New York Civil Justice Blog

Commentary on current events affecting New York's civil justice system, with a special emphasis on the rights of workers, consumers and accident victims.

New York Court Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Block Crane Safety Rules
Posted by: William Gentile
January 23, 2012
Topic: Construction Accidents

A New York court has dismissed the idea that state rules that are meant to protect the public are preempted by federal rules committed to protecting workers. The decision came in a claim that had been filed by the Steel Institute of New York.

The Steel Institute of New York filed a lawsuit against the New York City's Department of Buildings in July 2009. The lawsuit came soon after the city revised its crane safety rules following a series of deadly tower crane accidents in New York City. However, according to the Steel Institute of New York, the new crane safety statutes were created by the US federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, which governs workplace safety in the United States. The lawsuit claimed that the new crane safety statutes violated the rights of members of the Steel Institute of New York. The Steel Institute of New York lawsuits argued that the regulations were preempted by federal law, thereby effectively blocking them.

The court however has not obliged the Steel Institute. According to the court's decision, it is absurd to say that a federal law that protects workers? rights should take precedence over a state law that is aimed at protecting general citizens. The court held that the Steel Institute of New York lawsuit was not able to present even a single instance as evidence to show that complying with any provision of the New York crane safety statutes would constitute a violation of regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Demonstration.

The New York construction accident lawyers at Godosky and Gentile represent workers injured in crane accidents, scaffolding accidents, falls, electrocutions and other construction-related accidents across New York.

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Federal Transportation Officials Limit Number of Hours Truckers Can Drive
Posted by: William Gentile
January 16, 2012
Topic: Truck Accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month released its revised work hour rules for truck drivers. The rule comes as a disappointment for New York trucking accident attorneys.

The new rules don't limit the maximum number of hours that a truck driver can work in a day, as New York trucking accident attorneys had been hoping. Instead, the current 11 hour limit will stay.

As part of the revision, the maximum number of hours that a truck driver can work during the week has been limited to 70. Under the previous rules, truck drivers could drive up to 82 hours per week. According to federal trucking safety officials, the new rules are another step toward keeping Americans safer on our highways.

Trucking can be a challenging job at the best of times, and if a truck driver is tired, stressed or fatigued, it only increases the risks of an accident. According to Transportation Sec. LaHood, this new rule will prevent several fatigue-related accidents every year.

However, the fact that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has not placed a limit on the number of hours that a driver can drive in a single day is definitely a source of concern. This was one of the main demands of New York trucking accident attorneys and trucking safety groups - that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration set strict limits on the number of hours that a trucker can drive in a day. That, sadly, has not happened.

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New York Records Slight Increase in Traffic Accident Fatalities in 2010
Posted by: William Gentile
December 31, 2011
Topic: Automobile Accidents

While there was an overall drop in the number of people killed in traffic accidents around the United States in 2010, New York reported a slight increase in the number of people killed in accidents last year. In 2010, 1,200 people died in traffic accidents in New York. That was an increase of 42 fatalities, or 3.6%, from 2009 when there had been 1,158 fatalities.

That is a substantial increase, and it is disappointing for New York car accident lawyers to see that New York has not been able to save more lives in traffic accidents every year. Apart from New York, several other states including Connecticut, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee among others saw an increase in traffic accident fatalities .In contrast, across the country, there was a 2.9% drop in traffic accident fatalities, from 33, 883 in 2009 to 32,885 in 2010.

Part of the reason for this increase in traffic accident deaths in New York State could be the fact that there was an increase in alcohol-related car accident deaths last year. In 2009, there had been 318 fatalities in alcohol-related car accidents in New York. That number increased to 364 fatalities in 2010.

The New York Department of Transportation needs to take a closer look at these numbers, and analyze them to find out why we have not been able to save lives more lives in accidents last year. The agency should also analyze why there are more numbers of people being killed in drunk driving accidents, while according to the trend across the country, these fatality numbers are actually declining.

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Major Bus Inspection Blitz in New York
Posted by: William Gentile
October 31, 2011
Topic: Automobile Accidents

For two weeks ending October 7, 2011, federal inspectors undertook a massive inspection sweep of commercial buses. The sweep involved thousands of buses, including school buses and tour buses.

Passengers are at risk when motor coach carriers do not follow federal safety regulations, including those related to bus maintenance and driver training. Defective parts and inadequate maintenance of buses have been cited as factors in many bus accidents this year. Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sponsored a bus safety summit in Washington DC. The summit discussed ways to enhance motor coach safety including issues related to driver fatigue.

