How do you tell the wife about this?

On Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 10:45 AM, a man landed on the roof of a sports car after allegedly leaping from the 39th floor of an Upper West Side apartment building in an apparent suicide attempt, police sources and witnesses said.

The 23-year-old victim miraculously survived his 10:44 a.m. plunge from the 40-story tall West End Towers on West End Ave. and was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital in serious condition, police said.

He suffered two broken legs and a bruised lung and was set to undergo emergency surgery, sources said.

"He looked like a pretzel," said Anthony Monteforte, a contractor who was working nearby and heard the victim crash onto a Dodge Charger sedan parked on a deadend street on the building's west side. "There was not much blood."

Investigators are till trying to determine from which floor the man jumped.

After his fall, the victim could be heard yelling out nonsensical phrases while complaining about his leg, Monteforte added.

"I can't believe this. My car saved his life," said Guy McCormick, 40, the Dodge's owner.

McCormick said the car, which he had borrowed from his wife, was totaled with a smashed rear windshield and damaged trunk.

Saturday , August 28, 2010 5-year-old Joshua Saunders was playing baseball with his 7-year-old brother in front of their house on East 214th Street in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx at 6:30 p.m.

I a tragic accident, a hit-and-run driver crashed into the younger child - hurling the boy into the air "like a rag doll" and then speeding away as the boy crashed onto the pavement in front of his horrified family, cops and witnesses said.

Joshua Saunders was chasing a ball when a green Nissan Pathfinder sped down the street, smashed into the boy and drove on.

Joshua was in critical but stable condition at Jacobi Hospital last night.

"This psycho comes out of nowhere and knocks Joshua 30 feet into the air," said Norman Morgan, 47, a neighbor. "My heart sunk -- he looked like a rag doll in the air."

Family friend Cleve Brown, 44, said the driver kept going without a look back.

"He has no heart, and he needs to be behind bars," Brown said.

Police are still searching for the driver of the green Nissan Pathfinder that struck Joshua Saunders while he was playing with his brother around 6:30 p.m. on East 214th Street in Williamsbridge.

Apparently, the police have video footage from a home security system that should help them track down this heartless criminal perpetrator. On the video, Joshua is seen on the sidewalk, then getting a ball off the street, about three minutes before the accident.

Then, the green Nissan Pathfinder enters the frame, with a driver whose image is on-screen but blurry. Joshua went after the ball again and was struck, leaving him critically injured.

At a prayer vigil, the emotions were overwhelming for Joshua's sister, Arantxa. She was steps away when her little brother was hit, and the first to hold him as he struggled to survive.

A fancy schmancy name in home products, Williams-Sonoma runs retail outlets, as well as a healthy mail order business.

However, one of its products - a Baby Bottle Warmer - has proven potentially dangerous and is the subject of a recall, due to a burn hazard.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 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: Beaba Express Steam Bottle Warmers

Units: About 11,000

Importer: Williams-Sonoma Inc., of San Francisco, Calif.

Hazard: The bottle warmers can overheat liquids and baby food, posing a burn hazard to adults and babies.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 10 reports of the bottles overheating, including one report of an adult who received a finger burn from touching a hot bottle.

Description: This recall involves the Beaba Express Steam Bottle Warmer which uses steam to heat baby bottles or baby food. The bottle warmer is green with an orange temperature dial. "Beaba" is printed on the base and model number 9602 is printed on the underside of the warmer.

Sold at: Williams-Sonoma stores nationwide, online at www.williams-sonoma.com and through Williams-Sonoma catalogs from June 2010 through July 2010 for about $65.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bottle warmers and call Williams-Sonoma for instructions on how to return the product for a full refund. Additionally, consumers who return the bottle warmers will receive a $25 Williams-Sonoma merchandise card.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Williams-Sonoma toll-free at (877) 548-0850 between 4 a.m. and 9 p.m. PT seven days a week or visit the firm's website at www.williams-sonoma.com

In a cost-saving move, on June 27, 2010 The Metropolitan Transit Authority cancelled BX5 bus service at a bus stop in front of 3305 Bruckner Boulevard, at Coddington Avenue, in the Bronx.

