (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on October 14, 2010)

BICYCLE HELMETS PROTECT CHILDREN'S BRAINS IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT   (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on February 28, 2011)

ANOTHER CYCLIST KILLED! HIT BY A BUS AFTER AVOIDING DRIVER'S CAR DOOR   (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on September 14, 2010)

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

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Thirteen passengers were killed and eight others were critically injured when their tour bus overturned on the New England Thruway in Co-Op City, Bronx this morning.

A World Wide Tours bus carrying 33 people was on its way from the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut to Manhattan's Chinatown when it overturned at approximately 5:30 a.m. according to New York City Fire Department officials. The bus was heading south near the Hutchinson River Parkway exit when it overturned.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said at a morning news conference that most of the passengers were Asian, and besides the one death, everyone aboard the bus received serious or critical injuries.

Kelly said Jacobi Hospital is treating seven people with critical injuries and seven with serious injuries, and St. Barnabas Hospital received one critically injured person and four with serious injuries.

The crash cast a grim light on a nocturnal New York City subculture of overnight gamblers, many of them older Asian and Hispanic people, who take cheap buses from Chinatown to casinos in Connecticut and New Jersey, play the slots and tables for a few hours and catch an after-midnight bus home, usually sleeping on the trip back and often arriving just in time to get to return to work.

The driver, Ophadell Williams, 40, survived. He told the authorities that his bus was clipped by a passing tractor-trailer, which sped away, an assertion that the police later said was under investigation.

As the bus went down, its roof was nearly sliced off by a highway signpost, killing some people instantly and trapping others in the wreckage.

Kelly said the bus may have swerved to avoid the tractor trailer and lost control.

"We have apparently have some numbers from a license plate. We're not prepared to put it out at this time. We're attempting to locate that truck and the truck driver," said the police commissioner.

Chung Ninh, a bus passenger who said he escaped through the bus' back emergency exit, said some passengers lost limbs and many were crying out for help.

"Nobody can remember, because all on the bus [were] asleep. They were asleep on the bus, in the chairs," he said. "I heard two guys saying help, and after that I could not see nothing."

The passenger suffered minor injuries to his back, as he helped lift people who weighed considerably more than he did, and his hands were cut by broken glass.

"Some of them were holding their heads, hands on head, saying, 'Oh my god, oh my god, this is so terrible,'" said limousine driver Homer Martinez, who witnessed the aftermath. "When a second wave of people tried to approach the bus, they said, 'Please stay away, you don't want to look at this.'"

World Wide Tours is based in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and its ill-fated bus was set to make a stop at Allen Street in the Bowery and then Chinatown.

The wrecked bus remains at the scene of the accident, and will only be removed once state police finish their investigation.

Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking officers are currently working with survivors.

The New York City Fire Department has sent counseling team members to talk to some of the first responders, as the scene was particularly horrific, according to Kelly.

The accident has shut down traffic in all southbound lanes of Interstate 95 between Boston Post Road exit 15 and Hutchinson River Parkway exit 14.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a statement saying the city's "prayers, thoughts and sympathies are with the victims, and their families and loved ones," and that city agencies set up an assistance center to provide information to the bus passengers' families.

Later, at an evening news conference, Major Michael Kopy of the State Police said that the authorities had seized a trailer on Long Island and a tractor in Westchester County, and taken them to a police compound in Farmingdale to determine if they may have clipped the bus.

Major Kopy also said that the police had received several reports that the bus driver had been speeding on the Interstate, where the limit is 55 miles per hour. The bus driver's blood was tested for alcohol and drugs, and the results are pending.

The police have obtained a video taken from inside the bus but have not yet reviewed it, Major Kopy said.

For hours after the crash, investigators examined the wreckage of the black bus, which lay on its side on a highway strewn with shattered glass, passenger bags, shreds of clothing and other debris.

The stretch of highway near the crash is dotted with surveillance cameras, but most are traffic cameras with no recording capability. Those with recording devices will be examined by investigators.

Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board were en route to New York. Initial interviews with passengers were difficult, in part because survivors who had been seated in the front, and were thus more likely to have seen what happened, were the most traumatized and severely injured, while those at the back were less seriously hurt but had no clear view of the crash.

Kelly said New Yorkers should contact the 5th Police Precinct for more information.

RELATED POSTS:

SIX KILLED IN ONE-CAR CRASH ON NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY     (Posted by Bronx Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on October 3, 2010 )

BUS HITS QUEENS GRANDMOTHER CROSSING STREET   (Posted by Bronx Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on July 23, 2010 )

CITY BUS HITS GRANDMOTHER CROSSING STREET IN QUEENS ACCIDENT; SHE DIES FROM HER INJURY     (Posted by Bronx Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on May 9, 2010 )

HIRING HELP AFTER AN ACCIDENT IS A SMART DECISION; FROM A BRONX PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY    (Posted by Bronx Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on February 16, 2010)

DEATH, DEATH AND MORE DEATH IN ONE DAY OF MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS - CARS, BUSES, TRUCKS AND PEDESTRIANS ALL INVOLVED     (Posted by Bronx Injury Attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on January 6, 2010)

BRONX COUNTY COMMUNITIES:

Serving Bronx neighborhoods of: Baychester, Bedford Park, Belmont, Castle Hill, City Island, Clason Point, Country Club, Eastchester, Edgewater Park, Fieldston, Fordham, Hart Island, High Bridge, Hunts Point, Kings Bridge, Longwood, Melrose, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Mount Eden, Mount Hope, Norwood, Olinville, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, Port Morris, Rikers Island, Riverdale, Schuylerville, Soundview, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, Unionport, University Heights, Van Nest, Wakefield, West Farms, Westchester, Westchester Square, Williamsbridge and Woodlawn.

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

from www.nader.org

By RALPH NADER

New York State's Governor Andrew Cuomo will be judged harshly by history if he doesn't reverse his position supporting limiting the legal rights of brain damaged babies. Imagine a life-time $250,000 cap on pain and suffering and families having to endure a burdensome and humiliating struggle to get medical bills paid as they arise from an insurance funded entity.

Governor Cuomo is hiding behind the recommendations of his Medicaid Redesign Team, which has more than a sprinkling of hospital and industry lobbyists, and which was the stalking horse for this heartless proposal.

Why you might ask would Andrew Cuomo, the son of Mario Cuomo, a man widely regarded as a champion of the underdog, advance such a mean-spirited and wrong-headed measure?

The short answer: political expediency. Credible observers say Governor Cuomo needs to give the health insurance industry a financial benefit in exchange for the health insurance industry not economically punishing hospitals workers. And to top it off with a touch that would make Machiavelli proud, the Governor placed this initiative in his budget proposal. This means that for the New York State Assembly and Senate to vote against this draconian measure used to seal a political deal, the legislators would have to vote down the entire state budget.

It is shameful that the Governor would use his creativity and intellect to help the health industry at the expense of helpless babies who are victims of medical malpractice.

Many in the health care and insurance industry seem to regard the civil justice system as a nuisance that threatens to destroy our economy and way of life. In reality, America's civil justice system plays an indispensable role. When the rights of injured consumers are vindicated in court, our society benefits in countless ways: compensating victims and their families for shattering losses (with the cost borne by the wrongdoers rather than taxpayers); preventing future injuries by deterring dangerous health care and other practices, spurring safety innovation; and educating the public to risks associated with certain products and services. These legal rights provide society with its moral and ethical fiber by defining appropriate norms of conduct.

Governor Cuomo needs to review the facts on medical malpractice. First he should know that supporters of tort "deform" invoke one myth after another: a litigation explosion, juries automatically ruling in favor of plaintiffs and routinely awarding punitive damages, an economy shattered by these awards. Each of these notions is demonstrably false. Only a tiny percentage of persons injured bring lawsuits, and an even tinier percentage of those who do receive large verdicts. Limiting victims' rights is an anti-democratic solution to a trumped-up problem.

Second, a driving force behind this dishonest campaign is the insurance industry. Whenever, over the years, insurers face low interest rates and declining stock investments, they start the drumbeat against justice for victims. They've made a particular cause against liabilities for medical malpractice. Instead of demanding disciplinary action against incompetent physicians, urging medical associations to police their own ranks, the insurance industry lobbies state and federal legislatures to curtail victims' rights and remedies in courts of law. At the insurance industry's behest, their physician policyholders have joined the call.

