Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Bicycle Accidents

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Last Halloween, a terrorist driving a rental truck plowed into bicyclists and pedestrians on the Greenway bike path along the West Side Highway near Battery Park. In his act of terror, Sayfullo Saipov killed 8 people and injured 13 others after he entered the bike path  North of Chambers Street and drove 14 blocks down the path, striking bicyclists and pedestrians on his way.  The police were able to stop him after he slammed into a school bus at the Chambers Street intersection and tried to run away on foot.

According to the authorities, Saipov was inspired by the Islamic Sate group when he committed his act of terror. He is now behind bars and held without bail. He pleaded not guilty but the federal prosecutors announced on Friday that they are seeking the death penalty which is extremely rare in New York. The last time it occurred was in 1953 for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Our firm represents most of the victims of the terror attack and while this decision by the  federal prosecutors will satisfy the families of the victims it will never make up for their losses.

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84 people including 49 pedestrians, 6 cyclists, 3 vehicle passengers and 26 vehicle drivers died in traffic accidents in New York City during the first semester. This is the lowest number of traffic deaths ever recorded in the city during the first six months of the year. Last year 96 people died in traffic accidents during the same period. It was the  first time that the number of traffic deaths was below 100 for the first six months of the year.Traffic Deaths NYC first semester 2018

While less and less people are dying in auto accidents in the city, more and more are getting injured. 28,544 people suffered injury in a crash during the first semester of 2018 compared to 27,923 during the same period of the previous year and respectively 27,540, 23,530, 24,508 and 26,119 during the first semester of 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

As part of the Vision Zero initiative, the speed limit in the city went down to 25 mph in 2014. This speed limit decrease may have been a factor in the reduction of traffic deaths and in the increase of injuries. Accidents at lower speed may prevent road users from dying, instead they are getting injured.

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fatal bike accident cpw 2A 23 year old Australian tourist was killed in a bicycle accident in New York on Friday afternoon. Madison Jane Lyden  and another tourist were riding their bicycles North on Central Park West. As they passed by the bus stop between 66th and 67th Street, the young woman was forced into traffic to avoid an Uber car pulling into the bike lane. According to witnesses she “bounced off” the garbage truck before landing under its wheels. She was rushed to the hospital where she died shortly later. Madison Jane Lyden was from Victoria Australia. She worked at a recreational center as a swim instructor, life guard and receptionist. She was visiting New York with friends.

One of  our employees happened to be visiting someone in the building located right across the street from the accident scene and took a picture from above that clearly shows the livery car pulling into the bike lane, on the left are the belongings of the victim on the ground. It also shows the Garbage Truck stopped at a significant distance from where it contacted the bicyclist. Skid marks , which would indicate the truck braked prior to contact are are not visible south of or next to the Uber in the photo.

DRUNK TRUCK DRIVER

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5,569 people suffered personal injury in 20,551 traffic accidents in New York City last May. Among them were 2,534 motorists, 1,755 passengers, 430 cyclists and 850 pedestrians.

While looking at past statistics,  we notice a seasonal factor that causes the number of crash injuries to always increase during the month of May compared to the previous months of  February, March and April. Last May the auto accident injuries in New York City increased to a record number.

In May 2013, before Vision Zero, 4,988 people suffered injuries in NYC crashes.  Then the Vision Zero program started and the number of crash injuries declined to 4,621 in May 2014. It increased again slightly to 4,788 in May 2015 but stayed below the Pre-Vision Zero number of injuries recorded in May 2013. In May 2016, it peaked above 5000 and never went back below that level for the last 3 years. 5,415 crash injuries were recorded in May 2016 and 5,314 in May 2017.

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12 people died and 4,578 were injured in traffic accidents in New York City in April. Among the fatalities were 7 pedestrians, 3 cyclists and 2 motor vehicle passengers. The number of fatalities recorded last April is the lowest number of traffic fatalities ever recorded in April since Vision Zero started. Last year during the same month 20 people died in NYC motor vehicle accidents. In 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013, there were respectively 14, 19, 21 and 15 fatalities.

