Staten Island Injury Law : New York Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Frank Dito : Decker, Decker, Dito & Internicola Law Firm : Traffic Accidents, Transportation Safety

A tragic car crash early Sunday morning took the lives of 19 year old Daniel Peluso of Great Kills and 20 year old Jeffrey Capretta of Woodrow and injured 4 others. Apparently, a Nissan Altima owned by Peluso was being driven by one of the car''s occupants at the time of the accident. The 6, of which only 2 were of the legal drinking age, were coming from the Clubhouse Lounge, a bar on Arthur Kill Road. The car, estimated to be going almost 90 m.p.h., fishtailed and wrapped around a utility pole, ejecting two people from the car.

I can't imagine losing a child and the pain that their families are going through right now is unbearable. My condolences go out to the Peluso and Capretta families in their time of mourning. I hope that the other occupants of the car are not seriously injured and recover quickly, although the mental pain and anguish that they have suffered will most likely never go away.

For those of you that are reading this blog post, please always wear your seat belts, wherever you are sitting in a car. Its not known if seat belt use could have prevented the tragedy that occurred that night but statistics have shown that seat belts save lives; its not open for argument anymore. Don't drink and drive and don't get into a car driven by anyone who has been drinking. It is yours or your child's life that can be at risk. Make sure that they know the dangers. I am not naive enough to believe that we can stop underage drinking but we can make sure that our children know the consequences.

Our children need to be made aware of what can happen when driving a car, without the tragic examples that have become all too common on Staten Island. Speeding, drinking while driving, running red lights and other reckless behavior seems to be an all too common occurrence on Staten Island. Please speak to your children about driving. The conversation that you have with them just may save a life. Do it today before its too late.

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A record $677 million verdict against a California nursing home has shaken the "industry" to its core. The verdict was the result of a class action lawsuit representing 32,000 patients against Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., the corporate owner of 22 nursing homes throughout the State of California. The testimony of Cindy Cool, the daughter of one of the nursing home's patients, was believed to be key to the jury's unprecedented verdict. Ms. Cool testified that it would take upwards of 20 minutes after she called for someone to come and help her to change her father, an Alzheimer's victim, who was wearing urine soaked clothes. Other patients fared much worse, Ms. Cool said.

The verdict has revived calls for tort-reform as another example of "litigation abuse." The calls for tort reform don't show any concern for "patient abuse", or provide a way to stop it.  Unfortunately, healthcare stopped being "health care" a long time ago and has now become big business. Once Wall Street fell in love with nursing homes in the early part of this decade and snatched up their stocks, companies are no longer concerned about the care provided to patients. They must now make sure that their stock price stays high by keeping their bottom line acceptable to Wall Street, at the cost of patient care.

The lawsuit accused Skilled Healthcare of failing to provide a minimum of 3.2 nursing hours per day per patient at their facilities, as required by California law. The 3.2 hour standard should have been easy to meet as federal law requires a minimum of 4.1 nursing hours per day per patient. But still, Skilled Healthcare chose not to meet the California standard. If they could not sustain the minimum hours, they should have refused to accept any more patients or simply hire more nurses. Instead, the company's CEO believes that its nursing homes are appropriately staffed. Those that decry the jury system provide no alternative means to force change upon those that choose not to follow the law. They ask for "caps" on awards, judge trials and reduction in the time that people have to sue but provide no means or mechanism to force companies like Skilled Healthcare to comply with state or federal law. But for this lawsuit, would Skilled Healthcare have changed their standards and hired more skilled staff? As has been demonstrated throughout our history, consumer's bring about real change only when economics forces companies to do so.

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The recent accident involving a 4-year old Arden Heights boy underscores the need for back-up cameras to become standard equipment in all cars, especially SUVs.  The website, KidsandCars.org, reported that as many as 62 children could sit on the ground behind some SUVs without being seen by the driver in the rearview mirrors. Most of these "backover" accidents, in which a car backing up strikes a person behind the car, happen in the one place where you would least expect them - in your driveway. At least 100 children are killed each year in driveway backover accidents and another 2,400 are seriously injured the same way.

