A construction contractor in Middletown, New York has constructed a helipad adjacent to the New York State police station in Monroe. The new helipad will allow accident victims from the area to be transported to trauma centers in a more efficient fashion.

David Tilton, a vice president of Eastern States Construction of Valley Cottage, called the work a gesture of gratitude for being allowed to store equipment beside the barracks during the 18-month-long bridge project. Monroe town officials had broached the idea, he said.

The pad took about a week to build and was done by early November. It measures 60 feet by 60 feet, the minimum size recommended for daytime helicopter landings, according to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.

Westchester Medical, a top-level trauma center for the Hudson Valley, is the hospital that often dispatches helicopters to Orange County to collect seriously injured accident victims and other trauma patients. Its two-chopper squad is known as STAT Flight (STAT stands for stabilization, treatment and transportation).

Until now, helicopters have found various fields and parking lots on which to land in the Monroe area, using the formerly unpaved patch of land beside the state police barracks only in a pinch.

Posted in: Car Accident, New York Police, automobile accident | Comments(0)

The Hempstead Turnpike in Long Island, New York was rated recently the deadliest road in the New York area for pedestrians. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign gathered data on pedestrian accidents in the area over a three year time period and found that particular road to be the worst.

"They’re really just building roads to move cars as fast as possible through intersections, which creates a really hostile environment for pedestrians," said Lynch, who encouraged state transportation officials to "embrace more ideas that protect pedestrians and cyclists." Most of the 15 deaths on Hempstead Turnpike during the study period were in Elmont, Franklin Square and Hempstead.

In New York City, Third Avenue and Broadway had the most fatalities - 10. Fatalities along Queens Boulevard, once dubbed the "Boulevard of Death," dropped to five between 2005 and 2007. A dozen pedestrians were killed on Suffolk’s portion of Sunrise Highway and seven on Nassau’s section during the same period.

Between 2005 and 2007, 184 pedestrians died on Long Island roads, according to the study.

Posted in: Pedestrian Accident | Comments(0)

A New York toddler was killed in a deer hunting accident recently by a hunter violating state laws. The charge of second-degree manslaughter was brought upon hunter Edward Taibi after he fired a rifle too close to the child’s Swan Lake home.

The rifle season for deer opened Saturday in the region that includes Sullivan County. Under state law, it’s illegal to discharge a firearm or bow within 500 feet of any occupied residence or business unless the hunter owns or leases the property, or has the owner’s consent, according to Maureen Wren of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Posted in: New York State, hunting accident | Comments(0)

Are you familiar with the laws regarding accidents in New York City subway stations? NewYorkInjuryNews.com talks about the liability placed on the train conductor and the transit authority. The way the law is written, it is hard for the conductors and transit authority to be held liable should an accident occur in the station.

[I]n an emergency when a person falls onto the subway tracks, the conductor of an approaching train must avoid striking that person if the conditions allow.  For example, in Stanley v. New York City Transit Authority, 45 A.D.3d 832, 847 N.Y.S.2d 111 (1st Dep’t 2007), the plaintiff became ill while on the platform, passed out, and fell onto the tracks, where he was struck by an oncoming train.  The Transit Authority moved to have his case dismissed based on the train conductor’s testimony that he took emergency measures but was not able to stop the train in time to avoid the accident.  Although the trial court granted the motion, the Appellate Division reversed that decision, ruling that it was for a jury to decide, based on the location of the train when the plaintiff fell onto the tracks, whether the conductor could have stopped the train in time to avoid hitting him.  Thus, the plaintiff was allowed to present his case against the Transit Authority to trial.

Posted in: Accident Lawsuit, Subway Accident, transportation accident | Comments(0)

An accidental fire in Chelsea’s Fulton housing project in New York City left five people dead and a 10 year old boy injured after they could not escape the apartment fire. Some say the fire was an accident, but the fire marshal is claiming it was a result of kids playing with matches.

