New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A lawsuit filed against a SoHo Apple store by a former employee alleges discrimination based upon a mental health disorder, tells a source. The woman filing the lawsuit claims that she took a leave of absence due to mental instability, and once cleared by a psychiatrist to return to work, did so with the understanding that her previous condition would not hinder her return to work.

According to a friend, however, after her four month leave of absence, upon her return to work it was obvious to the woman that the other employees and in particular the Human Resources director of the company did know of her prior condition. The woman claims that she was treated poorly, her job was cut, she was replaced by another worker and then put in what they called a “holding pattern” until they could find a place for her. She was moved to the basement office where she had nothing constructive to do. The woman moved to Chicago after Apple had told her that she could work in their Chicago office, but that job fell through as well.

The person stated that the woman is suing for back pay, lost wages and at least $300,000 in punitive damages. There is no word yet as to how Apple will handle this situation. In another case of discrimination filed against Apple, a 60 year old man has charged that he was treated unfairly because of his age. Discrimination is one of the leading causes of lawsuits filed against employers. In The Bronx and Long Island these laws are similar to the one in this case.

Continue reading " Accusations of discrimination prompt lawsuit against SoHo Apple store " »

An eight-year old boy from Welwyn Garden City, who suffers from quadriplegia and cerebral palsy, recently received 6.4 Million Euros compensation after suffering a serious birth injury, claims a report.

The now eight-year old was born at Edgware Birth Centre in Burnt Oak. As a source explained, the birth injury occurred when a student nurse did not recognize that his heart rate had fallen during delivery, and did not speed up the delivery. On top of that, delays made the transfer from the Edgware Birth Centre to Barnet General Hospital longer than was expected, which only compounded the situation. Hospitals in Nassau and Suffolk Counties try to guard against this situation.

The eight-year old’s parents made a claim for compensation against Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals Trust. The claimed that the mother should not have been sent to the Edgware Birth Center in the first place, as the centre only accepted first time mothers under the age of thirty five, and she was thirty eight years old at the time of delivery. She should have been sent first to a hospital where they may have been able to better handle her difficult delivery.

According to a report, the 8-year olds birth injuries cause him to not be able to walk, or sit unaided. He can only speak with the help of a speech generation machine. The High Court approved the compensation to his family. The compensation will consist of a one-time lump sum, followed by a yearly allotment that will ensure the boys care for the future.

Continue reading " Hertfordshire Boy Receives 6.4 Million Euros for Birth Injury " »

In 1969, a mother of three daughters lost her oldest daughter. The 19-year old daughter was killed by a drunk driver in Richmond. He served 90 days in a county jail. This past summer, the 83-year old Vacaville resident stood inside a courtroom for the second time in 40 years, this time over the death of her youngest daughter, who was 57-year old Walnut Creek attorney Kathleen Moorhead.

Seeing as DUI laws are much stricter now than when her older sister was killed, the family was hoping that the 70-year old drunk driver would receive the maximum penalty – 10 years in prison, reported an observer. The judge sentenced the driver to probation on Monday, and the prosecutor revealed that it is unlikely the man will ever step inside a prison.

The driver had never had a ticket before, and was seen as an upstanding citizen in the community. Numerous people wrote letters and spoke before the judge on his behalf. He was a businessman, having started at the bottom of a local business and retiring at the top. The drunk driving was so out of character for the man that many were baffled. The drivers attorney asked for probation due to the medical history of his client, claimed a family friend.

The driver had had several drinks in three different restaurants before attempting to return home. He hit a median and blew a tire, but continued driving. He scraped the median three more times, eventually hitting it hard enough to bust a second tire. At that point, while he tried on two occasions to dial his cell phone, he lost control of his pickup, veered across all the lanes of traffic, and jumped a sidewalk curb, slamming into Moorhead, who had tried to jump over a fence to save herself, stated a reporter.

An hour after his arrest, the driver blew a 0.15 blood alcohol, nearly two times the legal limit. He was said to have apologized to the family for the injury from the witness stand. He was sentenced to 5 years of formal probation, that if violated could activate a suspended six-year prison sentence, reported a source.

Continue reading " Mother Loses Two Daughters to Drunk Driving Decades Apart " »

After spending 80 days in jail, and facing possible life in prison, a West Bloomfield man who was accused of raping his autistic daughter has been granted a $1.8 Million dollar wrongful-arrest settlement. This was for a form of premises liability.

The man’s wife also faced decades in jail, as the accusation stated that she had stood by and watched the assaults take place. Their 14-year-old daughter, who is severely autistic and cannot speak, was the suspected victim. She and her 13-year-old brother were placed in foster care.

