September 2010 Archives

The New York Times reported a surge of conflict between bicycle riders and pedestrians has been coursing through New York City, but most objections to bad bike behaviors come from Manhattan. According to police, the number one complaint among locals in the Upper East Side has been cyclists who disobey traffic laws. 

Jack Brown of the Coalition Against Rogue Riding said that "bikes are running amok." Carriage drivers, pedestrians, and other cyclists have complained about fast riders known as "scorchers." Delivery guys, who often "salmon" or move against the flow of traffic and run red lights, are adding to the erratic behavior of bikers. Curb cuts and ramps at many of the New York intersections have also made it easier for bikers to maneuver through the sidewalks and street.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens faces a defamation lawsuit by his former trainer Brian McNamee for allegations that Clemens damaged his trainer's reputation by accusing him of being a liar and mentally unstable. The case was heard in the United States District Court in New York, but both their attorneys argued before Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. as to whether the case really belonged in New York state.

Brian McNamee's accusations that Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs while pitching for the Blue Jays and Yankees triggered the name-calling from the former baseball player. Clemens' lawyer Rusty Hardin said his client was within his rights to defend himself against the false claims and asked Judge Johnson to dismiss the case. For Hardin, Clemens was simply denying statements that were untrue and used hyperbole that reflected his client's opinion.

According to WABC-TV News, almost 5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States. More severe bites lead to someone going through reconstructive surgery every twenty minutes. Fortunately, Dr. Stephen Smith of Ohio State University Medical Center has combined modern technology with a centuries-old surgery to better repair injuries from certain kinds of dog bites.

Any New York personal injury attorney may tell you how dogs can be a source of injury in a personal injury case, even if they are one of the most loyal pets. Experts have said children suffer half of all dog bite injuries, most of which bring harm to the face or hands. Most dog bite injuries, however, center on the nose.

Brooklyn teenager Nechama Rothberger was texting while driving when her car crashed into a Chinese restaurant deliveryman on his motorized scooter in Midwood, Brooklyn. The New York Daily News reported Nechama Rothberger crashed into Tian Sheng Lin while trying to respond to a text message, and as a result the 53-year-old deliveryman suffered severe head trauma and has been declared brain-dead.

Doctors told Long Island grandmother Ramona Jiminez two years ago that she had only a few months to live. A second opinion told her otherwise and gave her another opportunity at life, which has led Ramona Jiminez, 85, to arrange a multi-million dollar medical malpractice lawsuit against Bayshore's Brookhaven Memorial Hospital for wrongly diagnosing her.

CBS New York reported Ramona Jiminez's daughter Bruni and her family brought the elderly woman to the Bayshore hospital on November of 2008 for a stomachache. Doctors ended up diagnosing the grandmother with stomach and lung cancer, telling the patient and her family that Ramona Jiminez had only two months to live.

The New York Daily News reports that a van collided into an ambulance and killed an elderly pedestrian on a busy Queens sidewalk. The van had flipped over and struck Rashid Muhammad, 75, pinning and trapping the victim to the ground.

Rashid Muhammad, a retired auto mechanic, was walking home after his daily routine of buying bread for his family before the accident occurred. The FDNY ambulance had its lights and sirens blaring as it rushed to Elmhurst General Hospital with a stroke patient. The ambulance smashed into a Stuart Dean construction van within a matter of moments; sending the van flying off the road.

Though sports injuries are common among child athletes, the number of basketball associated concussions and other brain injuries have increased during the last few years. Researchers calculated that roughly 4.1 million kids between 5 to 19 years of age have gone to an emergency room between 1997 and 2007.

According to Reuters Health, almost 400,000 children and teens from the United States are admitted into an ER each year because of basketball related injuries. The Pediatrics Journal reported traumatic brain injuries (TBI), such as concussions and skull fractures, make up about 109,000 ER visits nationally each year. The number of brain injuries rose 70 percent over time, from more than 7,000 in 1997 to nearly 12,000 in 2007.

Milk fans: be sure to check your milk before guzzling it down with your favorite meal. According to CBS New York, an NY farm voluntarily recalled 8,000 gallons of milk due to improper pasteurization. Milk cartons sold in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have been recalled.

On September 7, inspectors found failed pasteurization devices and machines at the Midlands Farm located near Albany. As a preventative and safety measure against bacterial toxins such as Listeria and Salmonella, the company agreed to voluntarily recall the milk. FindLaw explains that unpasteurized milk can lead to food poisoning and food-borne illnesses like diarrhea, vomiting, fevers, and stomach cramps. Milk pasteurization uses heat to destroy harmful bacteria and prevents spoilage and other illnesses like tuberculosis or strep throat.

According to the New York Daily News, Allen Hirsch's pet monkey, Benjamin, tackled and injured Queens hairdresser Parvin Hajihossini on July 18 during her weekend stay at Hirsch's upstate bed and breakfast. Allen Hirsch, owner of the Kaaterskill Lodge in the Catskills, is also recognized as the artist who painted Bill Clinton's inaugural portrait.

Parvin Hajihossini, 53, took pictures of Benjamin while the monkey was unguarded and seemingly tucked away in an enclosed cage at the lavish lodging. Suddenly, he leaped out of the confines and clawed Hajihossini as a worker gawked at the scene. Hirsch swiftly disappeared with his monkey after the event and Hajihossini was left getting a rabies shot because of the attack.

Brian Cole hadn't yet made it to the major leagues when his Ford Explorer went off the highway in Florida in 2001 and rolled over, killing him. Last Monday, his parents won a $131 million lawsuit that alleged negligence on behalf of the Ford Motor Corp., ESPN reported.  

While the accident took place in Florida, the trial against Michigan-based Ford took place in Laurel, Miss. Brian Cole was on his way home to Meridian, Miss. from New York Mets spring training in Florida. But this case likely was being followed by New York personal injury lawyers who are also Mets fans.

CBS News reported that Danielle Staub, a cast member of the hit reality television series "Real Housewives of New Jersey," is trying to have her ex-husband's $5 million defamation lawsuit thrown out of court.

The lawsuit, brought by ex-husband Kevin Maher, claims that Danielle Staub fabricated much of her "The Naked Truth" memoir in which he was described as a cruel and abusive husband. She said everything she wrote is, as the title suggests, the absolute truth.

As any New York personal injury lawyer would tell you, the best defense to a defamation charge is the truth. According to TMZ, though, Kevin Maher's suit also claims she accused him of killing her dog, forcing her to play Russian Roulette and raping her on a bed covered in broken glass; she says she never said those things, which means they must not be in her book.

If a lawsuit against MTV parent company Viacom claiming damages for assault and racketeering prevails, the raunchy and popular reality television show "Jersey Shore" may have to end production, according to the New York Daily News.

In other words, the rude and crude behavior of its eight, larger-than-life cast members that made the show so popular may also be its demise. In fact, their antics make me wonder if New York personal injury lawyers enjoy watching the show to see how many legally actionable offenses they can spot in each episode.

Two men were killed and four were injured when a Nissan Altima reportedly traveling at a high speed went airborne and slammed against a utility pole, the New York Daily News reported. Eyewitness Tommy Paradiso said the car was cruising at "75 or 80 miles an hour" before he saw the fatal accident unfold:

"They lost control and [the driver] swerved. He hit the curb and the car flipped over twice before it landed on the pole."

The six young men were allegedly speeding down Arthur Kill Rd. in Greenridge at about 1 am when the driver, who was not yet identified, lost control of the vehicle. The car nearly was cut in half by the impact and the two who died were thrown from their seats.