Traffic fatalities NYC April 2018
Sadly, the number of people injured in accidents in the city was higher in April 2018 than it was in April 2017. It wasn’t as high as in 2016 but it was higher than in 2014 and 2015 and also back at the level where it was before Vision Zero was implemented.  While pedestrians and cyclists account for most deaths, motorists and passengers sustain most of the injuries.Motor vehcile accident injuries New York City April 2018

Motorists injuries continue to be on an ascending trend with a record number of 2,117 motorists injured last April compared to respectively, 1,922, 2,061, 1,363, 1,305 and 1,599 in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Distracted driving might be one of the reasons why this number continues to increase.

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A cyclist died after he was doored by a car in Queens, NYC, and ended up under the wheels of a truck. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon in Long Island City. The 45 year old man was riding his bike North on 21st Street near 46th Avenue when the passenger of a car parked in the street suddenly opened his door and hit him. The impact sent the cyclist flying  in the middle of the street in front of a box truck. The  truck driver didn’t have the time to stop and ran over him. The man was transported to the hospital in serious condition. He later died from his injuries The car driver and the truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. The truck driver was taken into custody after the police found that he didn’t have a valid license.

Read more on the CBS New York website

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7th-waverly-perryThe installation of protected bike lanes all over New York City not only protect bicyclists from dangerous accidents but also drivers and pedestrians alike. According to DOT statistics, streets with bike lanes have 40 percent fewer crashes ending in death or serious injury. A study realized after the Ninth Avenue protected bike lane was installed showed that all injuries related to traffic accidents decreased by 50%. Pedestrian injuries decreased by 29% and cyclist injuries by 57%.

Better protection for cyclists and pedestrians

Last week the DOT announced that the many cyclists using Seventh Ave to ride South in Manhattan will now be able to use a protected bike lane from 30th Street to Clarkson Street. Half of the protected bike lane, from 30th Street to 14th Street was installed at the end of last year. The DOT finished installing the other part from 14th Street to Clarkson Street last week. The DOT still needs to paint the lane in green. The DOT is also planning to install five concrete pedestrian islands along the way as well as additional safety improvements for pedestrians.

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location of the bicycle accident Bay RidgeA NYC cyclist who was struck by a SUV is likely to die according to a recent article in Street Blog.  The man who’s name wasn’t released is a 29 year old black male. He was riding his bike northbound on Ridge Boulevard when he was hit by a SUV driving westbound on 73rd Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. According to the police the driver of the SUV, a 63 year old woman, had the green light when she hit the cyclist. She wasn’t charged and the police said “No criminality was suspected”.

It is not the first time that a collision occured at this intersection. According to the Vision Zero Map One person was injured in an accident at the same intersection in 2011, another one in 2012, two in 2013, one in 2014 and one in 2016 previous to this accident.

A Bay Ridge resident told StreetBlog that the intersection was dangerous. “I’ve had a few close calls crossing here, too,” he said. “There’s a lot of racing to beat the light and a lot of failure to yield to people in the crosswalk.”

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ocation of the cab bicycle accident in New YorkA cyclist who was hit by a cab in New York nine days ago has died from his injuries. On April 16th, 42-year-old Amaury Pena was riding his bike on East 39th Street by the exit of the Midtown tunnel. He was hit by a taxi heading North on Tunnel Exit. According to the NY Daily News the bicyclist was riding against the light when he was struck by the taxi driver around 8:20 am. The man was transported to the hospital with severe injuries. He suffered for 9 days before succumbing to his injuries on Wednesday. The taxi driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged.

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location of truck and bicycle accident on Webster AveA cyclist died after he was hit by a truck that never stopped. The accident occurred at the intersection of Webster Ave and the ramp of the Cross Bronx Expressway in the Tremont section of the Bronx.  The bicyclist was riding to the right side of  a white box truck when the truck made a right turn to get on the expressway ramp.  The truck hit the cyclist but never stopped. He just continued on his way onto the ramp and headed south toward I-95 New Jersey.  According to witnesses the cyclist who was in his twenties was knocked off his bicycle. He was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. He died there from his injuries.

Sparse and dangerous unprotected bike lanes offer little protection to Bronx Bicyclists

Too little is being done in the Bronx  to prevent bicycle accidents. Webster Avenue was redesigned in 2012 to implement “Select Bus Service” but  bike lanesSouth Bike Lane Gand Concourse implementation were not part of this re-design.