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www.nyworkerslaw.com | (914) 595-4502
May 2021
FIRST, NEW YORK CHEERED HEALTH CARE WORKERS — NOW IT’S CHEATING THEM A NOTE ON COVID-19 JUSTICE FOR NATIONAL NURSES WEEK
Hello From O'Connor Law PLLC
We are pleased to present you with the premier issue of our newsletter. Let us know what you think. We love to hear from you! Email Mary Ellen at MaryEllen@ NYWorkersLaw.com
Just over a year ago, in March 2020, I opened my window at 7 p.m. every night for the “7 o’clock cheer.” Up and down my street, people banged pots and pans together, played loud music, honked horns, clapped, hooted, and hollered to show their support for health care workers headed in to battle COVID-19 on the night shift. Recordings of the cheer went viral all over the world. Those moments made me proud to be a New Yorker, and I felt like we were all fighting the virus together. Most of all, after years of representing them in workers’ compensation cases, I felt like our nurses, doctors, CNAs, and other health care workers were finally getting some of the recognition they deserved. Then, even though the pandemic didn’t go anywhere, the cheer slowly petered out. We started taking health care workers for granted again. Then, things got worse. In the last few months, my team and I have seen a huge uptick in hospitals and other employers refusing to compensate health care workers who contracted COVID-19 at work. As of the time I’m writing this, New York state has not created a legal presumption stating that essential workers who contract COVID-19 are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. I hope that will be coming soon (we have case law that sets a framework for it), but in the meantime, hospitals have been denying COVID-19 claims left and right, even if they are fully justified. Take, for example, one of the ICU nurses our team is fighting for. She worked directly with COVID-19 patients at a local hospital and ended up contracting the virus. As a result, she missed four months of work. But even though she was a hospital ICU nurse working specifically with patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t have any other exposure, the hospital refused to compensate her for her sick time!
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O'Connor Law PLLC focuses on personal injury, Social Security disability, and workers' compensation cases. Our lawyers are licensed in New York.
She fought for her claim for 10 months before a judge finally ruled in her favor. Still, the hospital’s insurance company is appealing the case in the hopes of denying her compensation. They claim that she must have contracted the virus somewhere other than the hospital. Cases like these are galling, particularly because these same hospitals are running advertisements about how much they love their nurses. National Nurses Week is this month, and I’m here to say what other people won’t: This behavior from hospitals and insurance companies is underhanded and unfair, and it needs to stop. Our health care workers don’t deserve to be treated like this when they’re going through so many mental and physical trials to save lives. Even before COVID-19, we saw hospitals use the same tactics to try and cheat nurses injured on the job out of their payments. If you or someone you know is facing that kind of unfair treatment or made a workers’ compensation claim that was denied, please reach out to our team for help. We’re here to fight for you, even if it feels like the rest of the world has stopped cheering and given up.
Call (914) 595-4502 for more information.
What Others Are Saying
“I can’t say enough about this law firm. I am beyond grateful and thankful to the entire staff for their loyalty, understanding, commitment, and strength. The law firm is filled with some of the most caring, competent, and determined lawyers. I would not have won this case without this awesome team by my side. I am thankful beyond measure for Mary Ellen and the entire staff at the law firm.”
–Mary Ellen O’Connor
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Level Up Your Memorial Day Barbecue
Memorial Day just isn’t complete without a meal from the grill — and our personal favorite is steak! This month, our team is giving away an Omaha Steaks gift pack to the winner of our spring contest. To enter, just visit NYWorkersLaw.com and follow the instructions on the home page. Get your entry in before Thursday, May 20, for a chance to win and keep an eye on your email inbox and our social media channels (O’Connor Law PLLC on Facebook and @oclawny on Instagram) to find out who the winner is on Friday, May 21! Those steaks will really level up your Memorial Day barbecue. To make sure you do them justice, follow these five grilling tips — courtesy of Weber, an innovative grilling company. 1. Salt your steak a full 20–30 minutes before you cook it for maximum flavor and the perfectly crisp crust. Don’t be afraid of using too much salt. The pros really pack it on! 2. After salting, let your steak stand at room temperature for those 20–30 minutes before you throw it on the grill. Warming up your steak will ensure it cooks evenly and the center stays juicy. 3. Don’t forget to sear your steak. Professional chefs leave their steaks directly over the heat until they turn dark brown, and you should do the same to get the most out of your Omaha cuts. With FREE Omaha Steaks From O’Connor Law!