The blind zones behind new cars and SUV's are shocking. A blind zone is the distance behind the vehicle until the driver can actually see the ground. Consumer reports measured the blind zone (pdf) of a Jeep Commander as an incredible 69 feet! Other SUV's and pickup trucks ranged from 13 feet to 35 feet. These distances are sometimes longer than the driveway the cars are parked in. The good news is that the installation of a backup camera virtually eliminates the blind zone behind the car.

Too often, a back up camera is included as part of a more expensive equipment package that makes a vehicle too costly to afford for many people. However, with the passage of the Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007, vehicle manufacturers are required to be in compliance with federal rearward visibility standards. Although no technology is mandated to be in compliance with the standards, many manufacturers are providing rear-view cameras as standard equipment in new cars. The inclusion of the technology in new cars helps to reduce the occurrence of backover accidents but it still leaves tens of thousands of cars on Staten Island that are without a camera. These include the Hummer SUVs, large pickup trucks, Jeep Commanders and Cadillac Escalades. Many of these vehicles that are on the road today do not have backup cameras and still pose a great danger to small children and pedestrians walking behind them. Since the federal legislation is not intended to be retroactive, older cars and trucks will be exempt from the new federal standards.

Those who own a car or SUV with restricted rear visibility should consider the installation of an aftermarket backup camera. Backover accidents are a very real danger that does not receive the necessary attention necessary for real change. These cameras, wired or wireless, are cheap, safe and reliable and easy to install. For a price under $100, you could potentially save a life, possibly your own child, from a backover accident. Please consider installing an aftermarket camera if you live on Staten Island.

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The economic crisis that has brought about the unprecedented foreclosure rates on Staten Island homes has also brought about unexpected dangers. A foreclosed Sea View house was recently in the news for having a green scum filled swimming pool, with a dead cat floating on top, in the backyard. The home was foreclosed and purchased by Consumer Solutions REO, LLC, a Colorado based company that specializes in purchasing foreclosures. Despite the fact that they have owned the home since September 14, 2009, the pool was allowed to remain filled with water and the overall condition of the property deteriorated. 

The standing water in the pool is a nuisance and hazard for the neighbors surrounding the home. Besides the possibility of West Nile virus-bearing mosquito's breeding in the water, the unkept grounds invite infestation by rats, mice and other bugs. The rodents and pests can work their way into adjoining homes, requiring the expense of an exterminator to control the infestation. The City of New York has cut 57 out of 84 full-time employees from their rat control services.

Also, an abandoned, unsecured house invites children to play, sometimes with deadly consequences. An unattended swimming pool invites children to play around it, creating a danger if they happen to fall in, and possibly providing no way to get themselves out in the absence of a ladder. If you have an abandoned or foreclosed house in your neighborhood that is in need of repair or maintenance, call 311. The City will send out inspectors to determine if the house poses any dangers to area residents. Make sure that your children are aware of the dangers that the backyard pool poses. If the fence surrounding the pool isn't locked, buy a lock and it put it on the fence yourself. The few dollars that you will spend for the lock is such a cheap cost for the peace of mind that it will bring. If the owners of the property are not willing to take responsibility, I would have no problem making sure that my house, and my neighbors, is safe for my children to play outside.

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Local streets around Staten Island are being repaved in time for the start of the school season. The repaving involves what is known as milling, which is the removal of multiple layers of asphalt, sometimes a single lane at a time. The milling creates a rough and uneven surface between lanes that last for days at a time. It also removes the lane markers and crosswalks, which makes it very difficult to drive in your lane, which now amounts to a judgment call by drivers.

