April 07, 2011 (Press-News.org) Witnesses to a recent fatal bus crash in the Bronx told law enforcement that the bus was veering erratically before flipping onto one side and striking a sign post. The post sliced through the passenger compartment almost to the rear of the vehicle, creating horrific carnage in the passenger area and nearly removing the roof. The bus was returning from a Connecticut casino to Chinatown in Manhattan when the accident occurred early on a Saturday morning, just after the bus entered the Bronx from Westchester County.
A host of reports soon after indicated that the driver, Ophadell Williams of Brooklyn, had a previous criminal conviction for homicide, as well as a grand larceny record for defrauding Police Athletic League donors. More to the point, his driving privileges under a different name had been suspended in 1995 for ignoring speeding tickets.
Williams told NYC police that he had been sideswiped by a semi before crashing the World Wide Travel bus on I-95, but no other evidence has corroborated this claim. Surviving passengers have told police that he fell asleep behind the wheel before the catastrophic bus accident.
The horrific accident killed 15 of 32 passengers, and several injured passengers remained in critical condition and on respirators days later. The state quickly revoked Williams's license, and the circumstances behind the Bronx fatal bus accident will certainly direct attention toward the bus company's screening process and supervisory practices.
Transportation Companies Must Promote Safe Practices
Fatal transportation accidents that take the lives of citizens present a host of complex issues and a fierce desire for accountability. Companies that fail to enact or follow through on responsible hiring and training policies put innocent people in danger. Bus accidents, subway accidents and taxi cab accidents all have that one tragic factor in common: a passenger invested trust in the carrier's ability to provide safe passage.
Federal investigators and NY State Police have studied the wreckage of the World Wide Travel bus, and a series of personal injury and wrongful death claims will seek to make sense out of tragedy as injury victims and surviving family members seek justice. Williams met with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators soon after the accident, and a variety of evidence, from witness testimony to black box data, will likely come into play as legal claims arise.
Long distance bus accidents represent unique problems for the attorneys representing injured passengers. The earlier the attorney is hired the better for the case. The attorneys and their investigators will be able to examine the wreckage and do their investigation concurrently with the official investigation. Valuable information needed to protect the rights of the passenger will be developed and protected. Remember that the insurance company representing the bus owner will have mobile investigation units available to respond immediately to the accident scene where they take statements from injured persons amid the chaos. While the passengers should freely discuss their observations with the police and other government agents, they are under no obligation to talk to investigators for an insurance company. This is especially true while they are still trying to recover from their injuries.
NTSB investigations can take upwards of a year to be completed and reported. Much of what they discover would not be directly admissible in Court. Therefore, independent investigation by the attorney for the injured passenger is essential. The New York City motor vehicle accident attorneys who will handle those claims have one consistent goal: to pursue compensation that reflects the level of harm the accident caused to innocent travelers and devastated families.
Article provided by Tolmage Peskin Harris & Falick
Visit us at www.stephanpeskin.com
Bronx Bus Accident Claims 15 NYC Lives, Negligent Hiring Suspected
The circumstances behind the recent Bronx fatal bus accident will certainly direct attention toward whether the bus company was negligenct in its screening process and supervisory practices.
2011-04-07
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Seeing rice with X-rays may improve crop yields
2011-04-07
College Park, Md. (April 6, 2011) -- Most people experience X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanners when they are evaluated for a suspected tumor or blood clot. But in the lab of Dr. Quin Liu, PhD., in Wuhan China, rice plants were the patients in a novel use of CT scanners as part of an agriculture study to increase rice yield.
Into the CT scanner on a conveyor belt went little potted rice plants in an automated facility that could process 4,320 rice plants a day. The non-invasive CT energy analyzed tissues and matched their traits against a computer program to aid ...
Malpractice Case Highlights Expert Testimony Disclosure in Connecticut
2011-04-07
When it comes to arguing and proving medical malpractice claims at trial, providing strong expert testimony to support these cases is crucial. The Supreme Court of Connecticut recently decided a case, Klein v. Norwalk, which highlights this important tactic, as well as the standard for disclosing what points an expert will make during testimony. Although this case had a long and difficult journey through multiple Connecticut courts, and continues to make waves, the Connecticut Supreme Court made Klein v. Norwalk a noteworthy opinion.
Klein's Claim
According to the ...
Here's looking at you!
2011-04-07
CORAL GABLES, FL (April 6, 2011)—Learning how babies communicate can teach us a lot about the development of human social interactions. Psychologist Daniel Messinger, from the University of Miami (UM), studies infants' interactions and has found that babies are not simply living in the moment. Instead, infants seem to have particular interests that create historical footprints reflected in the infants' visual engagement over time. The findings were published today, in a study titled, 'Are You Interested, Baby?' Young Infants Exhibit Stable Patterns of Attention during Interaction." ...
New device promises safer way to deliver powerful drugs
2011-04-07
College Park, Md. (April 6, 2011) -- A new drug delivery device designed and constructed by Jie Chen, Thomas Cesario and Peter Rentzepis promises to unlock the potential of photosensitive chemicals to kill drug-resistant infections and perhaps cancer tumors as well.
Photosensitive chemicals are molecules that release single oxygen atoms and chemical radicals when illuminated. These radicals are very active chemically, and can rip apart and destroy bacteria, said Peter Rentzepis, a professor of chemistry at University of California, Irvine.
