06/07/2013 // New York City, NY, USA // New York Injury Accident Lawyer // Jonathan C. Reiter // (press release)
An enormous explosion occurred at the Nyack College Campus, located north of New York City, in Nyack, New York, causing windows to shatter in nearby academic buildings and parts of other campus buildings to be demolished. This incident occurred on June 4, 2013 at approximately 9:35 a.m. Seven people were injured, including a young student who was standing near a 2nd floor window of a campus building. The force of the explosion blew out the window, knocking him through the window and causing him to fall two stories onto the outside lawn. He was reported to have suffered serious neck and back injuries, and was admitted to Nyack Hospital, along with at least six other victims. A hospital spokesperson stated that all seven victims were expected to survive their injuries.
According to an official with Orange and Rockland Utilities, Michael Donovan, the cause of the explosion appeared to be a gas leak, although investigators could not rule out other possible causes. Mayor of Nyack, Bonnie Christian, stated the following: “Nyack College was in recess, and therefore, there were fewer people on campus at the time of the explosion than were ordinarily there. If the explosion had occurred during the regular school term, dozens more could have been injured.” The Nyack Police Department and officials from Orange and Rockland Utilities were still investigating the cause of this accident at the time of the publication of this article.
According to Jonathan C. Reiter, a New York injury attorney who has handled accident cases involving explosions, including explosions on ships, and claims arising out of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, the injuries arising from explosions can be devastating and life-long. Mr. Reiter explained as follows: “Injuries caused by explosions include concussion-type injuries to many structures of the body, including the head, brain, ears, eyes and many other parts. This can lead to deafness, blindness and head and brain injuries that can be permanent. For instance, in the recent Boston Marathon bombings, many victims have suffered loss of hearing from the concussive force of the blast. In addition, in the Nyack explosion, the young student who was unfortunate enough to be standing by a window which shattered from the blast, and then was caused to fall out the second story window onto the grass below is likely suffering severe injuries that may last a lifetime, including cuts, contusions and traumatic injuries to his neck and back, along with other bodily structures, caused both by the force of the blast, the flying shards of glass and other parts of the buildings, and the fall from the second story.”
Mr. Reiter went on to explain the legal issues involving liability for the explosion, as follows: “this explosion is being investigated for the purpose of determining what party or parties are liable for causing the explosion in the first place. If the cause was the apparent gas leak that has been reported in preliminary reports, an experienced NY accident attorney would investigate the facts and evidence immediately to determine the identity of the parties responsible for the gas leak. That may include employees and agents of Orange and Rockland Utilities, and other parties as well.
An investigation may also reveal the possibility of a defective gas pipe or other equipment, which would be the basis of a products liability lawsuit. It is only through the investigation of a highly experienced attorney that all liable parties can be fleshed out and then named in a lawsuit which would seek money damages to compensate the injured victims for what will likely be a long recovery from these devastating injuries.”
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