The case began to unravel when judges began to more closely examine the evidence. The only evidence in the case was a statement that the 14-year-old girl supposedly typed with the help of a teacher’s aide at her school, reported a policeman. She stated that her father had raped her since the age of 7 and that her mother had stood by and watched.

According to a friend, the statement came from a form of communication known as facilitated communication, where an aide helps the girl type on a keyboard. The 14-year-old only functions on the level of a 2-year-old, and the case began falling apart when a judge realized the girl could not answer simple questions with this form of communication. There were no physical signs of abuse or injury.

The case was dropped in March 2008 for lack of evidence, claimed a judge. The township lawyers deny any wrongdoing by the police. The family has a federal lawsuit against the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools and the Michigan Department of Human Services. The defendants have asked the judge to dismiss the case on grounds of governmental immunity. The family named the police department in the lawsuit because of a two-hour interrogation of the 13-year old son without an adult representative. The 13-year old suffers from a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome, and was seen rocking and crying on the interview video.

It is unclear how much township insurance will rise because of this settlement. The county prosecutors as they would in New York City and Westchester County have admitted to not investigating the facilitated communication method before charging the parents, and after making nationwide calls, they were unable to determine the reliability of the method.

Continue reading " Father Arrested in Sexual Abuse Case Results in $1.8 Million Settlement " »

Four Correction Officers who work at Rikers Island are said to be suing New York City. The four correction officers claim that they have contracted cancer from working in the corrections facility and around dangerous chemicals.

The four officers believe that toxic chemicals, supposedly buried at the site of the Rikers Island Correctional Facility, are the cause for their recent cancer diagnoses. The Rikers Island Correctional Facility is supposedly built mainly on an old landfill.

The four officers claim that the city knew that they were being exposed to the toxic cancer causing chemicals and never disclosed that information, states a report. A lawyer for the city says that there is no support for the allegations.

The lawyer also states that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found no evidence of elevated cancer rates among the correction officers who have worked at Rikers Island in Manhattan, stated a source. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene investigated the case in 2009. It was not stated if an investigation into the supposed toxic chemicals buried on site had been launched at the time of this publication, or whether a follow up investigation would take place.

The four men are not convinced. They continue to press on with their lawsuit for injury against New York City. The widow of a fifth man is expected to join the lawsuit, claims a friend. Four Rikers Island correction officers as well as officers in Long Isand are suing the city, claiming they contracted cancer from working at the jail. The officers believe they got sick from toxic chemicals buried at the site, which is mostly built on landfill. The officers claim the city knew they were being exposed to cancer causing chemicals. The widow of a fifth employee is also joining in the lawsuit.

A lawyer for the city says, "There is no support for these allegations. An investigation by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 2009 found no evidence of elevated cancer rates among correction officers who work or have worked at Rikers Island."

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Carlos Castro, the Portuguese celebrity journalist who was found murdered and mutilated in his Times Square in New York City hotel room told friends that he was being threatened by his handsome companion just days before the murder, police said.

Castro, age 65, who was a prominent gay activist and a society columnist, was beaten to death, and had his scrotum severed with a broken wine bottle during a fight with his former lover. Renato Seabra, the 20-year old suspected murderer was discovered hours after the brawl at Roosevelt Hospital, sporting wounds that may have been from a suicide attempt. He is now in police custody at Bellevue Hospital psychiatric ward, according to a source.

Investigators have stated that they believe Seabra, who is a former Portuguese reality-show contestant, was stringing Castro along. They also believe he attacked Castro when he wouldn’t buy Seabra bigger gifts. Seabra had told friends back home that he wasn’t gay; he was merely using Castro as a route to fame and fortune.

Castro’s body was found when friends in Queens of the journalist became concerned and went to his hotel room to check on him. Reportedly, Castro had confided in his friends that he was scared to sleep in the hotel room with Seabra present, stated a reporter.

Seabra disappeared for a few hours after the murder, and turned up at a local hospital around 11 pm. The cab driver who had driven Seabra to the hospital saw news reports and dialed 911 after recognizing Seabra’s picture. A few minutes later, a nurse also contacted authorities after viewing his photo on the news. Charges like wrongful death are pending.

Continue reading " Murdered Portuguese Journalist Admitted His Lover Was Scaring Him " »

A passenger was killed in October when the driver met into an accident while driving drunk. A police officer told the authorities that the woman was only twenty years old and she decided to drive while intoxicated, which was not a wise decision to make. Her blood alcohol level was way over the limit as she drove her car on Highway 98 in Destin, Florida. Her car hit a utility pole according to what the news media told the police.