4. That said, if you’re grilling a really thick cut of meat, don’t leave it over direct heat the whole time. Instead, practice the “sear and slide” approach. Sear both sides, then use your grill tongs, fork, or spatula to scoot it away from the flames to finish cooking. Otherwise, your steak may char before the center warms up! 5. Last but not least, babysit your steak. Don’t walk away from the grill; it only takes a minute for a cut to go from succulent to dry. When in doubt, opt for pulling your steaks off the heat a bit early. You can always cook them more, but you can’t turn back the clock. Good luck! And remember, we hold contests with amazing prizes every month. To ensure that you never miss out on the action, email us at News@NYWorkersLaw.com and sign up for our weekly email newsletter.
The 3 Strangest Celebrity Lawsuits
Internet conspiracy theory results in a court case against Beyoncé. The internet is a wild place, and conspiracy theories are often born on its digital channels. One such theory was that Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z, hired a surrogate to give birth to their daughter, Blue Ivy, in 2012. Internet trolls who saw her pregnant belly roll as she sat down for an interview fanned the flames of this theory, and soon, a lawsuit emerged. A woman claimed she was the true biological mother of Blue Ivy, and she asked for compensation and DNA testing to prove it. Previously, the same woman claimed to be the birth mother of North West, the daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, but the court threw out the case. Mila Kunis ruffles some feathers. Actress Mila Kunis was sued for $5,000 by her childhood friend, Kristina Karo, in 2015 because Kunis allegedly stole a chicken from Karo when they were still children in Ukraine. Karo, an aspiring singer, claimed the theft resulted in extreme emotional distress and prevented her from pursuing the American dream. According to Kunis, the theft occurred when she was 7 years old and Karo was just 1 month old. Kunis and her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, speculated that the case was all a publicity stunt to promote Karo’s upcoming music video, and the case was eventually dropped.
Stories about celebrities can be enjoyable or awkward, but no matter what happens, they usually create great material for Buzzfeed or Reddit users. This also includes celebrity stories involving the law, which bring on a lot of head-scratching and legal action — like these three strange cases. Simon Cowell pays for a chef’s disappearing shoes. Known for his unrelenting critiques and setting the stage for some of the world’s biggest names in show business, Simon Cowell has amassed enough wealth to afford a private chef. When one such chef came by his house for a job interview, she was asked to remove
her shoes, but according to court documents, she never received her shoes back. The chef claims to have tried multiple times to retrieve the shoes — which were outfitted with $500 orthopedic insoles — but never succeeded. She sued
Cowell for the shoes and gas money, and the
“America’s Got Talent” star shelled out.
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TAKE A BREAK
Millions of families in Europe have relied heavily on government aid for survival, but that’s becoming a concern for the younger generation. European debt hasn’t been so high since World War II, and it’s even outpacing national economies. In France alone, the national debt has risen to 2.7 trillion euros ($3.2 trillion) and will soon exceed 120% of the national economy. While the International Monetary Fund expects growth to bounce back this year to 5.1% in the United States, Europe will likely lag with a rebound of 4.2%. WILL EUROPE BE ABLE TO PAY ITS $3.2T PANDEMIC DEBT?
Yet, as debts skyrocket, economists wonder if it’s possible for Europe to get a “free lunch.”
