New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A “brilliant” and “vibrant” senior was found dead early Wednesday after her hair apparently got caught in a lathe during a laboratory accident. The Yale Community is in mourning.
The astronomy and physics major was just weeks away from graduation and was looking forward to beginning a career in oceanography after she graduated. She had spent last summer working as a student fellow in the competitive Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
The young scientist was working on a class project when the accident occurred. She was in the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory. Other students working in the building found her body and called police between 2 and 3 a.m.
The Medical Examiner said she died of accidental asphyxia by neck compression.
The Yale President and Vice President met with the young woman’s family to express condolences and to relay that the university’s practices were under investigation. They said that her parents are planning to return to the campus before the end of the semester to attend a memorial service in their daughter’s honor.
The incident has prompted Yale University to conduct a thorough review of safety policies and laboratory practices – even of the procedures taken in the machine shops and other facilities with power equipment that is accessed and operated by undergraduates. According a NY City Injury Lawyer following the case, Yale is limiting access to facilities until the review is complete. Students must submit lab working schedules and be approved to work only during specified hours.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation as well. They are exploring conditions in the laboratory. The NY City Injury Lawyer said their purpose is to “determine what safety standards apply and whether or not the employer complied with those standards.” Colleges in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are trying to protect their student from accidents like this.
“By all reports, [this young lady] was an exceptional young woman, an outstanding student and young scientist, a dear friend and a vibrant member of this community,” Yale’s Vice President wrote on the school’s website. “We will find ways in the next days to gather to celebrate her life and grieve this loss.”

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Delaware is one of six states in which the Diocese has filed for bankruptcy as a result of dozens of sexual abuse cases being brought to light against priests, reports a N York Injury Lawyer. this disturbing trend keeps happening in states all across the country. It seems as if the dirty little secret that has been kept hidden by the church for dozens, if not hundreds of years, is finally coming to light. The fallout is worse than we would have imagined. 

The Delaware Diocese has agreed to pay each of the more than 150 adults who are claiming to have been molested by priests an excess of $350,000 in order to end the cases and put that dirty shadow of a past behind them, explains the New York Injury Lawyer. Over the years, as more people have come forward with charges of sexual abuse perpetrated by priest onto young children, it has become more and more difficult to put our faith and trust in the church that seems to be doing the most harm that it can upon its congregation. 

It is assumed that the majority of the adults who have filed cases against the Church will accept the settlement. Other states in which the Diocese has filed for bankruptcy as a result of sexual molestation charges against children by priests are Oregon, Texas, Iowa, Washington and Arizona. 

When the people who we have been expected to trust harm our children in the worst ways and with utter deception, there really is no way to come out ahead, and this settlement does not feel like a victory for many of the adults who were molested as children. In Nassau and Queens this might be considered premises liability since the church in many cases owns the land or building. The New York Injury Lawyer suggests in his report that the more people who come forth and shed light on just how prevalent these lascivious acts have become, the faster such behavior will absolutely no longer be tolerated.

Victims who have suffered injury as a result of crime, negligence or abuse have resources that they can fall back on to help support them in their case.

Continue reading "In an effort to end sexual abuse cases and exit bankruptcy, Delaware Diocese ups their offer to victims" »