Only a week after Linsanity rose from the dead as the Knicks put together a winning streak under new coach Mike Woodson, Jeremy Lin made the depressing announcement that he would need knee surgery to "repair a partially torn meniscus in his left knee." Following his sobering press conference (which you can watch below), Lin tweeted optimistically: "Thx for all the love! Ill return from this surgery stronger/better than before and hopefully in time for the playoffs! Ecclesiastes 3:1&11." But can the Knicks make the playoffs—let alone make any sort of playoff run—without him? more ›

Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain suffered a gruesome injury yesterday that may spell the end of his season—and potentially his career. Chamberlain was reportedly playing with his son, Karter, on a trampoline at a children's recreation center when he dislocated his right ankle. Karter was unhurt, but according to the News, Chamberlain's bone was sticking out of his ankle and he was bleeding profusely. Yankees GM Brian Cashman was asked about whether the serious injury was a career-ender: "I couldn't say. I just couldn't say. I'd like to say no. My heart and my gut tells me no, that's not the case. But at the same time, I don't want to spew information that I'm not really in a position to talk about. It's not my area of expertise." more ›

During the performance of Faust at the Metropolitan Opera last night, mezzo soprano Wendy White fell eight feet off the stage. The NY Times reports, "Members of the audience said that during Act III, as Ms. White, in the role of Marthe, was walking onto a platform from a staircase behind René Pape, who was playing Méphistophélès, a clattering sound was heard and she disappeared from view." more ›

It's every pedestrian's nightmare: a Brooklyn woman says she was thrown into traffic and severely injured when a Walk/Don't Walk sign came dislodged from its post and fell on her. First pedestrians have to deal with a bipolar signal man, and now we have to worry about him coming crashing down? It's no way to walk, man. more ›

In 2009 Bret Michaels performed at the Tony Awards and was walloped in the head with a descending backdrop as he exited the stage; six months later he suffered a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him. He promptly filed a lawsuit against the awards show, and now the NY Times reports that the two parties will reunite right here in New York. more ›

It's been a rough week for Law & Order: SVU fans: first, rumors have been swirling that star Mariska Hargitay might be replaced by Jennifer Love "Vajazzle" Hewitt (no!), and now, Rosie Perez is suing the show's production companies over injuries she received while filming a guest spot in 2009. Chung chung! more ›

Singer and reality show addict Bret Michaels performed at the 2009 Tony Awards for a tie-in with Rock of Ages, but things didn't go as planned because he was struck in the head by a piece of scenery (video below). He was pretty gracious about the incident at the time and even said he wouldn't sue but now Michaels suing the Tonys because he says the brain hemorrhage he suffered six months later was related. more ›

There are a lot of potholes in New York City, and a lot of cyclists. When the two forces collide, bones get broken, tires get smashed, and people sometimes die. Also, the city gets sued. The DOT's failure to fix certain potholes has been costly: $3.8 million has been paid out to pothole victims since 2005. The Daily News has a rundown of some of the biggest payouts, which include $750,000 to cyclist Rafael Cruz. more ›

Just last night, limbs from a Central Park tree fell onto 62nd Street and 5th Avenue. No one was hurt, but it highlights a 2007 audit from the comptroller, which shows that the Parks Department is inattentive when it comes to rotting trees. more ›

Proof that all you need is a crowd of thousands cheering you on to forget about your pain, Jon Bon Jovi managed to keep rocking at the New Meadowlands last night despite a calf injury. TMZ reports that the rocker was limping on stage during the performance, and had to be carried off by his bandmates. But that didn't stop him from belting out "Livin' on a Prayer." more ›

Despite a boom in the number of people riding bikes around NYC, the number of reported injuries sustained while cycling is declining. Last year, 2,730 cyclists were injured and 12 killed in traffic crashes, according to the DMV. In 2008, there were 2,916 injuries and 26 deaths. As you can see by this handy graph, cyclist injuries have dropped every year but three since 1998. (A high of 5,205.) However, fatalities are a different story; according to Streetsblog, cyclist deaths don't show any real pattern over the same period. more ›

A Queens mom is suing a city bus contractor for failing to intervene when her daughter was stabbed repeatedly with a protractor by another student. Mother Samantha Lowe says her 5-year-old daughter Ayannah was stabbed 10 times in the thighs with a protractor on her way to school in November, and has filed suit with the Amboy Bus Co. of Staten Island and the city's education department for negligence in preventing her daughter's injuries. Lowe's lawyer told the Daily News that Lowe received no word of her daughter's injuries until after school, when the school nurse told her Ayannah had been treated for multiple puncture wounds. At press time, thousands of NYC schoolchildren were still armed with these potentially lethal geometry weapons. more ›

