Monthly Archives: November 2011

Desperate Housewife sued by injured restaurant patron

Eva Longoria is known as the fashionable and very feisty one of the female bunch on the hit television series “Desperate Housewives.” Most of her character’s investments in the show are made by her husband, but in reality, the star has made several investments of her own including opening a fine dining restaurant called Beso – the Spanish word for kiss.

The restaurant has not been kissed with the success that the star had hoped for, however. The restaurant first hit financial troubles after suffering losses of about $76,000 per month forcing the restaurant to file for bankruptcy. Now, a slip and falllawsuit names the restaurant and Eva Longoria as defendants and claiming over $25,000 in damages suffered as a result of the accident. Continue reading

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Risk of bacterial infection prompts tampon recall

New York personal injury attorneys familiar with product liability cases took note recently that certain types of Kotex tampons have been recalled as an “unsafe product” because there may be danger to users from bacteria that may be contained in some of the plastic tubing used for packaging the tampons.

Persons with compromised health and immune system problems — such as HIV positive women — may be at higher risk of a dangerous infection from using those tampons. The recall clearly illustrates the efforts of Kimberly-Clark to mitigate possible repercussions from that product defect. Continue reading

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New York injury cloud looms dark over shoppers on Black Friday

New York shoppers remember Black Friday for more than just great deals and huge discounts on clothes, electronics, toys and jewelry. Shoppers remember a Long Island stampede that injured several patrons and employees and left one employee dead and caused a pregnant woman’s miscarriage. The Wal-Mart stampede was not the only serious injury or fatality in Black Friday’s history. The day is known as one of the best savings days, but in terms of premises liability, one of the most dangerous shopping days.

The number of people out for door buster deals can be extremely dangerous and stores have been accused of not taking adequate precautions to prevent deadly stampedes. The 2008 Wal-Mart stampede occurred when 2,000 people tried to force themselves through the door. The only thing that the store operators did was organize a human chain they hoped would slow thousands of people pressing against the few employees. Continue reading

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Chantix may increase risk of suicide in New York smokers trying to quit

Giving up cigarette smoking is one of the hardest things a person can do. Smokers will try just about anything that may help them break the nicotine addiction, but only 3 percent manage to quit for six months or more. Unfortunately, one smoking cessation aid may be more harmful to a smoker’s health than smoking, and some New York physicians have suggested that a  cessation pharmaceutical may be adangerous product.

One research study has shown that the smoking cessation drug Chantix raises the risk of suicide and depression eight times higher than products such as the nicotine patch. Researchers recommended that smokers only try Chantix when it is clear that other treatments had failed. Even then, only 10 percent of smokers who take Chantix quit smoking for at least a year. Continue reading

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Charity may have been on notice about Sandusky sexual allegations

When a supervisor of children abuses his power to coerce or force them into performing illicit acts, the individual will have to answer to criminal charges levied against him. Charges for intentional criminal acts are certainly for the one who commits them, but what about those who negligently allow the acts to go on? Should they be required to prevent possible victims once they become aware of an injury risk?

The Sandusky criminal investigation into sexual allegations of abuse against young children has brought civil focus on the charity foundation that the former football coach founded in 1997. Some experts say that the charity could be held responsible for negligence in allowing Sandusky to continue to work with the children at the charity after having allegedly been notified twice about the possibility the sexual allegations. Continue reading

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Construction workers injured, one dies in Brooklyn building collapse

On Tuesday morning construction workers arrived at their Brooklyn job site as usual. They set up their gear and began construction on the 14-unit condominium in Brighton Beach. As the day wore on, the workers were unaware of the structural problems lying in wait and increasing in danger. The building finally gave out at 2:30 in the afternoon, collapsing on top of the group of workers.

Firefighters were immediately called to the scene to rescue the men from the debris, including corrugated metal and freshly poured concrete that fell on top of them. Firefighters were able to rescue the four trapped workers, but they later learned that the collapse had turned into a fatal workplace accident when medical doctors pronounced the death of one of the men. Continue reading

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Pharmaceutical settlement shows how great injury costs can be

A recent agreement made by GlaxoSmithKline illustrates the depth of damages that can arise from personal injury lawsuits over defective products and failure to warn consumers. According to the New York Times, this agreement stipulates that the company will pay $3 billion to settle allegations of illegal drug marketing and fraud against Medicaid.

This is the largest pharmaceutical settlement to date, breaking previous records of $2.3 billion and $1.4 million settlements. The product that was the focus of this lawsuit is the drug Avandia and the company’s methods of marketing it to doctors. Also under legal scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department were the company’s alleged manipulation of research. Continue reading

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New York bus accident risk increases with interstate curbside operations

In our last post, we discussed the statistical conclusion — based on accident data and inspection violations – that curbside buses are the riskier option for interstate travelers in New York and across the country. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the fatal bus accident rate for curbside operators was 1.4 percent for the period between 2005 and this past March when the New York accident taking 15 lives occurred.

The 1.4 percent statistic may not seem like a particularly large number, but when compared to the 0.2 percent fatal accident rate for conventional bus operators the number seems a lot bigger. When you realize that it is your life that is being gambled, that fatality rate may seem even greater. But why is there such a discrepancy between traditional buses and curbside operations? Continue reading

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Cheap New York travel fares may save money but cost you your life

Money saving is on the minds of many New Yorkers these days as families find that the flow of money is not as swift as it may have been 10 years ago. Online sites and companies that offer deals on discount travel are becoming vastly popular when people still want to travel, but cannot do so at a high cost.

The curbside bus industry is one of those operations that offer incredibly low fares for interstate travel, but some safety experts say that it may cost you your life. According to a National Transportation Safety Board study, the curbside operations have a much higher fatal bus accident rate and violate a much larger number of safety violations. Continue reading

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