LATEST NEWS
A tech marvel of the future, Hoverboards bring many back to personal injury lawsuits
Hoverboards were one of the hottest gifts this holiday season. Unfortunately, many hoverboards have been spontaneously exploding or bursting into flames while in use. Riders have sustained injuries requiring hospitalization after falling from these defective boards. At least two lawsuits have been filed already against hoverboard manufacturers and retailers. A plaintiff in Alabama filed a personal injury lawsuit against a retailer, sounding in negligence and products liability, for a hoverboard that started a house fire. A New York plaintiff filed suit when his hoverboard caught fire while charging. His lawsuit is against both the manufacturer of the Hoverboard, a company called Swagway, as well as the retailer, well known Modell’s sporting goods. The Consumer Protection Safety Commission is investigating more than 20 hoverboard injury claims. Unlike other product liability cases, the fires are common to all hoverboards not limited to one specific manufacturer. Hopefully, the investigations will lead to the
Slip, Trip & Fall Accident Law on Trivial Defects from NY’s Highest Court
The New York State Court of Appeals, the highest court, decided three cases in Hutchinson v. Sheridan Hill Corp. in October 2015. The decision clarifies conflicting interpretations of past precedents by the Appellate Divisions and lower trial courts. When someone slips or trips and falls they must prove they fell because of some sort of defective condition be it a puddle, hole, raised sidewalk flag, or other hazard. On a motion to dismiss, the defendant must prove as a matter of law that there exist no questions of fact for a jury to decide. To meet this burden, a defendant must show the defect in question is physically insignificant and the characteristics of the defect and the surrounding circumstances do not increase the risks it poses. If defendant can meet this evidentiary showing, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to establish questions of fact. The size of a defect was
Two Truck Accidents in New York this past weekend were due to driver negligence
Two people were injured and one person died as a result of a truck accident in upstate New York. A passenger SUV crossed over a double yellow line on Route 44 Saturday December 4, 2015 crashing head on into a dump truck. The dump truck rolled over after the impact spilling gravel. Police believe the cause of the accident was distracted driving but it did not involve cell phone use. The driver of the truck was not injured. On Friday December 5th, at about 11:30 p.m., a single truck accident occurred on the New York State Thruway (I-87) in Suffern, NY. A truck driver lost control of his tractor trailer which hit a guardrail and overturned. The truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene. No other vehicles were involved. These two accidents which happened just this past weekend are an example of how severe truck accidents can be. Both
Worker Safety at NYC Construction sites
Many people believe non-union construction jobs are less safe compared to union jobs. According to OSHA statistics, 78% of all New York construction accidents happen on non-union jobs. It is difficult to prove whether non-union job sites are more dangerous. Most of the work going on in NYC is non-union. Union jobs are usually confined to the larger jobs. Further, many jobs contain a mix of union and non-union workers. The size of a project is a more accurate predictor of worker safety. Larger job sites tend to hire site safety companies, have tool box talks about safety, and conduct more frequent inspections. Construction work on 10 story or taller buildings must have a licensed site safety inspector. Larger construction sites have Department of Building inspectors, investor or developer inspectors, and other audits of the ongoing construction project. Smaller construction jobs including projects on under 10 story buildings are not inspected
Intersection accident between a car and garbage truck
A serious truck accident in Nassau County Long Island, NY in the town of Inwood occurred at approximately 4 a.m. on Saturday November 28, 2015. A garbage truck crashed into a passenger vehicle at the corner of Sheridan Boulevard and Bayview Avenue. The collision caused an explosion with flames emanating from the wreck. One resident who heard the crash compared it to an airplane crashing and described it as a horrible sound. Two passengers in the passenger vehicle were killed while the garbage truck driver was taken to a local hospital with injuries. An accident like the above could likely be caused by one driver disregarding a red light at 4 a.m. when traffic conditions are often very light. Excessive speed could have also played a role since the crash was severe with an explosion and fire. F&A injury lawyers represents individuals who were seriously injured in auto, truck, bus,
Recent accidents highlight dangers of truck traffic
Just one day prior to a state-wide safe roads initiative two truck accidents underscored the growing problem. A truck driver was driving too fast which led to a rollover accident resulting in his truck spilling 200 gallons of fuel. This single truck accident caused a mile long traffic back up on the road and will require a vast clean-up effort. It was the driver’s first day working for this trucking company and his cargo load was not evenly distributed or secured. A second accident involved a motor vehicle that pulled out in front of a moving truck which caused the truck driver to collide with a utility pole and roll over. Many motorists complained that it is difficult to judge the speed of trucks. Others have commented that it is difficult to merge onto the main road due to heavy truck traffic. It takes much longer for a fully loaded