In New York, bus safety has been a special topic of concern since the deadly accident earlier this year that killed 14 people in New York City. Fourteen people died in the accident caused when a discount bus carrying people back from a casino, flipped over on a highway and crashed into a pole. The bus was sliced into two. Dozens of people were injured, many of them seriously.

That accident, and many others like it this year, has galvanized the federal administration into action. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced a massive inspection sweep of buses to look for safety violations. The agency has increased its roadside inspection rate, doubling it since 2005. However, New York bus accident attorneys find that many bus companies continue operations under new names after they have been shut down for unsafe operations.

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New York Department of Buildings Will Cite Contractor in Scaffolding Accident
Posted by: William Gentile
October 31, 2011
Topic: Construction Accidents

The New York Department of Buildings is likely to issue citations to a demolition contractor after scaffolding at a site collapsed on a bus, injuring at least 17 people.

The accident occurred in Harlem, when the city bus was stopped in front of a building with scaffolding. According to witnesses, the scaffolding suddenly collapsed on top of the bus. Seventeen people, including passengers, bystanders and construction workers suffered injuries. Eight of the injured were passengers, and two were police officers. Fortunately, most of these injuries were minor.

The scaffolding had been erected on a building where an elevator shaft was being constructed. Early information seems to suggest that the scaffolding collapsed because of bricks that fell on the scaffolding. The New York Department of Buildings has already acted by stopping work on the site immediately. The Department of Buildings will also soon issue citations to the contractor involved.

That no construction workers were seriously injured in this accident is a matter of good luck, and nothing else. This is an accident that could have resulted in serious injuries. Every year, hundreds of workers are seriously injured or killed in scaffolding collapses nationwide. Workers involved in a scaffolding collapse could suffer serious injuries, including head and spinal cord injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established guidelines governing the construction and installation of scaffolding. Scaffolding that has been constructed and installed as per Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines should include stable work platforms. Scaffolding components, like frames must be strong enough to withstand the weight of workers and tools.

The New York construction accident lawyers at Godosky and Gentile have extensive experience representing construction workers injured in accidents in New York. If you have been injured in a construction accident, contact a competent and experienced New York construction accident attorney at Godosky and Gentile for a free consultation.

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New York Construction Worker Killed in Accident Involving MTA Bus
Posted by: William Gentile
October 11, 2011
Topic: Construction Accidents

A New York construction worker was killed in an accident caused when a Metropolitan Transit Authority struck the lift that he was standing on, causing him to plummet to the ground.

The worker was standing on the lift at a construction site, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority bus was traveling through a Long Island Railroad overpass, when the top of the bus struck the lift. The worker was knocked off, and fell several feet to the ground. He struck his head on the pavement, and sustained severe head injuries. He was rushed to the hospital, but was declared dead.

The bus driver was detained, but charges have not yet been filed. Blood and alcohol tests are being conducted on the driver, but results will not be out for several days. Police have released little information about this accident.

Investigations into the accident have begun, but it doesn't take a New York construction accident attorney to know that this was a very preventable accident. This wasn't just any kind of construction fall accident. The construction industry is the scene of several severely injurious and fatal auto accidents every year. In fact, fall accidents are the main causes of death in the construction sector. Workers may be at risk of fall accidents, when they have little protection in the form of guardrails, and personal fall restraint systems. These falls can be prevented if employers provide fall protection gear, and use guardrails and railing appropriately to reduce the risk of falls

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More Than 1000 New York Pedestrians Killed in Bicycle Accidents Every Year
Posted by: William Gentile
September 26, 2011
Topic: Bicycle Accidents

A new study that has grabbed a lot of interest, not just in New York but across the country, indicates that at least 1000 pedestrians in New York State are injured every year in accidents that involve bicycles. More than half of those pedestrian-bicycle accidents occur in the city of New York.

The number of people actually injured in bicycle accidents could be higher, because these statistics do not take into account pedestrians who do not seek treatment for their injuries, or those who visit private doctors. According to the study, pedestrians are at risk not just from motorists, but also bicyclists. The city of New York has begun expanding its bike lane network, so this particular study has come at an opportune time. A number of bicycle lanes have been added to New York streets recently. Additionally, New York plans to set up a bicycle sharing program under which more than 10,000 bicycles will be made available for bicyclists to rent and ride.

However, pedestrians in New York are at a greater danger from negligent motorists than negligent bicyclists. According to the Department of Transportation, the number of pedestrians being injured in bicycle accidents in the city of New York has actually decreased. Further, the numbers don't really add up to much, because they are far lower than the number of pedestrians being injured in motor vehicle accidents every year. In the city of New York alone, approximately 10,000 people are injured every year in bicycle-motor vehicle accidents that are serious enough to require a hospital visit.

