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The latest in a string of New York boating accidents occurred yesterday on New York’s Hudson River, near Tivoli when, at around 6:30 a.m., a nineteen foot Chris Craft boat collided with a concrete structure near the eastern shore of the river. According to reports, Joseph Vehnick called 911 after reaching shore. Jessica Hotailing also survived. John Uvino, Robert Macarthur, Deena Cordero and Jay Bins were killed in the crash.

According to Syracuse boat accident lawyer Michael A. Bottar, “nationally, more than 600 people die every year in boating accidents, including on New York’s waterways.” Bottar added, “while most people are injured when two boats collide, the number three cause of death and injury is collision with a fixed object.” Recent United States Coast Guard boating accident statistics can be found here.

Liability for a death or injury that occurs as a result of a boating accident can fall on a number of parties, including the boat’s owner, the boat’s operator, a bar or restaurant (if alcohol was involved) and a town, county or the state if, for example, a waterway is improperly marked. Examples of improper markings include the failure to identify a known hazard with a buoy, the absence of channel markings, and blown buoy or channel lighting.

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Earlier today, two CSX employees abandoned a moving locomotive just seconds before a collision with another train. The New York train crash occurred in Dewitt, near Court Street. According to Syracuse.com, witnesses reported that it felt like an “earthquake” when the trains collided. Several cars derailed.

New York train accidents are more common than one would think. According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) database, CSX has been involved in more than 80 accidents since 2008. The majority of these accidents were due to track switches that were improperly aligned. Per the FRA, other causes of CSX train accidents include the use of excessive horsepower, human factors (i.e., human errors), improper instruction, defective equipment and fouled tracks.

“We have handled several train accident cases over the past decade,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq. “Each case has involved negligence on the part of the railroad, e.g., ignoring warnings about pedestrians crossing the tracks, speeding, improper track maintenance, and failing to use appropriate signal lights and warning devices.” Cases against the railroad are complicated because evidence necessary to establish railroad liability frequently goes missing. Things like speed tapes, event recorders and dispatch or inspection records quickly vanish. Bottar added, “a review of published court decisions reveals that several motions against railroads for the destruction of evidence. This pattern of behavior is suspicious, to say the least.”
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A Syracuse man was killed on Saturday while riding his motorcycle, without a helmet, to protest New York’s motorcycle helmet law. According to Syracuse.com, at or about 1:30 p.m. on July 2, 2011, 55 year old Philip Contos went over the handlebars of his Harley motorcycle. Apparently, Mr. Contos looked down to inspect a problem and, when he looked up, traffic had slowed. He slammed on his brakes, fishtailed and was propelled forward onto his head. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Syracuse.

According to Syracuse motorcycle accident lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC, a New York personal injury law firm, “approximately 5,000 people are killed every year while operating a motorcycle – many due to head trauma.” Even though helmets save lives, as many as 50% of riders report that they do not wear a helmet. Common complaints about helmets include impaired sight lines, difficultly hearing traffic sounds and discomfort. Bottar added, “the single most critical factor in the prevention of a motorcycle head injury is the use of a safety helmet, assuming the helmet is one that complies with FMVSS218.”

Helmets are a necessary safety countermeasure because motor vehicle operators often fail to see motorcycle riders. Bottar added, “two-thirds of all motorcycle accidents occur when a car invades the motorcycle right-of-way.”

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On June 29, 2011, Syracuse personal injury lawyer Anthony S. Bottar filed a New York wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the wife and son of Robert B. Burkard, a 47 year old man who was killed when his car was struck on June 28, 2009 by a vehicle operated by Leo A. Coleman. Burkard’s widow and son also sustained serious injuries in the collision, which occurred at the intersection of County Routes 54 and 125. The named defendants are several Sackets Harbor establishments, including the Boathouse, Sackets Harbor Brew Pub and Good Fellos.

As reported in the Watertown Daily Times article titled “DWI Victim’s Widow Sues 3 Restaurants,” Coleman admitted that he was intoxicated at the time of the accident and now is serving time in state prison.

Under New York State Dram Shop laws, all businesses that serve alcohol to customers have a duty to ensure that they do not provide alcoholic beverages to customers that are visibly intoxicated. A restaurant or bar that serves alcohol to a patron that is visibly drunk (or who may be drunk given the number of alcoholic beverages consumed over a given time period) may be liable for damages caused by the intoxicated customer, including personal injuries that arise out of a car accident that occurs after the customer leaves the bar.

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According to Syracuse.com, the body of Richard G. Fesko was found on Friday afternoon in a manure pit off of East Lake Road in Skaneateles, New York. The circumstances of Mr. Fesko’s death are under investigation. The family told police that Mr. Fesko was spreading manure the day he died.

Generally, manure is spread by a tractor equipped with a manure spreader. Customarily, the spreader is either attached to or pulled behind the tractor. Tractor attachments, including manure spreaders, can cause tractors to become unstable and tip or roll depending upon the terrain. If a tractor that does not have ROPS (roll over protection systems) flips or rolls, the driver can be thrown from the equipment and suffer serious injury and/or be crushed underneath the weight of the machine.

For more than twenty years, farm equipment manufacturers have known that ROPS save lives. While most manufacturers build their machines with ROPS, some have refused to do so — primarily because ROPS make equipment more expensive. In these circumstances, the manufacturer of the equipment may be liable for personal injury and/or wrongful death. Other equipment was manufactured and sold before ROPS became standard operating equipment. Even so, manufacturers have a duty to notify existing customers that safety devices have become available and can be retrofit to old machines. We discussed ROPS subsidies in our prior post entitled “New York Tractor Rollover Injury and Death To Decline With ROPS Subsidy.”

