The New York State Court of Appeals is the highest court in this state. In December of 2016, that court ruled that cities in our state – including New York City – may be held legally accountable for injuries in traffic collisions caused by the failure of those cities to repair – or otherwise fix – streets where a disproportionate number of serious collisions have occurred. The justices held New York City partly liable for a 2004 crash in Brooklyn that severely injured a 12-year-old boy.

In Turturro v. City of New York, the Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s finding that city officials did not react responsibly to the known hazard of speeding vehicles on Gerritsen Avenue in Brooklyn. That failure to react led to the tragic 2004 collision. Louis Pascarella’s vehicle struck and severely injured 12-year-old Anthony Turturro, who was thrown from his bicycle and remained in a coma for five months. As an adult in 2017, Mr. Turturro continues to struggle with diminished motor function and diminished mental capacity.

The boy’s family sued after the December 2004 accident. Experts testified that the vehicle driven by Pascarella hit the boy while moving at least 24 miles per hour over the posted 30 mph speed limit. Still, the trial jury determined that New York City was 40 percent responsible for the accident and injuries. The city appealed, and the New York State Court of Appeals upheld the trial jury’s findings with a 6-to-1 decision.

WHY DID JURORS FIND NEW YORK CITY LIABLE?

At the jury trial, the Turturro family’s attorneys showed that in the years before the accident, local residents consistently implored the city to find a way to slow the traffic on Gerritsen. The Court of Appeals decided that the trial jurors were correct and that New York City was partly liable because officials received regular warnings about speeding drivers on Gerritsen but didn’t bother to make changes on the busy avenue. The problem of speeding drivers on Gerritsen was never even studied by the city’s traffic authorities.

In the ruling authored by Justice Eugene Fahey, the Court of Appeals said that New York City failed to show it was entitled to immunity in the case. Fahey wrote: “Plaintiffs’ expert testified that it was known among traffic engineers that straight, wide roads with little interference from pedestrians and other vehicles, such as Gerritsen Avenue, encourage speeding because drivers feel more comfortable on roadways with those characteristics.” The city did not consider design changes that might have prevented the accident, the court said, so the question of the city’s liability was rightly put before the jury to decide.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Judges Jenny Rivera, Leslie Stein, Sheila Abdus-Salaam, and Michael Garcia joined with Justice Fahey. The lone dissenter om the Court of Appeals, Judge Eugene Pigott, Jr., said the ruling was “antithetical” to previous case law and legal principles regarding government immunity, and he believes the ruling could leave city governments open to unwarranted lawsuits in the future.

HOW HAZARDOUS IS GERRITSEN AVENUE?

In the summer of 2016, close to the spot on Gerritsen Avenue where Pascarella crashed into Turturro, a collision with an impaired driver killed a 17-year-old bicyclist. Collisions have resulted in four traffic fatalities on Gerritsen since 2007. In the fall of 2016, New York City finally began installing concrete pedestrian islands and a protected, two-way bicycle lane along Gerritsen Avenue.

The December ruling by the Court of Appeals reportedly will not impact Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” plan to make the city’s streets less dangerous. Vision Zero, first developed in Sweden, is an approach to traffic safety planning rooted in the idea that no deaths or injuries should be the final ultimate goal of traffic safety planners. “The City is firmly committed to Vision Zero investments in street redesigns and enforcement that save lives,” said Austin Finan, a spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio’s office. “No legal decision will change that,” Finan added.

New York City’s taxpayers and residents take for granted that their streets and highways will be designed with safety and maintenance in mind. Every contractor and government agency involved with designing, constructing, and maintaining streets in this state has a legal obligation to make certain that every roadway will be safe under normal conditions. Of course, government agencies and contractors sometimes make mistakes and even sometimes intentionally cut corners.

WHAT SIGNS INDICATE A ROAD IS NEGLIGENTLY DESIGNED OR MAINTAINED?

A road’s design and construction, as well as short-term conditions like new construction, can cause traffic collisions with serious injuries and fatalities. Inefficient or inadequate storm drainage, poor visibility, misleading or insufficient signage, as well as potholes and other physical damage may indicate that a state or local government is negligent in its maintenance of a particular street or highway.

