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Posted On: October 27, 2010

Mount Laurel Woman Injured in Fatal Bus Crash Files Suit

A Mount Laurel woman is seeking more than $50,000 in damages for injuries suffered in a bus crash in which four other passengers, including an 18-year-old New Jersey woman, died. (1) (2)

Twenty-six-year-old Candice Burks sustained serious neck, head and back injuries in the crash which occurred in early September in the Salina suburb of Syracuse, NY. Burks, along with 27 other passengers, was riding the double-decker bus traveling from Philadelphia to Toronto, Canada, when it crashed into a railroad bridge abutment at 2:30 a.m. (1)

According to reports, the bus usually makes a rest stop at the Syracuse depot but, on the night of the accident, the bus wound up on the parkway instead of the road to the depot. Both the depot and the parkway entrance ramp are located at the same exit off Interstate 81. Choosing the wrong direction at the fork intersection would put a vehicle on the parkway a short distance from the bridge. That stretch of road offers no place for a vehicle to pull off or room to turn around. (3)

Although there are several signs warning of the low bridge, the double-decker bus hit the abutment and flipped over on its side.

Emergency responders took less than an hour to rescue all the passengers and transport the injured to a nearby hospital where 20 were treated and released, one was listed in critical condition and four others were listed in serious condition. (2)

The suit named John Tomaszewski, driver of the bus, and Olympia Trails Bus Co. and Coach USA, owners and operators of the bus. (1)

(1) http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/nj_woman_sues_over_injuries_fr.html

(2) http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/megabus_crash_survival_depende.html

(3) http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/officials-bus-crashes-near-syracuse-ny-4-dead/19629990

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Posted In: Bus Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents

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Posted On: October 22, 2010

Former Employee Wins Settlement from Sony over Gay Harassment Charges

A former employee of Sony Music Holdings, Inc. (doing business as Sony DADC) was awarded a $20,000 settlement over claims that he was harassed due to his sexual orientation during his employment at the company’s Gloucester County manufacturing plant. (1)

According to the complaint the employee, Charles E. Morgan, was harassed on a regular basis during his employment as a temporary machine operator for the company. Morgan charged that at least three times during the period from May through August of 2009, he complained to management about the harassment but, he alleged, no action was taken. Instead, Morgan claimed, he was not promoted to a permanent, full-time position and, in August 2009, was given a three-day suspension because of his complaints. It was around that time that Morgan filed a complaint with New Jersey's Department of Law and Public Safety’s Division on Civil Rights. Shortly thereafter he was terminated by Sony. (2)

Under the settlement agreement, Sony did not admit to any misconduct. Instead, the company claimed that its management did look into and attempt to resolve Morgan’s complaints. In fact, Sony said in one instance it transferred an employee out of Morgan’s department following his complaint that the employee had lectured him about his homosexuality. (1)

Sony also denied taking any retaliatory action against Morgan, claiming that the change from temporary to permanent, full-time employment was not a promotion, but a change in job status and that Morgan did not have the qualifications to warrant such a change. Sony also claimed that Morgan’s suspension and subsequent termination were the result of his attendance record. (3)

Nevertheless, Sony has paid the settlement amount to Morgan and also has agreed to give a “neutral reference” for Morgan to any prospective employer who may inquire, as stipulated in the agreement. (1)

(1) http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/sony-settles-with-former-gay-employee

(2) http://beta.courierpostonline.com/article/20101021/NEWS01/10210328/1006/Glo.-Twp.-offers-federal-aid-to-business-owners/Gay-ex-worker--Sony-settle-sexual-harassment-case#pluckcomments

(3) http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2010/10/pitman-based_sony_dadc_agrees.html

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Posted In: Sexual Discrimination

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Posted On: October 16, 2010

Jury Finds Emergency Responders Took Too Long, Awards $8.7 Million to Injured Motorist