Once a bus stop is no longer active, it becomes legal to park there. However, at this former bus stop, New York City traffic agents just didn't care.

Throughout July and the beginning of August, residents were ticketed and some even towed for parking there. 'No standing, bus stop,' was the violation cited on the summonses.

The story gets better. It seems no one could stop the ticketing blitz, not even local politicians.

New York State Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, who happens to live right by the stop, received citizens' complaints for weeks and called all around to various agencies, with no response or help. Finally, he called a press conference to discuss the issue with those affected.

Ironically, just the announcement of a press conference did the trick. Benedetto and his staff, as well as Assemblyman Michael DenDekker from Queens, came to the stop on Friday morning, August 13, only to find that the bus stop signs had been taken removed the night before.

But that did not make up for the wrongful parking tickets.

"The problem has been resolved at this spot, sure, but there were victims who had to pay unlawful tickets," Benedetto said.

The assemblyman mentioned that stops along Layton Avenue had been shut as well, but those signs were removed promptly. "It's a bureaucratic mistake," he said. "Agents issuing tickets should have been alerted that this was a dead stop."

Rraine Semaj, of Co-op City, said that DOT must have only taken the signs down in the last twelve hours because at 7:19 a.m. on August 12, she received a $115 parking ticket for blocking the bus stop.

It was one of three tickets she has received at the stop, totaling $345 in unjust fees. "One agency is not talking to the other agency," said Semaj. "It's just outrageous." She held off on paying because she believed they may be overturned if she appeals.

Indeed, she'll be successful, if she's willing to put in the time waiting in line downtown. The NYC Department of Finance said that drivers who received a ticket at a defunct bus stop will get the ticket dismissed if they appeal.

Jose Arroyo, who lives near the stop, already paid his ticket. "I was afraid," he said. "What else could I do?" Arroyo, too should be able to get his money back, according to the Department of Finance, which said those who already paid should contact them to get a refund.

Assemblyman DenDekker accompanied Benedetto to the event because he said that this issue is a citywide problem, and not limited to the Bronx. In his district, a discontinued QM22 stop at 77-01 31st Avenue still had signage on Friday and had resulted in summonses for scores of drivers.

"They haven't rectified the problem there," said DenDekker, "and they've only fixed it here because they heard about the press conference."

Benedetto agreed. "When this stop was closed," he said, "the one silver lining was that we got some extra parking spaces. But they took away that small pleasure by issuing tickets."

Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who had also fielded complaints from constituents ticketed at closed stops, said that the mistake "adds insult to injury," and that, "the last thing we need is people getting ticketed for blocking bus stops to nowhere."

Monty Dean, a spokesperson for DOT, said that all remaining bus stop signage on defunct routes in the city was taken down over the weekend, by Sunday, August 15.

At 2 p.m. on Monday, August 16, DenDekker's chief of staff Maureen Allen said the signage at their problem stop was still there.

Early on Monday, August 15, 2010 a car wrapped itself around a pole near the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Park Lane South in Woodhaven. New York City EMS workers had to cut five young women from the crushed vehicle.

Pending family notifications, we do not know: The make and model of the car that was in the accident; the names of any of the women in the car; the identity of the car owner or driver; or details about the accident victims' personal injuries.

We do know that four of the women in the car were 18 years old; the other was 21.

Two were taken to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, and the other three to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The 21-year-old was listed in critical condition at Jamaica. The conditions of the other four were not disclosed.

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In a move to promote pedestrian safety and lower the number of street-crossing accidents, hundreds of New York City crosswalks are getting pedestrian countdown clocks. The new crosswalk signals will display LED numbers that count down the number of seconds remaining before the "flashing hand" turns a solid red.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration studied the signals in a pilot program of 24 intersections. The city found that the countdown clocks were particularly helpful on wide streets with longer crosswalks. Placement will be focused along wide thoroughfares like Broadway in Manhattan, Queens Boulevard in Queens, Fordham Road in the Bronx, Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island.

