Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Holding trucking companies accountable for their role in auto accidents

Published on: May 13, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Recent posts on this blog have focused on the issue of vicarious liability in personal injury litigation. There are a variety of situations where an employer can become liable for a motor vehicle accident caused by an employee. One common area where this can happen is in truck accident cases.

Trucking is a heavily regulated industry, perhaps not strictly enough according to some, but nevertheless bound by a significant number of rules and regulations. Both drivers and their employers—as well as the independent contractors that work with them—have the responsibility to abide by the various state and federal safety rules governing the industry. These include rules for properly securing cargo, hours of service rules, vehicle maintenance rules, rules for monitoring truckers’ fitness to operate commercial vehicles, and so on.

Take a common example of a truck safety violation—failure to rest breaks as required under the hours of service rules. While it certainly is the responsibility of each trucker to follow and record compliance with federal rest requirements, it is also the responsibility of the employer to monitor employee compliance with the rules. Trucking companies are expected to properly train and instruct their drivers, and to have processes and systems in place to ensure unsafe driving practices are caught and not allowed to continue.

Vicarious liability in personal injury litigation, P.2

Published on: May 12, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Last time, we began discussing the issue of liability in the context of motor vehicle accidents. As we noted, it is important for accident victims to explore all possibilities in terms of liability, including the possibility of comparative negligence and vicarious liability, particularly employer liability for the actions of employees and independent contractors.

We’ve already pointed out that employers are generally accountable for the wrongful actions of employees acting within the scope of employment, but are only liable for the wrongful actions of independent contractors in limited situations. One important limitation on vicarious liability is foreseeability, which limits the type of actions for which an employer can be held responsible.

Established New York case law has it that, to be held vicariously liable, the employee’s actions must have been generally foreseeable by the employer, as well as naturally incident to the employment. In the context of motor vehicle accidents, this means that the general type of employee conduct which led to the accident must have been reasonably expected and must be a natural part of the motorist’s work duties.

Vicarious liability in personal injury litigation, P.3

Published on: May 12, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

We’ve been looking in recent posts at the issue of vicarious liability in the context of motor vehicle accidents involving employees and independent contractors. Last time, we looked particularly at the foreseeability and scope of employment requirements. As we noted, the key question with scope of employment is whether the employee was doing the employer’s work at the time of the accident.

There are a variety of factors courts consider when determining whether an employee was acting within the scope of employment. These factors include, first of all, the time, place and location of the act. In the context of a motor vehicle crash, the court would be looking for where and when the crash occurred. Did it occur on the employer’s premises or on a job site? Did the crash occur before, during or after working hours? These and other such questions are important to consider.

Another factor is the actual relationship between the employer and employee and how this relates to the employee’s work duties. If the worker’s job description or contract doesn’t include certain activities, but is an established agreement that the employee engages in those activities, the latter may be considered within the scope of employment for purposes of vicarious liability. In cases where the employee did not perform his or her duties as directed or as they are ordinarily performed, courts will also consider the extent of the departure and whether any wrongdoing that caused injury could have been reasonably anticipated by the employer.

Vicarious liability in personal injury litigation, P.1

Published on: May 11, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In a previous post, we mentioned that third party liability is an important issue to explore in motor vehicle accident cases where there may have been other parties who contributed to the accident other than the individuals directly involved in the crash.

The possibility of pursuing such third-party liability really depends on the circumstances of the case, and it is important to work with an experienced attorney who can help identify all potentially liable parties and hold them accountable. One possibility for third party liability is vicarious liability, which involves holding employers liable for the wrongdoing of their employees.

Under New York Law, an employer is generally liable for the actions of an employee as long as the employee was acting within the scope of employment. Employers are generally not going to be liable for the wrongful actions of independent contractors since they do not exercise as much control over their actions. In New York, the courts will determine whether an employment relationship exists on the basis of whether one party maintains general supervisory powers the other. If the supervision only amounts to incidental control, there is no employment relationship that may give rise to vicarious liability.

How a doctor or medical institution may defend itself in court

Published on: May 9, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It may seem as though you have an obvious, “slam dunk” case when you are affected by a medical mistake, but even if you bring legal action against a doctor, institution or both, you will have to prove your case. And the doctor and/or institution will build their own defense to the case.

With that in mind, it is imperative to understand what kind of defense tactics the doctor and/or institution will utilize in a medical malpractice case.

First of all, every case is different, and every state is different. Understanding how the medical malpractice laws apply in your state is critical to building your case — and to prepare for the defense.