A civil jury this week found that emergency responders took too long to arrive at a multi-car accident scene on the Atlantic City Expressway despite multiple 9-1-1 calls and awarded $8.7 million to a Mays Landing woman who lost her leg in that accident. (1)

The accident occurred on December 4, 2005. The woman, Janet Henebema, was returning home from her job at an Atlantic City casino when she hit a patch of black ice. Two other cars had hit the same ice patch earlier, causing them to crash into a barrier. Ms. Henebema was able to slow her car down, but the car still crashed into one of the disabled cars. When Henebema left her vehicle to walk to the shoulder of the road, she was struck by yet another car that hit the same ice patch. Ms. Henebema’s leg was severed as a result. (2)

In the civil trial it was discovered that the first accidents occurred more than one half-hour before Ms. Henebema’s car crashed and at least eight phone calls were made to 9-1-1 reporting the accidents. (3)

The jury found that the South Jersey Transportation Authority was largely to blame for the slow response, stating that dispatchers failed to appropriately update State Troopers as to the status of the earlier accidents and that they also rejected an offer of help from the Egg Harbor Township Police.(1)

The State Police, who were responding to another fatal accident on that roadway, were 20% to blame for the accident according to the jury. (1)

(1) http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/mays_landing_woman_is_awarded.html

(2) http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/top_three/article_197bd434-e469-50d8-bef1-9a6435c344b7.html

(3) http://www.mycentraljersey.com/fdcp/?1287107915465


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Posted In: NJ Auto Accidents

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Posted On: October 7, 2010

State Lawmakers Take Steps to Curb Privacy Invasion, Cyber-bullying

New Jersey lawmakers are seeking stronger penalties for harassment crimes, including invasion of privacy and cyber-bullying in an effort to curb these violations.

This action is partially in response to the recent incident at Rutgers University where Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, two students, allegedly videoed a third student, Tyler Clementi, in an intimate encounter and streamed it live over the internet. Clementi later took his own life. Ravi as well as Wei face charges of invasion of privacy, currently a third degree offense. These charges carry a penalty of up to three to five years in jail and/or a fine of up to $15,000. (1)

Senator Shirley K. Turner, a Democrat from Mercer County, has proposed legislation that would elevate invasion of privacy to a second degree offense. As such, it would carry a prison term of up to five to ten years and/or a fine of up to $150,000. The increased jail time, she hopes, would deter similar crimes from happening in the future. (2)

An invasion of privacy is basically an assault of one's dignity. Therefore, in New Jersey, the reproduction of images – films, videos, photos or by other means – of another person without consent or knowledge, where a “reasonable” person would assume to be private is an invasion of privacy.(1)

In the Rutgers’ case, Clementi’s encounter occurred in his dorm room, a place where he could “reasonably” expect to have privacy.

In similar actions:

* Assemblywomen Valerie Vainien (D-Bergen) and Mary Pat Angelinin (R-Monmouth) are working on a bipartisan bill that has been called the “anti-bullying bill of rights.” (2)

* Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) this week introduced a bill aimed at fighting harassment on college campuses by requiring colleges to establish policies to prevent students from being harassed. This bill would also categorize cyber bullying as harassment. Additionally, Lautenberg co-sponsored a similar bill aimed at ending harassment in public schools. (3)

* Republican legislators from Ocean County supported a bill that would make cyber harassment a crime in the State. Under this bill, which is supported by Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf, Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove, and Senator Christopher J. Connors, any communication transmitted electronically that was intended to harass would be deemed a “petty disorderly persons offense.” (2)

(1) http://njtoday.net/?s=NJ+Lawmaker+Wants+To+Increase+Invasion+of+Privacy+Penalties+After+Rutgers+Tragedy

(2) http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20101001/UPDATES01/101001043/NJ-lawmaker-Increase-invasion-of-privacy-penalty

(3) http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/10/06/new.jersey.student.suicide/index.html?iref=allsearch

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Posted In: Personal Injury

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