Over the last decade, the use of bicycles to get around New York City has more than quadrupled. Citibike began operating in New York City in May of 2013, and since that time, New Yorkers have taken over 50 million rides. Membership has increased from 5,000 to over 150,000 and there are now over 950 docking stations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island and New Jersey City. That trend has been accelerated by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Nationwide, bicycle sales have doubled. In May of 2020, it became nearly impossible to by a bicycle at local bicycle shops in New York City. Lines snaked around corners in Brooklyn and Queens. Showroom floors where empty. New Yorkers, concerned about the spread of the coronavirus on subways and buses, rushed to buy bicycles ahead of New York City's planned reopening in June.
Along with this increase in bicycle use, there has been an increase in bicycle accidents. In the last month, the New York City Police Department reported a 7% increase in bicycle accidents compared to 2019, while simultaneously reporting a 60% decrease in total collisions. As more people get back to work in New York City and choose to commute by bicycle, the incidents of injuries resulting from bicycle accidents is sure to increase.
While New York City has continued to expand its installation of protected bike lanes, New York City still lags behind many major cities. Accordingly, bicyclists in New York City need to be extra-vigilant to avoid begin injured or killed by a motor vehicle in New York City. While the risk of bicycle riding in New York City has decreased when taking into account the increase in rides, the absolute number of fatalities has generally remained in the range of 150 deaths per year. Last year was the exception with cycling deaths nearly tripling. Now, with a surge of bicyclists on the roads, many of whom have chosen bicycle transportation as their primary means of transportation for the first time, we are concerned that the incidents of serious injury and death are likely to continue to rise.
To protect yourself, Bike New York recommends that bicyclist always ride in the same direction as traffic, never ride within the “door zone”, the area within 4-5 feet of parked cars, be extra careful at intersections, avoid making a left-hand turn from the right side of the intersection or a right turn from the left side and obey traffic signals and signs. Bicyclists should also remember that they are required to follow the rules of the road, just like cars. In New York City, a bicyclist must use a bike lane whenever available, unless at an intersection or where the use of the bike lane would be unsafe.
However, vehicles in New York City must also remember that on most streets in New York City in many circumstances, bicyclists have the right-of-way. Motorist have a duty to keep a vigilant lookout for bicyclists, to sound their horn to warn a bicyclist of danger and to avoid colliding with a bicyclist. Driving on or across a bike lane is prohibited, except when necessary to access a driveway, leave a parking space, cross or turn in an intersection, comply with law enforcement officer or avoid an obstacle. Bicyclists are permitted on both sides of most one-way streets.
When a car, truck or bus crash into a bicyclist, the bicyclist is often seriously injured. These accidents call for prompt investigation so that potentially valuable evidence can be preserved. The bicyclist may also be concerned about how they are going to pay their medical bill or replace income where they can no longer work. Fortunately, when a car hits a bicyclist, New York's no-fault insurance law will apply and the bicyclist can get these losses reimbursed through the car's insurance.
The lawyers and paralegals at Sullivan Brill handle its client's no-fault claims for free. The firm has decades of experience representing victims of bicycle accidents. In one recently resolved case, the firm recovered $425,000 on behalf of a bicyclist that injured his hand after getting hit by a car. If you or someone you care about has been involved in a bicycle accident, you should not delay in contacting an attorney. There are deadlines that must be met in order to obtain no-fault benefits and investigation that must be done to maximize the potential value of any claim against the motorist.
In April of 2019, the 3M Dual Sided Combat Earplugs multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) was created and assigned to Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida. The MDL includes lawsuits against 3M alleging that the plaintiff suffered hearing loss and/or tinnitus as a result of the use of the defective 3M dual-sided earplugs that 3M exclusively supplied to the military between 2003 and 2015. After its formation, Judge Rodgers appointed a plaintiff steering committee, which is a group of attorneys designated to organize and lead all of the attorneys throughout the country that are representing veterans in the litigation. This enables the attorneys to collectively work together, share resources and file cases against 3M in a uniform manner.
For the past year, the litigation has been in the discovery phase. Discovery is the process of obtaining the relevant documents and information related to building the case. Hundreds of thousands of documents related to the design, manufacturing, marketing, safety testing and sale of the 3M earplugs have been produced, and sworn testimony has been taken from many witnesses with knowledge of these issues.
The judge has prioritized the production of documents and depositions relating to 3M's government contractor immunity defense. This defense would provide 3M Company with immunity from being sued. Recently, the parties have filed motions for summary judgment on this defense. Summary judgment is a process by which both sides present their evidence and written legal argument on whether a defense should apply in a case. Judge Rodgers will soon rule on whether the government contractor defense applies to this case. If Judge Roger's rules the way 3M is requesting, all of the cases will be dismissed. If the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the defense will be dismissed, and the litigation will continue.
