New York Injury Lawyer Blog

An employee of the mayor's office was declared brain-dead over the weekend after being struck in a hit-and-run New York City pedestrian accident while crossing Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

The New York City hit-and-run accident has made news nationwide, with the New York Daily News and the L.A. Times reporting that the woman pushed her former roommate out of the way, before being critically injured.

A northbound car struck the two women about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, near the intersection of Prospect Place and Prospect Heights, according to The New York Times. Emergency crews found the women lying in the street.

The 22-year-old woman, a coordinator for the mayor's volunteerism initiative, was pronounced brain-dead on Sunday at Kings County Hospital Center. The other victim, a 23-year-old woman, was hospitalized in stable condition.

Police believe they found the car involved in the accident, a green 1993 Acura Legend abandoned about five blocks away with a smashed windshield. Detectives continue to investigate but no arrests had been made as of late Sunday night.

The woman began work in June 2009 as a coordinator for NYC Service, promoting Mayor Bloomberg's volunteerism initiative. The mayor spoke to the victim's parents and urged the public to report any tips about the accident to authorities.

"I told them that as a father I can't begin to imagine what they are going through, but all of our prayers are with their dedicated and idealistic young daughter," Mr. Bloomberg said.

Workers near the area said speeding drivers are a frequent danger. Others said normally heavy traffic in the area tends to speed up at night, especially on the weekend.

Members of the government agency overseeing the health and safety of pharmaceuticals have recommended that Avandia, a diabetes medicine, be removed from the market, saying hundreds of people on the drug are dying of heart attacks and heart failures each month, according to The New York Times.

As reported earlier this month on our New York Injury Lawyer blog, the Food and Drug Administration is also urging stronger warning labels for Meridia, a popular diet drug, after reports of an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

The recall of Avandia is the latest in a long string of high-profile drug recalls, including Vioxx in 2004 and Fen-Phen, another popular diet drug linked to liver damage. Pharmaceutical companies spend millions developing and promoting drugs. But, when medication touted as life-saving turns out to have deadly consequences, a New York City medical malpractice attorney or New York defective product lawyer should be contacted to protect your rights.

The government reports obtained by The New York Times said if every diabetic now taking Avandia, were instead treated with a similar medication, called Actos, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure could be averted each month. The government contends Avandia damages the heart and was linked to 304 deaths during the third quarter of 2009.

Some government officials within the Food and Drug Administration want Avandia, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, to be removed from the market; other agency officials contend studies of the drug provide contradictory information and want the drug to remain an option for doctors and patients.

GlaxoSmithKline contends that scientific evidence does not establish that Avandia increases the risk of heart attacks. The debate has been brewing for years but made news again recently after a Senate investigation concluded the drug maker should have warned patients earlier about the drug's potential risks.

Avandia was once one of the world's best-selling drugs. Driven by multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns, the company sold more than $3.2 billion worth of the drug in 2006 alone. Sales began to fall after a Cleveland Clinic study in 2007, which found that the drug harmed the heart. The FDA issued a warning about the drug but voted 8 to 7 to allow it to remain on the market.

The New York Times reports that hundreds of thousands of patients still take the drug.

The booming industry of long-term care hospitals has higher rates of violations and less oversight than traditional medical facilities, according to a report in The New York Times.

New York City nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers and New York medical malpractice attorneys represent patients and their families against negligent hospitals, nursing homes or other medical facilities.

More than 400 long-term acute care hospitals have opened up around the country in the last 25 years. Few have staff physicians and most are owned by large for-profit companies, according to The Times investigation. Such facilities were cited for violations up to four-times more frequently than regular hospitals and had more incidences of bedsores and infections.

Such long-term care facilities now treat 200,000 patients a year at a projected cost of $4.8 billion. Unlike specialized hospitals, such as children's hospital or mental health facilities, long-term care hospitals offer no specialized care and are defined only by the length of patient stays. Most are smaller than regular hospitals, averaging about 60 beds.

However, many patients who require such lengthy hospital stays are very sick, and need complex treatments, including dialysis and ventilator care.

