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

Once again, Hylan Boulevard was the scene of 2 serious accidents over the Thanksgiving Weekend, resulting in the death of an 82 year old woman and leaving a 72 year old driver in serious condition. The accidents occurred at opposite ends of Hylan Boulevard, Steuben Street in Grasmere and Woods of Arden Road in Eltingville. What both areas have in common is that the traffic usually thins out in those areas, allowing cars to go racing along at highway speeds. What can be a close call for cars traveling at the 35 m.p.h. speed is a tragic accident when a car is traveling at 50 m.p.h. and above.

Once again, my previous posts about how Hylan Boulevard is more akin to a highway than a street, allowing cars to drive recklessly at speeds rivaling that of Staten Island highways. These accident were not caused by a faulty road design, a blind spot or even the need for a traffic light where there is a stop sign. Instead, these accidents are solely the fault of driver's speeding along Hylan Boulevard. Again, police have set up patrols in an effort to slow people down but to no avail. People need to change. No longer is it acceptable to tailgate that car going 35 m.p.h. because you want it to go faster. Its the speed limit. Its the law. We all need to follow the law as its our only way to prevent more accidents from occurring in the short term.  

The City of New York has said that a red traffic arrow, in addition to the already present green traffic arrow, stopping cars from making a left hand turn will help to prevent accidents at the Steuben Street location. Over the last 18 months, 3 fatal accidents have occurred at the intersection. The cause of the accidents has been attributed to the same cause, namely cars trying to make a left hand turn across Hylan Boulevard. Since the City is obviously aware of the problem and has even proposed some sort of remedial action, my question is, "When?" How long does it take for the City to add a 2nd arrow to the light?  This is the 3rd death in little over a year -  do we have to wait for a 4th? The City needs to move faster to solve this problem, especially since they know the answer already.

In the meantime, will all the speeding along Hylan Boulevard - those 5 minutes you may save - be worth it if you kill someone in an accident? Could you forgive yourself? What if someone took the life of your family member because they were speeding. How would you feel? Please, please, slow down!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

A rally was held in Brooklyn yesterday announcing the filing of a lawsuit against the City of New York and the New York City Police Department in the death of an 11-year old girl. The family of the girl, Briana Ojeda, is seeking $17 million in damages for the death of their daughter after a police officer failed to perform CPR on Briana after she suffered an asthma attack. The suit alleges that the police officer told the family he did not know how to perform CPR. Apparently, police officers are retrained in CPR only every two years, although such skills need to continually refreshed. My sincerest condolences go to Briana's family on their loss.

Although the purpose of this lawsuit may be debated, this terrible tragedy presents many valuable lessons. I agree that CPR re-fresher courses should be required annually for first-responders, as opposed to the every two years that the NYPD currently requires. What I also advocate is that every parent should receive instruction in basic first aid and CPR. The course lasts only 1 - 2 hours and is literally a life saver. The New York City Fire Department offers free courses in CPR to groups of 6 - 20 people. The classes can be held in a school gym, a conference room or any other open room large enough to accommodate the participants and the instructors.

Basic first aid courses are taught at various community centers, such as the Staten Island YMCA and JCC's, and applications can be even downloaded to your iPhone or Android-phone that provide step-by-step instruction on what to do when faced with a medical emergency. Some of the applications are free while others cost just a few dollars and provide simple instructions, although they are not a replacement for a proper first aid course. Knowledge of first aid and CPR are extremely important to everyone, especially those who take care of young children and infants. There really is no excuse to becoming first aid or CPR certified. Get certified today - you just may save a life.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

An 83-year old widow was struck by a car on Friday as she attempted to cross Forest Avenue on her way to the beauty parlor. Accidents do happen but the circumstances surrounding this one clearly show Staten Island driver's lack of common courtesy and their sense of entitlement to drive a car.

Margaret Walsh was attempting to cross Forest Avenue when a passing driver decided to stop her car and extend common courtesy by allowing Ms. Walsh to cross in front of her,  As all too often happens, while one driver is courteous, another driver is bound to be in a rush or too distracted to realize what is occurring. These drivers switch lanes and pass the stopped car on the left or right hand side, usually with tragic consequences. We have all seen an accident happen or almost happen when driver's in the opposite direction stop to let a car make a left turn in front of them. As always, there is always another driver that is too distracted or impatient to let the car make the turn. They cross over into the right hand lane and shoot past the stopped car. If the car making the left  has started already to turn, it may be too late to avoid the accident.