Unfortunately, a tragedy – or a couple of tragedies – usually must happen before a dangerous road is redesigned or repaired. Gerritsen Avenue in Brooklyn has been a sad example of that fact. A 2014 report by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition – titled “Dangerous by Design” – suggests that streets in the U.S. have been designed for speed rather than safety and that cities must find their deadliest streets and redesign them as quickly as possible.

Obviously, even on streets with poor conditions, motorists may be liable for accidents. Drivers must always be on the lookout for puddles, potholes, and other hazards. However, government agencies assigned to keep streets safe may also be at least partly responsible for traffic collisions on those streets and highways. City, county, and state governments, transportation departments, other government agencies, engineering firms, construction companies, and other contractors and subcontractors may also be potentially liable after an accident with injuries.

Anyone injured in a New York traffic accident should consult right away with an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney who can assess the details of the crash and determine where liability falls. Even if another driver crashes a vehicle into yours, poor street conditions may be the ultimate underlying reason for the collision. However, only a New York personal injury lawyer will have experience with the complicated process of suing a municipality or a government agency in the state of New York.

So how can the deadliest streets be targeted for repairs and redesigns? A new digital tool called StreetScore, developed by MIT’s Media Lab, could help. Using a machine-learning algorithm, StreetScore can read street-view images, associating certain textures, colors, and shapes with safe features. The more of those safe features it spots, the higher the safety score for the street. With tools like StreetScore and the emergence of driverless vehicles, travelling in New York will be substantially safer in the years ahead.

But for now, you’ll need to speak with an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney if you or anyone you love is injured in traffic on the streets of New York City. If you are injured by negligence in this state – whether it’s the negligence of another driver or a city government – you are entitled by New York law to full compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and all other accident-related damages.

Every April at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, solemn construction workers observe an annual memorial Mass for their New York City construction worker colleagues who’ve died in accidents on the job over the previous twelve months. Since the memorials at St. Patrick’s started in 2008, 140 New York City construction workers have been honored and memorialized in this way. The service has actually been conducted in New York every year since 2000, and it was first held at the Priory and Church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street.

But when seven construction workers died due to a crane collapse on 51st Street in 2008, the annual Mass was moved to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and has remained there ever since. At the time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the crane collapse the worst construction accident in New York City in recent history. Twenty-four other persons were injured in the incident, and eighteen nearby homes were evacuated.

Conditions haven’t improved much for the city’s construction workers since 2008. In fact, the current work to expand the city’s skyline has led to record numbers of construction accidents and injuries. According to the city’s Department of Buildings, in 2015, 471 construction workers and bystanders were injured in New York City, a figure that represents a 91 percent increase over the total of 246 injuries reported in 2014.

Construction scaffolds, for example, can pose a real threat to safety when they are not built and handled properly. Every day in the United States, over two million men and women on construction jobs use scaffolds to carry out construction work. About 4,500 workers are injured every year in the United States while using scaffolds, and about four dozen of those injuries each year are fatal injuries.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS?

New York City actively enforces comprehensive construction safety standards, but in construction work, accidents and injuries are inevitable. Inadequate safety practices, a lack of employee training, hazardous on-site conditions, and old or defective construction and safety equipment are just a few of the many reasons why construction accidents happen. However, even in the midst of these potential dangers, a construction worker in New York City still has the right to expect that the job site will be reasonably safe and the right to expect protection from unnecessary hazards and injuries.

If you are a construction worker and you suffer a work-related injury in New York City, what are your rights and options? What’s your legal recourse? The details and particulars of every construction accident and injury are different, so an injured construction worker in New York City will need the specific legal advice and guidance that an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney can provide after reviewing the case.

Anyone injured doing construction work in New York City will most likely qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation is generally a “no fault” system for paying benefits to injured workers. Under workers’ comp, an injury victim does not have to prove that another person or party caused a work-related injury through negligence. In most cases, to receive workers’ comp benefits, an injured worker only has to prove that an injury happened and that it happened in the course and scope of the worker’s employment.

WHAT DOES WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COVER?

Every employer in the state of New York is required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation claims typically pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and partial or permanent disability. When someone receives workers’ compensation benefits, that person forfeits any right to pursue other damages such as pain and suffering. However, in some limited situations, an injured New York City construction worker may be entitled to bring a personal injury claim outside of the worker’s comp system.