The Times reported that such facilities are not closely monitored by Medicare, which does not penalize them financially for failing to submit quality data. Supporters content such facilities fill a crucial void for patients not sick enough for regular hospitals but too sick for nursing home or at-home care.

Opponents are especially concerned about the care provided by such for-profit companies, which have higher profit margins and spend less on patients, according to Congressional research.

One operator of long-term care facilities examined by the Times provided care for 42,000 patients and employed 23,000 people last year. In addition to a higher rate of violations, the average stay of 24 days at the company's facilities fell just under the 25-day stay for which maximum Medicare reimbursement was available.

Similar challenges face the nursing home industry, where more than half of the nation's 17,000 nursing home facilities are operated by large corporations and two-thirds are for-profit businesses, according to the American Health Care Association.

City officials are moving forward with a plan to keep Broadway permanently closed to traffic in Herald Square and Times Square. The announcement will leave in place the pedestrian plazas created last year to improve traffic flow and reduce New York City pedestrian accidents and other traffic accidents.

"After an exhaustive review that showed positive results in all aspects, and overwhelming improvement in many areas, we've decided to make this groundbreaking pilot project permanent," said Mayor Bloomberg.

While the eight-month closure had caused headaches for some drivers, the closure has received positive reviews from tourists and pedestrians, the New York Post reported.

The city's Department of Transportation reported "greatly enhanced safety" and a reduction in the risk of car accidents at two of the city's most accident-prone intersections. However, an increased risk of New York City taxi cab accidents is possible, after the city found taxi speeds have increased 7 percent in Midtown since the closures.

GPS data from 1.1 million taxi cab trips found a 7 percent increase in overall speeds, including a 17 percent increase in northbound travel speeds.

But safety at Times Square and Herald Square improved dramatically, according to city figures. The closures resulted in a 63 percent reduction in New York City car accidents at both locations and a 35 percent reduction in pedestrian injuries.

A survey found that three-quarters of New Yorkers favored making the closures permanent, while about 7 in 10 retail managers also favored the move.

"Surveys indicate clear support among New Yorkers and local businesses for the project, and the increased foot traffic has been good for business," Bloomberg said. "The bottom line is overall traffic in Midtown has improved and New Yorkers and city businesses are benefiting from a Times and Herald Square that are safer, more exciting destinations."

Continue reading "Square closures reduce New York City pedestrian accidents, car accidents" »

A landlord is facing charges after city officials say he illegally subdivided apartments in a building where five people died in a fire last month, The New York Times reported.

The owner of the building was charged with building violations late Friday in connection with the fatal Jan. 30 fire.

Landlords and business owners have a duty to provide safe and secure properties. New York City premise liability attorneys fight for the rights of tenants seriously injured or killed on rental property. Examples of landlord liability claims can include faulty balconies, porches or railings; escalator or elevator injuries; negligent security that results in an assault; evacuation injuries; and unsafe conditions that contribute to injury in a fire or other accident.

In this case, the landlord is charged with illegally subdividing the apartments to create more units. The building on 86th Street in Bensonhurst was severely damaged in the fire. Investigators from the Buildings Department reportedly found that apartments on the second and third floors were illegally divided, including a two-bedroom apartment that had been converted into four units.

A city spokesman said the division left two front units with only one stairwell exit, which collapsed in the fire. Police have charged a second-floor resident with setting the blaze, The Times reported. Officials said at least 18 people lived in the apartments on two floors above a sushi restaurant.

The Building department issued violations Feb. 12, accusing the company that owns the building of illegally increasing occupancy, working without a permit and failure to provide two means of egress. Each violation carries a fine of up to $25,000.

"Property owners must understand they have a responsibility to maintain their property in a safe manner, and an illegal conversion can put people's lives in serious danger,"
buildings commissioner, Robert D. LiMandri, said in a statement.

Continue reading "Landlord charged in connection with fatal New York City building fire" »

The leading professional organization that focuses on the use of radiation in treating cancer patients has called for increased safety measure and the establishment of the nation's first database for reporting hospital errors in radiation treatment, according to The New York Times.