In what is becoming an all too common occurrence, the driver of the other car was driving with a suspended license. This news no longer bring about the shock that it once did as serious accidents involving drivers with suspended licenses has become all too common. Peter and Lillian Sabados and Roxanne Murano were struck and killed on Staten Island by drivers with suspended licenses. The papers are filled with scores of accidents involving drivers with suspended licenses that fortunately have not resulted in the loss of life.

Also, the license plates on the car that hit Mrs. Walsh were from South Carolina, which usually means that although the car is registered in South Carolina, it is probably used primarily on Staten Island. Cars insured in other states generally have lower insurance costs than New York. South Carolina requires that every car insured in the state have minimum policy limits of $25,000/$50,000. This is the same minimum as required in new York State. However, some states, such as Virgina, allow drivers to drive uninsured cars, simply by paying a $500 fee! Because more and more drivers are driving without insurance or without enough insurance, you need to check your own insurance policies. Please read my free book, A Lawyer's Guide to Car Insurance, and contact me for a FREE insurance policy review. Do so now before its too late.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

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.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

This Sunday, the final part of the groundbreaking "Leandra's Law" is taking effect. Leandra's Law was named after Leandra Rosado, an 11-year old girl who was killed in a drunk driving accident in 2009. Little Leandra was a passenger in a car driven by a family friend, Carmen Huertas, who was drunk at the time, lost control, killing Leandra. The law, described as the toughest in the nation, makes it a felony to drive drunk with a child under 15 years of age in the car. The second part of the law will require that anyone convicted of a DWI, even a first time offender, will be required to install and maintain and ignition interlock that will prevent the car from being started if the driver has been drinking.

My question is what took so long? The bill was stalled in the New York State Senate, where a weaker bill was preferred, until public outcry convinced the legislature that the tougher version needed to become law. If one child could have been saved in the time that the bill was stalled, we are already too late. Who do we protect by not passing the bill? Drunk parents? Bars? Aren't we supposed to protect those that can't protect themselves?

If a parent drives drunk with a young child in their car, they obviously aren't able to make rational decisions. Since they cannot protect the young child, we have to. I haven't looked and don't really want to know the actual numbers of repeat DWI offenders, let alone the number that have caused serious injuries or death to innocent pedestrians, driver's and passengers on a second or third offense. These laws were brought about by the deaths of young children, and hundreds of others who were victims of drunk drivers. We need to move quickly to address the causes of these crimes and how to prevent them. This is only a first step but we have to start somewhere.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Staten Islander's awoke this morning to the tragic news of another fatal accident on Hylan Boulevard. A woman was killed when the mini-van she was riding in (it's not yet clear if she was the driver or a passenger) flipped over after colliding with a late model BMW 745i. The woman, Nadwa Fayad, was apparently ejected from the mini-van, which then rolled over on top of her.  The mini-van was making a left turn from Hylan Boulevard onto Stueben Street when the accident happened. The 27-year old driver of the BMW and the other occupants of the mini-van were taken to the hospital with non-life threating injuries.

As I have blogged about numerous times, please always wear your seatbelt, no matter where you are sitting in the car. Almost 40,000 people are killed each year on the nation's roads, about 1/2 of which may be preventable if seat belts were worn. From 1975 - 2007, seatbelt use has saved the lives of over 240,000 people. Seatbelts save lives - its no longer open for debate. Buckling up should be as routine as starting the car before driving.

I tell jurors all the time not to "pre-judge" the case before they hear all the facts. but in this case, it's hard not to pre-judge. We have a young driver, in a very expensive car, with at least 325 horsepower, on Hylan Boulevard, a street more akin to a highway than a "Boulevard." We are all going to think that the BMW was speeding, and that the driver of the mini-van saw him too late. The high rate of speed made it impossible for anyone to avoid the impact.

