Recent Blog Posts

In September 2017, the New York Daily News reported that the family of firefighter Thomas O’Brien was considering a lawsuit to compel the FDNY to recognize their ancestor’s death in 1935 as a casualty in the line of duty. Some weeks later, on the website The Sandpaper.net, Mr. O’Brien’s grandson Arthur O’Brien wrote in detail […]

We know it’s hard to get anyone excited about a new auto insurance law. But this time, the law is so important, and the impact that it will have on firefighters is so significant, that we think there is good reason for members to take notice. Our firm was part of the lobbying effort to […]

What You Need to Know About Your Right to Pension Reclassification To all retired firefighters and fire officers: After months of lobbying, the NYC Fire Pension Fund has implemented an important change that will help dozens of retired FDNY members who were awarded WTC-disability pensions for PTSD. Any member who was granted a WTC-disability pension […]

In September, a solemn ceremony in Bethpage, Long Island honored FDNY firefighter William Tolley, who died in the line of duty last April. Tolley was recalled as an American hero and memorialized with a sign at the intersection of Crestline and Acme Avenues that reads “F.D.N.Y. Firefighter William N. Tolley Way.” But six months after […]

In October, a jury in Pittsburgh dismissed a suit brought by four firefighters against a siren manufacturer whose siren they blamed for hearing loss. The firefighters claimed the siren, manufactured by Federal Signal Corporation, was defective because it was unreasonably unsafe. The trial lasted two weeks, but the jury deliberated for less than two hours […]

The arrival of the holidays will bring celebrations, office parties, and good times with family and friends. First responders know better than anyone that getting behind the wheel while intoxicated can have devastating, sometimes irreversible consequences. Plan ahead and you can avoid putting yourself and others in a dangerous position. Attorney Bruce Kaye of our […]

What happens if a member of the FDNY is injured at work as a result of defective equipment? Suppose, for example, that the SCBA fails, or a thumb gets crushed by the apparatus door that has a new and hazardously placed handle. Is the City of New York liable to the firefighter for any resulting […]

Mike Barasch and Ret. Deputy Chief Richard Alles (now Director of 9/11 Community Affairs at Barasch & McGarry) present anonymous client’s donation to Commissioner Daniel Nigro, Dr. Kerry Kelly and Chief James Leonard One of our firefighter clients was recently given an award from the Victim Compensation Fund for his multiple WTC-linked cancers. Thankfully, he […]

What happens when an officer directs an FDNY engine company chauffeur to stop his rig in a bad spot — say, just over a rise on the Cross Bronx Expressway — and a firefighter is struck by a passing car while getting out of the rig? Or if, contrary to internal rules, one member of […]

Mike Barasch spoke at a press conference highlighting the health crisis facing firefighters and the entire 9/11 community due to their exposure to World Trade Center toxins. Listen to the show: