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Just last month 38 year old Robert Loja was awarded an $11.2 million dollar verdict stemming from an on the job accident he suffered in October of 2008.
On that fateful day, Loja was doing work for his employer Sleepy Hollow Landscaping. He was parked in the street unloading a trailer when he was struck by a car. The driver, 26 year old Eileen Lavelle, claimed to be blinded by sun glare. Lavelle drove through a warning cone in the street and a “men working” sign before striking Loja. Robert Loja lost his left leg in the accident and his right leg was severely mangled.
The jury found the landscaping company 60% liable for the accident. They believed that the company should not have directed Loja to park in the street and that the warning sign was not big enough. Loja himself was found 30% liable for the accident for parking the truck in the street. The jury believed Loja could have parked elsewhere. Ms. Lavelle and her mother who was the owner of the car were found to be 10% liable. Other drivers at the trial testified to almost hitting the truck themselves.
While Loja will probably never see the full settlement amount, he will get some compensation. His attorney must meet with the Lavelle's to work out a payment that they can afford. Their insurance will only pay $50,000 of the over one million the Lavelle's technically owe. Loja can only collect from his former employer once he has received payment from the Lavelle's.
A 41-year-old woman was killed in a tragic accident at work in Manhattan on Wednesday, December 14th, 2010, as she entered the elevator at Y&M’s 285 Madison Avenue building. Reports say that she had just taken a step into the elevator when it inexplicably moved upward and pinned her between floors; officials pronounced Hart dead at the scene. Witnesses say that the door was still open when the elevator started to ascend. Two other people remained trapped in the same elevator for an hour after witnessing the accident, and the body was not removed until about 10 hours after the incident.
The death of Suzanne Hart left friends, family, and coworkers reeling, and employees of Y&M were advised to instead work from home the following day. Although the Department of Buildings has records showing 14 elevator violations for the building, none of those violations were reportedly dangerous. A 2011 inspection of the elevator in this incident did not reveal any potentially hazardous violations, and it was not yet known at the time of this report what exactly caused the issue that led to this terrible accident.
As New York workers’ compensation lawyers, we have seen the aftermath of more than a few workplace accidents, and we know that elevator accidents in New York are not all that uncommon. It is so thankfully rare, however, that we see tragic, fatal elevator accidents like this one, and we were shocked and saddened to hear the news. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Suzanne Hart in this difficult time.
Thanks in part to new safety laws and tougher enforcement of existing safety codes, construction-related accidents were down 18% in New York in 2011. Building Commissioner Robert LiMandri announced the statistics at the end of January along with a variety of other impressive safety statistics for the NY construction industry.
For the first time in 40 years, the NYS construction codes were revised in 2008. They established 25 safety laws, from banning smoking on all construction sites to uniform inspections of sprinkler systems. The results of these safety codes are being seen with decreases in death and injuries on construction sites.
Some of the most notable statistics:
A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) looked at the prevalence of sleep disorders among police officers in North America. The study included approximately 5000 officers in the US and Canada, who were surveyed over the course of 2 years. It is considered to be among the largest studies ever conducted to screen for sleep disorders in the workforce.
The study found sleep disorders to be fairly common among officers, with around 40% of the officers in the study reporting sleep disorders. The study additionally found that officers with sleep disorders were probably at greater risk for related health complications and safety risks, such as on-the-job injuries, attention lapses, and vehicle accidents. The authors of the study stated that:
"It has been hypothesized that fatigue - likely due to reduced duration and quality of sleep and untreated sleep disorders - may play an important role in police officer unintentional injuries and fatalities. To date, the effect of sleep disorders on police officer health, safety, and performance has not been systematically investigated."
Many have pointed to changing shifts as one cause of fatigue at work for officers. Accordingly, shift workers should take note, as "shift work disorder" is a common work-related sleep disorder in New York for many professions.
The Bronx workers' compensation lawyers with Markhoff & Mittman have been serving injured and disabled workers in New York since 1933. If you need assistance after a work-related injury in White Plains, or if you are looking for the next step after a Social Security disability application has been denied, please don't hesitate to contact us to talk about your situation.
Several instances of workplace violence in New York and elsewhere in the United States have many people wondering why it happens and how to prevent the on-the-job injuries and fatalities that are suffered as a result. Dr. Larry Barton, who works with the FBI Academy to teach threat assessment, says that workplace violence is a widespread problem that claims the lives of two workers each day on average.
“The vast majority – over 71 percent of the people I’ve studied over the years – communicate in advance. They tell a coworker or supervisor either some type of suicidal or homicidal ideations. It could be in a blog, in a meeting, it could be to a union rep. It’s typically signaled in advance.”
In what is being described as one of the most horrific days of unrelated transit deaths, four men were killed on Saturday, January 21 in the NY city area.
Around 2am on Saturday, a man believed to be in his 60's was found unconscious near the Elmhurst Ave Station at Broadway in Queens. It is believed that he slipped and fell down the stairs, hitting his head. He had been bleeding from the mouth and was immediately transported to Elmhurst Hospital Center where he later died.