In addition to the countdown clocks, the Department of Transportation will target high-crash, high-volume intersections along such major crosstown two-way corridors as Canal Street, 57th Street and 125th Street for custom redesigns, with such improvements as pedestrian refuge islands.

The strategies stem from a new report, called the Pedestrian Safety and Study Action Plan -- released Monday -- which was based on data from more than 7,000 crash records.

According to the report, walking the streets of New York City is more dangerous than driving on them. Pedestrians accounted for 52 percent of traffic fatalities from 2005 to 2009. Manhattan residents should be especially concerned. According to the study, Manhattan has four times as many pedestrians killed or severely injured per mile compared to the other four boroughs.

"The report and actions detailed today, including the installation of pedestrian countdown signals across the city, will make our streets even safer, especially for the pedestrians who, year in and year out, account for the majority of New York's traffic fatalities," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday.

Bloomberg's administration also announced other measures to improve pedestrian safety. Those include a pilot program of 20 mph speed zones in some residential areas. The city's standard speed limit is 30 mph.

I do not today blog about car accidents or whiplash injury cases.

To those who may not know, "kosher" means, simply, in accordance with Jewish religious dietary law. Depending on the level of religious orthodoxy or standard to which a Jew hold him or herself, "kosher" can have shades of meaning.

At a minimum, to be kosher, food preparation from source to sale requires the supervision of a rabbi. Volumes of Jewish law have been written about what kind of rabbi will do, and what religious rules must be followed to prepare kosher food.

Food may be manufactured and packaged for sale and be perfectly kosher, but it can lose its "kosherness" if it is not prepared or cooked in accordance with Jewish law. The details can seem nit-picky, but the more Orthodox practitioners of Judaism want to see their cooked food prepared under Rabbinical supervision equally strict as the supervision imposed when the food is manufactured.

Orthodox purchasers of cooked food will not buy food that is sold in violation of the Jewish Sabbath, which is unequivocally a day for rest, reflection and prayer, and not for commerce. Put differently, the food can be manufactured and packaged and be kosher, but even if cooked in a manner that would be considered kosher during the week, cook it and/or sell that food on the Sabbath and it's not truly kosher any longer.

This leads us into today's blog.

On Friday the 13^th - yes, on August 13, 2010, a Brooklyn Federal judge ruled that the New York Mets had to let a kosher food seller, Kosher Sports, sell its food products at Citi Field on the Jewish Sabbath. Kosher Sports, which sells kosher hot dogs, knishes and peanuts at the ballpark, sued the Mets in federal court last month, claiming it lost half a million dollars when it was prevented from selling food Friday nights and Saturday.

The New York Mets tried to prevent sales of Kosher Sports' food during Friday night and Saturday games, reasoning that food at those times would render the kosher food not-kosher, and that all food sold byu Kosher Foods would no longer be sale-able to Orthodox Jewish beasball fans. The Mets' lawyer argued that selling or buying kosher food on Friday nights or Saturday is a contradiction in terms, but the judge declined to take a side. The Mets wish to not alienate Orthodox Jewish baseball fans.

Federal Judge Jack Weinstein a Jew, ruled that, "I cannot get involved in a dispute over rabbinical law." The judge relied n the contract between the parties.

The Mets say that they didn't violate the contract with Kosher Sports -- that Aramark, another food-concession company, did. Aramark has refused to supply the kosher vendor with carts for Friday nights and Saturdays, the Mets said.

The ballclub countersued the kosher company, claiming the Mets were owed $650,000 for the right to sell wares at the games.

The judge ordered the two sides to work out the terms of an agreement among themselves.

The bottom line is that Kosher Sports' kosher food will be less kosher because of its policy of selling during the Jewish Sabbath. And among those to whom the degree of food kosherness matters, the word will quickly get around.

Maybe you've heard of a company named Asurion. Let's talk about it a little. I know Asurion as the company that insures my cell phone, for which my cellular provider takes a small fee every month. These small fees add up over time to large fees.

