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…
There was an interesting article by Jane Brody in the New York Times on April 12, 2011 regarding distracted driving. Tragic stories of devastating injuries and fatal accidents due to distracted drivers are discussed, certainly a fear of all drivers and particularly those with teenage children closing in on obtaining…
I recently read an article in Bloomberg online which confirms what most personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys know to be true: hospital errors are vastly underreported, with a federal study finding that a full 90% of patient injuries are not recorded. The most common injuries are pressure sores and…
According to a report published in the Journal News on April 10, 1011, approximately 15% of motorcoach carriers in New York State have been cited for safety problems over the last 20 years. Of the five issues that are examined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the most…
A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that traffic deaths decreased to an all time low in 2010, in which 32,788 people were killed in auto crashes, a 3 % decrease from 2009. The drop in fatalities was surprising in light of the fact that…
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the casino tour bus involved in the March 12, 2011 fatal bus accident that killed 15 passengers was traveling at speeds of up to 78 m.p.h., more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. Investigators also…