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From 2000 to 2006, nearly 300 construction workers died when a trench in which they were standing caved-in on them. “There are four types of trench collapse,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC, a New York law firm representing workers disabled in a trench collapse. “Each is preventable.”

One type of trench collapse is known as a “soil pile slide.” A soil pile slide occurs when dirt removed from the trench is piled too close to the edge. If the dirt is piled too high, becomes too wet, or is exposed to vibration fro machinery, it may slide back into the hole. Even though the soil pile slide is the most common trench collapse, it causes few fatalities. The second type of trench collapse is known as a “shear wall collapse.” A shear wall collapse occurs when the top part of the trench wall breaks free from the surrounding earth and fills the trench. Shear wall collapses occur most often in clay-based soil. They occur without warning and usually result in fatalities because, on average, 2-3 yards of soil weighing 5-8,000 pounds can fill the trench. The third type of trench collapse is known as a “belly slough.” A belly slough occurs when the middle part of the trench wall (i.e., the belly) breaks free from the surrounding earth and fills the trench. A belly slough usually occurs around underground utilities or where there is running water near the trench. This type of cave in usually results in deep burial and worker fatalities. The fourth type of trench collapse is known as a “lip slide.” A lip slide occurs when the lip of the trench fractures and a small portion of dirt falls into the trench. Sometimes, a lip slide will precede or cause a soil pile slide or shear wall collapse.

Click here to view the CDC and NIOSH web-based training tutorial called “Trench Safety Awareness,” with trench collapse animations. While trench cave-ins can be prevented with sloping, benching, shoring and shielding, many contractors fail to take steps to protect workers. Recently, OSHA found that two trenches in Hahira, Georgia were dangerous because they lacked trench cave-in protection. There was no shield system in place. While on site, OSHA also found that the contractor failed to have a ladder on site to gain safe access to the trench, that employees were exposed to unreasonable fall hazards, and that employees were not properly trained about excavation hazards.

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Many people do not understand how the legal system works when it comes to an injury sustained in a car accident, or while on-the-job. “The system clearly favors the insurance companies,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC. “But the Baldato decision begins to level the playing field.”

New York has a “No-Fault” law which pays for lost wages and medical bills following a car accident. However, in order to receive the benefits, an injured person must do everything the No-Fault insurer says. One of the requirements will be to attend an independent medical examination, also known as an IME. At the IME, a doctor selected by the insurance company will see the injured person, usually for 15-20 minutes, and then generate a report. In almost all circumstances, the IME report will provide that there is nothing wrong with the person. No-Fault benefits then terminate (i.e., instant financial savings). A similar process exists under New York’s workers compensation law. If a worker is injured on-the-job, they are entitled to lost wages and medical care provided they follow the directions of the Workers Compensation insurance carrier. One of the requirements will be to attend an IME. As is the case with No-Fault, often the IME report will provide that there is nothing wrong with the person. Workers Compensation benefits then terminate.

Until recently, you could not file a New York medical malpractice lawsuit against the IME doctor for incorrect advice, e.g., that the injured person is not hurt, has no disability and/or is fit to return to work, because of the absence of a “doctor-patient” relationship. This is no longer the case.

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“New York has more than 7,000,000 acres of farmland and almost 25,000 farm families. And farming in New York, especially on our hilly landscape, can be challenging,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC, a team of New York product liability attorneys.

According to the National Safety Council, the leading cause of farmer death over the past 40 years has been tractor rollovers or overturns. Many of the tractors involved in incidents leading to serious injury or death were brought into the country long ago. Some of the tractors were imported through intended channels, including authorized United States dealers and distributors. However, some of the equipment is “gray market.” Gray market equipment is equipment manufactured for another market, such as Asia, but imported into the United States through private channels for resale and use.

However tractors made their way into the United States, and into the possession of New York farmers, many are not equipped with rollover protection systems (also known as ROPS). ROPS include seatbelts, as well as cabins or cages to protect an occupant from a crush injury should the equipment flip during use. “These machines may be unreasonably dangerous and, in turn, defective,” Bottar said.

This year, New York State will spend as much as $100,000.00 to equip tractors with ROPS by offering a discount or subsidy to farmers of $600.00 for a ROPS system to update equipment manufactured by, e.g., Kubota, Yanmar and Caterpillar. The telephone number for the ROPS hotline is: 1-877-ROPS-R4U.
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Michael A. Bottar, Esq., an an attorney representing the the victims of negligence and malpractice throughout the State of New York, was re-elected this month to the Board of Directors of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers is a 1700 member organization that is committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system.

Michael Bottar is also an adjunct professor at Syracuse University College of Law, where he co-authors the Civil Practice chapter of the Syracuse Law Review Survey, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Syracuse University Law Alumni Association.

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“More than 400 construction accidents occur every day,” said Syracuse work injury lawyer Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC. “Aggressive deadlines and tight budgets often lead general contractors and property owners to cut corners. Unfortunately, many of these accidents are preventable.”

Last Wednesday, a Binghamton construction accident led to traffic delays on the Vestal parkway, near the main entrance to Binghamton University. At or about 7:30 a.m., a construction worker was driving an excavator when the arm of the machine struck and severed a utility pole. The pole fell to the ground and downed a Time Warner Cable fiber optic line. Fortunately, no one was injured.

This was not the case with the June 3, 2010 Binghamton scaffolding collapse discussed in our entry titled Syracuse Work Injury Lawyer Consulted On Binghamton New York Construction Accident Liability.

“In this instance, the workers were lucky,” said New York personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq. “Not everyone is. We recently represented a man who was strapped to a utility pole when it broke and fell to the ground. His pelvis was crushed in the fall. While we were able to recover $1,700,000.00 for him, he is now permanently, totally disabled. He will never be the same.”
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