At its website, Asurion describes itself as follows: "Asurion is the global leader in technology protection services. From lost, stolen and damaged wireless handsets to malfunctioning computers or HDTVs, Asurion provides more than 90 million consumers worldwide with best-in-class, next day device replacement. Asurion also offers protection of user content and software."

So far, so good. But I disagree with the next self-assessment from Asurion's website: "As the worlds largest provider of technology protection products, we make replacing wireless devices fast, easy, inexpensive, and hassle-free."

My personal experience and the personal experience of friends and loved ones, has shown dealing with Asurion to be anything but hassle-free. Phone lost and not damaged, "Have you reported to the police and got a police report"? Another good one is when your phone model is discontinued, or worse, no longer supported. Then you are offered a "comparable" phone.

Then there's the $50 co-pay. And, oh yeah, Asurion will ship your phone immediately - even before you return the damaged phone, just leave a credit card number, please.

Now all insurance companies want to make a buck. This principle applies to car insurance companies, homeowners insurance companies and, yes, cell phone insurance companies like Asurion. Also, it's a kind of rule of human nature that people are more likely to take action, such as posting to the Internet, when they're displeased as opposed to when they're happy. So Google-search "Asurion" and you'll get search returns of complaints. Lots of complaints. Same result if you Google "Asurion sucks," or whatever similar search terms that you prefer.

For example, JUST THIS MONTH, on August 10, 2010, blog-poster Phil from California reports that he lost his phone, and found it, "however, i had in the meantime filed my claim with Asurion who told me on the phone: "WE NO LONGER HAVE BLACK GOOGLE G1 PHONES, BUT WOULD YOU ACCEPT A WHITE ONE IN ITS PLACE?" i said (reasonably), "Sure."

Having found his phone, Phil decided to sell the second phone, box unopened, on Ebay. Then, at his buyer's suggestion, he looked in the box.

Naturally, Phil couldn't get his problem fixed, was refued the last names of representatives he dealt with and, when he tried to ercord Asurion like it records him, was chased off the call.

Says Dan of San Antonio, TX on August 9, 2010:

Says Cinche of Sacramento, CA on August 5, 2010:

Says Brian of Fresno, CA on August 5, 2010:

Says Jason of Birmingham, AL on July 29, 2010:

Says Anna of Thornwood, NY on July 28, 2010:

Says Paul of Williamsville, NY on July 24, 2010:

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/asurion.html

All this leads us to today's blog piece.

On August 10, 2010, Asurion of Smyrna, Tennessee, recalled Counterfeit BlackBerry® branded cell phone batteries in refurbished devices. How many batteries were recalled you might ask? How badly fooled was this insurance giant of the cell phone trade that takes in many millions of dollars every month from cell phone users - and shouldn't Asurion know its business very well?

The recall affects about 470,000 batteries. That's correct. This giant of the industry was fooled with about 500,000 fake Blackberry batteries. How could this happen?

The recall describes the problem as follows - Hazard: The counterfeit batteries can overheat, posing burn and fire hazards. Asurion has received two reports of counterfeit BlackBerry®-branded batteries overheating, causing minor burns to a consumer's finger and minor property damage to a sofa and car seat.

Description: This recall involves only BlackBerry®-branded batteries provided with refurbished Blackberry®-branded devices. The refurbished devices were sent to consumers by Asurion through a handset protection program. The batteries were used across virtually all models of refurbished BlackBerry devices distributed by Asurion prior to November 1, 2009. Genuine Blackberry-branded batteries are not included in this recall. No other Asurion or BlackBerry products are involved in this recall.

Distributed through: Asurion as part of their handset protection claim program nationwide from March 2004 through October 2009. (So Asurion was passing around fake batteries for 5½ years.)

Manufactured in: Unknown (Asurion ain't telling how or where it got the bad batteries.)

Remedy: Consumers who received refurbished BlackBerry devices through Asurion prior to November 1, 2009 should immediately stop using the product and contact Asurion for a replacement product. Asurion is directly contacting known consumers with the affected batteries to notify them of this recall.

