Yet another construction accident involving a crane in New York City killed one person and critically injured two others this morning. All three were construction workers. One pedestrian suffered minor injuries, and nearby apartments were evacuated as a precaution. This time the crane collapse was during rush hour on the Upper East Side.

The arm of the crane reportedly fell more than 20 stories, hitting an apartment building as it fell. The sound was described by one witness as hearing a "prolonged car accident." The crane was also reported to be on fire and water was coming out of the damaged apartments.

This accident follows a Manhattan crane collapse in March that killed seven people. While these two accidents took place in a short amount of time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that there is no connection – only coincidence.

Construction can be a dangerous job, even when there is no crane involved. However, site managers and OSHA try to improve the sites through regulations and rules. When this doesn't work, the job sites are shut down pending an investigation, and/or fines are imposed. This certainly puts a crimp in the progress of the job, the employees of the sites, and the pocketbooks of many, but what about those who are injured or killed?

If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

A Chicago Transit Authority train derailed on Chicago's South Side today just after 10 am. Two of the four cars on the train appeared to have jumped the tracks at a junction between two lines, although it is unknown exactly what caused the derailment. CTA President Ron Huberman states that they are looking at the signal system at the junction where the train derailed. Fourteen people were taken to hospitals in either good or fair condition. Passengers on the train were worried the cars would plummet over the edge, however the cars remained upright.

This is just the latest derailment in a city whose commuter train system is almost 100 years old. The tracks run throughout the city and nearby communities on underground and elevated tracks. Last month a train derailed pulling into a station on the Chicago-Evanston border, and an electrical problem caused a train to stall in a subway one week earlier. That caused the evacuation of 100 passengers, and shut down service between downtown Chicago and O'Hare International Airport.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a train accident, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

The trailer on a semi truck carrying an 80-ton locomotive came unattached on Tuesday in Ohio, causing major damage to an overpass, and closing sections of I-74 and I-275. The Ohio Department of Transportation stated that repairs may take three months and forcing Indiana-to-Ohio commuters to find a detour due to the closure of State Route 1.

Witnesses state that when the trailer became unattached, it hit the pillars of the overpass. The locomotive then came off the trailer, hitting two more support columns. A support beam then fell on top of the locomotive.

No one was injured in the accident, but investigators are still looking into why the trailer came off the truck pulling it. The repairs are estimated between $500,000 to $600,000 by ODOT, and the wildly high number of $50 million estimated by an investigator looking into the accident.

We worry about semis shifting lanes and knocking us off roads, or high-speed losses of control. How often do we worry about semis pulling locomotives?

If you have been involved in an accident involving a semi, or perhaps a train, or both, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

A natural gas leak is being blamed for the explosion that sent 14 workers to the hospital and felt blocks away. Three of them are in critical condition. The explosion occurred in San Diego at a Hilton Hotel under construction and was centered in the fifth-floor utility room. Four other floors sustained extensive damage.

Some of those injured were able to get out on their own, but others needed aid from emergency crews. The injured workers suffered bumps and bruises, cuts, scrapes and burns. A firefighter was also treated on the scene for a finger injury.

The San Diego bomb squad and search-dog teams were called to the scene to help determine the cause. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was also on scene to gather evidence. While authorities know the gas came in contact with an ignition source, they are still trying to determine if that source was something electrical, or even from the boilers turning on.

If you have suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a construction accident, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

Daimler AG's 2008 Smart fortwo micro car received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) highest rating for front-end and side-impact testing. In rear-end crashes, the Smart received the second highest rating. This is the smallest car for sale in the US at eight feet, eight inches in length. The testing may address some of the concerns consumers have had about a two-seater car this size.

While the Smart received the rating of "good," the institute stated the front-end score cannot be compared across all weight classes. A larger car that didn't earn a good rating may in fact be safer than a small car like the Smart. However, institute president, Adrian Lund said that high-density urban areas where high speed impacts are less likely are more practical for the Smart. In cases like this, the Smart is a very safe car.

The tests simulate a frontal end crash at 40 miles per hour with a similar vehicle. A side impact simulation shows a crash at 31 miles per hour if the car is hit by a sports utility vehicle.

Earlier tests of Smart by the government gave it a five star rating, but in side impact tests the driver side door came unlatched. This required the government to note their concern for vehicle safety which will appear on the window stickers at dealerships. The concern is that occupants of the Smart will be ejected in accidents. The IIHS noted the driver side door also came unlatched, but said injury measurements on the dummy were low.

