New York Personal Injury Law Blog

SI joint pain is a commonly misdiagnosed low back injury

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP on Friday, June 14, 2019.

How long has your lower back pain bothered you? Your doctor may have told you that you have a degenerative disc that’s causing a problem. Doctors often diagnose the cause of lower back pain as a problem with a disc in your lower back and while painkillers temporarily ease the discomfort, they just conceal the problem. This misdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary surgical procedures, like a lumbar fusion, to treat the problem.

However, there is often another problem. Your sacroiliac joint, or SI joint, connects your spine to your hips and is often the cause of lower back pain. SI joint pain is the cause of low-back pain in 14 to 22 percent of patients with back pain and in up to 40 percent of patients who have had a lumbar fusion procedure. The confusion is likely due to your SI join is where your spine inserts into your hips.

The criminal consequences of negligent driving

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Monday, June 3, 2019.

$171.00.

That is how much a driver had to pay in a fine for hitting an Aurora resident with his car.

Staying safe as a cyclist along your commute

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.

As the weather across New York begins to warm up and summer approaches, cyclists may resume their routines of biking to work. Biking to work can make your commute more enjoyable in many ways, providing exercise, a chance to unwind, extra outdoor time and more.

However, cyclists face daily risks from larger motor vehicles sharing the roads with them. According to city data, crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles resulted in 4,397 injuries to cyclists, as well as 24 fatalities in 2017. While parts of New York City are very bike friendly, accidents still occur that can result in serious injuries.

Why is it harder to recover from a broken bone later in life?

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP on Monday, May 20, 2019.

Getting the call that your elderly loved one has fallen can be heartbreaking. We all know how dangerous it is for senior citizens to lose their footing.

One of the reasons that these falls are so serious is that they have very long recovery periods. You should know why that is—and whether there is anything you can do about it.

Used car dealers and their dangerous non-disclosure tactics

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Friday, May 17, 2019.

Used car dealers may not be telling the entire story to consumers when it comes to their inventory. Those non-disclosure tactics, particularly when it comes to open automobile recalls, are dangerous and could result in severe and fatal motor vehicle accidents.

Annual recalls involving motor vehicle defects number into the hundreds and impact more than 30 million cars, according to a 2017 analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). One of the more high-profile recalls involved flawed designs in the inflators of Takata airbags. Following the deaths of many drivers, a recall was issued for 56 million airbags in nearly 42 million vehicles.

Electric scooter safety in question

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP on Friday, April 26, 2019.

Electric rental scooters are seemingly everywhere. New York prides itself on offering a variety of transportation options. Bird, Lime and other electric scooters are a viable mode of transportation in certain areas of the city. But studies have shown that riding these scooters in a congested urban environment comes at substantial risk.

In fact, operators have collided with cars, trucks, pedestrians, curbs, drain pipes and a multitude of other road and environmental hazards. The injury statistics for electric scooters are quite alarming, so be focused and aware of your surroundings when you're operating one.

The Conveyance Conflict: Motor Vehicles Vs. Bicycles

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP posted in Bicycle Accidents on Thursday, April 25, 2019.

The outcome of a collision between two vehicles is difficult to predict. However, in crashes that involve a motor vehicle of any size and a bicycle of average size, the physics of a 4,000 to 5,000-pound car or truck colliding with a conveyance averaging 17 pounds in weight will likely see the cyclist suffering severe, if not fatal injuries.

Bicycling has skyrocketed in popularity with many cities committed to becoming bike friendly communities. However, with more people pedaling instead of pressing an accelerator, bicycle safety is a continuing concern nationwide.

The safety issues surrounding Lyft’s electric bikes

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP posted in Bicycle Accidents on Friday, April 19, 2019.

The stereotype of New York City traffic usually focuses on congestion. Cars not moving, but with horns blaring the frustration of weary commuters just trying to get home.

Alternative and seemingly safe forms of transportation launched last summer represented some relief from the gridlock.

Have ride-share companies led to an increase in traffic deaths?

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.

Ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft play an increasingly popular role in how New Yorkers get around. However, the rapid rise of ride-share services has not been without controversy.

A recently released study from researchers at the University of Chicago and Rice University reports a trend between cities where Uber and Lyft operate and an increase in motor vehicle fatalities. While both companies dispute the findings of the study, other studies have long debated the impact of ride-share companies on the number of serious and fatal motor vehicle accidents.

Lives end due to a live stream

On behalf of Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Friday, April 5, 2019.

Reality shows have been around since the early days of television. From Candid Camera to Big Brother, the popularity of the genre has revealed the voyeuristic tendencies of television viewers.

The Weather Channel’s Storm Wranglers show brings their watchers up close and personal in their never-ending chase for tornados. While most people operating a motor vehicle would find ways to avoid the charging funnel cloud, hosts of the program were determined to chase the twister and live stream every mile of their pursuit.