Albany Personal Injury Law Blog

It is absolutely unacceptable for a nursing home to neglect or abuse its residents. When the owner of an Albany nursing home or assisted living facility makes a profit by taking the money coming in from the federal government and residential fees and uses the money to live a life of luxury while his or her residents starve, New York law enforcement needs to take action. After a conviction for nursing home abuse, however, the families of the residents should file lawsuits against the owner for the pain and suffering their loved ones were forced to endure.

A horrific story of nursing home abuse will shock many in New York, but it serves as an example of how far greed will drive people and who suffers as a result. The owner of three nursing homes had been collecting funds from Medicare and Medicaid for providing residents with a hygienic, safe environment in which they would receive medical care, assistance and food. In actuality, he provided none of these things.

It is starting to become pool weather in Albany and in a few months children will be splashing happily in a neighbor's pool, sliding down an inflatable slide. While many Albany parents may be looking forward to making summer memories with their kids, they should also know of an important product recall, too.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recently recalled approximately 21,000 inflatable pool slides after several people have reported serious injuries and one person has died after using the slides. Since these slides were sold in Wal-Mart and Toys R Us stores, it is likely that some of the slides sold have found their way to Albany and New York.

It is an absolute shock to hear that your mother is in the hospital after being hit by a car. While many New Yorkers' reactions may be to jump in the car and rush to the hospital, this story reminds us that, no matter what the circumstances, it is important to follow the speed limit.

Sadly, after a mother was struck in a hit-and-run accident, her son was killed after his friend sped him to the hospital. The friend behind the wheel appeared to be driving while intoxicated and has subsequently been arrested. It is unclear how fast he was going, but investigating officers said he was driving fast. When combined with alcohol, speed can quickly become deadly.

The people of Albany have heard it over and over again in the news -- pit bulls attack, seriously injure or kill humans. While it is clear that not every single pit bull in New York will injure someone, the fact that they are responsible for a large number of dog attacks has led several towns, cities and states to enact regulations to better protect their citizens from pit bull-related injuries.

Though it happened outside of New York, one state's highest court has determined that pit bulls are "inherently dangerous." Many groups are praising the court's decision, believing that it will reduce the number of dog attacks within the state. Now, a dog-bite victim will not need to show any kind of negligence in order to hold an owner liable.

CNN reports that more than 100 former professional football players are joining more than 1,500 other players who have filed suit against the NFL. The players allege that the League hid the dangers of concussions from them, causing injuries, accusing the league of "repeatedly refuting the connection between concussions and brain injury."  To read the full article, click this link.

Recent studies have found a connection between concussions and traumatic encephalopathy, which is a neuro-degenerative disease that may cause Alzheimer's-like symptoms including memory loss, inability to concentrate, and psychological and emotional disturbances.

Traumatic Brain Injuries occur when the brain is accelerated and then rapidly decelerated within the skull. When that occurs, the soft brain is caused to collide with the bony and pointy parts of the skull, resulting in brain damage through axonal shearing. Axonal shearing may be localized or more diffuse, and thus various parts of the brain that control different functions may be affected even if a blow lands only on one part of the head.

The effects of brain damage caused by these types of coup-contre-coup brain injuries include memory loss, cognitive deficiencies, fatigue, headaches (both migraine and tension), psychological disorders, concentration problems, and other related problems.

Dreyer Boyajian LLP represents victims of traumatic brain injuries. To read more about our practice, click here. Contact out office for a free consultation with one of our attorneys.

Serving your country by going overseas and fighting is a noble thing, but there are certain risks that are associated with active duty in a war zone. A new study has shown that returning veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to cause a New York car accident than soldiers who are preparing to go into active duty.

It seems that soldiers' exposure to improvised explosive devices and other roadside dangers has been a huge obstacle to driving in civilian New York. The study shows that many of the soldiers have taken the driving techniques they used in war zones to stay alive and brought them back to Albany. As a result "objects in the road" have turned out to be the number one reason behind their car accidents.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has alleged that Sprint-Nextel Corp. has deliberately under-collected and underpaid millions of dollars in New York state and local sales taxes on flat-rate access charges for wireless calling plans.

Schneiderman has announced a "first-of-its-kind" tax enforcement lawsuit under the New York False Claims Act, which Schneiderman authored himself in 2010. The False Claims Act ("FCA") permits whistleblowers and prosecutors to take legal action against entities and individuals who submit fraudulent claims to the government. Twenty-nine states and the federal government have passed false claims acts, however, only New York's expressly permits actions for tax fraud.

The Attorney General's complaint alleges that since 2005, Sprint failed to pay New York sales taxes to artificially bring down costs to gain a competitive edge and purposefully submitted false records and statements to New York State tax authorities. Schneiderman further states that Sprint did this in violation of "extremely clear and unambiguous" tax law.

The action against Sprint began as a qui tam or whistleblower lawsuit, filed in March 2011 by Empire State Ventures, LLC in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. After an investigation by the Taxpayer Protection Bureau, the Attorney General intervened in the action and filed a superseding complaint against Sprint.

The FCA allows for treble damages, penalties, and attorneys' fees to be assessed against the wrongdoer. The qui tam provision of the New York FCA permits the whistleblower to recover up to twenty-five percent of the amount recovered.

Dreyer Boyajian is currently handling several cases involving whistleblower claims. If you have a potential whistleblower claim, contact our office for a free consultation with one of our attorneys.

Men and women know that even though the New York and federal governments have passed legislation banning workplace sexual harassment, it continues to be a problem for many New Yorkers. The Huffington Post reports that there are certain societal pressures that have encouraged many men in business, sports and politics to sexually harass a coworker or subordinate. What many people in New York may not realize, however, is that the financial injuries of sexual abuse are just as devastating as the emotional and physical ones.

When a New Yorker is sexually abused by a coworker or a boss, he or she can file a sexual abuse lawsuit. While people may assume that criminal punishment is enough, many victims of workplace or other sexual abuse suffer financial and other injuries that are not addressed by a criminal conviction. It is important, however, to choose a sexual abuse lawyer that has considerable experience in this complex and sensitive field.

Two Greenwich School District administrators have been criminally charged with failing to report accusations of sexual abuse.  Under New York law, teachers and administrators are mandated to report accusations of sexual abuse to the authorities, and the failure to do so constitutes a crime and may lead to criminal charges.

Superintendent Matthias Donnelly and Principal Benjamin Pisani have been accused of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse and molestation against elementary art school teacher Eric McHenry.  WNYT reports that the Court granted a two-week adjournment to allow for settlement negotiations between the accused and the Washington County District Attorney's Office.  Click this link to see that story.

Dreyer Boyajian LLP represents victims of sexual abuse.  Cases involving the sexual abuse of minors often implicate complex legal issues of municipal liability, as in the case of a school or social service department's failure to report or failure to protect minors from ongoing abuse that they know or reasonably should know is occurring.  Dreyer Boyajian LLP has extensive experience litigating these civil rights cases. To read more about our practice, click here.  Contact our offices for a free consultation with one of our attorneys.