Last year, this same intersection claimed the life of another Staten Island resident. In fact, residents have labeled this intersection as dangerous and suggest putting in a dedicated left-turning lane. The all too frequent accidents on Staten Island have lead some residents to start their own facebook page, Hylan Boulevard - Staten Island Death Trap, in an effort to help stop the frequent accidents on Staten Island's "Boulevard of Death." Please, we all need to slow down and be aware of what is going on around us. We all drive in a world of too many distractions, causing driver's to lose their focus for a precious few seconds, which can be the difference between avoiding an accident or ending up in tragedy. This Island is over-crowded with too many cars and too many people. This is a combination that all too often results in accidents. Staten Island is no longer a piece of the country like many native residents felt it was. The overall attitude about driving needs to change - its not acceptable to run a red light or speed along Hylan Boulevard, no matter what time it is. There are only so many police officers to go around - the change needs to come from within.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The reports of a fatal accident yesterday on Interstate 44 in Missouri brings the debate about putting seat belts on school buses to the forefront. Missouri law does not require seat belts to be installed on school buses and it is not yet known if seat belts would have even helped.The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is on the scene to investigate.

The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences released a June 2002 study  (pdf) that attributed the deaths of 5 school aged children per year as passengers. The study only took into account "normal school hours", which means that it covers only 6 hours per day and only through the school year, September 1 through June 15. To me, this study is flawed as those killed in the Missouri bus crash would not have even been included in these statistics. Even the times that were included in the study excluded 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., a time that includes when most children are on their way to a field trip, usually at some distance from their school. The children in Missouri were on their way to Six Flags Amusement Park and were required to take a highway, where they are exposed to higher speeds and larger, heavier traffic as opposed to residential streets at relatively low speeds.

Many Staten Island parents don't think twice about putting their children on a school bus. And most parents wouldn't put their children into their car without a Child Safety Seat or properly restrained with a lap/shoulder belt. Yet New York law requires seat belts on school buses, but not their use. Instead, they allow school bus passive restraints, known as "compartmentalization", to protect the precious cargo. The bus passenger compartment itself is higher than most of the surrounding traffic, the seat backs are raised and padded and the bus' shell is reinforced. This compartmentalization help to provide "passive" restraint, which simply allows a child to sit down in the seat to be protected. This type of restraint is very effective in frontal impact crashes, but not in a rollover or side impact.

If seat belts were to be installed in a bus, it would have to be a lap/shoulder belt as a lap alone would cause significant abdominal injuries.The cost to retrofit a bus, if possible, would average $1,000.00, BUT would reduce the passenger capacity by 20%. In these budget crunching times, it always comes down to numbers; essentially, how much is a life worth compared to the cost of saving one. As a parent, I know that I couldn't put a price on my child's safety. Maybe its time we look to make our children's bus rides safer and install seat belts and not look to cut costs at safety's expense.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The City of New York has implemented new procedures for the in-ambulance treatment of heart attack victims. The procedure, known as therapeutic hypothermia, lowers the patients body temperature  to about 90 degrees by administering cold intravenous fluids immediately after a heart attack. On January 1, 2009, the Fire Department of the City of New York announced that they would begin to take certain heart attacks patients to hospitals that performed therapeutic hypothermia.

When a patient suffers cardiac arrest, the delay in receiving treatment accounts for a majority of the deaths. For those that survive, the lack of oxygen delivered to their brain can cause permanent brain damage while their pulse is restored. By lowering a patients body temperature within 6 hours of cardiac arrest, and keeping it lowered for 24 hours followed by gradual re-warming, the brain's metabolic functions are slowed, reducing brain damage and increasing long-term survivability.

The technique required the careful coordination of emergency medical technicians, nurses, hospitals and doctors and the constant vigilance required to keep the patients body temperature at a consistent level. Now that the technique is being performed in an ambulance en route to a hospital, it has become widely accepted and most area hospitals are equipped to handle therapeutic hypothermia patients. The quick administration of the therapy will help to increase the survival rates of the estimated 2,000 New York City heart attack victims eligible for the treatment.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Staten Island residents awoke today to the tragic news of an early morning fire that claimed the lives of a mother, Lisa Jones, and her four young children. Apparently, two police officers on patrol early this morning smelled smoke and immediately began banging on the door of the multi-family home. Their heroic efforts lead to the rescue of 7 people but when they reached Ms. Jones upper floor apartment, the flames prevented them from rescuing Ms. Jones and her family.  When fire fighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed and they were unable to save the family.