Over the past 13 days, eight people have been struck by subway trains—a tally that matches the number of New Yorkers struck during the average month. Union officials say train crews had actually noticed a surge in such incidents, dubbed "12-9s," starting late last year. "It's the most I can recall, and I've been a train operator for 26 years," said Steve Downs, union chairman of the train operators division. more ›

A thug in Williamsburg was incited to violence when a man brushed up against his car earlier this month. Dominck Auricchio, a 49-year-old from Manhattan, got out of his car near the Brooklyn Brewery and yelled to his 30-year-old victim, "I'm going to kill you!" reports the Post's police blotter. As he was screaming he punched the man in the face. Worst of all, he was wearing a metal ring! After the beating, which took place on North 11th Street near Wythe Avenue at 9:55 p.m., he fled in his vehicle, but police tracked him down and arrested him on charges of assault Thursday. His victim was taken to the hospital where he required 11 stitches for a cut on his face. New York: Still the #1 city for meathead road rage! more ›

Following up its sad, grayscale Superbowl ad, on Tuesday Toyota is expected to announce a recall of 300,000 Prius hybrids with faulty brakes. Japan's Kyodo News broke the news, which has not been confirmed by Toyota. In the U.S. at least 100 drivers have complained that their anti-lock breaks freeze momentarily on bumpy roads, reports the AP, and four accidents are suspected to have been caused by the defect. Last week, the U.S. Government pledged to investigate. If the recall goes through, it will affect drivers of the latest Prius model, who bought their cars after May of last year. Already this year the automaker has recalled over 7 million cars around the world. more ›

With the May 16 trial date approaching, lawyers for the city and attorneys for thousands of 9/11 responders who say they got sick or injured after working at Ground Zero are apparently hurrying to reach a settlement. Though attorneys from both sides declined to comment on negotiations, Judge Alvin Hellerstein told the Times that "[t]here have been intensive discussions going on looking to settlements of individual cases and globally of all cases...The parties have been working very hard...The settlement is complicated." more ›

An out-of-control fire at a Bensonhurst apartment building killed five, and caused a mother to throw two children out a window early this morning. "It was not a normal fire," said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief John Sudnik. According to the Daily News the blaze, that firefighters battled for over three hours, started at a first-floor restaurant, though the exact cause is unknown. more ›

Today's frivolous lawsuit that will probably flush away more of your tax dollars in an out of court settlement: A Queens teenager is suing the city because she broke her ankle in a base sliding drill during high school softball practice. Francis Lewis High School sophomore Alina Cerda had to have six screws and a metal plate implanted in her ankle after sliding on a muddy base path during a May practice. You'll never guess who's fault that was! more ›

As you may have heard by now, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo was injured in a tour bus accident in New York early yesterday morning, and the band has now canceled their remaining shows. They've updated their blog with new details, including photos from the accident. They wrote:

"At 7:18 AM EST, about 40 miles West of Albany on I-90, the Weezer tour bus carrying Rivers and his family and assistants lost control as it hit a patch of black ice. The driver employed every ounce of skill he had in fighting to keep the bus upright, as the vehicle violently fishtailed over the highway. more ›

The 33-year-old who suffered brain and spinal injuries this summer when he was struck by a falling tree limb in Central Park is suing the city and the Central Park Conservancy for negligence. more ›

One 12-year-old was recently the victim of some kite fighting leftovers. The "sport," made famous in The Kite Runner, is popular in Flushing Meadows Corona Park — and now the city is on the receiving end of a lawsuit over it. more ›

A tourist injured herself yesterday when she fell eight feet into an "amphibious assault vehicle" on display aboard the USS New York. The woman was visiting the newly commissioned warship — which is forged out of steel salvaged from the remains of the World Trade Center — when she tumbled into a smaller vessel like those "that carried soldiers before they stormed the beaches of Normandy during World War II," the Post reports. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she is in stable condition. The naval ship will leave its dock at Pier 88 tomorrow and sail to Atlantic Fleet headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, where it will begin active duty, according to the boat's website. more ›

You know the NY Post was just waiting for a jaywalker to be struck by a vehicle so they could be all "told you so," after printing numerous anti-jaywalking editorials this week. more ›

