New York Injury Lawyers Blog

Maryam A. Tantawy, a 25 year-old female, was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) by State Police on January 29, 2010. She was initially pulled over for failing to signal a lane change at 4:57 a.m. Upon further examination, she was found to have a 1.0 blood alcohol level (the legal limit is .08).

She is charged with misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). She is due in New Castle Town Court on February 11, 2010.

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Yorktown woman charged with DWI, Journal News, Timothy O'Connor, January 30, 2010.

Continue reading "Westchester County DWI Lawyer Report: Yorktown Woman Charged With DWI On Taconic Parkway" »

Reports indicate the number of accidents and injuries taking place on some New York bridges and in tunnels are on the rise. The Bronx-Whitestone, Cross Bay, Marine Parkway and Throgs Neck bridges all saw accident increases as did the Queens Midtown Tunnel. However, the roadway the saw the greatest increase in accidents and injuries is the Verrazano-Narrows.

There were 57 more accidents in 2009 than in 2008 and 17 more injuries reported. Officials' plan is to add more personnel and MTA officers to the Verrazano-Narrows detail in an effort to stop speeders and control the chaos.

Report: Accidents Increase On Verrazano, Decrease On RFK, New York Post, Tom Namako, December 9, 2009.

Desmond Shand, a 41-year-old Bronx resident, was sentenced to two years in state prison for a number of misdemeanor and felony convictions, including assault and vehicular assault. Shand pleaded guilty to the full eleven-count indictment against him. In addition to the aforementioned felonies, Shand was charged with leaving the scene, driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving, all misdemeanors.

Back in September of 2008, while Shand was trying to escape after crashing his car into a bicyclist, he hit a Jeep that was being driven by Herman Kenny, a high school senior. Shand nearly severed Kenny's leg. The young man had to have his leg partially amputated at the knee. He has undergone 12 surgeries since. Four hours after the incidents occurred, Shand's blood alcohol level was measured at 0.10%.

On the day of Shand's sentencing in Westchester County Court, he apologized to Kenny and his family. Assistant District Attorney Christina O'Connor read a statement from the victim. She explained that the accident has forever changed his life and has put Kenny's family under emotional and financial duress.

Website Resources:

Man gets 2 years in prison for drunken crash that nearly severed teen's leg, Journal News, Rebecca Baker and Leslie Korngold, January 9, 2010.

The number of New York construction accidents and injuries are on the rise; however, the number of overall fatalities has dropped.

In 2009 the number of accidents jumped to the total of 224 from 2008 's reported 151. The number of injuries stemming from these accidents also rose from 178 to 246. The New York Buildings Department believes the increased number can be attributed to better reporting by contractors.

Overall, however, the number of fatalities fell by 18 percent. New York City experienced 19 construction-related deaths in the year of 2008. The number dropped to only 3 in 2009. Two of the deaths occurred in Manhattan and Brooklyn when two construction workers fell. Both had failed to properly secure required safety harnesses. The third death happened in Staten Island when a concrete wall collapsed on a worker.

The city has revised its construction codes for the first time in forty years in an effort to make sites more secure.

Website Resources:

Construction fatalities drop in 2009, as a decade-long building boom ends, Daily News, Brian Kates, January 7, 2010.

Multiple accidents occurred across New York City this past Tuesday that resulted in three fatalities.

46-year-old Rosemary Pratt of Sheapshead Bay, Brooklyn was hit by a forklift on East 14th street in Midwood. She was rushed to a local hospital, but died 30 minutes after arrival. Mary Mason, 59, from Crown Heights Brooklyn, met a similar fate when a passing fuel truck struck her down as she crossed Pacific Street just before noon.

A female bicyclist also fell victim on Tuesday. The unidentified cyclist was travelling down Delancey Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan around 5pm when she was hit the side of a school bus. She was immediately crushed by the rear wheels and died at the scene.

A Staten Island couple escaped death when a Honda Civic hit them during a jog on Dole Street. Both were taken to the hospital and one was said to be in critical condition. The driver of the vehicle was a 34-year-old Brooklyn man named Gypsy Porfirio. He has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs.

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City accidents claim lives of bicyclist, two pedestrians, NY Daily News, Kerry Burke, John Lauinger, Erica Pearson, Wil Cruz, Rachel Monahan and Mike Mclaughlin, January 6, 2010.

Richard Liebson of the Journal News reports that on January 7, 2010, an elderly Harrison woman was struck by a motor vehicle while crossing Davis Avenue in White Plains at approximately 3 p.m. The Harrison native's name has not been released. However, she was taken from the scene to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of her injuries, including a leg injury.

No charges were filed against the motorist. No additional details were available at the time of this post.

Continue reading "Westchester County Pedestrian Accident Attorney Report: Elderly Harrison Woman Struck Crossing Davis Avenue In White Plains" »

According to a January 4, 2010 Journal News report of Richard Liebson, another Westchester Police Officer was charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) on Thursday, January 3, 2010 after crashing into a tractor-trailer on 287.

37-year-old officer, Joe Zepeda, was driving his 2007 Nissan early Thursday morning with fellow officer Kurt Maddox in the passenger seat. At around 5 am, Zepeda hit the back of a tractor-trailer near exit 6 on 287. Zepeda suffered a minor head abrasion and was not taken to the hospital. However, Maddox was treated at Westchester Medical Center for a broken ankle after the accident. The unnamed truck driver was also treated at Westchester Medical Center for neck and back pain.

When police arrived on the scene, Zepeda refused a blood alcohol test, and he was charged with the misdemeanor crime. Zepeda became a cop in May of 2007 and has never faced any priory disciplinary action. He was released without bail on an appearance ticket. He is due back in court this week.

At least 4 more New York personal injury claims remain open regarding the catastrophic Staten Island Ferry crash in 2003. In the most recent case involving the crash, plaintiff AnnaMarie Trombetta, a painter, was awarded $813,480 by a Federal Judge in Brooklyn (NYC) Federal Court.

After a five-day bench trial, the judge's ruling surprised City lawyers who had offered Trombetta a mere $100,000 to settle her case. Trombetta's sustained injuries to her back, neck, arm and shoulder. In addition, she claimed to have suffered tremendous pain and suffering.

The judge explained his decision by stating, "The plaintiff has established that she has suffered a real loss of ability to enjoy the pleasures of life as a result of the crash." 162 victims of the crash have already been paid $67 million in settlements.

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Judge grants Staten Island ferry crash victim Annamarie Trombetta a surprising $813G, Daily News, John Marzulli, January 1, 2010.

A New York County jury returned a verdict for almost $29 million for a construction worker that fell approximately 30 feet in an accident at a Jet Blue Terminal at JFk International Airport. The fall occurred July 11, 2006. The injured construction worker was 29 years-old at the time of the accident.

He was reportedly working on the structure's roof when a gust of wind sent him flying through an opening in the roof. He suffered a spinal fracture, as well as multiple other fractures that necessitated multiple surgeries. He was bedbound for months and has not yet returned to work. Plaintiff claimed that he was not provided a proper device to secure himself to the roof. The defense argued that plaintiff was an experienced construction worker who should have recognized the potential danger and avoided it. Defendants also contended that he ignored a warning to use a harness.

The jury returned a verdict for close to $29 million. The parties later settled for an undisclosed amount.

According to a Journal News report of January 1, 2010, the cause of death of young Bronxville girl, Mihoko Fukuzawa, is still unknown. However, officials believe that she may have accidentally slipped on a slushy, icy patch of sidewalk and fallen on a rock in front of the Christ Church in Bronxville on Dec. 23, 2009. Authorities, who have not officially ruled out foul play, suspect that the Bronxville teen fell onto the rock that was lying to the left of her path as she was walking to mail a Christmas card on Sagamore Road. The rock measured about a foot high and a couple of feet wide.

The Westchester Medical Examiner notes that Fukuzawa suffered a lacerated liver caused by blunt force trauma. It is plausible that the injury occurred when her midsection slammed into the rock. A funeral was held for the girl on Wednesday.

Continue reading "White Plains Accident Lawyer Report: Bronxville Girl May Have Slipped & Fallen On Ice/Slush" »

Westchester County police officers charged eight motorists with driving under the influence of alcohol (DWI) on New Years Eve and into the morning hours of the new decade. The crackdown on drunk drivers took place all over Westchester County with 6 of the arrests ocurring at an over-night check point set up where the Bronx River Parkway meets the Cross County Parkway.

Some of the motorists like 22 year old Kary Almonacid were not only charged with driving while intoxicated but with aggravated DWI because their alochol levels reached or surpassed 0.18, a number above the legal limit of 0.08. Ms. Almonacid was stopped by the police at 2:48 am on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains for driving without her lights and for making unsafe lane changes.

Police found more than an intoxicated motorist during one vehicle stop that took place where Stevens Avenue intersects with North 10th Avenue in Mount Vernon. Givoanni Petrov of the Bronx was pulled over for driving with a broken rear light. Police found 2 pounds of marijuana in the car. Petrov who possesses a lengthy criminal record was charged with second degree criminal possession of marijuana.

As we have discussed many times on the New York Injury Lawyers Blog, driving under the influence is a leading causes of motor vehicle accidents in New York.

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Unhappy New Year -- Westchester cops arrest 9 accused of driving under influence of alcohol, drugs, Journal News, Shawn Cohen, January 2, 2010.

Diego Baizan, an infant, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in New York County through his parents for the alleged failure of an OBGYN and staff at St. John's Riverside Hospital to properly monitor the fetal heart rate and perform a timely Caesarean section. Diego is now 3 years old and suffers from Cerebral Palsy. Dr. Shahram Razman, the OBGYN involved in the delivery, settled the matter pre-suit for $2.1 million. The case proceeded against St. John's Hospital.

The NY jury returned a verdict in favor of the infant-plaintiff for a total of $77 million ($3,000,000 Personal Injury: Past Pain And Suffering; $6,132,880 Personal Injury: future medical cost (68 years); $40,190,509 Personal Injury: future cost of custodial and residential care (68 years); $3,184,960 Personal Injury: future cost of rehabilitation (18 years); $20,000,000 Personal Injury: future pain and suffering (68 years); $4,910,321 Personal Injury: future lost earnings (38 years))

The plaintiffs' claimed that nursing staff at the hospital ignored signs of fetal distress, which resulted in a delay of almost an hour before commencing a vaginal delivery. Plaintiffs further contended that as a result of the delay, Diego sustained a hypoxic event that caused brain damage. During the first few hours of his life, he suffered seizures and the administration of oxygen was required.

Defense counsel for the hospital and hospital experts argued that Diego's injuries occurred prior to his mother's arrival at the hospital. The hospital has moved to reduce or set aside the verdict.