As reported last week on New York Injury Lawyer blog, as many as 1 in 20 patients are harmed by equipment malfunction or doctor or hospital error in administering radiation. However, chronic underreporting, lack of oversight and other issues mean few patients are ever compensated because many never reach a qualified medical malpractice attorney.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology, or Astro, issued a plan last week that they contend would improve safety and quality, while reducing the chances of medical errors. While the group contends radiation accidents are rare, it says it will push for stronger accreditation programs, expanded training, and a program to help unsure that medical technologies from different manufacturers can safely transfer information.

The group will also push for federal legilsation to require national standards for radiation treatment teams.

The increased focus on patient safety comes in the wake of a comprehensive report in The New York Times that found patients are sometimes injured by malfunctioning machines or the lack of basic safety procedures.

Dr. Tim R. Williams, the group's chairman and a Florida radiation oncologist, said he found the articles in The Times "deeply troubling."

"In any area of medicine, and radiation oncology is no exception, even one error is too many," Dr. Williams told The Times "Any errors, no matter how small, must be reported, understood and used as a tool to further reduce the potential for future errors."

Continue reading "Plan aimed at addressing medical malpractice during radiation cancer treatment" »

New York City pedestrian accidents increased last year, even as overall traffic accidents declined, The New York Times reported.

The 256 New York City traffic fatalities were an all-time low, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- a record dating to 1910 when deaths by streetcar and carriage-horse were included in the city's traffic deaths.

Overall traffic deaths were down 12 percent compared to 2008 and were 35 percent lower than the beginning of the decade. However, 155 New York City pedestrians were struck and killed by cars last year, up from 151 deaths in 2008.

New York City bicycle accidents claimed 12 lives last year, down more than half from the 26 bicyclists killed in 2008.

A total of 61 drivers and passengers were killed in New York City car accidents in 2009, down 20 percent from 2008, according to a report issued by the city's Department of Transportation.

"Even one traffic fatality is one too many, but our aggressive efforts to improve traffic safety have produced life-savings results - an all-time record low for fatalities in 2009," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Our goal is very simple: continue making our streets safer for everyone."

Continue reading "New York City pedestrian accidents on the rise, car accidents, bicycle accidents decline" »

New laws aimed at forbidding motorists from using hand-held cell phones or texting while driving may not be reducing car accidents, The Wall Street Journal reported.

As previously reported by our New York City car accident lawyers, New York passed a law in the fall that makes it illegal for drivers to text message, use e-mail or surf the Internet while driving. Drivers face a $150 fine if caught using a cell phone while committing another traffic infraction.

However, a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute, a division of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, looked at claims' data in states, both before and after such bans took effect.

In New York, the group found collision claims decreased compared to other states but that the decrease started before the state's cellphone ban began.

The U.S. Department of Transportation criticized the findings in a statement, saying "It is irresponsible to suggest that laws banning cell phone use while driving have zero effect on the number of crashes on our nation's roadways."

A University of Utah study found that using a cell phone while driving can be as dangerous as driving drunk.

The new study by the Insurance Institute does not show whether drivers were using a cell phone at the time of the accident. But the group contents the reduction in cell phone use is substantial in states that have passed laws. Yet, despite distracted driving being a primary cause of car accidents, an anticipated significant reduction in traffic accidents is not yet apparent.

"It doesn't augur well for any safety payoff from all the new laws that ban phone use and texting while driving," said Insurance Institute President. Adrian Lund."The laws aren't reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use."

The study by the Virgina Tech Transportation Institute found drivers were several times more likely to be involved in an accident while using a cell phone and up to 23 times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident while text messaging.

Continue reading "Cell phone bans may not be reducing New York City car accidents" »

An estimated 1 in 20 cancer patients could be injured by excessive radiation treatments, according to The New York Times. In an exhaustive study published this week, the paper reported half of all such cases locally may never reach a New York City medical malpractice attorney because of chronic underreporting and a lack of oversight.

