Queens Personal Injury Blog

Most premises liability claims are based on slip-and-fall accidents. In these instances, a property owner either knew or should have known of the dangerous property condition and failed to either correct the hazard or failed to warn others of the condition. These issues can arise nearly anywhere, but many premises liability lawsuits are filed against retailers, such as grocery stores, that fail to clean up spills in a timely fashion.

As common as these cases are, premises liability is much broader in nature. One often overlooked aspect of this area of the law is negligent security or inadequate security. The law doesn't clearly delineate what specific types of events constitute premises liability. Instead, it lays out certain legal elements that must be met while paying attention to matters such as how the property in question is being used, the foreseeability of harm, and the reasonableness of the steps taken by the property owner to repair the dangerous condition in question or warn others about it.

New York's elderly population is amongst the most vulnerable. Quite often, these individuals require extensive medical care that their loved ones simply can't provide. These families may feel fortunate that they can turn to nursing homes for help, and many of them choose to entrust these homes with the care of their elderly loved ones. This is a massive responsibility, of course, with a lot at stake, which is why the federal government and the state heavily regulate this industry to better ensure nursing home residents' safety.

One of the biggest and most important categories of federal regulations pertaining to nursing homes is that which deals with quality of care. Under these regulations, nearly every aspect of a nursing home resident's health is addressed. Therefore, nursing homes are required to provide care that seeks to prevent bedsores and, if bedsores are discovered, that adequately treats them. Also, a nursing home must implement practices that don't limit mobility and seek to increase mobility in those who enter a facility with limitations.

New York certainly has its fair share of bicyclists. Some ride for fun, while others do it as a way to commute or as part of their jobs. Given the extensive amount of traffic in the city, though, these bicyclists constantly find themselves at risk of being hit. A motor vehicle accident that involves a bicyclist can end in tragedy, too, given the fact that these riders lack the protections found in cars and trucks. Even those who wear helmets can be seriously injured or killed by a negligent driver.

Sadly, this was recently the case for one New York bicyclist. According to reports, the woman, who was a delivery driver, was struck by a semi-truck near West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue. The trucker initially failed to stop, but later returned to the scene after a witness confronted him about it. Even though the woman was wearing a helmet, she was taken to the hospital with serious head injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. A witness said that the woman was thrown several feet into the air when struck by the truck.

There are numerous otherwise safe activities that can become extremely dangerous when conducted behind the wheel. Take a look around when you are driving. Chances are you will see someone engaging their phone, eating, grooming themselves, turning around to talk to others in the back seat or even dozing off. Any of these acts can cause a serious car accident. Far too often the victims of these motor vehicle accidents suffer serious injuries.

Sadly, despite laws against many forms of dangerous driving, the problem seems to be growing. A recent study found that 20 percent of individuals admit to having fallen asleep while behind the wheel, while nearly a third admit to checking their phones while driving. Another 24 percent of motorists admit to driving drunk. These numbers are staggering, especially considering that the real numbers of people who engage in these dangerous behaviors is likely higher because people oftentimes aren't honest when asked to admit to committing these acts.