Why do physicians allow themselves to be tools of insurance companies that gouge them especially when they are not among the incompetent few who account for most malpractice claims (five percent of doctors are involved in roughly 50 percent of malpractice payouts)? One answer is that insurance companies frighten physicians with false data suggesting that malpractice suits run amok. A persuasive case can be made that there are far too few malpractice suits. The 1999 Institute of Medicine study estimated that gross malpractice in hospitals alone takes up to 98,000 American lives a year and causes hundreds of thousands of serious injuries. Yet various studies show that roughly 90% of people harmed by medical malpractice do not even file suit.

If you total the entire amount of premiums physicians pay in a year for their malpractice insurance and divide it evenly by all the physicians practicing in the United States, the average annual premium is less than $10,000 per doctor. Very manageable. So why are some doctors paying $50,000 or $100,000 a year to their malpractice insurers? Because the profit hungry companies have learned to over-classify their risk pools, thereby charging exorbitant amounts to specific specialists like obstetricians and orthopedic surgeons. In addition, because insurers fail to surcharge the few incompetent physicians in these specialties, the competent specialists pay for more than they should.

There is another benefit to the insurance industry from this kind of over-classification. When obstetricians are gouged, they protest loudly, threaten not to deliver babies, and sometimes actually go on strike. This makes great television -- crying babies and physicians in their garb blaming lawyers - and deflects blame from the insurers, who laugh their way to the bank. In recent years, their profits have soared.

Neither organized medicine nor the insurance companies go after bad doctors. The AMA's web site does not report any data about incompetent or crooked physicians, and the insurance companies have shown little interest in loss prevention. Instead, both physicians' and insurers' lobbies fund and press legislators to enact laws that politicize the courts, tie the hands of judges and juries, and make it harder for innocent people or children to receive just compensation for their tragic suffering.

Isn't it time to focus on malpractice prevention instead of trying to hamstring hundreds of thousands of Americans harmed by their doctors' negligence? Are malpractice awards the national crisis physicians and insurers suggest? In fact, the entire medical malpractice insurance industry payout to victims in verdicts and settlements is about $5 billion a year (substantially less than the amount our the country spends on dog food). Isn't it time to focus on malpractice prevention instead of trying to restrict the rights of hundreds of thousands of Americans harmed by their doctors' negligence?

We need to ask whether proposed reforms level the playing field or tilt an already un-level field even further by making it more difficult for wrongfully injured citizens to receive justice from the perpetrators of their harms.

The tort deform movement amounts to a perverse rewriting of history. Tort law produced decades of slow but steady progress in state after state respecting the physical integrity of human beings against harm by recognizing that even the weak and defenseless deserve justice. Instead of seeing this evolution as a source of national pride, a coalition of insurance companies, corporate defense lobbies, and craven politicians depict it as an accountability that must be stripped.

If this campaign succeeds, the results are sadly predictable. Tort reform means less deterrence, which means more injuries, more uncompensated victims, and tremendous overall costs transferred to society.

Send the governor a letter and remind him an important part of being a leader is defending the defenseless. His address is:

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo of New York State
State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Ralph Nader is the founder of the Center for Study of Responsive Law, in Washington.

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

Does everyone know what a LASER is? "Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." A laser combines light of various frequencies into an extremely intense, small, and tight beam of monochromatic radiation; capable of mobilizing immense heat and power when focused at close range, many very useful inventions use lasers.

CD and DVD players use lasers. Bar code readers in stores use lasers. Doctors use lasers to do delicate surgery, such as eye surgery. Lasers carry TV and telephone signals over optical cables.

Industrial lasers are used to cut metal or fabric.

Lasers are a special form of light. Laser light does not exist in nature. Only human technology can create laser light.

Now I ask, do you know what a laser pointer is? It's a pen-sized device, based on a gun sight. It's portable and can be used as a pointer in a class room lecture, but has few other legitimate uses. Shining too narrow a light beam to use as a flashlight-type light source, the portable pen-sized, battery-operated laser pointer is not good for much-except maybe to get in to trouble.

Even accidentally, lasers can cause damage to tissue of the skin and eyes. One type of damage occurs when body tissue is overheated and burns. A laser beam can be focused on the eye's retina, which may be up to 200,000 times higher than at the point where the laser beam enters the eye. This causes retinal burns. The skin is usually much less sensitive to laser light than the eye, but excessive exposure to ultraviolet light from any source (laser or non-laser) can cause short- and long-term effects similar to sunburn, while visible and infrared wavelengths are mainly harmful due to thermal damage.