The Times reported the case of a 43-year-old man treated for tongue cancer at a New York City hospital who received faulty radiation treatment because of a computer error. The hospital error caused his brain and neck to be exposed to errant beams of radiation during three consecutive days of treatment.

New York state health officials have since cautioned hospitals to be extra careful with linear accelerators, the machines that generate the beams of high-energy radiation.

Yet, on the day of the state warning, a New York hospital began the first of 27 days of radiation overdoses on a 32-year-old Brooklyn woman being treated for breast cancer, according to The Times. Each dose the woman received was three times the prescribed amount.

While radiation treatment has enhanced the treatment of many types of cancer, such instances of medical malpractice have been shielded from the public by government, doctors and hospitals.

The average American is receiving far more medical radiation than ever before -- the average lifetime dose of diagnostic radiation treatment has increased sevenfold in the last 30 years.

The Times reviewed thousands of pages of documents in uncovering the dangers of safety rule violations and defective hospital equipment in cases of New York hospital malpractice involving radiation overdoses.

The paper reported no agency is in charge of overseeing medical radiation treatments, accidents are chronically underreported and the true scope of the problem is anyone's guess.

In June, a Philadelphia hospital gave the wrong radiation treatments to 90 patients with prostate cancer; In 2005, a Florida hospital revealed 77 brain cancer patients received 50 percent more radiation than prescribed.

Experts told The Times an estimated 1 in 20 patients will suffer radiation malpractice injuries and half off all such cases go unreported.

The Food and Drug Administration is urging a stronger warning label on Meridia, a popular diet drug, in response to reports of an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, the New York Times reported.

Pharmaceutical companies spend millions developing drugs and millions more promoting them. But the industry has a long history of recalling popular drugs because of dangerous or fatal side effects, including the 2004 Vioxx recall (also because of an increased risk of heart attack and stroke) and Fen-Phen (another popular diet drug recalled because of the potential risk of liver damage).

New York City medical malpractice attorneys are often called upon to help clients who have suffered injury as a result of a drug interaction or other negligence on the part of doctors, hospitals and pharmacies.

In this case, the European Medicines Agency advised doctors and pharmacists to stop prescribing Meridia while the FDA took a less forceful step in response to the study, asking Meridia's maker, Abbott Laboratories, to put a stronger warning on its label.

The new warning will indicate that the drug should not to be used by people who have a history of heart attacks or strokes, or who have uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Abbott said it would comply with the new requirements in the United States and stop selling the drug in Europe. The company said the drug was safe and effective when used in appropriate patients.

"We believe there are many patients who benefit from sibutramine," said Dr. Eugene Sun, vice president for global pharmaceutical research and development at Abbott.

The company's global sales of the class of sibutramine drugs to which Meridia belongs were about $300 million last year.

The study, called the Scout trial, was the first to actually test the long-held presumption that such diet drugs would also help reduce the health risks of obesity, including heart attacks. Some experts said the results actually found an increase in such risks for some high-risk patients, according to the Times.

The results could call into question the safety of other diet drugs and might make it harder for new obesity drugs to win approval. However, others said the issue might be unique to Meridia, which clearly raises blood pressure and heart rate.

Continue reading "Defective medications can increase risk of medical malpractice in New York " »

The federal government passed tough new regulations this week, making it illegal nationwide for commercial bus and truck drivers to text message while driving.

While the New York Injury Lawyer blog reported in November when New York outlawed text messaging by all drivers, the federal ban is important because of the large numbers of out-of-state commercial drivers on state roads.

In 2008, more than 4,000 people were killed by accidents with large trucks in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. In 2007, nearly 14,000 people were injured and 146 people were killed in New York trucking accidents, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Several recent high-profile New York bus accidents also serve as a reminder that school bus drivers and commercial tour buses are also required to obey commercial safety regulations meant to protect the public.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."

Truck and bus drivers who violate the law face fines of up to $2,750.

Drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 of every 6 seconds while texting, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The federal government estimates distracted drivers are 20 times more likely to get into a traffic accidents than drivers who are not distracted.

Continue reading "New York trucking accidents in focus as government bans texting for commercial drivers nationwide" »