Typically, a construction worker works with a number of subcontractors and vendors. Others on a job site may be operating heavy machinery or driving delivery trucks. Even persons who are not at the construction site may have a role in a construction accident – engineers, architects, and equipment manufacturers. If a construction worker is injured due to the negligence of one of those persons, the worker may have a claim against that person and/or that person’s employer.

A personal injury lawsuit generated by a construction accident and injury will be similar in most ways to a lawsuit filed by an injury victim after a traffic accident. The same rules and procedures apply. For a personal injury lawsuit to prevail in the state of New York, a plaintiff (injury victim) typically must prove that another person or party – the defendant – had a duty to act in a safe and reasonable manner, failed to act in a safe and reasonable manner (that is, was negligent), and that, as a result of that failure, the plaintiff was injured.

WHO GOVERNS THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY?

In New York City, the construction industry is governed by a plethora of confusing and often-overlapping local rules, regulations, and ordinances, state and federal laws, and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations. The U.S. Department of Labor alone has established over 180 regulations governing construction site activities, safety requirements, and accidents.

Construction-related injuries are often catastrophic, sometimes permanently disabling, and always legally complicated, so any injured New York City construction worker is going to need the advice and services of an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney. Frequently-occurring violations that commonly lead to construction site accidents and injuries include but are not limited to:

• failing to use – or the improper use of – construction safety equipment
• failing to train construction workers appropriately
• failing to alert construction workers regarding known hazards at a job site
• inadequate or defective guard rails, stairs, or scaffolding
• inadequate protection from electrical wiring and equipment
• failing to maintain a job site that is safe and hazard-free

Safety at the job site is everybody’s responsibility. If you find that your employer is violating local, state, or federal safety rules, first file a formal complaint with a manager, a foreman, or a supervisor. It may simply be that someone has overlooked the matter, but if that doesn’t resolve it, contact the New York City Department of Buildings or speak to a personal injury attorney who has experience dealing with the construction industry.

The holidays are here once again. Alongside the joy, unfortunately, every holiday season there are injuries. The holiday season accounts for about 65 percent of the annual toy sales in the United States. Every year after the holidays, and in spite of the many warnings and precautions that are issued, scores of children are injured by their new toys. When you purchase for children, take extra care that you don’t spoil the joy by purchasing a toy that can cause an injury. Read any warning labels printed on toys and toy packaging.

A number of the most dangerous toys may seem entirely innocent to holiday shoppers in department and toy stores. Never buy young children marbles, magnets, balloons, or anything tiny that can be swallowed. According to researchers, over three million children in the United States have been treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries. More than half of those children were under age six. Choking, strangulation, cuts, and injuries to the eyes are the most common injuries children suffer when they play with defective or dangerous toys.

Every five days in the U.S., at least one child dies from choking. It’s the leading cause of death when children play with toys. Button batteries and magnets, if swallowed, can cause severe injury or death. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, between 2009 and 2013, nearly 3,000 children were taken to emergency rooms after swallowing magnets. Also avoid toys with PVC plastic or lead. Since 2009, toymakers have been phasing out such items, but older toys may still be dangerous. Any baby’s or child’s toy should include an ACMI (Art and Creative Material Institute) seal confirming that it was made with non-toxic materials.

WHAT OTHER PRODUCTS POSE RISKS TO CHILDREN?

It’s not only toys – clothing products with strings or cords are also hazards for small children. Don’t purchase anything for a small child if it includes ribbons, cords, strings, or straps – from a jacket to a yo-yo – because strangulation is another leading cause of children’s consumer product-related fatalities. In fact, due to the risk of strangulation, parents and others with small children in their homes should probably have only cordless blinds or drapes.

When a new toy causes an injury to a child, the manufacturer or distributor may be guilty of negligence, and the family may elect to pursue a product liability claim. In New York City, an experienced Bronx product liability lawyer can help families win the reimbursement they will need for medical care if a child is injured by a defective or hazardous toy. The right Bronx personal injury attorney will work aggressively for the maximum available compensation.

WHAT TOYS ARE ON THIS YEAR’S “WATCH” LIST?

