Edelman & Edelman, P.C.'s Blog

Truck driver fatigue: Will proposed bill make things better?

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Personal Injury on Tuesday, April 24, 2018.

Having fatigued truckers on the road is an obvious danger, which is one reason why there are so many rules and regulations regarding how long truck drivers can stay behind the wheel before taking a break.

While the purpose of these rules is to make our roadways safer, some believe the current regulations -- otherwise known as the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations -- are far too strict, and do nothing for highway safety. One lawmaker has even introduced legislation (House Resolution 5417) that would, is passed, require changes to the current HOS regs.

Is malpractice immunity for doctors a good idea? Not for victims.

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Medical Malpractice on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

Any time people talk about rising healthcare costs, the conversation often turns into a debate about tort reform. On one side of the argument are those who believe doctors need to be held accountable when they make mistakes. After all, how can victims of medical malpractice be expected to move forward with their lives if they are unable to seek damages for their injuries?

Conversely, those on the other side of the debate often believe that malpractice insurance is driving up healthcare costs, which is why malpractice victims should have their damages capped. Some even believe that doctors should have immunity from medical malpractice lawsuits altogether -- a proposition that was tested in a recently released study.

Report: Immigrant construction workers are often the most at risk

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Construction Accidents on Tuesday, April 10, 2018.

A few months ago, we told you about a report issued by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) that found that construction deaths in New York hit a 14-year high in 2016. This annual report, which was aptly titled Deadly Skyline, provided an in-depth analysis on construction fatalities throughout the state.

While most of the report focused on construction deaths in general, there was one section near the end that called out a significant fact: Certain groups of construction workers, namely immigrants, are killed at higher rates than other construction workers.

Medical malpractice claims are often linked to misdiagnoses

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Medical Malpractice on Monday, April 9, 2018.

When we go to the hospital with a medical emergency, we expect that the doctors working there will be able to at least figure out what is causing our medical problems. Unfortunately, we may be expecting too much.

In fact, a report issued last month found that diagnosis problems/mistakes were linked to roughly one-third of all medical malpractice claims, with more than half of those malpractice claims involving poor clinical decision-making.

4 reasons why people were exonerated in 2017

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Wrongful Convictions on Friday, March 30, 2018.

According to a recent report issued by The National Registry of Exonerations, there were at least 139 wrongfully-convicted individuals who were exonerated last year in the United States, with New York having the fourth most exonerations in the nation.

On average, these victims spent more than 10 years behind bars before their wrongful convictions were overturned. So why did these individuals have to spend so many years needlessly in prison? Well, there are many reasons why wrongful convictions occur, including, but certainly not limited to:

Immigrant worker dies in forklift accident

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Construction Accidents on Friday, March 16, 2018.

According to officials, a 34-year-old immigrant construction worker was killed in a horrific forklift accident while working on a Queens' construction site last Tuesday. Sadly, this particular construction site is no stranger to safety-related problems.

In fact, a partial stop-work order was issued last September for this site after concrete sitting on plywood collapsed and a worker fell an entire story from the 8th floor to the 7th. And even though the site was under an active stop-work order at the time of the most recent accident, it technically didn't prohibit workers from storing materials there.

Another bill seeks to amend New York's wrongful conviction law

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Wrongful Convictions on Monday, March 12, 2018.

A couple weeks ago, we told you about a re-introduced New York bill that is currently seeking to increase the benefits provided to victims of wrongful convictions. Among the benefits proposed by this legislation -- otherwise known as Assembly Bill 3894 -- include free college tuition, health care paid for by the state and the reimbursement of legal fees.

Well, it turns out this bill isn't the only piece of legislation being re-introduced by New York lawmakers this year. In fact, Assembly Bill 5306 was also amended and re-committed to the Judiciary Committee on March 5 -- and this bill proposes significantly larger wrongful-conviction benefits than AB 3894.

"Fatal Four" still cause more than 60% of construction deaths

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Construction Accidents on Tuesday, March 6, 2018.

Every year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issues its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, a report dedicated to examining the number of fatal work injuries suffered in a number of industries, including construction.

Unfortunately, the most recent report is not any better than the previous year's report -- and in many instances, even worse, particularly for construction workers.

Study: One out of five patients misdiagnosed

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Medical Malpractice on Friday, March 2, 2018.

Over the last several years, few industries have experienced as many advancements and breakthroughs as healthcare -- everything from new medications to state-of-the-art surgical and diagnostic tools.

Given these many medical advancements, one would think that now more than ever we could trust hospitals and doctors to quickly diagnose and treat our medical conditions. Sadly, if you believe this, you would be wrong.

Bill seeks to create new benefits for wrongful conviction victims

On behalf of Edelman & Edelman, P.C. posted in Wrongful Convictions on Monday, February 26, 2018.

Several New York lawmakers are sponsoring legislation that will, if passed, increase the benefits for those wrongfully convicted of criminal offenses.

The bill -- otherwise known as Assembly Bill 3894 -- was actually first proposed early last year, but it failed to gain any significant traction in 2017. Fortunately, lawmakers re-introduced an amended version in 2018.