Will no one tell us what really happened?" Or must we speculate that maybe Asurion cheated its customers just a little, by buying from a disreputable source to save money. Was the deal too good to be true? Do I smell corporate greed? Or, more specifically, insurance company corporate greed? Half a million fake cell phone batteries is a lot of fake cell phone batteries.

Will heads roll in Smyrna, Tennessee? One can only wonder, and, while wondering, cancel one's cell phone insurance.

On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, at a few minutes before 11:00 AM, a horrible chain-collision accident occurred in the Bronx; it unfolded in progressively more frightening stages.

FIRST: A double-parked gray minivan driven by Randolph Belle, age 57, made a an illegal u-turn from West Kingsbridge Road and turned east toward University Avenue.

SECOND: A blue Lincoln livery car enters the scene. The Lincoln livery car, driven by Pedro Marte, age 57, was driving east on Kingsbridge Road near University Ave. when the van cut him off by suddenly turning in front of him. The Lincoln could not avoid clipping the van.

THIRD: The impact between the van and the Lincoln livery car caused Marte to lose control

of the Lincoln, and changed the Lincoln's direction of travel, so that the Lincoln jumping a curb and slammed into a crowded Bronx bus stop. Dead were a 76 year-old grandfather Marcelino Adraneda. Six others suffered serious personal injury and were taken to to Montefiore, St. Barnabas and Jacobi Hopitals.

Witnesses said the sickening impact in Kingsbridge left sprawled pedestrians screaming in pain, with shattered glass embedded in their faces and limbs, and a maimed woman shouting, "Where's my foot? Where's my foot?"

Among the most seriously injured was a 40-year-old woman whose left foot was amputated, a 71-year-old woman whose right leg was crushed, and a 48-year-old man who suffered a fractured lung and broken rib.

The livery driver, Pedro Marte, said later that he lost control and all he remembered was saying "Oh, my God!" as he plowed into the bus stop. According to a witness, when he saw the bodies he had a nervous breakdown. "It was out of his hands, it was out of his control. He's very sorry for all the pain these people felt."

According to cops, Marte and van driver Randolph Belle, 57, passed Breathalyzer tests.

Criminal charges are not expected. Belle is expected to be given a summons for the illegal U-turn.

If you've ever walked through New York City's Central Park on a weekend, you know that a pedestrian risks serious injury just crossing the road.

During peak recreational times, the park is closed to motor vehicles, which removes a lot of the potential danger. No cars, trucks or buses whizzing by makes for a more bucolic amble through the park.

There are hordes of runners. Not too bad, because they can step around you. Usually, the runners pay good attention to where they're going.

Dog walkers don't present a particular hazard, unless they can't control their dog. Most can and do. Bad dogs tend to have muzzles, and tend to stay muzzled by responsible pet owners.

Roller bladers can be a little scary, but they tend to have good maneuverability on skates. But The bladers that wear no helmets or protective gear at all scare me a little, because I sense in them a disregard for safety and, perhaps, for accident avoidance.

Bicycle rides, however, make walking in the park quite precarious. Many ride like they're training to race in the Tour de France. Can the next Lance Armstrong be bearing down on your strolling-around self in Central Park? They can move as fast as cars. Close calls whiz by so fast, they probably can't even hear the curse words you shout at their backs.

On Saturday, August 7, 2010, at 10:30 AM, a bicyclist in full racing gear tearing through Central Park in a pack of other cyclists slammed into a 73-year-old grandmother Ruth Shack near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was crossing Manhattan's East 84th Street with two friends and was 20 yards from the crosswalk when she was clobbered.

Shack, a public school teacher from Rockland County, was taken to St. Luke's Hospital with broken ribs, two damaged neck vertebrae and facial cuts. An avid ice skater and tennis player, she had driven from Rockland County to see her friends and visit the park. Likely she would have been hurt worse were she not in such good physical condition.

Another cyclist, an off-duty emergency medical technician, helped Shack into an ambulance while the rider that struck her took off.

Shack declined to file a police report.