Simultaneous with discovery, the judge has been developing and executing a bellwether selection process. The bellwether selection process is a process by which a small number of individual cases are chosen for trial. Bellwether trials are the initial trials that are used to get a sense of how juries will evaluate the evidence to assist both sides in moving the MDL towards resolution. As of December of 2019, there were 139,693 individuals that had filed claims. Out of those, 1% were randomly selected to be considered for a potential bellwether case. Next, the cases were analyzed to identify characteristics that were most representative of the whole population. The characteristics found in that analysis were then applied to the 1%, which narrowed the pool to 175 individuals. Of those, 20 cases plus five alternate cases were chosen to be the bellwether trials.
The court has laid out a timeline for general discovery to be completed by July of 2020. Thereafter, discovery in the bellwether trials will be completed, and the first bellwether trials are anticipated to begin in the spring of 2021.
If you or a loved one has suffered hearing loss or tinnitus as a result of using the 3M Dual-Sided Earplugs while serving in the United States Military, please contact our office at 212-566-1000 to speak to an attorney that can help you. Sullivan Brill Personal Injury Attorneys in New York provide expert legal guidance for your defective earplug claims. Contact us today!
This month attorneys have filed a request to centralize the Allergan Biocell textured breast implants lawsuits into a multidistrict litigation, also known as an MDL. The Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation, JPML, is a panel of judges who will decided whether to grant this request. An MDL would consolidate the several class action lawsuits that have been filed, along with any individual cases that have been or will be filed since the recall of the breast implants into one litigation before the same judge.
The FDA has reported that women with Allergan textured breast implants have a six fold increase in the risk of developing breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, BIA-ALCL, a cancer associated with the recalled product, over any other manufacturer. The plaintiffs argue that these cases should be consolidated because of the number of women that have been affected and the commonality of their claims. Thousands of women have the recalled implants and hundreds have already began to exhibit symptoms of BIA-ALCL.
Although Allergan has agreed to cover the cost to replace the implant itself, it has not agreed to supplement any of the expenses associated with the replacement, such has the removal surgery or medical monitoring costs. The plaintiffs motion seeks to centralize the pending cases before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee or the United States District Court for the Central District of California. While the class action lawsuits have initiated the consolidation, individual BIA-ALCL claims will likely also be centralized into the MDL and will preserve their individual identities, utilizing the MDL processes while moving toward trial. Sullivan Brill Personal Injury Attorneys in New York are here to help victims seek justice and compensation for injuries related to these recalled implants. Contact us today for expert legal guidance.
Less than a month after textured breast implant manufacturer, Allergan, announced its voluntary recall, two women have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. On July 24th, Allergan recalled certain textured breast implants and tissue expanders. On July 30th, Allergan announced it will pay to cover the cost of a new implant itself, but will not cover the cost of the surgery to remove and replace them.
The two women who have filed the lawsuit allege that Allegeran was aware of the increased risk of developing BIA-ALCL and dismissed and downplayed the potential risks. Like many others, these two women have spent large sums of money unbeknownst to them that the product could increase their risk of developing cancer. The class action seeks to compel Allergan to cover the costs associated with explanting the recalled product and replacing them with a safe option.
The lawyers at Sullivan & Brill, LLP are currently representing women that have been implanted with these recalled breast implants and are investigating the strength of their legal claims. No one should have to deal with the anxiety and stress of living with a recalled product inside their bodies. A medical device manufacturer has a duty to ensure that the device is reasonably safe for its intended purpose and to warn consumers of the risks of which it is aware. If the medical device is not suited for its intended purpose or if the manufacturer is aware of risks, but does not warn of these risks, the company should be held responsible for the harm the device causes.
Contact Sullivan Brill Personal Injury Attorneys for a free consultation on whether you have a viable claim, call 212-566-1000 or complete the form on the right and one of our attorneys will contact you.
As more recalls on popular blood pressure medications rollout, users should check their prescriptions bottles and see if their medication has been recalled. Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan are the Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs) being recalled depending on the dosage, manufacturer and lot number. The list of affected medications is not complete because the FDA is still undertaking testing of all ARBs to see if they are contaminated with the carcinogens. To see if the medication you are taking has been tested yet, and if so, what the results were, click here.
This week Teva Pharmaceuticals's voluntary recall list has expanded. Earlier in April, it recalled 35 lots of Losartan; now it has recalled an additional six lots possibly affected by the carcinogen.
The original recall states: “Based on the available information, the risk of developing cancer in a few patients following long-term use of the product cannot be ruled out”.
Teva, along with many other manufacturers, has been called on to account as to why this has occurred and to provide compensation to those who have been harmed by the medication.
The recalls which have been coming since July 2018 are the result of contamination with cancer-causing substances during the formulatiion process. Three substances found to have contaminated many lots of Valsartan are N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), and/or N-Methylnitrosobutyric acid (NMBA).
A 2018 study in Denmark showed a 9% increased risk for cancer for people who ingested Valsartan contaminated with NDMA. Short term risks are still being evaluated, but the long term effects such as liver damage, stomach cancer, kidney cancer and colon cancer have been scientifically linked to the use of the contaminated drugs for longer than 6 months.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with liver damage or gastrointestinal cancer after extended exposure to Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan, please call Sullivan Brill Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation at (212)-566-1000.
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