July 2010 Archives

The New York Daily News reported that Laura Paultre, the mother of slain New Yorker Sean Bell's would-be fiancé, believes the wrongful death settlement with the city was "fair." Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets fired by New York City police officers, although he was unarmed.

He was slain by officers outside the Club Kalua strip club in Queens on what would have been his wedding day.

After a four-year legal battle against the city for the unfortunate incident, New York personal injury lawyers for Sean Bell's former fiancé Nicole Paultre-Bell and injured friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield were able to secure individual settlements.

New York City Police officer Louis Ramos faces a number of charges related to a hit-and-run incident that left a bicyclist with relatively minor injuries, The New York Times reported. Specific charges include assault, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an injury accident.

While the story only mentions the criminal charges related to the hit-and-run, it's likely that the bicyclist will be (or already has been) meeting with a New York personal injury lawyer to review his legal options in civil court.

Authorities say that on June 14, in broad daylight, Louis Ramos was driving the wrong way on Jay Street in Brooklyn with his lights flashing and siren blaring. He then allegedly drove through a red light and hit the bicyclist at Sands Street.

Authorities claim the shooting death of New York City paramedic Jason Green is not related to accusations that he and another EMT ignored a distressed pregnant woman at a coffee shop last December who later died, according to an Associated Press article published by Comcast News.

Jason Green was gunned down last weekend after a fight outside a Manhattan nightclub. New York personal injury lawyer Douglas Rosenthal, who was defending the two paramedics against a negligence lawsuit for the woman's death, said he was shocked by the news:

"[He] was a good guy and a dedicated emergency medical technician. It's very sad."

It seems like the producers of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" really lucked out with a cast that seems to be generating more drama off the screen than on. The latest is the defamation suit brought against former cast member Danielle Staub by Stephen Zalewski, according to Babble.com.

The plaintiff claims Danielle Staub ruined his reputation by claiming on an episode of "Real Housewives" that he filmed a sex tape of the couple without her consent. He claims that's absolutely false and that she even filmed part of it herself.

An arrest warrant was issued for New York Knicks player and former Chicago Bull Eddy Curry last month for failing to appear at a Cook County court hearing, but the Associated Press reported that both parties agreed to vacate the warrant.

The troubled basketball star failed to pay the damages of a lawsuit he had lost and was sued for the remaining balance. Mark Belongia, Eddy Curry's lawyer (who is not a New York personal injury lawyer, since it's an Illinois case) said his client and the other party have agreed to a new payment plan.  

Although the defamation suit brought by former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens against former trainer Brian McNamee was tossed out after being filed two-and-a-half years ago, the New York Daily News reported that he is trying to revive the suit once more.

It would be interesting to see how many New York personal injury lawyers agree with Brian McNamee's attorney, Richard Emery, who insists judges "would have to make mincemeat of current law" in order to prevail. 

Relatives of slain Army veteran Shem Walker, who was shot and killed by an undercover cop, said they plan on suing the New York Police Dept. for wrongful death, according to the New York Daily News.

The 49-year-old victim punched the undercover officer, whose name has not been released, after he saw the man engaged in a drug deal on the stoop of his mother's Brooklyn apartment. The unnamed cop said the man grabbed for his gun, but it's not clear whether or not he identified himself as an undercover agent.

The officer was working an undercover "buy-and-bust" operation when the incident happened. The plaintiffs' New York personal injury lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, hopefully will be able to shed some more light on what exactly happened as the case moves into the discovery phase.

Dr. Jonathan Mauser, of Cayuga Cardiology Associates P.C., failed to notice that former Tompkins County District Attorney George Dentes had disease, according to a lawsuit by his widow reported by the Ithaca Journal. The DA had a heart attack and died in October 2006, for which his widow blames the physician.

With the help of a New York injury lawyer, widow Elsie Dentes filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Jonathan Mauser and his employer claiming he "improperly interpreted [George] Dentes' April 2005 stress echocardiogram." The suit goes on to claim that as a result of not detecting his coronary artery disease and treating it, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

William "Billy" Sammeth, the former manager for comedian Joan Rivers, has sued her for more than $2 million, according to Yahoo News. He said the comedian still owes him unpaid commissions and claims she defamed him in a recent documentary film about her life as a comic.

William Sammeth's New York personal injury lawyer was not cited or quoted in the article, although the attorney no doubt is playing hardball.

His lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, lists several works for which he believes he is entitled a 10 percent cut, totaling roughly $200,000. On top of that, he is seeking at least $2 million in exemplary and punitive damages.