Who doesn't love a good heroic dog story? Word is that a concerned canine named Max saved an 89-year-old woman in Little Neck last Friday. The pup, who is a neighbor's dog, made a ruckus after finding Tina DiLuca face-first in her garden on a 90-degree-day. His barking caused Maria DiLuca, her daughter, to rush outside. She said, “We live next door to Max and we’re used to hearing him bark. But he didn’t sound right. I looked out the window and I saw my mother laying there. She’s lucky she fell in the dirt and not the concrete.” Currently the 89-year-old woman is recovering from four fractured ribs and a few abrasions in the hospital, and is expected to stay there for a few weeks. Hopefully Max is getting some extra treats and belly scratches at home. more ›

Earlier this morning, around 8 a.m., a 30-year-old man was hit by a large tree limb in Central Park, near West Drive and 63rd Street. The branch hit the man's head— he was struck unconscious and had severe bleeding. My Upper West adds, "Paramedics and police promptly arrived to the scene, and after about 15 minutes, took him to a hospital, where he seemed to be in serious condition." On Sunday, strong thunderstorms downed numerous trees in the city. Update: The Parks Department tells WCBS 2 "the limb is from a Pin Oak Tree, approximately 4 inches in diameter." Update 2: The man is now in a coma (it's unclear if it was medically induced) at Cornell Medical Center. The Post says first responders found him "unconscious and in cardiac arrest," while WCBS 2 reports, "The scene was such a mess it took nearly two hours for crews to clean up the debris and blood from the pavement." more ›

Whaddaya know, those oh-so-controversial cheap lawn chairs scattered through the Broadway pedestrian plazas are falling apart! WCBS was on the scene yesterday to report on the disintegrating seats, and confirmed that the plastic straps holding them together are frayed and snapping! Critics have been dissing the chairs, bought at Pintchik Hardware in Brooklyn, since they first appeared, for supposedly attracting the homeless, the lazy, and the European. And now the haters have new ammo, because these things are obviously a grave safety hazard. Floridian tourist Norma Frank saw a chair collapse under her husband Mitch yesterday, and pleaded with New Yorkers for help, "If anybody would like to chip in for a new pair of pants and possibly a new knee..." Mitch insists he wasn't "really" injured, but sometimes it takes a lawyer to show you where it hurts. The Times Square BID will be replacing the chairs with sturdier street furniture by the end of the month, so get over there now if you want in on the inevitable class action lawsuit. more ›

When it's nature versus hipsters, nature usually wins. First it was the Brooklyn Kickballers being scared of the newly planted saplings in McCarren Park, and now this. The Daily News reports that 23-year-old Justin Calicchio was playing a game of dodgeball in Carroll Park yesterday when a tree branch came out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground. Yikes. He told the paper from his hospital bed that, "I blacked out. Everything is starting to become clear again. My girlfriend has been telling me about it and I'm starting to remember now." He is suffering from back injuries but was told he barely dodged more serious problems. A friend reported back saying the branch was too big and fell too fast that there was no escaping it. Calicchio has lived in Carroll Gardens his whole life, and says the tree has always been there, and "branches have fallen off before." Paging the Parks Department! more ›

Following Natasha Richardson's death last night, the NYC medical examiner's office performed an autopsy and announced the actress died from an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head." The NY Times looks at how a seemingly innocent spill on a bunny hill could have killed the actress, who walked back to her room joking about her fall on Monday, and turned away an ambulance that was originally sent for her by ski patrollers. Sadly, the Times talks to a doctor who assumes "The most likely injuries would have been treatable had they been detected promptly." While funeral arrangements are being made at the Greenwich Village Funeral Home, Playbill reports that "marquees of the Broadway theatres will be dimmed [tonight] at 8 PM for one minute." more ›

As previously mentioned, sad news of actress Natasha Richardson being injured during a skiing accident yesterday was reported this morning. Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson, was at a Montreal-area resort taking a beginner's lesson when she fell. While she didn't have a helmet on, the NY Times has word from a spokeswoman at the resort who said “She didn’t show any signs of injury, she was talking and she seemed all right.” But now the 45-year-old Tony-award winner is reportedly in critical condition with a brain injury. The latest word is that she is "sedated and suffering from brain swelling -- but is not brain dead." And TMZ has just reported that she was boarded onto a private jet with a medic team to be taken to a new hospital that they believe is in New York City. more ›