In November, the Boston-based nonprofit safety advocacy group WATCH (World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc.) publicized its fourth annual list of the “10 Worst Toys” of the year. In a press release, the organization stated, “Due to poor design, manufacturing and marketing practices, there are toys available for purchase today with the potential to lead to serious injury and even death.” Listed here are WATCH’s “Ten Worst Toys of 2016” and the reasons why these products are on the WATCH list:

1. “Warcraft Doomhammer” – There’s no warning about the potential for injuries from the heavy plastic toy hammer.

2. “Kids Time Baby Children’s Elephant Pillow” – Federal law bans pillows designed specifically for children under a year old. Nevertheless, ads for this product show an infant with the pillow, and the product includes no warnings or recommended ages.

3. “Peppa Pig’s Muddy Puddles Family” – No warning is included about the potential choking hazard. Some packages recommend ages 3+ while others recommend ages 2+.

4. “Slimeball Slinger” – Made by Diggin Active, Inc., this product can cause eye injuries.

5. “Banzai Bump N’ Bounce Body Bumpers” – In small print, a warning recommends helmets or goggles when children use the product, but the packaging shows children with no safety equipment playing with the product.

6. “The Good Dinosaur Galloping Butch” – WATCH says this toy has the potential to cut or puncture a child’s face or injure an eye.

7. “Nerf Rival Apollo Xv-700 Blaster” – The packaging shows children wearing safety equipment that is not included and must be purchased separately. WATCH believes this product could injure an eye.

8. “Baby Magic Feed and Play Baby” – Although recommended for children ages 2+, the product includes a toy spoon that’s a potential choking hazard.

9. “Peppy Pups” – With a 31-inch cord, this product poses a genuine strangulation risk.

10. “Flying Heroes Superman Launcher” – This is another toy that could fly into a child’s eyes or face.

The products that are on this year’s WATCH top ten list have not been banned or recalled as of November 2016. As usual, toy manufacturers are claiming that safety is their top concern this holiday season, but many of the toys that retailers are offering have not been independently safety tested, so parental and consumer concerns are warranted. The bottom line is that parents need to inspect every toy before they allow their child or children to play with it.

WHAT ABOUT ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN RECALLED?

Don’t spoil the joy this holiday season by purchasing a gift that can injure a child. If your own child is injured because of a toy manufacturer’s negligence, don’t hesitate to take legal action to win the compensation that your family will need and deserve. If a child is injured while playing with a toy, an experienced Bronx product liability lawyer can fight on behalf of the family for the compensation they will need to cover their medical expenses – and for the justice they deserve.

Keep your sales receipts. If you plan to buy a particular item for a child, make sure that it has not been recalled. If you receive a recall notice, or if you learn that something you’ve purchased has been recalled, return it to the retailer immediately for a repair or a replacement. Also be careful when you purchase used items for children like car seats and sports equipment – those are items that might have been recalled years ago. If you’ll adhere to these simple safety tips regarding toys – and keep abreast of the recalls – your child or children will have joyful holidays and a safe, injury-free new year.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine reported that nearly 100,000 people die in hospitals every year in the U.S. from preventable medical errors. In 2016, the problem is actually worse. A study released this year by Johns Hopkins University found that more than 250,000 deaths a year are caused by healthcare providers’ mistakes. That makes medical malpractice the third-leading cause of death in the United States. If you are a victim of medical malpractice in New York, take your case at once to an experienced New York medical malpractice attorney. Discussed below, the ten most common medical mistakes that lead to fatalities – and how to avoid them:

1. MISDIAGNOSIS

According to research recently published by the National Academy of Sciences and conducted by the Institute of Medicine, about twelve million adults are misdiagnosed every year in the United States. The word “misdiagnosis” defines several kinds of medical malpractice incidents: a condition that’s entirely unrecognized and undiagnosed; an inaccurate diagnosis; or a delayed diagnosis.

According to the AARP, diagnostic errors currently contribute to about ten percent of all patient deaths in the United States. Many doctors often miss more than just the obscure and exotic diseases. They also fail to catch common problems like developing kidney disease, pneumonia, heart disease, lung disease, and cancer. Misdiagnosis is the leading cause of payouts to medical malpractice victims.

2. FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

Important medical details can easily get lost or forgotten, particularly at “transfer points” between doctors, clinics, hospitals, and – in hospitals – during shift changes. When a patient has multiple caregivers, communication problems increase. Patients themselves can forget details or fail to convey important information to caregivers. In other words, there are plenty of opportunities for things to “fall through the cracks.”

3. CARELESSNESS REGARDING HYGIENE

The AARP says that hospital patients acquire more than 700,000 infections every year including pneumonia, gastrointestinal infections, and urinary tract infections. On any day, about four percent of the patients in hospitals are fighting infections they picked up in the hospital, and every year, about 75,000 of those patients die from a hospital-acquired infection. A 2016 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitals are making progress in reducing infections, but much work remains.

4. PHARMACY MISTAKES

When a drug is prescribed, there are a number of places where a mistake can be made – by the doctor, the pharmacist, or by the patient. Ordering the right drug in the right amount and passing that information accurately to the pharmacist, filling the order correctly, and taking the drug in the right dosage at the right time are all essential, and a mistake can happen at any point in the process. Behind misdiagnosis, drug errors are the second most common kind of reported medical malpractice.

5. LACK OF MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE

Doctors are typically fairly smart people, but nobody can know everything. New medical research and findings routinely overturn ideas and practices that have been accepted for decades – and thousands of new studies and findings are produced every year. Doctors rely on pharmaceutical companies for details about drugs, and sometimes that information isn’t entirely reliable. Luckily, many insurance plans let patients get second opinions and see specialists, but too many patients don’t take advantage of those options.

6. INCOMPETENT DOCTORS

Incompetent doctors are rare, but they’re out there treating patients, and they can be hard to identify. When Consumer Reports obtained the state of California’s entire database of doctors on probation, they found several hundred practicing doctors who had been disciplined for overt negligence, practicing while under the influence, dealing narcotics, and sexual misconduct. The percentage of incompetent doctors is small – only one percent of doctors are responsible for a third of all medical malpractice payouts.

7. THE MYSTERY OF OUTPATIENT CARE

Almost everything we know about medical malpractice comes from studies conducted in hospitals. We lack extensive research regarding medical malpractice in clinics, rehab centers, and nursing homes, even though more care is given at those sites than in hospitals. While patients in such settings are generally healthier and more resistant to the consequences of medical malpractice, the fact is that a clinic with three or five people on staff probably won’t have a safety officer or someone dedicated to overseeing quality control.

8. INSUFFICIENT REFORMS

Even when a healthcare facility identifies a malpractice problem, reforms are likely to be piecemeal rather than system-wide. Everyone resists change, especially changes that involve workplace power and politics. Some doctors, for example, tend to resist any reforms that might give more “power” to nurses. Observe how your healthcare providers interact, and try to go with doctors who treat nurses and staff as teammates rather than as subordinates.

9. TREATMENT PLANS – SUFFICIENCY AND FOLLOW-UP

According to the AARP, one study in twelve cities found that about 45 percent of the patients in those cities never received all of the care that was originally recommended for them. Medical care is nuanced. Rather than an assembly line where illness A is countered with treatment B, most patients have several medical conditions. Treatment recommendations often conflict, so treatments must be carefully coordinated. Too often, that just doesn’t happen.

10. PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT

Taking care of sick people is hard on the soul and spirit. A study published by the Mayo Clinic in 2015 found that 54 percent of doctors in the United states report at least one symptom of burnout. Pressures, meetings, more patients to treat, more research to read – it can all come crashing down, and no healthcare provider is immune. The best thing patients can do is be friendly, and don’t waste time complaining to the healthcare providers about things they can’t control, like parking or the cost of prescriptions. If you bond personally with your caregivers, they’re more likely to go the extra mile for you.

WHAT IS YOUR RECOURSE?

If you or someone you love becomes a victim of medical malpractice in New York, there’s hope. Keep notes and records of all of your prescriptions, treatments, and visits to doctors. If you believe that you have been the victim of medical malpractice, bring your complaint to an experienced New York medical malpractice attorney. If the malpractice has resulted in a personal injury or a deterioration of your health, an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney will assess your situation and advise you candidly about the best way to proceed. Don’t wait if you are a victim. Our health is our most important possession.