This shouldn't have to be said but do not point a laser at aircraft, cars, people, animals or yourself! If you have been the victim of some sort of attack with a laser pen or laser pointer, you may want to reach out and contact police or law enforcement authorities.

If you feel that exposure to a laser light beam has affected your vision, see a medical specialist.

Almost always the primary area affected will be the retina (back of the eye). This is due to excess visible or near-infrared light. Ultraviolet laser beams can damage the cornea and lens, but these types of lasers are rarely used by or around the general public.

For inspection of the retina (looking for damage), see a medical doctor specializnig ni the treatment of eye injuries and diseases, an ophthalmologist.

In addition to electrical hazards, lasers may create chemical, mechanical, and other risks of accident specific to particular installations.

Since November 19, 2004 there have been over 2,800 incidents of lasers directed at aircraft within the United States. These concerns have led to an inquiry in the US Congress. Exposure to hand-held laser light under such circumstances may seem unimportant given the short time of exposure, the large distances involved and beam spread of up to several meters. However, laser exposure may create dangerous conditions such as flash blindness. If this occurs during a critical moment in aircraft operation, the aircraft may be endangered. In addition, some 18% to 35% of the population possess the autosomal dominant genetic trait, photic sneeze, that causes the affected individual to experience an involuntary sneezing fit when exposed to a sudden flash of light, which can be a problem during a critical part of the planes operation. Finally, a laser pointer can simulate an aiming device for an anti-aircraft weapon, possibly forcing the plane to make risky evasive maneuvers.

Did you know? New York City's Administrative Code (Section 10-134.2) makes illegal to "give, sell or offer to sell or cause any person to give, sell or offer to sell a laser pointer to any individual eighteen years of age or younger." There are also rules as to how to display laser pointers in a store. Basically, they have to be placed so that they're hard to shoplift.

Persons age twenty or over may not possess a laser pointer on school premises.

Persons eighteen years of age or younger can't possess a laser pointer "while in a public place."

And it is, "unlawful for any person to direct light emitted from a laser pointer into or through a public place."

Exceptions are made for school educational purposes, and those who work with a laser, such as an architect or carpenter.

I probably don't have to tell you that it's a misdemeanor to point light from a laser pointer "at a uniformed police officer, uniformed security guard, uniformed school safety officer, uniformed traffic enforcement agent, uniformed member of a paid or volunteer fire department, uniformed emergency medical service worker or uniformed ambulance worker, or other uniformed city, state or federal peace officer, investigator or emergency service worker, or the marked service vehicle of any such individual."

We turn now to a recent (February 28, 2011) article from the New York Times.

Eye doctors around the world are warning that recent cases of teenagers who suffered eye damage while playing with high-powered green laser pointers are likely to be just the first of many.

"I am certain that this is the beginning of a trend," said Dr. Martin Schmid, a Swiss ophthalmologist who reported one such case last September in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The pointers, which have also been implicated in a ninefold increase over five years in reports of lasers being aimed at airplanes, are easier than ever to order online, doctors say -- even though they are 10 to 20 times as powerful as the legal limit set by the Food and Drug Administration.

At the American Association of Ophthalmologists, a spokeswoman said the group was unaware of any increase in eye injuries caused by lasers. But doctors interviewed for this article said they were shocked by the easy availability of high-powered lasers.

Not long ago a high school student went to see Dr. Robert G. Josephberg, a retina specialist at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., complaining of a blind spot in his left eye. The boy, who did not want to be identified, said the injury occurred when a friend waved a green laser pointer in front of his face.(Whether it will heal completely is uncertain.)

Dr. Josephberg said that at first he doubted the story. "I didn't believe that a green laser was out there that could cause the damage," he said.

But it turned out the laser put out 50 milliwatts of power, 10 times the F.D.A. limit. And as he investigated his patient's case, Dr. Josephberg went online and bought a 100-milliwatt pointer for $28. He could hardly believe how easy it was.

"I kept waiting for the error message telling me I could not complete the purchase," he said.

Like household lights, lasers are measured in watts, but the similarity ends there. A 100-watt incandescent bulb produces about five watts of visible light; the five-milliwatt laser is only one-thousandth as powerful. But because the light from a bulb is diffuse and a laser beam is concentrated, the effect of five milliwatts on the eye is 10,000 times as intense, according to Samuel M. Goldwasser, a laser expert and author of the online guide Sam's Laser FAQ.

