Recently in Negligence / Other Torts Category

A New York Mets fan is suing the baseball team, Major League Baseball and the player whose bat shattered and hit him, according to an Associated Press article republished by Sports Illustrated. The bat in question was made from maple, which has been a subject of debate because of the wood's propensity to shatter upon impact.

Plaintiff James Falzon suffered numerous facial fractures when the shattered maple bat of Mets player Luis Castillo flew into his face during a 2007 game at Shea Stadium, according to the suit filed in Manhattan. He said his 11-year-old son was traumatized by the incident.

Pet sitting agency Doggie Love in Queens has been sued for $1 million after a New York couple returned from a trip to find their pet French bulldog, Percy, dead on their apartment floor, according to CBS News. The incident happened in July 2009, according to court documents cited in the article.

While $1 million is quite a lot of money for the loss of a pet, most dog owners would understand their response to the tragedy. With the help of their New York personal injury lawyer, the couple expressed the impact of their loss in their negligence complaint:

"The emptiness that has been left by Percy's death and the anguish we suffered has not and will never be filled or go away."

The New York Post reported on a $5 million lawsuit filed by 16-year-old Rebecca Sacerio against the state's Department of Education for an injury to her finger sustained during softball practice. The incident took place on May 2, 2009. 

The Brooklyn girl claims her Lincoln High School softball coach told her to "take it like a man" after she reported her finger injury. Although her right index finger was broken in three places, she took her coach's advice and completed the five-hour training session.

But now, if the girl's New York personal injury lawyer prevails, it looks like the coach is the one who will have to "take it like a man." 

New York City officials said they weren't sure if Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering in Harlem had obtained permission slips for a field trip that ended in tragedy, The New York Times reported. A 12-year-old student, Nicole Suriel, drowned off an unpatrolled beach after she was carried out to sea by a rip current.

The deceased girl's father, Juan Suriel, said neither he nor his wife signed a permission slip for the trip. Although the school may be possibly liable for Nicole Suriel's death, it's not clear whether or not grieving dad Juan Suriel has retained the services of a New York personal injury attorney.

As we blogged about earlier, a tentative settlement for WTC workers who responded to the terrorist attacks in New York on Sept. 11, 2001 was reached, estimated at between $625 million and $712.5 million.

A recent "fairness hearing" in a New York courtroom allowed both supporters and critics to comment on the proposal, according to the Associated Press. One of the speakers was retired New York Police Dept. Detective Joseph Greco, who told a judge the settlement would help ease financial difficulties caused by 9/11-related illnesses:

"Our families have been through so much. This can't go on anymore." 

New York personal injury lawyers are remembering the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash, which killed 11 people.

The crash happened when the pilot of the ferry had fallen asleep at the helm. He had been taking painkillers at the time and was alone in the cabin. As a result of the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash, the city of New York became party to over one hundred lawsuits and legal battles that changed the application of maritime law, as well as the way New York injury lawyers practice ferry-crash cases.

Bad buttocks augmentations are back in the news. While this is not the first time we have heard of bad plastic surgeries, this story is particularly shocking. This tale of spa negligence has once again gained notoriety for New York personal injury attorneys, because the spa owner is being charged with assault and unlawful practice of medicine after she nearly killed a woman while giving her a butt augmentation.

Barbara Nieto was charged on Friday after nearly killing a customer, Augusta Velez, subsequent to a butt augmentation that went terribly wrong.

This incident took place at Barbara Nieto's spa located in Corona, Queens. The spa, Barbara Nieto's Perfect Image Stethics offered butt augmentation by taking fat from the stomach and having it injected into the buttocks area.  

So, Sandra Bullock is getting a divorce from Jesse James.

Why are we not surprised? And what does this have to do with New York personal injury attorneys or tort law, for that matter?

The act of infidelity leads to tort claims in some states. The tort action is called "alienation of affection." Or course such a law, if it was still applicable in New York, would have wreaked havoc on New York injury lawyers.

Or it would have given them their bread and butter for life.

A "mystery man" jumped into the icy East River on Saturday and helped save a two year old girl from drowning. 

Then, he disappeared into the horizon; like Batman. Well not quite. Mystery Man didn't disappear in the Batmobile. Nor did he vanish into the night. He climbed out of the river, got in a cab, and drove off.

And in light of the heroism, New York injury lawyers can't help but ask: What are the "Good Samaritan" laws in New York?

Sell replica Tiffany's jewelry online, but don't pretend it's real. That's the wisdom handed out by the court in the Tiffany v. eBay lawsuit.

Although the Tiffany's lawsuit was not a personal injury lawsuit, New York personal injury attorneys might find the ruling on this case of great interest, given that the judge did allow Tiffany's to pursue their fraud claim.

The case was originally a trademark infringement case, whereby Tiffany's argued that eBay had violated the Tiffany's trademark by allowing online sellers to sell fake Tiffany's items. But the trademark argument didn't fly for the famed New York based jeweler. The judge in the case ruled that eBay was not responsible to monitor their site to prevent the sale of counterfeit Tiffany's jewelry. This was in direct conflict to a French court ruling last month, where eBay had to pay $61 million dollars to Louis Vuitton for allowing the sale of Louis Vuitton knockoffs on the online auction site.