New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

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" »

Various dentists tell New York Injury Lawyer that fluoride causes dental issues and the U.S. Department of Health has decided to lower the level of fluoride in the drinking water. This announcement was made to combat the many dental issues that have arisen across the nation. The Department of Health and Human Services gave a recommendation that the level of fluoride in water should be 0.7 milligrams per liter of water instead of a range recommendation that exceeded that amount.
Of course, according to the dental profession, the recommended level is not going to be in effect right away. The Lawyer who practices in New York City and Long Island agrees that it is in the best interest of the public to have some time to think about this and to comment on so thirty days is the time period to listen to any complaints.
The Department of Environmental Protection has decided to do their own investigation and research in the meantime and so they will be reviewing the highest degree of fluoride that should be allowed in the water.
A reputable doctor said to a New York Injury Lawyer,” We have waited so long to hear this kind of announcement in support of the right amount of fluoride to be allowed in our water irrigation systems. It will lessen tooth decay and other dental issues.”
This recommendation was reached because of the number of people found to have had too much fluoride consumption and the relation it had with tooth decay and other dental problems.

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A three-week trial’s recent outcome awarded $12.9 million to the husband of a woman with severe jaw damage as a result of taking the drugs Aredia and Zometa.
The total award amount was reduced to $1.26 million due to the state’s laws limiting punitive damages, according to New York Injury Lawyers.
Jurors came to the conclusion that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., with U.S. headquarters in New Jersey was responsible for the woman’s injuries because they failed to warn the woman effectively about the effects of the drugs. Product Liability is often brought to firms in Long Island and Westchester County.
“The family is pleased the jurors saw the actions for what they were and they’re hoping that Novartis has heard the message,” An attorney in the case said. Another attorney said it “will probably be one of the largest injury awards in the state this year.”
The woman had apparently been taking the drugs for breast cancer had died of osteonecrosis — or bone death — of the jaw, N York Injury Lawyers report. She passed away last year from the breast cancer, according to court filings.
In the lawsuit, the victim’s husband charged that Novartis failed to notify his wife about the drugs’ possible effects fast enough, which stopper her dentists from taking precautionary measures that could have saved her from the jaw damage.
She experienced several dental surgeries and hyperbaric oxygen treatments, according to the lawsuit. In the end these surgeries and procedures poorly affected the quality of her last years of life, according to court reports.
After the woman’s death, her husband continued the case in her honor and as she had requested. “She wanted him to see it through,” his attorney said.

Continue reading "$12.9 Million awarded in drug Aredia case" »