A Brooklyn teacher was arrested Monday after allegedly slapping and punching a 14-year-old student. The teen suffered eye injuries in the attack. The male teacher, 34, is charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child.This horror story raises an important...
Municipal Liability
Sledding Bans Gaining Traction As Cities Fear Injury Lawsuits
The recent snowstorm gave plenty of New York children an opportunity for fun, but a growing number of municipalities are deciding to ban kids from downhill sledding. The idea is not embraced by most city councils, but many places have decided that the risk of a...
Who Can Hazing Victims Sue?
Most school officials, coaches and students understand the seriousness of hazing in youth athletics. Once shrugged off as "rites of passage," most people understand that hazing-related assault can cause profound psychological damage to the victims - in addition to...
NYC Trying To Reduce Injuries, Deaths Caused By Falling Branches
In 2009, a young man was walking in Central Park when a large tree branch snapped overhead and fell on him. The branch damaged his lungs, spinal cord and brain, leaving him paralyzed and cognitively disabled.The victim's family sued New York City and eventually...
What Legal Rights Does Chokehold Victim Eric Garner’s Family Have?
At 6-foot-5 and 350 pounds Eric Garner was an imposing figure but a gentle giant, according to friends and family members. His family, which includes six children and a wife, is still trying to understand what caused his death during an arrest Thursday evening.Garner...
Worker Killed By Street Sweeper In Dept. Of Sanitation Garage
A 43-year-old New York City sanitation worker died Saturday when a coworker hit him with a street sweeper in Queens.The deceased, a father of four, was performing maintenance on a street sweeper when a coworker on a different sweeper failed to see him. The fatal...
Wrongful Death Suit Filed After NYC Jail Death From Extreme Heat
In February, a 56-year-old man died in a New York City jail when the temperature in his cell reached at least 101 degrees. Preliminary investigations revealed that Jerome Murdough's internal body temperature reached 103 degrees, but nobody answered his pleas for help...
Will It Take Unnecessary Deaths To Rethink Citi Bike Racks?
Citi Bike racks have been a controversial matter since New York City implemented the bike-share program, but few regarded it as a life-or-death issue. That thinking may soon change, as a Citi Bike lawsuit reaches Manhattan Appellate Court.The suit argues that the Citi...
Do Express-F Train Derailment Victims Have The Right To Sue?
Friday's subway derailment in Queens injured dozens of people and terrified 1,000 passengers on the express F train.According to witnesses, the train began to shake and bounce while showering sparks from its right side. The train came to a halt, but that did not bring...
Injured Construction Worker Settles Lawsuit Against NYC For $6.3M
A 43-year-old construction worker has settled a construction injury lawsuit against New York City for $6.3 million.The victim was working atop scaffolding at a Brooklyn school when it gave way, sending him into a 20-foot freefall. Moments earlier, he told a Service...