I've driven Queens Boulevard a zillion times. I live near it; I work near it. It never fails to amaze me how many people cross Queens Boulevard carelessly. Rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, Queens Boulevard is known as the "Boulevard of Death."

There are even signs placed up and down the road, telling us that "A pedestrian died here," and warning drivers and pedestrians to be careful. Sometimes friends, family and loved ones of the deceased attach a wreath to a Queens Boulevard pole or guardrail as a remembrance. But are the drivers always to blame?

I've seen young parents enter the moving lanes of traffic pushing a baby stroller ahead of them. In the event of a car strike, the stroller would be hit first. I've seen senior citizens walking against the traffic light, moving ever so slowly, betting their lives that an oncoming car, bus or truck will see them and/or yield to them and/or stop in time. I've seen street crossers who only look straight ahead, where they're walking - never looking to the side checking to see if oncoming cars are bearing down on them. I want to shout at them to swivel their heads and check oncoming traffic.

In the early morning hours of Friday, August 7, 2010, Robert Borchers, age 76, purchased a newspaper in Kew Gardens, Queens, and jaywalked across Queens Boulevard at 80^th Road.

A marked New York City Department of Corrections vehicle plowed into him, killing him. Borchers was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver, a civilian Correction Department employee, 40, remained on the scene. No criminality is suspected.

Comment: Some witnesses told officers that Borchers had the right of way, but authorities believe that he was walking against the light. So who's to blame here? Did this pedestrian cross the street without looking? Did he see or not see what should have been there to be seen - a motor vehicle? Will his family bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the New York City Department of Corrections? If so, they have 90 days to file a notice of claim against the City of New York. There are, of course, no winners here. Only losers.

On Wednesday, August 4, 2010 a New York City official went above and beyond the call of duty. The New York City Building Department had hired Eugene Corcoran this past May from the United States Marshal's office in Brooklyn, where he had worked for seven years, and made him Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement; he has over 30 years of overall experience in law enforcement. Corcoran's job is to investigate corruption in the Building Department, supervise inspectors, and keep companies that do construction work in the City of New York honest.

Corcoran was driving on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens County when he spotted a domestic violence attack in progress. Mr. Ameer Khairullah and his wife, Bebe, were fighting at 7:30 a.m. as she was driving their Toyota SUV westbound in the center lane of the Grand Central near 168th Street in Jamaica Estates. In attacking his wife, Ameer hit her and ejected her from their SUV, knocked her down, and ran over her leg, fracturing it.

Corcoran stopped his Ford Explorer in the parkway's center lane and ran to Bebe's rescue. In the meanwhile, the Toyota SUV rear-ended Corcoran's vehicle, catapulting him over the highway guardrail. Corcoran scrambled to his feet, ran back to the fight, and subdued Ameer, taking him down to the ground and holding him there.

A passing New York City firefighter, Edward Tucker, pulled up and assisted Corcoran in handcuffing the perp. The two men held Ameer for police.

According to a police spokesman, the wife said that "they always had fights like that." She was taken to the hospital to have her broken leg set and was reported to be in stable condition.

Corcoran was taken to North Shore University Hospital for a minor neck injury, police said.

Ameer was arrested and charged with two counts of assault -- one for his wife, and one for Deputy Commissioner Corcoran.

Comment: Just when we might start to despair that there are no more heroes, Corcoran comes along a saves a woman who was run over by her own husband. I hope they "throw the book" at Ameer, who seems to be a persistent wife-beater.

How far will you go to keep a job that pays $50,000 per year?

First-year, newbie teacher Ilene Feldman was working at New York City's High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media. She had received a poor first evaluation and was scheduled to have her classroom observed.

She was so scared that she would do poorly, that she decided to play hookey by being out sick, to be accomplished by faking a staircase accident - which was caught on videotape. As a non-tenured teacher, Feldman was subject to dismissal at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

Administrators at the Canarsie school -- suspicious of Feldman's injury because it coincided with a classroom-observation meeting -- handed security-camera footage to school investigators after concluding that Feldman purposely fell down the stairs. A review of the footage shows the 33-year-old teacher pausing near he bottom of a narrow staircase and bending over to go through her handbag. She next looks around and, seeing no one, does a slow fall down two steps to the floor.

