Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Ambulance and fire truck involved in a crash

Published on: August 17, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is common knowledge for drivers to yield the right of way or pull over to the side of the road when an emergency vehicle approaches. This is why when police cars, ambulances and fire trucks come down the road, most cars get out of the way.

But should this rationale apply to the drivers of emergency vehicles themselves? Conventional wisdom would suggest that it would. After all, they have to follow the rules of the road just like everyone else, and they must check to see if intersections are clear and safe before passing through them.

Nevertheless, an accident involving an ambulance and a fire truck in Florida suggests that the driver of one, or both, vehicles were not paying attention. According to an ABC News.com report, the two vehicles were responding to separate emergencies but had to cross paths at an intersection. A traffic camera video showed that the ambulance crashed into a fire truck that had just crossed into the intersection.

How common is drunk driving in New York state?

Published on: August 14, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In a perfect world, there would be no drunk driving. Unfortunately, the world we live in is far from perfect and drunk driving is something that occurs throughout the country. How common drunk driving is varies from state to state.

This can be seen in the results of a recent survey. The survey results show estimates of around how many drunk driving incidents different states have per every 1,000 people. Of the states for which the survey yielded data, the state with the highest rate (995 incidents for every 1,000 individuals) was Hawaii and the state with the lowest rate (217 incidents for every 1,000 individuals) was Utah.

What rate did the survey results show for New York state? The results indicate that, in the state, there are 372 drunk driving incidents for every 1,000 individuals. Thus, New York is closer to the lower end of the spectrum than the higher and has a lower rate than quite a few other states.

After death of children, IKEA warns consumers not to use chests and dressers

Published on: August 14, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

IKEA is currently being sued by the grieving mother of a little boy who died in February 2014 after a piece of furniture made by the manufacturer tipped over and fell on him. The suit claims that IKEA was aware of the tip-over risk but failed to provide the hardware necessary to prevent accidents.

In response, the company, along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has warned that people “should immediately stop using all IKEA children’s chests and dressers taller than 23 ½ inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29 ½ inches, unless they are securely anchored to the wall.”

The CPSC also stated that another child died in June 2014 when an IKEA-made chest tipped over, trapping the 23-month-old beneath.

What could have caused an Oswego diner to catch fire?

Published on: August 13, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

City landmarks are cherished venues, and they have a knack for standing the test of time. However, sometimes landmarks can succumb to disasters; as did an iconic restaurant in Oswego. According to a Syracuse.com report, Wade’s Diner was severely damaged by a fire last night. The popular restaurant had been serving customers for more than 75 years.

The diner had opened for business on Monday morning and had closed at noon. When firefighters responded, they had to cut a hole in the roof so that the heat and smoke could escape so that they could control the fire.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Several people sickened by carbon monoxide fumes inside Walmart

Published on: August 13, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

It is unusual to talk about shopping center disasters outside of Black Friday sales, but invariably shoppers can be hurt in stores even without a crush of people involved. Last week, shoppers at a Walmart in Florida were exposed to carbon monoxide and were taken to the hospital. In all, 13 shoppers were treated for poisoning.

According to an ABC News.com report, carbon monoxide levels were at critical levels by 4:00 a.m. at the 24-hour Walmart in Orange County. While the cause of the incident is still under investigation, officials believe that construction workers using propane tools while inside the store may have caused fumes to collect in the store.

Indeed, the small number of shoppers in the store at the time prevented this from being a disaster. First responders treated employees working in the store, but other shoppers reportedly refused treatment.

The stoplight turns 100 this month

Published on: August 12, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The next time you are in a traffic jam in downtown Syracuse, are frustrated with metering lights or are waiting for traffic to loosen up, you may wonder if the traffic signal gods simply don’t have your best interests in mind. You may also wonder if the traffic signal was invented yesterday and whether it will ever evolve.

As for when it was invented, the traffic signal is officially 100 years old this month. The very first one was installed at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 105^th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. The signal’s inventor, James Hoge, envisioned a device that would essentially improve his commute. At this time, Cleveland was going through an industrial renaissance, and this led to population growth. With many more people coming in and out of the city for work in cars, bicycles, horses and even streetcars, this inevitably led to traffic snarls.

The first traffic signal featured four pairs of red and green lights that stood for “stop” and “go.” Of course, this design went through a host of changes before the traditional three color semaphore system that we see today was enacted.

Could your sunroof be at risk

Published on: August 11, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

With the number of recalls being initiated this year, it is expected that mechanical items such as tires, brakes and acceleration systems could be recalled for adjustments or replacements. It would not be expected that the glass that allows drivers to see could also lead to their undoing.

According to a recent ABC News.com report, there has been an increasing incidence of sunroofs shattering unexpectedly. Some sunroofs have failed while a driver is heading down the freeway. Others have broken while the driver is at a stop sign. Because the reasons for failure have been so varied, and not necessarily because of an object hitting the glass, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation.

The NHTSA has indicated that it would be reviewing incidents involving Kia Sorrentos. The Administration indicates that it has received nearly 400 complaints of sunroofs spontaneously cracking and breaking. As of this report, neither the car company nor federal regulators have learned of the specific reasons behind this problem. A recall has not yet been issued, and no major injuries or deaths have been reported.

Understanding the factors behind road rage

Published on: August 10, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

The summer driving season is about to come to a climatic end in a few weeks. The Labor Day holiday weekend is traditionally the last holiday of the summer, so millions of Americans take to the road to get to their favorite destinations; especially if they did not get to do so during Memorial Day weekend or the Fourth of July.

As we have noted in prior posts, holiday weekend travel can be treacherous. There is a higher volume of traffic, which contributes to the higher incidence of accidents. Further, heavy traffic can wear on a person’s nerves, so it may lead to road rage incidents.

While you may not be so concerned with road rage, it is important to understand the factors behind road rage. This post will explore a few.

Change of protocol for neonatal care unit cut back on mistakes

Published on: August 6, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Imagine for a moment that you work in a neonatal care unit. A baby has just been born, but with some complications. You and your fellow medical professionals need to take care of this baby, as well as myriad other babies, that are in your neonatal care unit. So, here is the question: since this baby was just born and the parents haven’t decided on a name yet, how do you identify this baby? In fact, how do you identify all the babies? What naming protocol would you come up with?

Most neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) use a simple and generic naming protocol with names such as “babygirl” and “babyboy” being augmented with numbers to identify each baby. These names are put on wristbands that are then put on the babies. One study found that about 80 percent of NICUs use this type of simplified naming to identify patients.

But here’s the problem with this naming structure: all the patients wristbands start to look the same, even with the differentiating number. And, as a result, it is far easier for medical professionals to make mistake and incorrectly identify the patients.

NTSB calls for crash avoidance systems in all cars

Published on: August 5, 2015 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

If you are in the market for a new car, chances are that the salespeople you meet will tout their vehicle’s advance safety warning features. What began a few years ago as a unique perk only seen on luxury models such as Lexus and Mercedes Benz has found its way to mainstream models in Chevrolet, Ford and Honda vehicles.

While these features are growing in popularity, only a small fraction of all cars on the road have them. But this could change as more older cars are replaced by new ones. As a matter of fact, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has called for them to become standard equipment on all new cars sold in the U.S.

The NTSB recently released a 60 page report detailing the safety benefits of advanced warning systems. Essentially, the report focused on how many lives can be saved because of all the accidents that can be avoided (no pun intended) by the alerts provided by these systems. With more than 500,000 people injured in accidents each year across the country, the NTSB proposed that nearly 80 percent of collisions could be prevented.