Archive for the ‘Personal Injury Attorney’ Category

THE “GOOD  SAMARITAN” LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTARY ACTS ?

A recent news item in New York City showed portions of video from a surveillance camera.   Twenty or more people simply passed by a man that was lying on the street.   It happened that that man had just saved a woman from a knife wielding attacker and in the scuffle, had himself been attacked.   No one stopped to help this man for an hour after the incident, and the “Good Samaritan” eventually died of his wounds for want of a “Good Samaritan” to come to his aid..   Prompt attention would have saved his life.
It is difficult to understand the motivation of anyone that would simply ignore another human being in grave distress.  Certainly, however, the public policy in most, , if not all, states, and definitely in New York, is to encourage the performance of life saving acts. To this end, there is a “Good Samaritan” law (Public Health Law, Article 30, Section 3000-a) that specifically establishes protection for anyone acting as a “Good Samaritan.”

The law applies in the following circumstances:
—It applies to ANY person (and NOT just medical personnel)
—The person must act without any expectation of monetary  compensation
—The act must take place outside a hospital or other medical facility

Under those circumstances, the person rendering the aid will not be held liable for either injuries or death allegedly caused by any act of that “Good Samaritan” while rendering aid, UNLESS it is determined that the “Good Samaritan” was “grossly negligent” in performing his acts.

What constitutes “Gross Negligence” can differ in different situations.  One word of advice, stay within your sphere of abilities.  If you have never taken a course in CPR, or learned how to utilize a defibrillator, be reluctant to utilize those capabilities.  A first step should always be to seek professional help if available.  Most important: the motivation should always be to assist the person in dire distress–and certainly not to render yourself a “hero.”
One more word of advice: No one is required to lend assistance–unless, of course, you are responsible for the dire situation in which the injured party finds him or herself.  If,  however, the decision is made to assist someone, the injured person  must not be left in a worsened condition than before the assistance began. So, if you decide to take an injured person to a hospital and, after driving a block you decide you’d rather not do it, for whatever reason, you cannot simply dump the person in the middle of a street where traffic now becomes a real hazard in addition to whatever injury the person sustained.

ELEVATOR ACCIDENTS | WORKERS COMPENSATION | THIRD PARTY ACTIONS | NEW YORK LABOR LAW CASES

In an effort to repair an elevator in a five story cooperative in Manhattan, a repairman lost his life on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. While the exact method of the repairman’s death is not yet determined, speculation is divided between a fall in the elevator shaft or electrocution. The repairman was there to deal with tenant complaints of elevator misalignment with the floor, and with “squeaking” sounds.

Having died in the course of his employment, the representatives of the deceased will look to Workers Compensation for their remedy.

Without explaining the intricacies of the New York Labor Law, whether the repairman’s estate will have a viable THIRD PARTY lawsuit against the owner of the building, in addition to the Workers compensation claim, may well rest on a judicial determination as to whether a “repair”, as opposed to “maintenance,” was involved in the work being performed by the repairman at the time of his death !! The availability of a THIRD PARTY action could make a significant difference in the eventual amount recovered.

The laws surrounding injuries sustained by workers in the construction trades and allied fields are very protective but also very complicated at times.

The difference to the injured party and that party’s dear ones can be very substantial since, as an almost inviolable rule, THIRD PARTY actions result in recoveries significantly greater than awards under Workers Compensation.

An attorney with considerable experience in handling THIRD PARTY LABOR LAW cases is essential to safeguard the vital financial interests of those grievously affected by a worker’s accident. If you or your family member have been injured contact Orlow, Orlow, & Orlow today.

AM I LIMITED TO GETTING WORKERS COMPENSATION?

During the last week of May of this year (2010) alone, there were two serious construction site accidents involving falls from significant heights. One involved a worker at a residential building falling fifty feet while he was working on the building’s steel framework. The other involved a worker at the Throgs Neck Bridge.

The first worker died after falling fifty feet. The bridge worker fell 15 to 20 feet off a ladder and was seriously injured.

With respect to the worker that died, officials indicated that it seemed as if he was not wearing a safety harness ! It is precisely this point to which we direct our attention.