Feldman grabbed at her leg and started screaming in pain. The footage "revealed that Feldman actually threw herself down the stairs in a controlled fall," said the report, which was completed last year but never before made public.

Feldman claimed she fell because her foot got stuck on a stair -- possibly on a piece of a gum. Feldman was taken to a nearby hospital after the December 2008 topple; she received for four days of Workers' Compensation for time out of work. (Sounds like fraud to me.)

When confronted by investigators, Feldman twice declined to watch frame-by-frame footage of her fall. She kept insisting her tumble wasn't a tall tale -- but quickly resigned.

See this video:

Comment: While I like a good scam as much as the next person, here's why I think this teacher was too to stupid to believe:

1. How do you teach in a New York City high school for a year and not know that there's video surveillance in the hallways and staircases?

2. If you're going to fake a fall, why risk actual injury by actually falling? Why didn't she just lay down by the stairs and grab her leg and make a commotion?

On Monday, August 2, 2010, a teenage boy, Ferderich Enbre - news reports differ as to whether he was 13 or 14 years-old - was riding his bicycle at Fresh Pond Road and Eliot Avenue in Middle Village, Queens County, New York. He had a horrible bicycle accident.

He was struck by an 18-wheeler, tractor trailer as it turned right at about 1:30 PM. He was

knocked down by the truck and, according to a surveillance film, was then crushed under the back wheels of the truck.

The young man was taken to Wykoff Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. According to authorities, Ferderich Enbre lived around the block from where he was killed.

Police say that the truck driver did not see the teenager and only realized there had been an accident when he became aware that his truck hit something. The truck driver remained at the scene; no criminal charges are expected to be brought.

Sources say that the intersection is dangerous, with children crossing against the light and car horns honking and such.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and Antonio Flores, a company in

San Ysidro, California, recently recalled Kariño Baby Pacifiers. About 45,000 of the pacifiers were distributed and sold in independent grocery stores in California and Texas for about 25¢.

The pacifiers, made in Mexico, fail federal safety standards and have multiple design defects that pose a danger to babies.

Hazards: The nipple can separate from the base easily, the pacifier handle is too long, the mouth guard is too small and there are no ventilation holes on the mouth guard. The pacifier could pose a choking and aspiration hazard to young children.

No injuries are reported. Hopefully no children will be hurt by pacifiers already sold; this would be a tragic defective product case.

In the early morning of Friday, July 30, 2010, Bronx resident Maxmilio Mendez, age 7, was walking with his mother in East Harlem. At about 9:00 AM, as mother and son crossed Second Avenue between 124th and 125th Streets, they were struck by a yellow Metropolitan Transit Authority tow truck. The truck was driving onto a ramp for the TriBorough (now Robert F. Kennedy) Bridge, and apparently ran over the boy's legs.

Young Maxmilio was rushed to Harlem Hospital, where he passed away.

Reportedly, mother and son were heading to a local pool. An MTA spokesperson said that at the time of the accident the tow truck driver was responding to a call. He remained at the scene after the fatal accident.

The tow truck driver tested negative for alcohol. Police do not expect to bring charges against the driver, who remained on the scene.

Comment: Interestingly, to brnig a lawsuit aganist the MTA for its driver's negligence, the deceased child's family faces a shortened time period to sue (called the "statute of limitations"). Under New York State's Public Authorities Law, the time limit to sue is one year and 30 days after the accident (which in New York's "normal" negligence cases is three years).

But beware of trying to do this without skilled counsel, for before you can bring a lawsuit, you must correctly serve and file a carefully considered and properly worded Notice of Claim against the MTA - within a really, really short time period. Many inexperienced lawyers who don't know quite what they're doing mess this up and kill the client's claim; leaving the client, perhaps, with only a nasty little professional malpractice claim against the lawyer who got it wrong. And no lawyer enjoys suing another. Best to hire a knowledgeable lawyer who does it once and gets it right.