The New York bicycle accident lawyers at Godosky and Gentile represent victims of bicycle accidents across New York City.

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Worker Killed in Machinery Accident on New York Construction Site
Posted by: William Gentile
September 06, 2011
Topic: Construction Accidents

A forty-six-year-old worker was killed last week in an accident involving a piece of machinery on a construction site in New York. The accidenthappened at a railroad bed in Port Kent, close to Plattsburgh.

The man was an employee of Trenches Technologies of New England. On the day of the accident, he was working on the installation of a 3-foot diameter pipe, and was using an augur. At some point, the augur became bound to the pipe, throwing the worker off to the ground, and trapping him. Another worker at the scene tried to get the augur off the worker, and CPR was administered by other people at the scene. He was rushed to the hospital, but was declared dead.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is expected to begin an investigation into the accident. New York State police are already investigating the tragedy.

Accidents involving construction machinery are not uncommon. In most of these accidents, New York construction accident lawyers find that it is the lack of proper training for workers and the lack of adequate machinery safeguards that contribute to injuries. Worker training has to be an ongoing process and these programs must be implemented regularly. Additionally, machinery must come with well-functioning safeguards to prevent injuries and accidents. When employers scrimp on these safety devices, or fail to train workers to use machinery safety, the results are often disastrous.

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NTSB Recommends Programs to Prevent Truck/Bus Rollover Accidents
Posted by: William Gentile
August 30, 2011
Topic: Truck Accidents

Thirty passengers on a tour bus narrowly escaped injuries when their bus tipped over near Whitney Point, New York last month. The accident coincides with the National Transportation Safety Board's new recommendations for programs to prevent rollover accidents involving commercial trucks and buses.

The bus that crashed was carrying a group of tourists from Poland. The bus overturned on a rain slicked Interstate 81. There were no fatalities, but nineteen people were injured seriously enough to be taken to the hospital. One woman suffered critical injuries when she was trapped underneath the bus. According to police, the rollover was likely the result of driving too fast for existing weather conditions.

It was last month that the National Transportation Safety Board released the findings of an investigation into a tanker truck accident in Indiana. In that accident, the tanker truck had flipped over, setting off a massive explosion. The National Transportation Safety Board has now recommended that the FMCSA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration develop a comprehensive program aimed at preventing rollover accidents involving commercial trucks and buses.

The NTSB has now recommended that the program include new standards for the design of cargo tanks in order to prevent rollover accidents. It should also include the installation of stability control systems on commercial trucks and buses. Stability control systems have been used with great effect to reduce the risk of rollovers in automobiles. Similar systems are available for use in commercial trucks, but these are not mandated by the federal administration. The NHTSA estimates that mandatory stability control could prevent as many as 3,600 rollover accidents every year.

The New York truck accident lawyers at Godosky and Gentile represent persons injured in truck and tractor trailer accidents across the state of New York.

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Wrong Way New York Driver Arrested in Fatal Accident
Posted by: William Gentile
August 23, 2011
Topic: Automobile Accidents

A New York driver, who traveled more than 6 miles in the wrong direction on Interstate 95 in an intoxicated condition, causing a fatal accident, has been charged with second degree manslaughter.

According to the complaint, the twenty-six-year-old woman was driving intoxicated when her vehicle crashed into a car. One of the passengers in the car, a twenty-nine-year-old man from New Jersey was killed in the accident. The driver sustained serious injuries, and is in a Bronx hospital. Gomez also suffered injuries in the accident, and is reported to be in a fair condition.

Results of alcohol and drug tests on the female driver are still pending. However, for New York car accident lawyers, this accident is eerily reminiscent of the one that occurred on the Taconic Parkway two years ago. In that crash, a mother drove her minivan in the wrong direction for several miles, before she crashed into another car. Four children in her minivan were killed in the accident. Three people in the other car were also killed. Since then, investigators have determined that the woman had been driving under the influence of alcohol. She also had traces of marijuana in her system.

That wrong way driving is so often linked to intoxicated driving should not surprise anyone. One of the effects of driving under the influence of alcohol is that it impairs your judgment and your ability to reason. It also increases your propensity to make critical driving errors. In an intoxicated state, a motorist is much more likely to miss warning signs and turns, and end up making critical driving mistakes, like driving into opposing traffic. When you consider that many times, intoxicated driving is also accompanied by speeding, it's not hard to understand why these accidents are so deadly.

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