Hylan Boulevard, a dangerous street even when lane markers are present, is currently undergoing the milling and paving process. When the road is milled a single lane at a time, the difference between the milled surface and paved surface can be as great as 5 inches. When the inside of your car's tires get caught between these surfaces, it is very difficult to steer and takes substantial effort to have all 4 of your tires put back onto an even surface. Sometimes, these differences are not exactly where the lane markers once were. When a car is driving next to another vehicle, and the car's wheels drift off from the paved surface to the milled surface, accidents can result when the cars are drawn together. Accidents also happen when lane markers are removed, especially at night. Since Hylan Boulevard is a multiple-lane street, cars driving may drift into another lane, causing an accident.

Another hidden danger lies in the milled areas that surround manhole covers and gas and water access covers. Since these objects are made to be level with the new pavement, they naturally will rise above the surrounding pavement when milled, creating a dangerous condition for those driving and walking on Hylan Boulevard. I have had cases where a car was actually stopped in its tracks when its chassis hit the ten raised manhole cover on a street awaiting re-pavement. These conditions don't go away over night. Instead, the surfaces remain in that condition for days at a time before they are repaved, which is too long for Staten Island residents. I appreciate the City's attempts to maintain our infrastructure but I feel that getting to the "cure" creates too great a danger.

If you are involved in an accident on a freshly milled roadway, the City of New York may bear some responsibility for your injuries. It is important that you get in touch with a lawyer as your time to file a claim is limited by law.

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A Staten Island Judge has dismissed a case brought by Island resident Nora Sadowski against the Gateway Cathedral located in Tottenville. Ms. Sadowski was assaulted by a mentally disabled attendee of a Christmas music and dance show held at the Cathedral on December 2, 2006. Ms. Sadowski was seated in front of a group of mentally disabled people who were there to see the show. Soon after the show started, a person behind Ms. Sadowski hit her in the head, in what she described as a "big bang." she was taken to the nurses station and an accident report was filled out. Afterward, Ms. Sadowski was diagnosed with bulging and herniated discs, requiring three surgeries.

A lawsuit was bought on behalf of the Ms. Sadowski against Gateway Cathedral, claiming that the Cathedral failed to exercise reasonable care in preventing the assault from occurring. The attorneys for Gateway Cathedral asked the Judge to dismiss the case, arguing that the event was so sudden and unforeseen that the Cathedral could do nothing to prevent it from occurring. Testimony of the parties involved in the lawsuit showed that no incidents similar to Ms. Sadowski's ever happened inside the Cathedral before. The Judge agreed with the Cathedral's attorneys and dismissed the case, ruling that Gateway Cathedral wasn't legally bound to take special measures to prevent it.

The Judge's ruling was based on the concept of notice. Before someone can be held liable for negligence for a defective or dangerous condition, they must first have received ample notice to correct the defective or dangerous condition or take precautions to prevent an accident from occurring.

Notice is most easily described using the example of a slip and fall on grapes on the floor of a supermarket. When customers are sorting through the produce, loose grapes tend to fall on the floor. Even if a grocery clerk was standing by to sweep every 5 minutes, grapes would still fall to the floor. If a customer slipped and fell on a grape that was just dropped to the floor, the supermarket could not be held liable as they did not have notice of the dangerous condition, namely the grape. If it was shown that the grape that the customer fell on was on the floor for such a long time that the store should have known about it and kept the area clean, then they would have received the required notice and a negligence claim can be brought. This can be proven by describing the grape, most commonly in that it was turning brown as if it was there on the floor for a long time.

If you ever suffer an injury in a supermarket, it is important that you look around and examine what you fell on. Take pictures on your cell phone, make sure that they fill out an accident report (pdf)describing the scene just how you found it. If you don't investigate immediately, all your evidence will be swept away after the store manager calls for a clean up on the aisle where you fell.

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Silive is reporting that a police car was involved in a crash with an SUV today in the Eltingville section of Staten Island. No life-threatening injuries were reported but the police officer was transported to the hospital. The facts and circumstances of the accident are unknown at this time, except that a police car was involved.

