Author: Sackstein Sackstein & Lee, LLP

Our Family Serving Yours for Over 60 Years

Average Americans are probably not aware of the vital role they play in automobile safety. While being a safe driver is of course extremely important, another factor in safety is having safe vehicles, which means a lack of product defects, such as defective brakes, tires, child seats and other automotive parts and accessories.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), consumers play the most important role of anyone in alerting NHTSA to safety defects. NHTSA Administrator David Strickland called consumers the "lifeblood of the recall process." Consumers filed 41,912 complaints with NTHSA regarding safety defects in 2012. These complaints lead to government agency investigations and recalls when warranted. In 2012, NHTSA issued more than 650 safety recalls that affected over 17.8 million vehicles, child seats and vehicle equipment.

In addition to filing consumer complaints, Americans also take responsibility for vehicle safety when they bring a lawsuit against a defective parts manufacturer. Unfortunately, in most cases, some people suffer severe injury and others die before the extent of risks are realized. Holding a manufacturer accountable in a court of law exposes the product’s danger, the story gets picked up by the media and consumers who purchased defective product brands take notice. Lawsuits act as a deterrent to manufacturers when designing or manufacturing unsafe products. Defective products fall under the legal category of products liability.

If you or a loved one suffers severe injury in an auto accident caused by sticking accelerators, roof crush roll-over, defective tires or some other flaw, find out how an experienced New York City accident lawyer can help. Sackstein, Sackstein and Lee, LLP has successfully handled numerous types of injury cases recovering millions of dollars on behalf of clients.

Patients Want Answers That Explain Medical Injuries

Author: Sackstein Sackstein & Lee, LLP

Our Family Serving Yours for Over 60 Years

A report published by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) indicated that many patients subjected to medical malpractice are in "search for accountability." The report went on to explain that patients are perplexed by not knowing what happened to them and litigation is a way to get answers. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey discovered 70 percent of patients experiencing medical errors received no explanation from their doctors. In addition, a national survey done by Columbia University's Institute on Medicine as a Profession (IMAP) revealed that close to 50 percent of doctors nationwide failed to report medical errors or incompetence by their colleagues.

However, some hospitals now favor disclosing medical errors and taking a responsible approach to putting measures in place to reduce the occurrence of preventable medical errors.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)  ran an article about parents who sued the Baptist Children's Hospital in Miami for negligence. Their child suffered brain injury due to medical malpractice. However, after the parents and hospital settled for an undisclosed sum, hospital administrators analyzed the factors leading to the tragedy and used the parents as part of an educational program to emphasize patient safety to their medical staff. Now the mother serves as a community liaison on the hospital’s Baptist Health Board Committee on Quality and Patient Safety which is an effort to reduce medical negligence.

If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, find out how an experienced New York City medical malpractice lawyer  can help. Sackstein, Sackstein and Lee, LLP has successfully sued hospitals and practitioners on behalf of clients and lawsuits often have the effect of making hospitals more responsible.