And any talk of restricting availability is certain to meet resistance from the large community of laser enthusiasts, including those who use them professionally (like contractors and astronomers) and hobbyists like 18-year-old Alex Triano of Staten Island.

Since middle school, with his parents' permission, Mr. Triano has been building lasers in his home, wearing safety goggles. "You learn so much in a hobby like this: electronics, soldering, physics," he said. "And you learn about light, you learn about optics. You also learn a lot of mechanical things."

The laser injuries Dr. Shepard Bryan has seen at his practice in Mesa, Ariz., involved red lasers, which laser fans like Mr. Triano consider passé. Green is more easily perceived by the eye and the beam is visible along its path.

But green lasers are also more dangerous. Green is more easily absorbed by the retina than red, so it requires less exposure to cause damage. (Dr. Bryan's cases involved an 11-year-old girl who focused on the light as part of an endurance game and a young man who also looked directly into the pointer.)

"Right now I haven't seen an epidemic of injuries," Dr. Bryan said, but he added that the potential was there. "In the hands of children it's a very scary proposition."

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

On March 9, 2011 a New York City fire truck responding to an emergency call on Staten Island slammed into a van full of developmentally disabled adults, killing one occupant and sending two occupants to the hospital in critical condition, in a horrible accident.

A New York City Fire Department truck belonging to Ladder 81 that was racing to a call crashed into the van around 12:10 p.m. at the intersection of Richmond Road and Burgher Avenue.

The van, which was from an agency called Lifestyles for the Disabled, was carrying nine people between the ages of 20 to 50, and all the passengers had special needs, according to sources.

The van, owned by Willowbrook-based Lifestyles for the Disabled, was making a left turn off Burgher with the green light in its favor at the time of the acccident, said witnesses.

The fire truck smashed into the rear of the van's driver side with such force that it spun the vehicle around 180 degrees. Its tailgate smashed into a concrete wall and the van wound up facing down Burgher.

Fire and police officers at the scene said one person was ejected from the van and fatally injured, and that the jaws of life were used on another victim.

All nine people aboard the van were brought to Staten Island University Hospital, where the fatally injured person was pronounced dead.

Two of those patients are still in critical condition from the accident and four have been released, according to a SIUH official.

The fire truck crashed on its way to a car fire at Major Avenue and Lily Pond Avenue, near the Verrazano Bridge. The firefighters believed a person was trapped, but that report turned out to not be true.

The six firefighters in the truck suffered minor injuries but were able to get out and administer first aid to the people in the van, according to fire and police sources.

The firefighters were then taken to Richmond University Medical Center.

"I heard all the sirens, all the police, and I was wondering what was going on," said one local who overheard the commotion. "We couldn't get through for nothing. I thought maybe a bomb or some wall fell from there."

"I was just putting some stuff in the car, and I heard the fire truck going by me. I heard a huge bang, I looked up and I saw the van spinning around in circles," said another local. "The firemen jumped right out and started helping the people."

Officials would not comment on the accident, as it is still under investigation. Lifestyles for the Disabled has not said yet where the van was headed.

After the accident, several neighboring streets were closed off for hours and drivers were redirected to secondary roads.

RELATED POSTS:

FIRE TRUCK SLAMS INTO POST OFFICE 18-WHEELER   (Posted by Brooklyn Injury Lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on January 18, 2008)

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

Depending on how you like to travel, living in New York City can be an exciting adventure or a curse. If you don't mind staking subway trains and buses, and would rather not undertake the expense and hassle of owning a car, New York can be the best city in the world.

Our transit system has some to dozen subway lines with, on average, more than 4 million riders daily. New Yorkers also have access to some 4,000 buses in use, which transport 2 million+ riders daily. For commuters from the outer boroughs and suburbs can avail themselves of the Long Island Railroad, which has more than 700 miles of track and carries over 80 million riders annually.

Can't wait for the bus? New York has some 40,000 taxi cabs patrolling the streets of New York at any given time. Plus livery cabs. Plus pedicabs. And let us not forget horse-drawn carriages by Manhattan's Central Park. And we're not even going to mention bicycles or motorcycles.

