New York Personal Injury Blog | Lever & Stolzenberg, LLP Legal Blog

Bronx Boy In Critical Condition After Traffic Sign Strikes Him On Sidewalk

A preschool-aged child was struck and seriously injured by a road sign while walking to day care this week. The sign fell over after a livery cab swerved to avoid a city truck.

Norwich Drunk Driver Sentenced After Fatal NY Car Crash

A young man was sentenced to three to nine years in jail this week after a fatal New York drunk driving incident in 2008.

Study: New York Cell Phone Ban Could Help Reduce Urban Car Accidents

A comprehensive study of the effect of cell phone bans has found that limiting mobile phone use while driving reduces rates of car accidents in urban areas more than in rural ones. This study posits that the NYC cell phone ban could save money and save lives.

Woman Sues Buffalo Bills Player Marshawn Lynch After Hit-And-Run

A Buffalo Bills professional football player is facing a lawsuit after striking a pedestrian in Buffalo, New York. The woman claims that Marshawn Lynch left the scene of the accident and was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the pedestrian incident.

Weezer Band Member Injured In NY Bus Crash Involving Black Ice

The lead singer of pop band Weezer was injured in a bus accident in New York while on tour promoting the band's new album. The singer was seriously injured and has canceled the rest of the tour. Others on the bus were also injured in the NY bus accident.

Taconic Parkway Disaster -- Family Starts Lawsuit -- Truth Finally to be Revealed

The family of two victims from Diane Schuler's wrong-way crash on the Taconic State Parkway said their lawsuit filed today isn't about money or revenge but about awareness to drunk driving.

Yankee’s Manager Joe Girardi Helps Car Accident Victim

Just hours after his baseball team clinched the World Series, Yankee's Manager Joe Girardi was driving home with his wife on Cross County Parkway at the Hutchinson River Parkway, after celebrating his team's big win. When he saw that a car had crashed onto a wall on a curvy section on a New Rochelle road on the outskirts of New York City, he stopped to help the accident victim out of her car.

Although the car was still partially on the road and in danger of getting struck again, Girardi helped a woman out of her crushed car and to safety. Police arrived minutes later. The woman, 27-year-old Marie Henry, said that the man sprinted across three lanes of traffic in order to help her. She was not seriously injured in the New York car accident.

"The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help," Officer Kathleen Cristiano told the media.

DOT Truck And Honda Have Deadly Crash On Brooklyn Bridge

Tragedy struck the historic Brooklyn Bridge last week when a man from East New York, Brooklyn lost control of his Honda Accord. On Wednesday morning around 4 a.m. 36-year-old Andre Donald drifted out of his lane and slammed into the back of a New York Department of Transportation dump truck even though the dump truck was equipped with a flashing yellow arrow.

Donald, who police say might have been drinking in the hours before the crash or who might have fallen asleep at the wheel, was rushed by the EMS to New York Downtown Hospital where he died just after arrival. The dump truck on the bridge was no occupied at the time of the accident. It is not known if Donald was wearing a seatbelt.

Due to the fatal Brooklyn car accident, the Brooklyn Bridge was shut down for a number of hours during the morning commute. No other people were injured in the deadly NYC car crash.

NY Driver Who Killed 8 On Taconic State Parkway Was Drunk And High

Last week we reported on the mysterious and tragic wrong-way accident that killed eight people, including four young children on the Taconic State Parkway in New York. At the time, authorities were unsure of why the 36-year-old New York mother, Diane Schuler, had become so disoriented and confused that she drove the wrong way down the interstate.

After New York officials ruled out a stoke or other medical problem during an autopsy of the NY mom, blood tests revealed that the story was not what it seemed: Diane Schuler was drunk and high at the time of the NYC minivan accident - with a blood alcohol level of 0.19 (more than twice the legal limit) and 6 more grams of alcohol in her stomach that had yet to enter her blood stream. Authorities also revealed that a broken vodka bottle was found at the scene of the horrific head-on car accident.

Diane Schuler's minivan was carrying two of her own children and three of her sister's children. All but Shuler's son were killed in the Taconic State Parkway wrong way accident. Two men in another car were killed and three people in a third car were injured.

Deadly Wrong Way Crash on the Taconic: Could the State of New York be at Fault

As you may have heard already, Diane Schuler, was reportedly severely drunk and had smoked marijuana within an hour of the deadly Taconic State Parkway crash that left eight people dead, including four young children, when she crashed on the Taconic.  In light of this recent accident, I wondered whether any litigant had ever been successful in bringing an action against the State of New York for failing to erect proper signs that would warn unknowing travelers that they were traveling on a roadway in the wrong direction.  Interestingly, in the case Mickle v. New York State Thruway Authority (701 N.Y.S.2d 782), the claimant sued the Thruway Authority after he crashed his car heading in the wrong direction on Rte 787, which is an extension of the New York State Thruway, north of Albany.  The claimant alleged that he did not realize that he was traveling in the wrong direction and that the entrance to the highway from the toll plaza where he entered was confusing.  He pointed to proof from a civil engineer that indicated that the roadway where the accident happened was particularly confusing because there was almost 15 signs present at the location, only one of which was a "Do Not Enter" sign, coupled with the fact that the unmarked lane of traffic he was supposed to be following veered sharply to the right and there was no jersey barrier separating the northbound and southbound traffic. Thus, the engineer opined that traveling in the wrong direction was a strong possibility and likely under the circumstances.  The Court found that the State was 60% at fault for the accident.

NYC Husband and Wife Killed In Bronx Car Accident

The Associated Press reports that a middle-aged coupled was killed at the intersection of Laconia Avenue and Waring Avenue very early in the morning on Wednesday, July 15 in the Bronx, New York.

The couple's car was hit by an SUV, ejecting the woman from the car and killing the man, a 41-year-old who was driving the car at the time of the accident. The man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital while his wife was pronounced dead at the scene of the fatal New York car accident. The couple leaves behind two children.

The driver of the SUV was rushed to the hospital by emergency workers, where he remains in critical condition.

New York City police are investigating the case. There are rumors that the SUV that struck the car was being chased by the police at the time of the accident.