In the current zero-interest era, strange things are happening. Although the amount of debt companies have taken has grown, the amount that governments pay hasn’t. Countries can now roll over their debt at low interest rates, which is akin to refinancing a mortgage. Banks are also buying government debt, effectively lending around 1.3 trillion euros during the first six months of the pandemic. This makes the debt affordable — for now. Government debt may never have to be fully paid back if central banks keep buying it up. According to the Institut Montaigne, an independent think tank in Paris, public debt could rise to 4 trillion by the end of 2023. Some economists are worried about the risks. What if inflation and interest rates help revive growth too rapidly, forcing central banks to put a complete stop to their easy-money policies? Weaker countries may fall into a debt trap and struggle to pay. Simon Tilford, director of a strategic planning firm in London, told The New York Times, “If inflation starts to return but there’s no growth, then the situation gets a lot trickier.”
GRILLED CORN WITH PLANT-BASED AIOLI
Inspired by SimpleVeganBlog.com
Ingredients
• 4 ears corn, unhusked • 1 clove garlic • 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar • Sea salt, to taste • 1/2 cup raw spinach
Directions
1. In a large pot, boil corn for 30 minutes. 2. In a large blender or food processor, add garlic, soy milk, sunflower oil, vinegar, and salt. Combine until smooth by pulsing the blades. 3. Once the aioli mixture is blended, add raw spinach and blend again. 4. Drain corn and transfer to the grill for 10 minutes, rotating as necessary. 5. Taste aioli for consistency and flavor. Add more milk or oil to thicken it and add more salt to taste. 6. Top corn with aioli and serve.
When the next recession rolls around, it may be tough to stimulate their economy with this amount of debt on their hands. This worries the younger generation of Europeans, but at least for now, those troubles seem far away in the eyes of those steering European economies through the pandemic.
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
Discuss a Legal Topic of Your Choice With Mary Ellen! Normally, the team at the O’Connor Law firm ventures into the community to present in-person seminars on topics that are affecting our clients. We would be happy to present a Zoom conference on a topic of your choice. Please feel free to reach out to us at News@NYWorkersLaw.com with any suggestions.
(914) 595-4502 www.nyworkerslaw.com 7 Woodland Ave. Larchmont, NY 10538 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Where’s the 7 p.m. Cheer Now?
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Enter to Win FREE Omaha Steaks Mila Kunis Got Sued for That!? (And 2 Other Weird Celebrity Legal Cases)
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Grilled Corn With Plant-Based Aioli Will Europe Be Able to Pay Its $3.2T Pandemic Debt?
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Influencer in Florida Accused of Voter Fraud
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Influencer in Florida Accused of Voter Fraud
A February 2016 analysis by MIT Media Lab revealed that Twitter account “Ricky Vaughn” was the 107th most important influencer in the then-upcoming election. That’s a higher ranking than many other groups and individuals like NBC News (114), Stephen Colbert (119), and Newt Gingrich (141). Everyone had one question: Who in the world is Ricky Vaughn? As it turns out, the Florida man was really stepping up his game. Douglass Mackey, aka Ricky Vaughn, is based in West Palm Beach and gained an audience on Twitter with over 58,000 followers by 2016. Many would describe him as an internet troll, or someone who posts hurtful comments for his own amusement. He’s posted anti-Semitic memes in the past, but those offenses were hardly illegal. That changed when Mackey allegedly went too far.
Using hashtags like #go[candidate], Mackey posted false, edited campaign images to convince people to “vote” by text instead of going to the polls or using the mail-in ballot. In one instance, he posted an image depicting an African American woman holding a sign, reading “African Americans for [candidate].” The images would then include instructions on how to vote by texting a specific number. Mackey and his associates also created images with Spanish instructions, obviously targeting minorities as well. Of course, voting by text is not a legitimate way to cast a ballot, yet the deceptive campaign duped over 4,900 unique phone numbers. William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, reported in their press release, “Protecting every American citizen’s right to cast a legitimate vote is a key to the success of our republic. What Mackey allegedly did to interfere with this process — by soliciting voters to cast their ballots via text — amounted to nothing short of vote theft.” It’s certainly fascinating and terrifying to see just how influential social media can be on an election and even go as far as to lure people into wasting their vote. We’re glad, however, to see these types of cases being brought to court — Mackey was recently arrested on federal charges of election interference for this 2016 voter disinformation campaign. Some influencers are taking their title much too seriously!
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