Those who prefer to driver themselves face gridlock and a new invention, pedestrian malls, such as in Manhattan's Times Square. And there are bicycle lanes to be avoided. And dedicated bus lanes, which are monitored by cameras so if you're in a bus lane at the wrong time, you may not know you've been caught until you find a ticket in your mailbox.

There's a shortage of parking meters and places to park if you're not a diplomat or operating a vehicle with commercial license plates. And Manhattan parking garages can cost $20, $30 or more for a day's parking.

No matter how you prefer to travel, pedestrians and drivers both face dangers traveling in the Big Apple.

In 2002, 195 pedestrians were killed in New York; in 2003, the numbers dipped to 165 pedestrian deaths.

Drivers don't fare much better. Statistics published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, show 1,333 people killed in traffic collisions in New York in 2007. The numbers dipped in 2008, but there are still too many people killed in New York car accidents every year.

Driver or a pedestrian, New York City can be a dangerous place to live. Accidents occur far too often, and usually for predictable reasons:

Driver inattention-the leading cause of accidents is driver distraction; even more so than by

including failing to yield, following too closely, and speeding.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in some 25% of accidents nationwide inattention and driver distraction contributed to the happening of the accident.

Portable technology is easy enough to carry in the one's vehicle, but does not improve driver attention. A case in point is the Brooklyn teenager who killed a scooter-riding delivery driver with her car, while texting and driving; she was later charged with manslaughter.

According to a poll conducted by the Medical College of Wisconsin, both teens and their parents are subject to the same driving distractions, which most of them admit doing within the month prior to the study, such as:

*Driving without both hands on the steering wheel (61%)

*Changing the radio station; tape or CD (79%)

*Eating (45%)

*Talking on the phone (51%)

*Exceeding the speed limit (61%)

When a careless driver causes an accident resulting in personal or death, the law gives the injured party the right to sue for money damages from the negligent party. Many accident victims are unaware of this, because they may be told the opposite by the insurance company of the driver that hit them. Insurers try to deflect the liability of their policyholders, and have been known to offer quick settlements that are below what the accident victim may be entitled to legally.

An accident victim may be told, "A lawyer's fee will only eat into your settlement," or "This is a fair settlement." For more information, see my FREE Special Report, Discover How Insurance Companies Hammer a Stake Through the Heart of Your Accident Case (40 arguments insurance companies will use to defeat or diminish your claim).

Recovery and money damages can be obtained for various categories of injury. But that is a subject for another day's blog post.

RELATED POSTS:

STATEN ISLAND MAN SLIPS IN STREET, KILLED BY BUS  (Posted by Brooklyn attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on September 30, 2010)

SENSIBLE STEP TO AVOID ACCIDENTS - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FORBIDS TRUCK AND BUS DRIVERS FROM TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. ONLY SAFE TEXT ALLOWED!   (Posted by Brooklyn lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on January 27, 2010)

AFTER A CAR CRASH: CAN I HANDLE MY INJURY CLAIM MYSELF? (A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION)   (Posted by Brooklyn attorney Gary E. Rosenberg on January 3, 2010 )

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

A firefighter twice walked down the side of a building this past Friday, March 4, 2011 to rescue two construction workers hanging more than 100 feet in the air after their scaffolding collapsed.

The pair was working at building located at 289 Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers, New York. A rope holding their scaffold broke at about 4:30 PM, dropping the scaffold into a vertical position, where it hung between the building's 12th and 14th floors for more than 90 minutes.

Fortunately, they were held by their safety harnesses - one construction worker clung to the bottom of the platform while the other latched onto the top as the temperature hovered around 38 degrees.

"One of the ropes snapped, and they were dangling, held up by one other rope," said witness Ross Bodin, whose shop Life Cleaners is across the street from the building at 289 Nepperhan Ave.

"They were connected with their harnesses, and they both held on ... These guys must be exhausted," he added.

Luckily, the two construction workers were sheltered from the gusting winds on the south side of the 28-story building that primarily houses senior citizens.

The Yonkers Fire Department initially tried to reach them by rescue ladder, but even fully extended, the ladder was at least 10 feet too short, witnesses said.

"They looked pretty scared ... At one point they looked like they were tired," Billy Hinds, owner of Billy's Hand Car Wash and Detail, said of the painters.

Rope rescue expert Mike Giroux was a hero not once, but twice. The 10-year veteran firefighter secured the first construction worker to a line then rappelled with him to the street where he was taken off in an ambulance.