Firefighters said the blaze started around 6:30 a.m. before spreading to the living room and hallway, blocking the only exit out of the seventh-floor unit. A neighbor in the apartment building at 401 W. 18th St., at Ninth Ave., called 911, and firefighters soon arrived on the scene. They found the father, 40-year-old Maschay Joa Valdez, with his 15-month-old daughter, Ruth Joa Balbuena, and his 10-year-old-son, Gonzan Joa Balbuena, crouched under bunk beds in a back bedroom of the unit. Firefighters found the mother, Delkis Balbuena, 34, and 8-year-old daughter, Nanncy Joa Balbuena, in a bathtub filled with water. Her 3-year-old daughter, Bet-el Joa Balbuena, was found under the sink. The 10-year-old is currently in critical condition at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

Firefighters advise you in the event of a fire, don’t retreat to a bathroom, where the windows are small or nonexistent and your chances of escape are very slim.

Posted in: new york fire | Comments(0)

That’s the question that the New York Law Blog asks. Recently a building maintenance worker fell 30 feet to his death after simply reaching for a light switch at the job site. What relatives are calling a “freak accident”, lawyer Jeffery Lichtman says these types of accidents could be avoided if the proper safety precautions are followed:

As shocking as a story like this may initially appear to be, the reality is that these kinds of "freak accidents" occur in our city quite frequently. The simple fact that this building maintenance worker was inside a loading dock area and was able to fall out while reaching for a light is indicative of improper safety regulations.

Posted in: Accident Tips, Building Accident | Comments(0)

A tragic accident that left a man dead after being tasered by NYPD has seen another victim. Lieutenant Michael Pigott, who gave the order to taser the man who was standing on a window ledge a few stories up and uncooporative, committed suicide after being unable to deal with the incident.

The lieutenant, who had been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty in another unit after the Taser incident, killed himself with a single shot to the head from a 9-millimeter Glock handgun taken from another officer’s locker at Floyd Bennett Field, a former airfield in Brooklyn where several police divisions are located, officials said.

The lieutenant’s body and a suicide note, alongside pictures of his children, were found about 6 a.m. The text of the note was not disclosed, but a law enforcement official said the lieutenant may have believed that he might face charges in an inquiry and did not want to bring disgrace upon his family.

Posted in: New York City, New York Police | Comments(0)

A Broadway actor who was recently injured on a Manhattan stage when he fell from a trap door 30 feet to the stage below as filed a lawsuit against Disney. Adrian Bailey, who was a performer in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”, suffered multiple injuries and has now  petitioned to preserve the scenery from which he fell as evidence.

Bailey, 51, suffered a broken back, a shattered pelvis, a fractured sternum, multiple broken ribs, a fractured foot and broken wrists that have already been operated on four times, Manus said.

Baily is currently still in intensive care, but thankfully he is still alive after the nasty fall.

Posted in: Accident Lawsuit, Manhattan, New York City | Comments(0)

The New York Law Blog has even more information regarding the Staten Island Ferry accident and how the accident happened:

The city was held responsible for the accident because there was a breach of protocol in the wheelhouse of the ferry: two captains are supposed to be present at all times and at the time of the accident only one was. Two men being held responsible for the accident are serving prison time after pleading guilty to negligent manslaughter.

James McMillian has been awarded $18.3 million by New York City courts in the aftermath of the accident.

Posted in: Accident Lawsuit, New York City | Comments(0)

Another victim of the Staten Island Ferry accident from 2003 has won a settlement against the city for his injuries. James McMillan was paralyzed after the ferry accident and has won the highest settlement of all of the accident victims at $22.9 million.

A federal judge found the city negligent in the crash of the Andrew J. Barberi ferry into a pier after a pilot passed out at the wheel.

McMillan - who requires around-the-clock medical care - was the first victim to take his case to trial for money damages.

Weinstein is expected to decide the final figure next week, but if the city appeals it could be years before the former Fulton Fish Market employee gets a cent for his pain, suffering and medical bills.

Posted in: Water Accident, transportation accident | Comments(0)