Brian O'Mara, a 22 year old man from Long Island was struck by a train in a tunnel near the 14th street station of the L train. It is unclear why the man was wandering through the tunnels between stations, but friends reported being out with him the night before. Mr. O'Mara did not survive the 8:30am accident.
Later that same afternoon in Brooklyn, an unknown man was struck and killed by a train. The 4:30pm accident happened on Fulton St. near the Nostrand Ave Station. It is reported that people fall onto the tracks about twice a week but are able to get out of the way of oncoming trains.
Completing this day of unimaginable coincidental deaths, a man’s head was wedged between a train and the platform at 10pm. Straphangers working in the subway station discovered the man at the 6th Avenue subway station. Information regarding how the man’s head could have gotten stuck was not available at press time.
Fire broke out in the early morning hours of Friday, January 20th in a multi-unit corner home at 49 Windle Park in Tarrytown. One of the residents was alerted to the fire and called 911. All of the residents of the large house escaped without injury. A toddler was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but no further treatment was sought by the youngster's family.
It is believed that the fire started on the rear porch of the one of the second floor apartments. Firefighters were on the scene shortly after 6:00 am and according to the fire chief they were able to knock the fire down quickly. Onlookers could see firefighters wrapping up their hoses and heading out by 8:30am. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Red Cross was on the scene and meeting with the displaced residents by 9:00am. There were four apartments in the house and residents of three of the four apartments were assisted by the Red Cross with emergency funds immediately. While the Red Cross reports not having spoken to the fourth family yet, they are available for assistance. Some of the residents are staying with family and friends while the Red Cross assisted others with emergency shelter. Residents are not being allowed back into the burned house.
A young firefighter was injured while fighting the fire when a portion of the ceiling collapsed on him. Robert Hoyt Jr. was taken to Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow where he was treated for his injuries. Chief John McGee reported that Hoyt is expected to recover.
A New York worker died after suffering an accidental overdose of medication taken to deal with the pain of a work-related accident and now the New York Workers Compensation Board has decided the overdose accident can be compensable.
The worker was taking the prescription drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone for a work-related back injury. At the same time, he had prescribed Xanax. The worker died suddenly and his son filed for death benefits. Neighbors of the worker reported he complained about the pain stemming from his work-related injury and had scheduled a visit to the doctor.
The Workers Compensation Board agreed medication was a contributing factor to his death and the cause for death was listed on the man’s death certificate as cardiac arrhythmia. During the autopsy, the forensic pathologist confirmed the three medications caused the workers death. He also said the oxycodone was injected into the arm of the worker so the concentration level of the drug in the body was much higher. The Workers Compensation Board also ruled that the method for the worker taking the medication was not relevant.
The move by the Worker’s Compensation Board has made it possible for accidental overdoses by injured workers to be compensated for their death.
A cruise ship crashed into rocks off the coast of Italy this week, stranding thousands and leaving passengers dead and missing. The captain of the Costa Concordia was cited for the accident and is presently under house arrest.
Reports show Captain Francesco Schettino tried to abandon his ship before all passengers were offloaded into lifeboats. The captain changed his story to an unfortunate accident when defending his boarding a lifeboat. He said the ship shifted and he fell into the lifeboat. The Italian Coast Guard has been heard on recordings demanding the captain return to the ship. Public outcry is making headlines for the apparent carelessness and irresponsibility the captain of the cruise ship showed at the time of the accident.
Investigation into the cruise ship crash is still on-going but it is suspected the captain navigated the ship off course and crashed into rocks below, causing the ship to start taking in water and lull to one side. As thousands of passengers scrambled off the ship, the captain was shown to lack the leadership skills to lead the passengers to safety.
The boat’s skipper was questioned by investigators and apparently admitted to taking the ship off course to ‘salute a former colleague’ according to the Washington Post. This human error on the job proved to have fatal consequences.
Family members of the missing are still holding out some home for their loved ones but search and rescue teams have had many obstacles including weather and have suspended searches several times.
The President of Burt’s Reliable Fuel Co, John Romanelli, died at Stony Brook University Medical Center after being injured at his business. Romanelli, 47, was badly burned in late December after a fuel fire erupted.
A fuel hose connected to a bio-diesel fuel truck broke, spraying the heat source Romanelli was using at the time on his Southold property. He suffered serious burns on his body and was airlifted to Stony Brook Medical Center where he died several days after the accident.
Those on the site say it was a freak accident and without the work by firefighters and those on the scene, the fire could have been much worse. Reports state that no structural damage occurred to any of the buildings on the company’s property. Though he remained in critical condition for several days following the accident, Romanelli died due to extensive injuries sustained in the fire despite the efforts of hospital staff.
Romanelli was a former Southold Town councilman and his viewing and funeral was attended by hundreds in the community.
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