Yet photosensitive chemicals ...
Planning Issues for Elderly Parents
2011-04-07
Watching your parents age is an emotional and often challenging experience. For members of the "sandwich" generation, the need to consider care for aging parents comes while parenting duties for their own children continue. The double-duty can be difficult, especially serious health and financial issues are involved.
The Child Becomes the Caregiver
For example, many adult children must make sudden decisions when mom or dad falls and breaks a hip or is diagnosed with the first signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Once this happens, the tables have turned, and the child ...
Adolescent body mass index can predict young adulthood diabetes and heart disease
2011-04-07
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL - April 7, 2011 – A large cohort study following 37,000 teenagers for 17 years found that an elevated, yet normal range Body Mass Index (BMI) constitutes a substantial risk factor for obesity-related disorders in young adults (age 30-40).
The study showed that elevated BMI in adolescence has distinctive relationships with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease in young adulthood.
Researchers showed that diabetes is influenced mainly by recent BMI and weight gain. However, for coronary heart disease, both elevated BMI in adolescence and recent ...
Refusal skills help minority youths combat smoking, study finds
2011-04-07
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Youths identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) have the greatest lifetime smoking rate of all racial groups, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly half of the 1.2 million AI/AN youths in the U.S. smoke cigarettes. A University of Missouri study found that public health strategies to combat smoking should teach refusal skills to help youths combat smoking influences, including family members and peers.
"Smoking and quitting behaviors are heavily influenced by factors in the immediate environment, including family, ...
Utah House Passes Law to Allow More Restaurant Liquor Licenses; Awaiting Senate Approval
2011-04-07
For almost a quarter of a century, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has distributed alcohol permits to bar and restaurant owners based on a formulaic population quota system rooted in state law. But this system of liquor license rationing has proven a major headache for enterprising Utah restaurant moguls looking to take advantage of one of the fastest growing markets for eateries in the nation.
Census reports show slower than expected population growth in Utah (so the number of issued liquor licenses actually exceeds the amount technically allowed ...
Is Hands Free Driving Safer?
2011-04-07
A recent news story talks about the tension between driving safely and the proliferation of electronic devices one can use in a car. Many of them can now be used "hands free" with the hope that it will prevent drivers from fumbling around, trying to type in a number or a text as they drive down the highway.
Not everyone is convinced that merely making cell phones, GPSs, iPods and every other electronic device people use in cars, hands free will really help people drive safely.
Studies by the National Transportation Safety Board have pointed out that texting while ...
Children relate to stepparents based on perceived financial, emotional benefits, study finds
2011-04-07
COLUMBIA, Mo. - More than 40 percent of Americans have at least one step relative, according to a recent Pew Center study. Relationships between stepchildren and stepparents can be complicated, especially for children. University of Missouri experts have found that stepchildren relate with stepparents based on the stepparents' treatment of them and their evaluations, or judgments, of the stepparents' behaviors.
"It takes both parties – children and adults – to build positive relationships in stepfamilies," said Larry Ganong, professor in the Department of Human Development ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Young scientists from across the UK shortlisted for largest unrestricted science prize
Bison hunters abandoned long-used site 1,100 years ago to adapt to changing climate
Parents of children with medical complexity report major challenges with at-home medical devices
The nonlinear Hall effect induced by electrochemical intercalation in MoS2 thin flake devices
Moving beyond money to measure the true value of Earth science information
Engineered moths could replace mice in research into “one of the biggest threats to human health”
Can medical AI lie? Large study maps how LLMs handle health misinformation
The Lancet: People with obesity at 70% higher risk of serious infection with one in ten infectious disease deaths globally potentially linked to obesity, study suggests
Obesity linked to one in 10 infection deaths globally
Legalization of cannabis + retail sales linked to rise in its use and co-use of tobacco
Porpoises ‘buzz’ less when boats are nearby
When heat flows backwards: A neat solution for hydrodynamic heat transport
Firearm injury survivors face long-term health challenges
Columbia Engineering announces new program: Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence
Global collaboration launches streamlined-access to Shank3 cKO research model
Can the digital economy save our lungs and the planet?
Researchers use machine learning to design next generation cooling fluids for electronics and energy systems
Scientists propose new framework to track and manage hidden risks of industrial chemicals across their life cycle
Physicians are not providers: New ACP paper says names in health care have ethical significance
Breakthrough University of Cincinnati study sheds light on survival of new neurons in adult brain
UW researchers use satellite data to quantify methane loss in the stratosphere
Climate change could halve areas suitable for cattle, sheep and goat farming by 2100
Building blocks of life discovered in Bennu asteroid rewrite origin story
Engineered immune cells help reduce toxic proteins in the brain
Novel materials design approach achieves a giant cooling effect and excellent durability in magnetic refrigeration materials
PBM markets for Medicare Part D or Medicaid are highly concentrated in nearly every state
Baycrest study reveals how imagery styles shape pathways into STEM and why gender gaps persist
Decades later, brain training lowers dementia risk
Adrienne Sponberg named executive director of the Ecological Society of America
Cells in the ear that may be crucial for balance
[Press-News.org] Bronx Bus Accident Claims 15 NYC Lives, Negligent Hiring SuspectedThe circumstances behind the recent Bronx fatal bus accident will certainly direct attention toward whether the bus company was negligenct in its screening process and supervisory practices.