In New York City, you may be surprised to learn that in order to hold a police vehicle liable for causing the accident, their actions must be "reckless." Courts have held that "mere violations of the rules of the road do not rise to the level of recklessness" to hold an emergency vehicle liable. If an emergency vehicle proceeds through a stop sign or red light without stopping and does not have its lights or sirens on, a jury could conclude that the driver showed a reckless disregard. If the lights and sirens are on, and the police vehicle is in pursuit, courts have held that the driver's behavior is not reckless even if they are speeding (50 m.p.h. on a City street) or fail to stop at a red light or stop sign.

Police vehicles, ambulances and Fire Department vehicles are emergency vehicles as defined in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 114-b when driving in an emergency operation. The courts have held that emergency operation includes pursuing an actual violator of the law, transporting a sick or injured patient or responding to a fire.

When you are involved in an accident with an emergency vehicle, it is very important that you speak with a lawyer as soon as possible. Your lawyer will have to notify the appropriate New York City agency to preserve the records of the emergency call that the vehicle was responding to. These records may help to prove that the emergency vehicle was not in an emergency operation. The City retains these records for a short time and your lawyer must seek to preserve them immediately.

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The City of New York is expanding a pilot program that installed countdown clocks at longer intersections, letting pedestrians know how much time they have left to cross the street before the light changes. At intersections with longer crosswalks, pedestrians, especially the elderly, were unable to finish crossing the street before the light changed. Many Staten Island residents know how dangerous intersections, such as Hylan Boulevard and New Dorp Lane, can be if you are still in the street when the light changes. In fact, that intersection was one of the first to be installed under the pilot program because of the high rate of pedestrian/car accidents that occurred at the Staten Island intersection.

Within the next month, 1,500 intersections throughout the City will get the countdown clock. Each year, there are more than 5,000 pedestrian traffic deaths in the United States. The countdown clocks aim to help reduce pedestrian deaths at intersections by letting a pedestrian know just how much time is left to cross so they can make a safer decision whether or not to wait for the next traffic light cycle.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has mandated that countdown timers be installed in certain intersections by December 22, 2013, or sooner if the current equipment needs to be replaced. The City of New York will begin to install the countdown timers this month and will also implement speed reductions to 20 m.p.h. in certain neighborhoods that have high accident rates. Again, as we can't make the driver's safer, we need to find other ways to protect pedestrians. The New York City Pedestrian Study and Safety Action Plan is a major step forward towards protecting the hundreds of thousands of pedestrians that use our roadways each day.

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A recent silive article brought to light the dangers involved in storing and using swimming pool chemicals. A Staten Island resident, Salvatore Mannino, recently filed a lawsuit claiming that he suffered severe burns to his body when a product known as pool shock "exploded" as he was adding it to the pool. Pool chemicals are potentially dangerous and should handled with care.

The majority of pool chemicals contain chlorine, which is used for its ability to clear algae and bacteria from the water. While chlorine in its dry state will not explode, accidents happen when people mix together different products containing two different chemicals that are not compatible.  When certain of these chemicals combine with water, an explosion results, which may be powerful enough to cause you severe injuries, including burns, both internal and external, blindness and even fractures. Even putting a pool chemical in a supposedly empty bucket containing another chemical may be enough to cause a dangerous reaction.

When working around the pool, always remember to wear eye protection and gloves. Always add the chemicals to the pool water and not the pool water to the chemical. Adding a small amount water to such a high concentration of chemicals can cause potentially deadly gasses to form and an explosion may result. Read the label carefully and follow all directions when using pool chemicals. Chlorine is corrosive, poisonous and flammable, and can create potentially deadly fumes that have the potential to explode. Never mix chemicals indoors so as to avoid the possibility that any gases produced will concentrate and increase the possibility of an explosion. Also, the gases have the potential to render you unconscious, with possible fatal side effects. Do not mix old chemical with new chemicals, even if they are the same brand. Store all chemicals away from gasoline, paint remover and any other flammable liquids.

Following these basic safety precautions will help to insure that your swimming pool maintenance will be much easier and safer. Please take your time when maintaining your pool - you may prevent injury to yourself and to your family.

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