According to recent reports, motorcyclist Miguel Mercado was killed after being thrown from his motorcycle and struck by an oncoming vehicle on the Henry Hudson Parkway. One source, citing police reports, reported: Miguel Mercado, 44, of The Bronx, was traveling southbound in the left-hand lane about 9 p.m. Saturday when he hit the highway’s center…
Read More Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Henry Hudson ParkwayA recent First Department decision, Kim v. Harry Hanson, Inc., illustrates the effectiveness – or, in this case, the lack thereof – of a release in a personal injury case that purports to limit an alleged tortfeasor’s liability. In Kim, Plaintiff sustained injuries while engaged in a personal training program, under a trainer’s supervision and instruction,…
Read More Release Does Not Bar Personal Injury Case Against GymNew York City can be a dangerous place. Consider, for example, a recent case in which an expert testified that it was “common knowledge that mattresses left in the public areas of multiple dwellings are often set on fire”. There is a good way to set a bed on fire, and a bad way. This…
Read More Burning Mattress Personal Injury Case ContinuesIf you’re like me, the thought of (non-online) shopping on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving (i.e, not that one, or that one, or that one) – or Thanksgiving Day itself (really?!?) ranks somewhere on the “fun” scale between a colonoscopy and being trapped on an elevator in a burning building with [insert annoying…
Read More Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t Get TrampledHere is the lawsuit, recently filed by Georgina Spence, against Insomnia Cookies and its deliveryman Keith Moody. The suit alleges, inter alia: That on November 3, 2014 plaintiff Georgina Spence was violently contacted by defendant’s employee Keith Moody without cause, provocation or justification while in the course of his employment as an employee of defendant Insomnia…
Read More $10M Lawsuit Against Insomnia Cookies for Alleged Attack by DeliverymanIn a “typical” car accident case – i.e., one involving a collision of two cars driven by private operators – the issue is whether one of the drivers (the defendant) was “negligent”. However, as illustrated by the Court of Appeals case of Frezzell v. City of New York (decided 11/20/14) in a case where the defendant…
Read More Court of Appeals Explains the “Privilege” Enjoyed by Emergency Vehicle Drivers in Personal Injury CasesIn James v. Terrace Tavern, LLC, an upstate trial court dismissed plaintiff’s Dram Shop Act and negligence claims against defendant bar. In November 2011, Defendant Robert McKenzie shot plaintiff Donovan James. Prior to the shooting, McKenzie was sitting in defendant’s bar. Plaintiff sued under, inter alia, the Dram Shop Act, codified at General Obligations Law §…
Read More Court Dismisses Dram Shop Act and Negligence Claims in “Bar Shooting” Personal Injury CaseWinter is coming. For New Yorkers who commute on NYC subways, that means increased chances of slipping and falling on snow and ice. However, slips and falls on snow and ice don’t always give rise to liability. One example of a failed snow/ice case is Clement v. The New York City Transit Authority, decided November 13,…
Read More “Storm in Progress” Defense Kills Slip-and-Fall LawsuitWhile many personal injury cases involve various factual issues (particularly relating to the often-contested issue of negligence) that require resolution by the trier of fact, some contain issues that may be resolved as a matter of law. One example is the so-called “pedestrian knockdown” case in which a pedestrian is struck while lawfully crossing the street…
Read More Plaintiff Entitled to Summary Judgment in Pedestrian-Knockdown CaseIn Blanco v. NBC Trust No. 1996A, a construction accident personal injury case, the Appellate Division, First Department held that plaintiff was entitled to partial summary judgment on the issue of liability under Labor Law 240(1) claim. In finding for plaintiff, the court held: Dismissal of the Labor Law § 240(1) claim was improper in this…
Read More Plaintiff Electrician Entitled to Summary Judgment in Ladder Fall Case