Over the last several months, there has been a major initiative by some doctors and former NFL players to review, analyze, and develop a plan for how to prevent or limit what is known as “traumatic brain encephalopathy” (injury to the brain caused by repeated blows to the head). On…
Bicycle riding is more popular than ever in the United States, and according to studies, is exceeded only by walking for exercise and swimming in popularity. Unfortunately, bicycling can be a very dangerous activity if common sense measures are not followed, for several reasons, but most significantly, due to many…
According to a study by the consumer protection group Public Citizen, medical malpractice awards are at an all time low in the United States. Public Citizen used data collected from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which started tracking payments made in medical malpractice cases in 1990. The 2010 report,…
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French former managing director of the International Monetary Fund who was just released from criminal jeopardy when the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dropped sexual assault charges against him on August 23rd, still faces the possibility of a civil damages award. As is well known, Strauss-Khan was accused…
Red light cameras have become a way of life in New York City and Nassau County, and if City of Yonkers officials are successful, these cameras will be installed at major intersections in Westchester’s largest city as well. The main stated purpose of the red light cameras is to catch…
Event data recorders (EDR), more popularly known as black boxes, have been around since the 1970’s, and are well known as an invaluable tool in the investigation of plane crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), as of 2008, between 65% and 90% of cars now manufactured…
In a victory for safety and for undocumented workers in construction accidents, a recent appellate court decision from the First Department, which reviews cases from the Bronx and New York Counties, upheld a trial court’s decision not to consider a plaintiff’s immigration status because it would be unfairly prejudicial and…
On July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler, a 36 year old wife, mother of two and aunt of three, drove southbound in the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway for 1.7 miles in an intoxicated condition (with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.19%, more than double the legal limit) with her…
In October 2010, the judges for the Southern District of New York (Covering counties including Westchester, Manhattan, and the Bronx among others) voted to change its rules to allow specific categories of cases to be designated for automatic mediation. Effective August 1, 2011, excluding class actions, civil rights violations under…
In the wake of the most recent fatal bus accident on May 31 on a Virginia highway, U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood criticized the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the Department of Transportation agency in charge of bus and truck safety, for failing to shut the bus company down.…