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Two tractor trailers crashed on the New York State Thruway just north of the city of Utica, in Schuyler, New York (approximately 60 miles east of Syracuse and 200 miles northwest of New York City). Both truck drivers were injured.

According to Utica New York tractor trailer accident lawyers Bottar Law, PLLC, an eastbound tractor trailer (2004 International) being operated by a Lockport, New York man experienced mechanical problems. The problems caused the tractor trailer to stall in the road at which point in time it was rear ended by a tractor trailer operated by a Tennessee man. After rear ending the back of the first tractor trailer, the second tractor trailer lost control and crashed into trees lining the highway.

The New York State Thruway tractor trailer collision caused the first big rig to spill debris on the roadway, including a load of pallets. The roadway was closed by the New York State Police until the debris was cleared. Both drivers were transported to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Utica. No tickets were issued.
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The New York State Thruway Authority recently announced that 2009 was the safest year in the history of the interstate highway that runs from Buffalo to Albany, through Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Herkimer and Schenectady.

According to New York State Thruway accident lawyers Bottar Law, PLLC, in 2009 there were more than 250,000,000 trips on the Thruway and 8,000,000,000 vehicle miles traveled. Despite heavy use, there were only 26 fatal accidents, resulting in 27 motorist deaths. Statistically, there were only .27 fatalities for every million vehicle miles traveled.

According to officials, the low number of New York State Thruway deaths is due, in part, to the Thruway Authority’s commitment to highway maintenance and snow removal, including an effort to prevent injuries from bridge and roadway failures. Also responsible for the decline in fatalities was a strong presence by law enforcement. In 2009, the New York State Troopers reported issuing more than 180,000 tickets to Thruway patrons.
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A Watertown man was arraigned earlier this week after ramming his vehicle into the side of his wife’s car in a parking lot. The crash caused extensive damage to her car. Fortunately, the Fort Drum soldier’s wife was not injured in the North Country collision. After he was arraigned in the Town of Watertown Court, he was released into the custody of the Fort Drum military police.

Fort Drum, New York is the home of the 10th Mountain Division – Light Infantry. Fort Drum is the largest employer in Northern New York, providing jobs to more than 16,000 soldiers and nearly 4,000 civilians. Most soldiers and their families reside on or around the base, in areas including Watertown, LeRay, Calcium, Governeur, Philadelphia, Carthage, West Carthage, Clayton, Copenhagen and Lowville.
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The New York State Department of Transportation announced last week that a portion of Route 81 within downtown Syracuse, New York, would be closed in order to prevent a car accident on Route 81.

According to Central New York building collapse attorneys Bottar Law, PLLC, an abandoned building located on the 900 block of North State Street is on the brink of structural failure. Because the building backs up to Interstate Route 81 North, if it were to collapse it may send bricks and other debris onto the roadway. Several northbound lanes of Route 81 North have been closed.

Officials at the NYSDOT stated “[w]e recognize that closing I-81 will be an inconvenience for motorists, but in the interest of public safety, we have no choice but to close the highway until this unstable building is demolished. Detours and signage will help people negotiate the alternate routes until we can be assured that I-81 is safe for travel.” The unstable building is scheduled to be demolished next week in order to avoid potential injuries arising out of a roof collapse, or compromised wall or foundation.
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Over the past few months, the Syracuse New York product liability lawyers of Bottar Law, PLLC, have fielded many calls seeking our help to investigate whether a Toyota gas pedal defect was responsible for a car accident.

Initially, Toyota told the public that gas pedals jammed by defective floor mats were causing accidents and recommended that more than 3,800,000 Toyota owners remove their floor mats to prevent injury. Upon further investigation, Toyota announced that accidents were also being caused by sticky gas pedals and recommended that owners have their cars serviced so that the pedals could be modified. Recalls then soared to 8,000,000 vehicles. Even so, many Toyota critics believe that Toyota has not gone far enough to remedy safety problems with much of its product line. Many still suggest that the real problem is rooted in Toyota’s electronics.

It is hard to tell whether Toyota’s efforts are genuine. According to a recent press release, Toyota may have saved as much as $100,000,000.00 by negotiating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials in an effort to gloss over safety defects in many models and prevent massive Toyota recalls due to unintended acceleration. Apparently, Toyota considered its ability to focus NHTSA attention on floor mats, rather than on the gas pedals, to be a “win” for the Toyota “safety group.” Toyota’s “win,” as reduced to writing, was presented to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for review.