The firefighter harnessed himself to the construction worker clinging to the lower part of the platform, and then slowly lowered both of them down to the ground.

Meanwhile, an emergency-response crew extended an extra safety harness to the second construction worker through a window, but were unable to pull him in.

Attached to the rappelling firefighter, the first worker reached the ground at around 6 p.m.

That firefighter then raced back to the roof and rappelled back down to secure the second construction worker -- still clinging to the platform -- about 15 minutes later.

"They were reaching a panic point and were both getting hypothermic and there's also a thing called harness compression syndrome. If they stay in those harnesses too long, it could become a life-threatening situation," said Fire Chief John Flynn. A Spanish interpreter was used to relay instructions to him and keep him calm, the Yonkers fire department said.

The second construction worker was brought down at 6:21 p.m. to applause.

You don't see stuff like this every day," one witness said.

RELATED POSTS:

One Worker Killed, Others Injured, in Trump SoHo Tower Accident 

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

On February 28, 2011 a fire broke out in the early hours, at about 3:30 AM in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. The blaze began on the second floor of an apartment building at 269 Bleecker Street, Brooklyn, New York.

Neighbors watched in horror as flames engulfed the Brooklyn building. As smoke poured out, two young boys leaned out of the windows with small dogs in their arms, the neighbors said.

"I was saying jump, jump," said Eddie Clay, 60, who lives across the street. "But instead of jumping, they threw the dogs."

While Mr. Clay shouted to the boys, his wife, Gricelia Rodriguez, ran to a red fire alarm box on Myrtle Avenue, just yards away from Brooklyn's 83rd Precinct station house. The box did not work, she said, so she ran into the police station to summon officers, who later helped administer CPR.

Firefighters responded to a 911 call reporting the fire in two and a half minutes. The children, about 12 and 14, were rescued from the windows by local firefighters from Ladder Company 112, while members of local Ladder Company 124 searched the building for other residents who might be trapped by the smoke and/or flames.

According to sources, the interior of the Brooklyn apartment was dark from smoke; firefighters stumbled upon an unconscious woman in the kitchen and brought her to a stairwell. On the street below, other firefighters gave first aid, helped by officers from the local police precinct.

Meanwhile, firefighters pushed on into the blaze, against heat radiating from the rear of the apartment. A hose was then deployed to fight the flames. In the doorway of the rear bedroom, firefighters found a middle-aged man slumped over in cardiac arrest and pulled him out of the Brooklyn fire.

Neighbors identified the woman as Yolanda Nieves, 68, and the man as her son, Jerry Nieves; they lived in the second-floor Brooklyn apartment. Ms. Nieves was fixing up the vacant ground-floor apartment for another son, Elvis and his family.

Yolanda Nieves and Jerry Nieves both had respiratory burns and were hospitalized. The two boys, suffered from smoke inhalation and were also hospitalized. Some dogs were said to have died in the fire, although others survived.

Six residents were injured, two critically, by the fire at the Brooklyn building.

Two accident Brooklyn fire victims suffered smoke inhalation and were in critical condition. A female fire victim was taken to Cornell Hospital and a male fire victim to Jacobi Hospital. Another victim with minor injuries was taken to Wyckoff Hospital.

Two Brooklyn firefighters were also injured.

Brooklyn fire marshals determined that the fire started accidentally, probably near the back part of the building's first floor. The apartment had smoke alarms, but they lacked batteries, which very likely cost crucial time in alerting the family of danger, said Frank Dwyer, a Fire Department spokesman.

The fire was under control at 3:57 a.m.

Comment: It is vitally important to keep smoke detectors in good working order.

*FIRE KILLS MANHATTAN FAMILY; SMOKE DETECTOR BROKEN (Posted by Brooklyn lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on October 12, 2008)

*FIRES IN BROOKLYN AND BRONX; ONE FIRE KILLS (Posted by Brooklyn lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on November 16, 2010)

*CHANGE SMOKE AND CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM BATTERIES WHEN CHANGING CLOCKS THIS WEEKEND (Posted by Brooklyn lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on November 4, 2010)

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

I read the latest appellate (appeals) level cases relevant to my areas of law practice and interest pretty much as soon as they're published. Let's talk about one that has me scratching my head.

