December 2011 Archives

The leading suspect in the death of money manager Shele Danishefsky is her estranged husband, Roderick Covlin. But for whatever reason, prosecutors do not have enough evidence to criminally charge him.

However, lacking the evidence to criminally charge Covlin has not stopped the New York County Public Administrator's Office from filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the husband, perhaps stopping him from inheriting half of Danishefsky's multi-million dollar estate, reports the New York Post.

Alisa Speller says that she was pushing her one-year-old daughter in a toy plastic Pathfinder wagon she bought at Toys "R" Us when the wagon came apart, sending the mother and daughter tumbling into the pavement.

After talking to a New York City personal injury lawyer, Speller decided to bring a Toys "R" Us lawsuit, suing the company for negligently assembling her Pathfinder wagon, reports the New York Post.

In a horrible Christmas-day fire, fashion-marketing executive Madonna Badger lost everything but her own life. In the Stamford fire, Badger's three children were killed along with her parents.

Badger and a male companion, contractor Michael Borcina, were the only survivors of the blaze, reports the New York Post. Due to the dangerous condition of the building, fire inspectors have not yet looked into the cause.

On New Year’s Eve back in 2003, firefighter Robert Walsh had a bit too much to drink and got into a firefighter fight with a colleague. The fight involved alcohol, metal chairs, and burly firefighters. Soon, Walsh was on the firehouse floor with “traumatic brain injuries.”

Walsh filed for accidental disability benefits, but he was denied the benefits. A New York Appellate Court agreed. Now, where a NYC employment lawyer won’t help Walsh, a NYC personal injury lawyer may.

It’s the season for joy and opening gifts. No other time of year will people you barely know give you gifts that you really do not want. But even if you are not the buyer, you should still beware.

Many people regift and many people simply give away things they do not want. But these gifts may not only be unwanted, they may also be dangerous. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) provided a list of December recalls you may want to know when deciding what things to keep and throw away.

Brookdale Hospital dangerous? Brownsville, Brooklyn has a reputation for being rough and unsafe, and according to a federal study, its hospital is no different.

In a March survey by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Brookdale Hospital was found to have violated a bevy of health and safety regulations and the violations threaten the hospital’s Medicare and Medicaid funding, reports the New York Daily News.

An elevator accident death was reported at the offices of Young & Rubicam. Suzanne Hart, a 41-year-old sales executive at the advertising firm, stepped onto a waiting elevator and before she was able to fully enter the elevator shot up like a bullet.

With half her body in the elevator, and half her body out, Hart got stuck between the elevator cab and wall and was killed, reports the New York Post.

New York City disc jockey Jonathon Toubin was critically injured while performing a gig in Portland, Oregon. However, Toubin’s injury is not something that a New York City workers’ compensation lawyer will likely handle.

Instead, the popular New York DJ better known as New York Night Train was injured while he was still in bed, when a taxi cab flew through a hotel window and landed on top of him.

Christmas is a season of giving, families, and joy. But if you are not careful, it can also be a time for Christmas lights fire, burnt homes, and ruined lives.

You may have read news reports of dangerous Christmas gifts to avoid buying your kids like products with small pieces that can pose a choking hazard. But in reality, the most dangerous thing you can put into your home may not be anything you can place under your tree, but it can be the tree itself and the old lights with which you decorate your tree, reports ABC.

Just a few months ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed new state law strengthening New York distracted driving laws. Pursuant to the bill, distracted drivers faced enhanced penalties for driving while using handheld devices in an effort to curb the dangerous practice.

However, Governor Cuomo's tough stance on distracted driving may soon get a lot tougher if the Governor follows the advice of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and drafts new law banning the use of all cell phones and smart phones while driving, including the use of hands-free devices, reports CNN.

If a similar story has happened to you, you will definitely want to contact an Manhattan medical malpractice attorney.

For several weeks, Ann Berlin received cancer radiation treatment with the understanding that if the treatment did not work, she may die, reports the New York Post. Six radiation treatments later, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital contacted the 73-year-old woman and said they made a mistake, she didn't have cancer after all. And the radiation treatment she undertook was completely unnecessary.

Now, Berlin is suing St. Luke's for the wrong cancer diagnosis.

Just as civil lawsuits were filed against Jerry Sandusky, civil lawsuits are also being filed against Bernie Fine.

Zach Tomaselli, the third accuser against Fine, indicated that he will file a civil suit against the former Syracuse assistant basketball coach, reports the New York Post.

James Hill took a Brooklyn police beating over Labor Day 2010. Now the victim of the alleged police brutality will take home $450,000 after reaching a settlement with the city.

After claiming to be clubbed by police and kicked in the face, Hill filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Brooklyn police, reports the New York Post. As a result of the beating, Hill says that he suffered substantial injuries, including a fractured jaw. Generally, it is hard to win a police brutality suit against the police, so what allowed Hill to reach such a favorable settlement?

Samira Abuzahrieh allegedly spread lies and gossip that her son-in-law, Mohammad Shoman, could not have kids and had a host of venereal diseases. As a result, the 29-year-old man from Staten Island says he lost his wife and his dignity.

Now he wants millions of dollars.

Shoman says that his mother-in-law was so determined to humiliate him that she went to the Lutheran Medical Center and demanded to see his medical records. After getting hold of the records, she started to spread rumors that the young man was infertile, had leukemia, STDs, and that he would be dead within a month, reports the New York Post.

A Manhattan judge is allowing a personal injury claim to proceed despite arguments from the defense that the case should be dismissed because the elderly blind woman did not see what caused her injuries.

Gloria Clark, an 84-year-old blind woman from Manhattan, was being led on a walk by a dog trainer when she stumbled on what she said was a small step and went flying. The elderly woman landed on her right side and fractured her femur. She needed a full hip replacement, reports the New York Post.

Last March, Hall of Fame Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute after having sex with an underage prostitute. He received only six years probation, reports the New York Post.

Now the victim, Cristina Fierro, and her attorney, Gloria Allred, have filed a civil suit against Taylor claiming $75,000 in damages.