While Toyota’s future is uncertain, your future may include a lawsuit against the auto giant if you were severely injured while driving a Toyota that experienced unintended acceleration. You may also wish to pursue a lawsuit if you were severely injured while a passenger in a Toyota that experienced unintended acceleration.
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A new scaffold design was selected by the City of New York to protect laborers working at a height and appease store owners. According to Syracuse New York construction accident lawyers Bottar Law, PLLC, a scaffold is a temporary structure built by construction workers to elevate contractors and protect the public from falling objects. In most cases, scaffolding consists of anchors, metal pipes and planks or platforms.

The new design is called “Urban Umbrella.” Like the name suggests, the new design resembles an umbrella – only upside down. Opponents to the design complain that scaffolds are already dangerous and it is reckless, at a time when scaffolding fabrication and assembly should be standardized, to encourage form over function. That is, property owners and contractors should be working toward ensuring that support posts are properly bolted to support beams, and that support beams are properly secured to planks, rather than investing time and money into whether scaffolding is pleasing to the eye of building and store owners.

Scaffolding accidents happen every day. All too often because of negligence. Indeed, 25% of laborers injured in a scaffold accident reported that they had never been trained on how to work safely on or from a scaffold. To cut down on New York construction, industrial and workplace accidents, the legislature adopted very specific laws that afford injured laborers compensation for, e.g., falls from a height. These worker protection laws are known as “Labor Laws.”
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The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced a recall by the manufacturer of Pull-A-Long Friends Toucan, Pull-A-Long Friends Alligator and Pull-A-Long Friends Sharky. According to Syracuse New York dangerous toy lawyers Bottar Law, PLLC, the child toys may present a choking hazard if wooden parts break loose. The relevant lot codes are: 210720GB (Toucan), 210750GB (Alligator) and 210530GB (Sharky).

While kids toys are much safer than in years past, thousands of children are still injured every year while playing with a toy that did not perform as intended, such as when a part breaks off and is swallowed (causing choking), when a tail or attachment is too long and wraps around a child’s neck (making it difficulty for a child to breathe), or when lead paint or other potentially toxic coatings chip and are inhaled or ingested by an infant (causing poisoning).

While we are not aware of any manufacturers that intentionally create and sell dangerous products, mistakes do happen. In the majority of cases, dangerous toys are the result of a bad design or poor quality control. Recent toy recalls can be found here.
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Debris scattered on a highway has caused a crash in Syracuse, New York. According to Syracuse New York tractor trailer accident lawyers Bottar Law, PLLC, a semi truck struck a 14′ high bridge overpass on December 28, 2009, causing the eighteen wheeler’s cargo to fall off of the bed of the truck and onto the road. The truck driver drove away after the accident.

Emergency responders at the scene of the New York State Route 690 accident, located near the intersection Midler Avenue, found a driver who had struck debris injured. Another car stopped to avoid debris was struck from behind.

This type of crash is known as a low clearance incident. As many as 5,000 low clearance accidents occur every year, causing more than $100,000,000.00 in property damage and countless personal injuries. While the majority of tractor trailer versus bridge incidents are due to driver error, some low clearance incidents occur because the New York State Department of Transportation, or a county or town government, has failed to properly mark a bridge. Even if properly marked, paint fades and municipalities may have a duty to ensure that tractor trailer drivers are provided appropriate warnings regarding the height of an overpass.
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A Syracuse area man was killed in a snowmobile accident over the weekend. Mr. Beck was riding his snowmobile when he lost control and struck trees along the trial.

As many as 200,000 snowmobiles are sold each year. Most to married men over the age of 42, with one child and a household income greater than $70,000. Most snowmobile owners ride just under 1,000 miles per season. Hundreds of snowmobile accidents occur every season. Most involve collisions with fixed objects, such as trees, cars and embankments. Some accidents are due to operator error. However, snowmobile injuries also arise out of unsafe trails, poor lighting and poorly maintained equipment.
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Last Friday was the one year anniversary of the day that US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River. The Airbus 320 plane crashed crashed after the plane hit a flock of geese and lost power in both engines. Fortunately, the pilots were able to guide the plane to the ground safely during the the ninety (90) seconds between the time the plane lost power and when it crashed into the water.

Syracuse plane crashes are rare. The odds of being on a fatal airline flight are 1 in 8,500,000. That being said, planes do crash for various reasons, including pilot error, traffic control error, weather, fire, plane design flaws, negligent jet maintenance and mechanical failures.
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