These tragic deaths should never have occurred. The fire department has said that there were no smoke detectors in the building, a violation of New York law. The law requires that the landlord must install smoke detectors in your apartment but it is your responsibility to maintain them, which includes changing batteries and testing them weekly. If the landlord hasn't installed the smoke detectors, ask him to do so immediately or install them yourselves. It is recommended that each bedroom has its own smoke detector. Follow the instructions to properly install the smoke detector as the size and shape of your ceilings may prevent the detector from warning you of a fire.

As a Staten Island resident and attorney, as well as the father of two young children, I am sickened by this sensless tragedy. In an effort to stop this from happening again, my firm will provide free smoke detectors to those Staten Island residents that are unable to afford them. If you would like a free smoke detector, or maybe just a new battery, please fill out the contact form on my blog and ask for a free smoke detector. We need to act immediately to prevent such a tragedy from ever occuring ever again.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The family of Joseph Cesario, who was killed crossing Richmond Avenue on his way to work, has started a lawsuit against the alleged drunk driver that hit him, the Staten Island Advance is reporting. Mr. Cesario was killed on June 1, 2008 while crossing Richmond Avenue to catch a bus for work. He was hit by a car driven by Andrew Douglas, who was purportedly drunk at the time of the accident. Although a grand jury declined to indict Mr. Douglas on criminal charges, he still must answer to a civil jury. His brother, Frank Cesario, filed suit last week, according to his Long Island-based attorney,  Stephen Kressel.

The burden of proof between a criminal case and a civil case is vastly different. In a criminal case, the evidence against the purported wrongdoer must "beyond a reasonable doubt." This is a very high standard which, to the public, sometimes makes it seem that guilty people go free. The burden in a civil trial is much lower, known as "a preponderance of the evidence." Simply put, the "scales of justice" have to tip, ever so lightly, in favor of one party or the other. The higher burden of proof in a criminal case ensures that our freedoms are protected as we would rather have 10 guilty escape than have one innocent suffer. 

Despite a grand jury refusing to indict Mr. Douglas, the facts of the accident don't change: Joseph Cesario was hit and killed by Mr. Douglas', accidentally, when he was just crossing the street on his way to work. Mr. Douglas stayed at the scene of the accident and witnesses even said that Mr. Douglas had the right of way and wasn't swerving or driving aggressively. However, what I can't understand are the all too frequent reports of Staten Island pedestrians being struck and killed by cars. In this instance, it doesn't seem to be a question that Mr. Douglas was drinking. It seems that the criminal case was for DWI, which requires a blood alcohol level of 0.08 in New York. Apparently, Mr. Douglas was below that threshold  but what the question is, did the alcohol slow down his reflexes enough that he couldn't avoid the accident? People need to think of the consequences when drinking and driving, even if your blood alcohol level doesn't rise to the legal limit.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

A morning commute to the City for those who reside on the West shore of Staten Island usually takes them over Hylan Boulevard on their way to the Staten Island Expressway. In the morning, the route is choked and significantly delays commuters. When the route is not clogged, it turns into Staten Island’s own South Shore arterial highway. In certain stretches, especially in areas across from parks, cars and SUV’s easily pass you at speeds that make you feel like you are standing still, although you are driving at 40 miles per hour. And the people that pass you shoot an angry glance as if to say, “Get out of my way – why are you driving so slow?” This general attitude permeates to many driver’s on Staten Island.

No more so is the attitude more readily apparent than in the unfortunate and tragic death of a 17-year old Tottenville High School student, Janine Brawer. Ms. Brawer simply wanted to cross the street and another student was kind enough to show common courtesy, stopping their car to let her cross in front. What happened next robbed a young girl of her life – its apparent that a second car, either speeding or distracted, crashed into the back of the stopped car, pushing that car over Ms. Brawer. Local forums are filled with comments about the police department and how they should stop writing frivolous tickets for crimes such as speeding, failing to wear seat belts and cell phone use, the so-called quality of life crimes.

I say that the police don’t pursue these crimes enough as people seems not to care about the consequences, except when a tragedy like the loss of Ms. Brawer’s life occurs at too young of an age. My thoughts and prayers are with the Brawer family. As a father of two, I cannot imagine the unnecessary pain that the family is going through.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link