New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

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."

Continue reading "Rikers Island Correction Officers Sue City" »

The owner of an Albany bar who was accused of initiating an assault on a Times Union reporter in October 2008 has been found not guilty of the crime, says a New York Injury Lawyer. The verdict comes more than two years after the reporter, a food critic, was beaten and assaulted by two brothers, one a professional fighter. The incident occurred after the reporter had apparently given harsh criticism of the establishment in his reviews.

According to the New York City Injury Lawyer, the owner of the bar was overheard making statements about wanting to have the food critic beaten up, and phone calls on the day of the attack between the bar owner and the two brothers were made. Even so, the jury did not have enough evidence to convict the owner of the bar for initiating the attack against the reporter. It was all circumstantial evidence, and apparently not admissible in court. Premises Liability could also be charged had this incident happened in Long Island or Manhattan.

Neither of the two brothers involved in the assault received jail time over the incident. One of the brothers had his jail time waived after agreeing to cooperate in the case against the bars owner, and the other brother had his case thrown out after mistakes were made in the trial. The victim of the assault was understandably unhappy with the not guilty verdict, but was quoted as saying that he had respect for the decision, and that, regardless of the outcome, he is happy to put the ordeal behind him and move on with his life.

Continue reading "Albany bar owner found not guilty in assault case, reports New York Injury Lawyer" »