She had a passenger in the car and that passenger was a young lady who was only twenty two years old. The passenger died on the scene. The twenty year old drunken driver, stated the source, was arrested three months later for this incident.

According to reports by the Police, both passenger and driver were going east on the highway over the speed limit and suddenly the car ran off the road into a utility pole. This happened at about four thirty in the morning close to where the passenger and driver lived. New York City and Long Island deal with these types of accidents very swiftly and with little tolerance for the drunk driver.

A warrant was issued for the driver’s arrest, the Police told the newspaper. The driver gave information to the Police that she had three shots of liquor at midnight and that she had gone to a nearby bar and salon. She got paranoid that a white car was following her on the highway. It was when she looked back that her eyes came off the road and the car accident occurred.

Continue reading " DUI manslaughter charge " »

A Morgan Hill Police Sergeant told a reporter that a driver was seriously charged with a felony when the passenger in her car was injured in the car crash. The car got out of control and hit a tree when the passenger received the injuries.

The police reported that they went to the scene to investigate the accident. The media carried the story and it was learned that the young man was only 17 years old. The Police reported that the driver seemed to be intoxicated while driving.

The facts seemed to agree with the legal aspects of the situation and render this as an unfortunate incident for all who were involved. According to reports, the passenger in the vehicle became unconscious when the police arrived at the scene. It was apparent that he had visible signs of injuries to her face. A helicopter took the injured man to the hospital nearby and he was taken to the intensive care unit where he received treatment for this serious condition.

It seemed that the passenger received some head injuries as well and needed to be stabilized. Concerned relatives rushed to the hospital to be with their loved one. According to Police, the passenger may also have been intoxicated at the time that the crash took place. However, Police were unable to do a breathalyzer test on the passenger due to his injuries. The driver received injuries to her ankles and to her wrists and she, too was taken to the hospital after which she arrested on a DUI charge. Nassau and Suffolk counties are hard on these cases.

Continue reading " DUI crash cause critical situation " »

A study confirmed that changes had to be made to morphine labels due to errors. The FDA along with the manufacturers of the morphine solution gave a warning to medical professionals of the possibility that it can cause health issues if taken in excess. Therefore, they have changed their label to reflect this and to limit the risks of injury that would affect patients.

According to a person close to the scene, there were some severe illness and deaths that occurred due to this morphine overdose accident. In a few cases, the morphine solutions were purchased in milligrams instead of milliliters and this is certainly a huge error. It means that doctors would issue more than what the patient can ingest comfortably.

Before the labels were changed, the manufacturers had put the morphine solution on the market; expressing the strength as twenty milligram/milliliter. The container that this solution was packaged in had a white background and brown lettering, which means it was hard to see.
A source indicated that since the label has been approved and changed, it has definitely reduced the risk for mistakes to happen. On the containing, the manufacturer has placed a warning that is easily visible. The label is specific to warn that only patients who have a tolerance to opoid should consume this product. Now the container has a white background with red lettering, which makes it highly visible. Pharmacists are given a reminder to provide a medical prescription guide about the dosage. Injury because of product liability in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are handled by people who know how to deal with these things.

Continue reading " Mistakes cause morphine label changes " »

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington released their new bankruptcy plan on Monday, allowing for an average settlement of $750,000 to $3 million for survivors of priest sexual abuse.

Under this new plan, $74 million dollars will become available to divide among approximately 150 priest-abuse victims who have claims pending. These claims are against the diocese itself or one of the parishes. This is to be compared with a bankruptcy plan filed in September that offered $28 million, stated a source. Because these acts took place on church property, premises liability is in the mix also.

Under the September plan, the average settlement would have been between $285,000 and $489,000. The diocese was able to increase the money available by dissolving a foundation established to benefit itself over 80 years ago.

The new settlement plan, however, has to be approved by the majority of the abuse survivors. The survivors must waive their claims against the parishes, or the diocese will revert back to a variation of the September plan, reported a spokesperson.

This “diocese-only” plan would mean no contributions from the foundation or the parishes, making the pool of divisible money as small as $15 million. Some lawyers claim that the diocese seems to be playing with numbers, spouting out such large figures that don’t seem realistic. The church explained that it will take time to review the lengthy legal document. Parishes in Long Island and New York City are thinking of taking the same approach.

A Bishop with the diocese stated that he hopes the plans will offer injured parties a choice, and that the current suggested settlement plan can be adopted. If it does, the diocese hopes to emerge from bankruptcy sometime in April. Further litigation could postpone that date, running up even higher legal fees against the diocese.