There are several facts that make accidents at construction sites unique in the area of Personal Injury Law in New York:

• Construction site accidents are among the most frequent accidents that occur;
• The resulting injuries are among the most serious that occur;
• Public policy is very inclined to seek protection for injured workers and their families;
• the law, especially with respect to liability (who is responsible for the accident that occurred) is not at all necessarily what the layman might think it is–the law can be extremely complex.

The fact that the worker that fell and was not wearing a safety harness should not, and does not, eliminate the possibility that the worker or his family will have a THIRD PARTY LAWSUIT available to him. This would be in addition to any workers compensation claim the worker or his family might have.

It is truly esential when dealing with a construction site accident that a personal injury attorney, in addition to a workers compensation attorney, be consulted. As we have noted on previous blog postings, this could mean very substantial differences to the injured worker and his family. Because of the law’s complexity in this area, be very certain the Personal Injury Attorney chosen is well experienced in this important area of law.

COLLAPSING CRANES

Within just the last several months there have been a spate of crane accidents in New York City, some of which have resulted is serious injury and even death. The latest crane collapse occurred in Brooklyn , at a construction site. Four workers were injured. Not long before that a large crane “tilted,” hitting a 25 storey building.

Before these incidents, the City of New York has seen crane accidents over a period of years.  With injuries come lawsuits, and cases have been going to trial. Just this month (April, 2010), in a case that involved the death of two construction workers in May, 2008, in a crane collapse, a judge  took the rare step of fining the City of New York, one of the defendants in the case, for failing to provide documents to the Plaintiffs as ordered by the court . There was also a criminal case pending against the owner of the crane company for taking inappropriate steps to repair a part of this crane that had previously cracked.  It was this part that caused the crane to subsequently collapse.

In the collapse of the crane into the 25 story building, New York City suspended the operator’s license.

It was determined that because the operator left the crane in other than the safest position possible, the collapse occurred.

In a criminal case that may well be symptomatic for so many of the problems the City faces at construction sites, the City’s former chief crane inspector pleaded guilty to “receiving bribes”.  His career with the City spanned 26 years.  He admitted he took bribes over the last several years to basically provide abbreviated and inadequate inspections of cranes, as well as crane operator qualifications.

It was after the second of two crane collapses in 2008, that resulted in a total of nine deaths, that the City began to seriously crack down on inspections.  The City then also began a program of “beefing up” its crane inspection system.

Crane collapses are almost invariably serious events involving drastic injuries.  Those seeking to bring a lawsuit based upon crane accidents would do well to investigate carefully the reputation and experience of any personal injury lawyer that they consider retaining to represent their interests.

LEAD POISON IN BUILDINGS: 2009 UPDATE

In 1960, New York City was the first city to ban lead paint. Since then, New York City has strengthened that law on two occasions. The last time the law was upgraded was in 2004, when the NEW YORK CITY LEAD POISONING PREVENTION ACT (Local Law 1) was passed.

The results of the City’s actions have been notable.

The City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reports that in the period from 1995 until 2007 the number of children reported with elevated blood levels dropped astonishingly from 19,000 to just 1900, a decrease of 90%.

Local Law 1 placed significant burdens upon landlords :
1: informing tenants about lead hazards;
2: inspect apartments where children under 6 years old reside;
3: correct and remove any identified lead problems and do so in a recognized and safe manner.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has set a national goal of eliminating all new cases of lead poisoning by this year, 2010.

The likelihood of New York City reaching this goal seems remote at the present time. David Powell, of the Tenants and Neighbors organization in New York State, stated that a major obstacle in achieving this goal is the lack of adequate enforcement by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Unfortunately, the Department’s budget in 2010 is $20.6 million, while last year it was $25.8 million ! The national economy negatively affects lead poisoning prevention efforts, as it does so much else.

Nevertheless, the admirable reduction so far in lead paint cases among children is due, in the main, to increased awareness on the part of parents to the hazards of lead paint. ANYONE THAT BELIEVES THEIR CHILDREN MAY FACE LEAD POISON HAZARDS SHOULD CONTACT 311 FOR ASSISTANCE. If, unfortunately, your child seems to have been effected by lead paint poisoning, which is indicated through lead testing by your doctor or at a hospital, contact a reputable personal injury attorney, experienced in lead poison cases, as soon as possible.

To read the New York City Local Law 1 go to:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/lead-local-local1-2004.pdf