New report on medical errors paints bleak picture

Published on: May 8, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

A new report released in the journal BMJ concludes two very frightening aspects of medical errors. The first is that there may be many more medical errors that actually occur then we are aware of. And the second is that the number of medical errors that occur in the United States ranks them as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind only heart disease and cancer.

The report went into a little more detail. The researchers estimated that more than 251,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are related to medical errors. That far exceeds an oft-cited study from 1999 which estimated that somewhere between 44,000-98,000 people die every year as a result of a medical error. Subsequent studies, though, have shown increasing predictions for the number of deaths related to medical errors.

The report also criticized death certificates because they don’t ask for enough data — and that, researchers believe, may be leading to fewer medical errors being reported than are actually occurring.

Social media app implicated in alleged distracted driving accident, P.2

Published on: May 7, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Last time, we began looking at a case in which a Georgia man is suing a teen he accuses of using Snapchat immediately prior to the accident. The man—who suffered a traumatic brain injury—is also suing Snapchat. As we noted, the teen and her friends say the man actually pulled into their lane, not giving her enough time to stop.

For its part, Snapchat denies that it encourages its users to use the app while driving, and that it displays warnings to users to not use the program while operating a motor vehicle. Police have, so far, chosen not to cite the teen for speeding partly because of conflicting accounts from her passengers about the speed of the vehicle. Police have said that the man may also have committed a moving violation by failing to signal before changing lanes.

The case is an interesting one not only from the standpoint of social medial use and distracted driving, but also with respect to the issue of negligence in personal injury cases. First of all, there is the issue of comparative negligence, if both parties are found to be partially at fault. Then there is the issue of third party negligence for Snapchat.

Social media app implicated in alleged distracted driving accident, P.1

Published on: May 6, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Some of our readers, perhaps many, have heard of the social media platform called Snapchat. For those who haven’t, Snapchat is an image messaging application that allows users to take videos and pictures which are live for only a matter of seconds before they disappear. The app doesn’t support saving received messages, but it is possible to capture screenshots of the images.

Snapchat has been criticized for encouraging people to send inappropriate content without repercussion. Now, it seems, the company is being sued for encouraging distracted driving.

A Georgia man who was struck by a teenager using the program is accusing the company of negligence. The accident apparently occurred when the 18-year-old’s vehicle was travelling at over 100 miles per hour—specifically 107 m.p.h., according to accident reconstruction specialists. The teen apparently had three friends in her vehicle at the time of the crash. He claims she had been using a Snapchat feature which allows users to clock the speed of vehicles in an attempt to push her vehicle to higher speeds. As a result of the crash, the man apparently suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Seeking damages for brain injury in personal injury litigation

Published on: May 5, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Last time, we spoke briefly about the potentially severe long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury. As we noted, brain injury can cause major changes in a victim’s life, impacting everything from work to family to recreation. Seeking appropriate damages for these losses is a critical aspect of personal injury litigation, and an experienced attorney will be able to increase a victim’s chances of maximizing his or her damages award.

The damages that may be available in brain injury cases fall into several general categories. One of these is compensatory damages, which encompasses things like medical costs, lost wages or income, and other damages that can be readily monetized. Another important category of damages in brain injury cases is non-economic damages. This includes damages that cannot be readily monetized, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of independence, and other such losses.

As important as economic damages are in brain injury cases—and medical bills can be significant and ongoing—noneconomic damages can be particularly important to help ensure a brain injury victim is adequately compensated. This is especially true in cases where the victim may not have had a very significant income.

Study looks at long-term sleep consequences of traumatic brain injury

Published on: May 4, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Brain injury can have a lot of long-term consequences, depending on the severity of the injury and the victim’s recovery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, brain injury can cause long-term changes in cognition, sensation, language, and emotion, and can increase the chances of developing epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parksinson’s disease and other brain disorders.

According to a recent study, brain injury may also cause sleep problems. The study found that the majority of those who suffered a traumatic brain injury experienced long-term sleep disturbances, yet were unaware of sleep disturbance. These findings were found to be true regardless of the severity of the injury.

The study is interesting not only from the perspective of public health and epidemiology, but also from the standpoint of personal injury liability. Serious automobile accidents often result in traumatic brain injuries, which leave the crash victims with long-term consequences such as those mentioned above. The full impact of brain injury on a crash victim’s life can be enormous, affecting a crash victim’s financial situation, business opportunities, family life, recreational activities, and general enjoyment of life. Not to mention the enormous medical costs that can be involved in brain injury situations.