Continue reading " Diocese Raises Monetary Offer " »

The National Commission of deepwater Horizon reported to a commission that BP was to be blamed for its mismanagement that resulted in the oil spill and blow out. Some industry leaders think that this will be very hard to prove and BP might get away without having to pay any liabilities. In fact, the day after the report came out, BP stocks went up instead of going down as some would normally think could happen.

Other officials told the source that there were also some regulatory issues in the government that also caused this problem to take place. There were many mistakes made causing personal injury, risks factors that were not taken into account beforehand as well as oversights that occurred.
“BP’s drilling process was not in line with the appropriate regulations and the company did not wait for the results to a very important test before putting cement in the well,” said one government official to a colleague.

The government is also chastised for being bamboozled by the industry that it failed to pay attention to the discrepancies that took place. No one knows better than the people who suffered the effects of the injuries of this catastrophic disaster.

National disasters affect so many people and it is not something that anyone wants to go through. Of course, BP wants to blame the government and the government wants to blame BP. No one wants to take responsibility for what happened and fixing the problem is going to be a huge issue. It will cost the taxpayers in Brooklyn and Long Island so much money in the end.

Continue reading " Issue too complicated to sue " »

The Dallas County commissioners, who have seen mounting lawsuits over constable actions, are attempting to get legislation passed that would protect the county when elected officials step outside their boundaries and create personal injury situations.

The county attempted to get a similar bill passed in 1999, but heavy opposition from various businesses and associations doomed the bill early on. Since 1999, the county has been hit with numerous lawsuits, mainly having to do with the actions of elected officials, stated a source.

The county budget office has reported that they do not track how much the county has spent defending itself against such lawsuits. Commissioners have already limited the liability by eliminating constable traffic units and constable canine units.

The county must pay to defend a county elected official who has been sued for doing something on the job, even if the county was against the action and had advised the official not to continue, described an observer. Justices of the peace, who serve as judges without a law degree, have given the county problems in the past. More recently constables have been the troublemakers and injuries to civilians occur.

Dallas Morning News came forward with a two-year investigation recently that showed questionable campaign fundraising, off-duty business relationships, SWAT team use, and towing practices. Several constables have been accused of forcing employees to help with their re-election campaigns. Elected officials like constables are accountable only to voters every four years.

According to a statement, in the proposed legislation, if the district attorney ruled that the elected official had acted improperly, the county commissioners could hold a public hearing to review the case. If four of the five court members ruled against the official, the official would be financially liable instead of the county. Nassau and Suffolk Counties are going through the same steps.

Continue reading " Dallas County Seeks Liability Legislature " »

A source reports that Matrixx, makers of Zicam Cold Remedy are involved in a class action suit because their product (Zicam) causes loss of smell in its users.

Matrixx of course wants the case dismissed, relates a spokesman. They claim that this is not true, of course.

The District Court granted this motion, explains the expert, but the Ninth Circuit reversed the motion, saying that the District Court made a mistake when they required an allegation of statistical significance to establish materiality. Instead, they came to the conclusion that the complaint thoroughly claimed information linking Zicam and its user’s inability to smell, otherwise known as anosmia. There were also allegations that Matrixx withheld information about reports to these side effects and about lawsuits already pending by Zicam users that they knew about the wrong doing. This is obvious personal injury.

To prove their accusations, respondents must be able to prove as necessary that there was in fact an omission by Matrixx, as well as a scienter (knowledge of unlawful activities and wrong doing). Matrixx claims they did not come forward because there was no significant evidence that Zicam did in fact cause loss of smell.

Materiality requirement can be satisfied when there is “a substantial likelihood that the disclosure of the omitted fact would have been viewed by the reasonable investor as having significantly altered the “total mix” of information available”, according to Basic Inc. V. Levinson, 485 US 224. The court did not adopt a bright line rule for classifying materiality in Basic, stating that an approach that designates one fact is always dependent on a specific fact finding such as materiality, and it must be inclusive.

The case is still going on, and the defendants are hoping that with all the evidence they have provided, Matrixx and Zicam will be taken off the market and fixed so that it no longer causes tis kind of injury in its users. This is ongoing and could take a while. Companies in The Bronx and Queens are awaiting the results.

Continue reading " Lawsuit claims Zicam Causes Loss of Smell " »

A baby suffered minor injuries after being thrown from a speeding car driven by the baby's father. The incident happened after the baby's mother and father had a fight, reports a source. The father put the baby in the back seat of the car but failed to secure the infant car seat using the seatbelt. The mother got into the car and it sped off. Unfortunately, the father did not close the car door completely and the baby fell out when the father made a fast turn.

