24 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 6, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
THE CITY CLERK
OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION
Pursuant to provisions of Section 81(e)(1) of the Charter of the City of New
York, notice is hereby given that a special election will be held in the
Borough of Queens, County of Queens, on Tuesday, March 24, 2020,
between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM for the purpose of electing the
Borough President of Queens. Only registered voters in Queens County are
eligible to vote.
For any information on whether you are eligible to vote or where your poll site
is located, please call (212) V-0-T-E-N-Y-C. TDD for the hearing-impaired is
(212) 487-5496.
The City Clerk of the City of New York
A study of emergency care involving victims
of severe brain trauma is to be performed in this area.
Northwell Health, Neurosurgery is conducting a research study to learn if either
of two strategies for monitoring and treating patients with severe traumatic brain
injury in the intensive care unit (ICU) is more likely to help them get better.
Because head injury is a life threatening condition requiring immediate treatment,
some patients will be enrolled without consent if a family member or
representative is not rapidly available. Before the study starts, we will consult
with the community. We welcome your feedback and questions. For more
information or to decline participation in this study, please visit boost3trial.org or
contact our study staff at
516-666-3183
Primary Investigator: Dr. Ullman and Dr. Ledoux
Study Coordinator: Salome Elia Reddy
(Bus. reg.) 189-06 Liberty Ave, Hollis, NY
(Hdqtrs.) 217-04 Northern Blvd, Suite 23, Bayside, NY
GIVING PEACE A CHANCE
Q: One November afternoon, my car reached an intersection. The vehicle ahead was
stopped at a red light, so I stopped too – whereupon a pickup truck crashed into my back end and
pushed my car fifteen feet into the first car. The three of us got out of our vehicles and exchanged
insurance information. I called the police, but I am basically a peaceable and friendly guy. And,
when the truck driver said that his brakes failed and apologized, I cancelled my call. An hour later,
the pain started. Now the truck driver is saying that he unexpectedly encountered black ice. While
we were at the scene, I am sure he never said the word ‘ice’. At the time, in the southern half of the
County, there was a snow storm, but my half was clear.
A: A rear-end collision creates a ‘prima facie’ case of negligence against the rear driver. He
needs to come forward with a ‘nonnegligent’ explanation for his accident. Under the ‘emergency’
doctrine, when someone is faced with a sudden and unexpected circumstance, not of his or her own
creating, the person may not be negligent if the actions taken are reasonable and prudent in the
emergency context. Here, the truck driver is claiming that he was faced with a sudden unanticipated
and unforeseeable icing of the road surface.
When the police come, they generally produce an accident report. If only you had such
a report, then it might assist you in impeaching the truck driver and attacking his explanation as a
recent fabrication – either because the report says nothing about ice or because, e.g., he admitted to
nodding off while driving. Alternatively, if the truck driver would indeed have mentioned ice at the
time of the report, then you would have had a cue to, e.g., photograph the road surface.
Still, even without a report, there is a lot your attorney can do. He or she will do the best
to marshal evidence about the road conditions and the weather on the day of the collision – directed
to the questions of whether black ice was present, whether its presence constituted a sudden and
unexpected circumstance and whether the defendant responded reasonably to that emergency.
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