Category Archives: General
Legislature Introduces Changes to New York Scaffold Law
New York has long had a policy of strict liability for contractors who violate safety regulations at the expense of their employees. Construction workers who are injured in a fall or other elevation-related accident can recover damages for their injuries from the contractor responsible for the site. If the contractor’s safety violation was a… Read More »
Summer Vacation Means More Teen Drivers on the Road, More Car Crashes
Automobile crashes are the number one cause of death for teens aged 16-20 in New York, and teenagers are at a higher risk for being involved in car wrecks than any other age group. While school is out for the summer, more teens are on the road at all hours of the day, increasing… Read More »
Study Measures Distracted Driving Activities That Can Lead to Car Accidents
We all know by now that texting while driving or using a handheld cell phone in the car is dangerous, but how dangerous is it compared to other tasks? A recent scientific study asked that same question and came up with some surprising results about distracted driving and how little it takes to distract… Read More »
Supreme Court Delivers a Win for the Fourth Amendment and Individual Rights
On April 17th, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision regarding the right of law enforcement to conduct warrantless blood tests of individuals in drunk driving cases. In a victory for individual civil rights, the high court in Missouri v. McNeely held that the Fourth Amendment does not allow police to conduct… Read More »
New York City Civil Rights Case Lives to Fight Another Day
The case of Lino v. City of New York, once dismissed by the court before trial, has been reinstated by the court’s appellate level, keeping hope alive that the plaintiffs may yet be able to put an end to a daily practice of the NYPD that is infringing on the civil rights of hundreds… Read More »
Tougher Drunk Driving Threshold Recommended by the NTSB
Federal accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that all 50 states reduce their threshold for drunk driving from .08 to .05, a standard that has been demonstrated to significantly reduce alcohol-related highway deaths in other countries. The NTSB estimates that lowering the rate to .05 would save 500 to 800… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Liability Two Separate Cases with Common Issues of Fact
A worker who is injured on the job is not allowed to sue the employer for negligence but instead must file a claim for workers’ compensation in order to be reimbursed for medical expenses and lost wages. However, the worker may be able to sue a third-party for damages in addition to filing the… Read More »