Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer - Accident

How to Stay Safe When Driving in Urban Areas

Margaret Embry — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:43:17 GMT

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2007 New York State saw 660 urban traffic fatalities. In order to decrease this number, all urban drivers should be aware of safe driving skills. Urban driving is full of congestion where too many cars, too many people, and little room for driving error can lead to frustration and sometime hostility. Patience and understanding safe driving skills can allow you to reach your destination safely (and sanely). Below are some tips to safely navigate though urban areas.

1. Plan ahead: Leave yourself more than enough time to reach your destination. Remember that weather conditions can have a big affect on travel time and congestion.

2. Concentrate: Give driving you full attention. Hang up your cell phone, quit eating, quit looking in the mirror and pay attention.

3. Yellow means yield: Resist the urge to go barreling through a yellow light. This aggressive and dangerous behavior puts yourself and others at risk.

4. Give fellow drivers a break: Let people in when they're changing lanes or merging into traffic. Don't take something irritating the driver does next to you personally.

5. Stop for emergency vehicles: When an emergency vehicle is flashing its lights and/or sounding its siren, state law requires all vehicles to move to the right and stop. This is true regardless of whether the vehicle is coming toward you or approaching from behind.

6. Buckle up: Always wear your seat belt and encourage your passenger to also.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Margaret Embry

Bus and Passenger Accident Prevention(2)

Michael Levine — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:44:21 GMT

One of our recently settled cases for $4,500,000 involved a pedestrian and a bus. At the time of the incident, which occured on February 14, 2006 at around 3 pm, the plaintiff was walking eastbound on Crown Street in Brooklyn. Upon arriving at the intersection of Crown Street and Utica Avenue the light was red, so the plaintiff stopped, stood and waited. Eventually, the pedestrian crosswalk signal indicated that ti was safe to cross Utica Avenue, so the plaintiff proceeded to step off the curb and cross the avenue in the designated crosswalk. As she was doing so, she was struck by the defendents' school bus, which was making a left turn from Crown Street onto Utica Avenue.

According to Crash Statistics Online, there were 12, 498 non-fatal bus accidents just last year. 481 of those bus accidents, 3.85 %, occured in the State of New York. This number is significantly higher then the rest of the northeast and mid atlantic. However, just about any state in the rust belt region has higher bus accident rates then New York and another big state, California, nearly triples our bus accident total.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has recently conducted research on bus and passenger accident prevention. They have created five phases to help in accident prevention:

1. Development and Implementation of an accident prevention program

2. Selection, Training, Evaulation and, if necessary, termination of transit system employees

3. Promotion of Patron Safety/Awareness

4. Design options available in the vehicle procurement phase that will prevent accidents

5. Development of Safety Policies and Procedures

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

Bus and Passenger Accident Prevention

Andrew Rothstein — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:23:45 GMT

The U.S. Department of Transportation has recently conducted research on bus and passenger accident prevention. They have created five phases to help in accident prevention:

1. Development and Implementation of an accident prevention program

2. Selection, Training, Evaulation and, if necessary, termination of transit system employees

3. Promotion of Patron Safety/Awareness

4. Design options available in the vehicle procurement phase that will prevent accidents

5. Development of Safety Policies and Procedures

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Andrew Rothstein

Wrongful Death Suit in Staten Island Ferry Crash Settled for $8.7M

Chrissie Cole — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:29:00 GMT

The widow of a man killed in the 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash settled her wrongful death claim against New York City for $8.7 million.

The settlement is the highest wrongful death payout in the ferry crash responsible for killing at least 10 passengers and injuring 42 others, many critically.

John Healy was killed in 2003 when the ferry crashed into the dock at full speed. The boat’s pilot was on painkillers and suffering from fatigue at the time of the accident. He pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter and lying to investigators. He has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The city’s ferry director was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to negligent manslaughter and admitting he failed to enforce a safety rule.

If you or a family member was injured in the Staten Island ferry accident on October 15, 2003, it may be important to contact an attorney who can help you protect your legal rights. Please keep in mind that there may be time limits within which you must commence suit.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Central Islip Man Charged with DWI, Leaving Accident Scene

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:42:00 GMT

A Central Islip man was arrested Saturday night after he allegedly struck a pedestrian and parked vehicle while attempting to flee the scene, not once but twice.

The man, 23, of Willow Street was charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in property damage and leaving the scene without reporting the accident to authorities.

The pedestrian, 26, was transported to Southside Hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

The driver struck the vehicle and parked car while traveling on Earle Street, police said. A resident followed the driver who continued driving on East Chestnut Street where he struck another parked car.

His vehicle was disabled after striking the second vehicle, at which point he tried to escape the scene on foot, but was held by the resident until police arrived on the scene, according to police.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Queen Creek Construction Accident Crushes Worker's Arm

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:08:00 GMT

A 44-year-old construction worker suffered injury when his arm was crushed in a construction accident at a Queen Creek construction site on Tuesday.

The accident happened when the worker reached his arm into a piece of equipment to clean something that he thought had become stuck. At which point his arm became caught in the roller, crushing it severely between the shoulder and elbow, according to an official with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The worker was transported by helicopter to Scottsdale Osborn Hospital where he was listed in serious condition. The construction site is the future location of a Jack in the Box restaurant.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) along with local officials will be investigating the accident further. No one else was injured in the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole