New York Law Blog

Last month in the Chinatown section of New York City, a van that had been left in reverse backed over a sidewalk and struck a group of children in which two of the children were killed and left 11 others injured. The driver of the van did not realize the car was not in park until after the accident had already occurred. Jeffrey Lichtman had this to say about the incident:

This is an unfortunate tragedy which took the lives of two pre-school students from their families.  The driver of the van had double-parked and entered a store in Chinatown, leaving the van running and in reverse gear, thinking it was in park.  The van subsequently hopped the curb killing two pre-school students and injuring 11 others.  Unfortunately, the family members will have limited recourse in the court system due to New York’s antiquated Wrongful Death law.  It is time for Albany to act.  The law must be changed.

Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman: Don’t settle for less!

While working on a construction site at 11 Times Square, Jaos Pires was buried from the waist down when a 100 year old underground wall collapsed around him. An employee of Roadway Contracting which was being used by the overall contractor Plaza Construction, Mr. Pires was freed from the debris and taken to Bellevue hospital where he underwent surgery to repair the damage to his legs. 28 violations have been issued at this particular construction site by the Buildings Department. From senior partner Jeffrey Lichtman:

Unfortunately, in my line of work, one becomes accustomed to construction horror stories like this collapse in Times Square.  Over the years I have seen countless incidents where serious injuries and death’s have occurred from a failure to adhere to safety regulations. Plaza Construction, the employer of Jaos Pires, received 28 violations prior to the collapse. This is yet another example of contractors failing to maintain a safe work environment for their employees.

Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman: Don’t Settle For Less

Yet another fatal construction accident took place in New York City this month as a building maintenance worker fell 30 feet from a ceiling he was repairing on Third Avenue in Midtown. The worker fell from a loading dock lift and proceeded to strike his head on a garbage compactor below. According to a friend of the worker, the man was simply reaching for a light switch when he fell, and the friend classified the incident as a “freak accident”. But in reality, do freak accidents really exist? Even a benign accident of this nature could mean that safety codes were not taken into consideration in the area of the accident. Jeffery Lichtman, senior partner at Trolman, Glaser, and Lichtman, weighs in on the nature of such accidents:

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.

From the investigations thus far, it is unclear exactly who was at fault here, but given my own experience with these kinds of accidents, it is typically due to a failure to adhere to the mandates of the labor law of the state of New York.