According to a witness, the parents got out of the car, picked up the baby and the car seat and placed both back in the car. Then the car sped off. The witness called the police who stopped the car a mile from the accident scene. The baby had a few bumps and bruises, but was otherwise fine. The baby was taken to the hospital and later was taken into the custody of child protective services, suggests a source. The parents are facing charges of reckless endangerment of a minor and causing personal injury to their child. The mother is also facing assault charges because she attempted to stop social workers from taking the baby.

The parents are 16 and 19 years of age and have a history of fighting. Other witnesses have come forward to say that the couple fights often. Social services will now have to conduct an investigation to determine if the baby is safe at home or if the baby would be safer in foster care. According to a person close to the case, the parents, in addition to facing criminal charges, may have to complete parenting classes to demonstrate their ability to care for a child properly.

It is unclear how the fight started or what the fight was about. It is also unclear why the father failed to close the car door completely. The car may have been unsafe to drive because the doors were not closing properly. It is unknown if the mother, who is only 16 years old, will be charged as a minor or as an adult. The laws are different in different places like New York City and Westchester County.

Continue reading " Baby Thrown from Car Suffers Only Minor Injuries " »

A federal jury in Islip, New York, has ruled for Toyota in a case of sudden acceleration in New York. This is in Suffolk County and near Nassau County.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Toyota was not responsible for a doctor’s 2005 Scion sudden acceleration and collision into a tree, sources tell us. The jury found the driver to be at fault, instead.

It was all the driver, not the brake or the floor mat which may have caught the accelerator, a lawyer for the car company reported. The doctor “made a mistake in the operation of his 2005 Scion TC”, the lawyer said to the jury. “He made a simple but unfortunate mistake.”

The doctor’s lawyers maintained that either the car’s electronic throttle system malfunctioned or the pedal was caught in the floor mat in the 2005 Toyota TC. Toyota had a great number of displays and video to show the jury otherwise. It took less than an hour for the jury to finally decide.

“It was all about how the mat came into play and it obviously it didn’t,” a 38-year-old juror told the court. According to her, her decision was influenced by “all the testing Toyota did. They had it all on video. It pretty much explained it.”

The case was filed on July 23, 2008 and from there it took nearly three years to arrange the trial and finally come to a verdict, but after a great deal of testimony, it took very little time for the jury to decide, due to what they saw as overwhelming evidence for the safety of the vehicle in question. There was no personal injury involved.

There were last minute attempts to dismiss a juror by Toyota, with the plaintiff resisting, but the motion was denied. Even so, Toyota prevailed. The jury decided for the car company and the judge ruled the case dismissed with prejudice. In the end, it came down to the exhibits and evidence that Toyota was able to present, showing the safety of their cars and how much testing they do to make sure their vehicles are safe and not the caused of personal injury.

Continue reading " Toyota Wins Acceleration Suit in New York " »

A study points out that in the past year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has had a slue of recalls for cribs that are both drop-sided and non-drop sided and they have been manufactured all over the world, including the United States.

Investigators in The Bronx and Brooklyn are questioning why products for such a vulnerable group aren’t tested properly. “Why should children’s lives be at risk,” One salesman asks and adds, “Where is product testing when it comes to infants’ and children’s furniture? Why is it taking so long for companies to define, adopt and implement standards of excellence that prevent dangerous children’s furniture from reaching the marketplace at all?”

He sights examples from several manufacturers including Graco in April of 2010, who recalled 217,000 drop-side cribs. The company had received nearly 100 reports of the cribs hardware coming undone and six reports of children falling out of the crib when it came undone. The cribs were manufactured in China and VietNam cost families between $140 and $200.

Next he sighted Simplicity Cribs that were recalled by retailers and the CPSC and are no longer in business because the mattresses were tubular and metal and often bent or detached, which caused a small space for a child to get wedged or trapped in.

“One child actually died from the design of the Simplicity Crib,” an observer said. “I just don’t get how something like that even goes to market.” This is product liability.

International/Sorelle of East Rutherford, New Jersey reported a similar problem with their cribs and had to recall 170,000 of them from the market. These cribs were made in Italy, Latvia, Brazil, China and VietNam and caused entrapment and personal injury for infants too when the hardware became unlatched.

The observer sights several more examples of recalls by Simmons Juvenile Products; 50,000 dope-side cribs, Victory Land Group; 34,000 recalled 3-in-1 drop side cribs, Burlington Bassinets; 500,000 recalls and Ikea; 34,000 recalls.

“It seems like these crib manufacturers haven’t learned anything from past mistakes. Most of these problems are the same and involve entrapment and suffocation risks. I just don’t understand the short cuts!” said the victim.

Continue reading " Crib recalls and defects on the rise this past year " »