Smart Stats

Just over 6,000 Smart units were sold through the end of April, and the vehicle's automaker has stated there are over 30,000 reservations. It gets 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. It is three feet shorter and 700 pounds lighter than the Cooper Mini, weighing 1,800 pounds. It comes with a steel safety cage, four standard air bags, and has standard electronic stability to keep it from swerving off the road.

Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA, notes that the first question in people's minds isn't about fuel economy, but safety, when it comes to choosing a vehicle.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, even one involving the Smart, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

Weather forced the Coast Guard to cancel their search for a woman who fell from a cruise ship on Sunday. The cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, was approximately 45 miles off the coast of Atlantic City when the 46-year-old woman went overboard. The cruise ship left a Manhattan pier earlier in the day and was headed to Bermuda.

A statement from Norwegian Cruise Line said they immediately began a search and rescue operation before notifying the Coast Guard at approximately 8:20 pm. A helicopter was dispatched at 9:00 and arrived on the scene about 40 minutes later. They conducted search and rescue flight patterns until 10:53. Another helicopter from a station in Cape Cod arrived just after midnight Monday, and searched until 3:00 am when they were forced to return to base due to foul weather.

The Norwegian Dawn was cleared to continue its scheduled trip to Bermuda. This accident comes just over five years after the deadliest cruise ship industry accident in which another Norwegian Cruise Line, the SS Norway's boiler exploded killing eight crew members and injuring another ten. Norwegian Cruise Line agreed to plead guilty to criminal negligence in that case.

Though it is rare when people plunge into the water from cruise ships, the surrounding mystery of how someone could fall 50 to 60 feet from the cruise ship often remains just that – a mystery. The reason is that though passengers and crew members fall off vessels, the shipping companies do not reveal this information. And because many cruise ships are flying under a foreign flag, obtaining information can be even more difficult. This is why it is in your best interest to seek a lawyer as soon as possible.

If your loved one has fallen overboard from a cruise ship, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an injury lawyer with experience in maritime law in your area.

Two families of those killed and injured in an Oconomowoc, Wisconsin accident have filed a wrongful death suit against former doctor Mark Benson. Jennifer Bukosky, her daughter Courtney Bella, and her unborn child, Sophia, were killed, and 10-year-old Deborah Gibbs was injured when Benson slammed into them. Twelve-year-old Zachary Bella sustained minor injuries.

Bukosky, a high school assistant principal, was stopped at a stoplight when Benson's Cadillac Escalade rammed into the back of the car. Bukosky was killed instantly. Courtney Bella was taken off life support the next day. Deborah Gibbs spent a week in the hospital before being released. Benson was allegedly intoxicated on prescription medication when he hit Bukosky's vehicle.

Benson was charged with three counts of homicide by the intoxicated use of a vehicle, and two counts of causing injury by operating while intoxicated and operating after revocation. Benson had received his third OWI and was driving two days after his license was revoked. He was held on one million dollars cash bail. There will be a hearing on freezing his assets today.

If you have been injured or suffered the loss of a loved one in an auto accident due to another party's negligence, you may be able to file a claim. Please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

Two people were struck and killed Tuesday evening by a Chicago Metra train. The accident occurred on Chicago's West Side. Investigators say the two, a middle aged man and woman, were on the track. Witnesses say the train sounded its horn, but the two did not move and were struck while the train was still moving at 40 to 50 miles per hour. Both died at the scene.

Though there was protective fencing along the stretch of track where the two were killed, it was taken down several years ago. As a result, several people have been killed in this area due to hanging around the tracks. The area is rife with drugs and prostitution.

If you have been injured or a lost a loved one in a train accident, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

A dump truck collided with a school bus in northern Kentucky yesterday, killing a student on the bus and sending 12 others to the hospital. The crash occurred along a winding stretch of highway just after 7 am in the rural farming area of Pendleton County, about 40 miles south of Cincinnati.

Pendleton County Sheriff Craig Peoples said, "It is a very crooked road. We have a lot of motorcycle accidents. We have dump trucks turn over at least once a year."

The dump truck was hauling a load of stone from the nearby quarry when it hit the bus. The bus had damage along its driver's side, and all the windows from the center door to the rear of the bus were gone, and the roof was dented. The dump truck flipped after hitting the bus, strewing the load across the highway and a cattle pasture.

The accident occurred near the home of Ronald and Julie Hess who brought the children inside their home after the accident. Mr. Hess's uncle, Richard Hess, blames the narrow roads around the area for the numerous accidents every year. "The road is not wide enough for those trucks," he said. "If we didn't get off the road for them, there would be more accidents." According to Richard Hess, the trucks travel a route of 17 miles from the quarry to the interstate every day.

Standard procedure requires both the dump truck and bus driver to undergo drug and alcohol tests.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a truck or bus, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.