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.…
A recent decision in a Jefferson County, Pennsylvania Court should provide a strong wake up call to personal injury plaintiffs who are on social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The case, McMIllen v. Hummingbird Speedway, Inc.,, involves a stock car racer who claimed that he was permanently injured…
In a study published in the Accident Analysis and Prevention journal, it was reported that teen drivers are involved in four times as many fatal car crashes as adult motorists. Researchers reviewed data regarding 800 accidents with teen drivers and determined the three most common errors which were responsible for…
Earlier this month, the New York State Senate voted in favor of a law which would strengthen New York’s texting while driving ban. Presently, texting while driving is a secondary violation, meaning that in order for a ticket to be issued, the police officer must first observe the motorist commit…