Published on March 1, 2011 is the car accident case of Jun Suk Seo v. (against) Edward A. Walsh. The accident occurred in August 2006. This appeals court case comes from a Queens County jury verdict. The jury threw out the injured accident victim's (plaintiff's) case because he did not suffer a "serious injury" as required by the New York State Insurance Law. For more information about New York car accidents and the serious injury requirement (or No-Fault threshold) see my FREE Special Report The New York "No-Fault" Law.

Accident victim Jun Suk Seo asked the trial judge to disregard the jury's verdict and give him a new trial - which is something a trial judge can do in New York. His lawyer argued that he should get that new trial (essentially, a "do over") because the defense attorney said nasty things in his closing statement to the jury, what plaintiff's lawyer calls "inflammatory and highly prejudicial remarks."

As a second or alterative ground to throw out the jury verdict and give the accident victim a second trial, the accident victim's lawyer argued that the jury verdict was "contrary to the weight of the evidence." This means that the verdict was so screwy, that the jury must have ignored what was shown to it in the courtroom or, as the appeals court explained it, "the verdict could not have been reached on any fair interpretation of the evidence."

The trial court judge granted a new trial to the injured plaintiff based on the first ground, that the defense attorney made an improper closing argument.

The Appellate Division, Second Department disagreed and found that the defendant's lawyer's closing argument was fair enough. Then the appeals Court moved on to the second argument made by the injured accident victim's lawyer: against the weight of the evidence. I'll tell you the facts that the Appellate Division pointed out in its decision and, Dear Readers, you be the judges:

Here's the evidence the jury heard at trial.

1. Dr. Hal Gutstein, plaintiff's treating neurologist. As a result of the car accident, he suffered nerve damage (radiculopathy) due to herniated disks in his neck (cervical disks) which pressed on his spinal cord. He had surgery to his neck, a discectomy, a procedure in which his herniated disks were cut out and a biomechanical device was inserted into his spine to stabilize it. Approximately one year after the discectomy, an examination of plaintiff showed permanent limitations in his ability to move his neck.

2. Dr. Ksushik Das, injured plaintiff's surgeon. Told the jury that the plaintiff's neck injury was permanent.

1. Dr. Sang Lee, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Examined the accident victim for a prior (1999) car accident where plaintiff suffered a stiff neck and lower back injuries.

2. Dr. Renan Macias, a neurologist. Examined the plaintiff in 1999 and noted some possible nerve damage to his neck and possible disk injury to his neck as well.

3. Dr. Leon Sultan, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. Examined the accident victim in 2007 for this car accident, and testified that this car accident did not result in a significant limitation of the use of a body function or system, or a permanent consequential limitation of the use of a body organ or member. Dr. Sultan did not believe that the plaintiff had herniated disks; rather, according to Dr. Sultan, MRI films revealed the presence of mere bulges.

What do you think, Dear Readers? What should the jury have decided? What did the appeals court do?

In a return to sanity, the appeals court granted the accident victim a new trial, noting that none of the defendant's witnesses rebutted the plaintiff's showing that he underwent a discectomy, or provided any testimony that the discectomy was unnecessary.

The Court's holding: the Lower Court properly granted the plaintiff's motion to set aside the jury verdict on the issue of serious injury, but should have done so on the ground that the verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence, and should have granted a new trial on that basis.

Comment: This jury had its heads up its asses. I hope that anyone called upon to do their civic duty and serve on a jury for ANY kind of case will not drop the ball, will pay close attention, and will dispense justice.

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

Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney -

The last thing on your mind as you buy your precious child a new toy is the consideration of whether the toy could give your child lead poisoning. Many toy production companies outsource their manufacturing to China, where labor is cheaper and which can aid in keeping product prices down and revenue up. As many people are aware, there has been a scare relating to toys manufactured in China that contain lead, a toxic metal that can hurt anyone, but especially children under the age of six. If your child has suffered from lead poisoning in your New York home, a Brooklyn personal injury attorney is who you need to assist you in obtaining your compensation.

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Because symptoms can take so long to appear, it would be wise to have your child examined for lead poisoning every year or so. A simple blood test is usually the first step. This could prevent the need to contact a Brooklyn personal injury attorney for child lead poisoning. If it is too late for you and your family, however, you can enjoy the professional services rendered by an experienced injury lawyer that has dealt with cases like yours before in the Bronx, Brooklyn or Queens areas of New York City.

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