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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Trasnportation Alternatives logo9 people including 7 pedestrians and bicyclists died in NYC car crashes in the first 10 days of 2017. In a recent statement, Paul Steely White, the Transportation Alternatives Executive Director, expressed his outrage and asked the city of New York to accelerate street redesigns. He also wants the New York police to change their attitude and be more accountable.

In his statement, Steely White, noted that 7 of the 9 fatal crashes occurred in locations that have been previously identified by Vision Zero as “priority areas”.  Transportation Alternatives asks the city to allocate immediate funding to redesign these high crashes locations.

Steely White also expressed his outrage towards NYPD investigators behavior. The  NYPD has a horrible habit of blaming the victims and exonerating drivers. For example, the driver of the box truck who fatally struck Rafael Nieves last week and left the scene of the accident was let go without his case being referred to the district attorney (see previous blog). The police also didn’t charge the driver who killed 43 year old Marlon Palacios. The driver told the police his leg had become stiff and got stuck on the accelerator.  The police have the power to act as a judge and a jury while a court should make such decision.  Additionally  the police are supposed to deter dangerous driving in New York City but they often blame the victims and let go reckless drivers.

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37 pedestrians and one bicyclist were among the 50 victims who died in NYC traffic accidents last fall (September, October, November).  This is 15 less accident fatalities than in the fall of 2015,  21 less than in the fall of 2014 and 34 less than in the fall of 2013. Since 2013, the number of people dying on the road has been decreasing each fall in the city.

While less people are dying in NYC car accidents, more are getting injured. After recording a decline in 2014, the number of people injured in traffic accidents during the fall months went back up slightly in 2015  and reached its highest in 2016. 15,480 people were injured in traffic accidents in New York City during the 3-month period of September, October and November  2016 compared to 13,693 during the same period of 2015, 13,350 during the same period of 2014 and 14,449 during the same period of 2013.

The total number of motor vehicle accidents in New York City is continuing to rise as well.

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accident sceneA  NYC pedestrian was fatally struck by a dump truck. A bicyclist died after being clipped by a box truck. A pedestrian lost his life after being hit by a car. All 3 accidents occurred in Brooklyn Monday afternoon.

85 year old Rafael Nieves was walking back home from a trip to the supermarket around 1pm in Williamsburg. As he was crossing Grand Street near Lorimer a dump truck ran over him. The driver didn’t even stop. The police located him later on. According to their investigation the truck driver didn’t know he hit someone. Nieves, a Puerto Rican military veteran leaves behind him two children and five grand children.

A few hours later, around 4:45 pm, a 70 year old bicyclist died after being hit by a delivery truck. Iosif Plazinsky was riding his bike on Avenue X near Coney Island Ave. The bicyclist was hit twice by the truck. After the first collision he lost balance and fell. Then the truck veered to the right and struck him again. Plazinsky was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. Plazinsky was a retired construction worker from Odessa. He lived in Brighton Beach with his family. He had 3 grand children and one about to be born.

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After a young bicyclist was struck by a car in New York City, the Court of Appeals held the city of New York liable for failing to install traffic calming measures in a street the city knew was dangerous. The Court of Appeals decision  is related to a crash between a bicyclist and a car that occurred back in 2004  on Gerritsen Avenue in Brooklyn, NYC.

On December 5 2004 around 6:30 pm, 12 year old Anthony Turturro was riding his bike on Gerritsen Avenue. At the time of the accident, Gerritsen Ave was a four lane avenue with two lanes of traffic going in each direction.  As he was attempting to cross the avenue at mid-block, the young boy was struck by a car. The driver, Louis Pascarella, was speeding. The police investigation established that when the crash occurred, the driver’s speed was 54 mph, 24 mph over the 30 mph speed limit at this location. Turturro suffered serious injury. The driver pleaded guilty  to assault in the second degree.

RECKLESS DRIVING AND SPEEDING

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bicycle-and-truck-accident-locationA bicyclist was fatally struck by a cement truck in New York last Thursday. The bicyclist was heading to the Greenway and was in the crosswalk of the West Side Highway at the intersection of West 55th Street. The cement truck was driving west and was making a right turn onto the West Side Highway when it struck the victim. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He hasn’t been charged so far. It is not clear yet if  he failed to yield to the bicyclist. The bicyclist was found by the police unconscious at the scene of the accident with severe head and bodily trauma.

According to the Gothamist, so far this year the police recorded 21 crashes at this location with 5 people injured in 3 of them. The previous year there were 20 crashes at this intersection 4 resulting in injury. Among the people injured was another bicyclist who had been struck by a car.

 

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location of the accident 6th Ave and 47th StreetA woman riding her bike was hit by a van in Midtown Manhattan. The 56 year old woman was riding a Citi Bike near the intersection of W. 47th street and 6th Ave around 9:30 am yesterday morning. The van driver hit her and continued his way dragging the mangled bike under his vehicle. Two counter-terrorist cops saw it and immediately ran to the rescue.  While one of the cops was chasing down the van, the other one took care of the victim.  The woman suffered a very bad injury to her legs. According to witnesses, bones were visible in the knee area. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. It is not clear why he didn’t stop immediately after hitting the woman. So far he hasn’t been charged.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

Picture: the busy location of the accident, courtesy of Google Maps

 

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accident sceneMore Pedestrians and Bicyclists have been killed in car accidents in NYC at this point in 2016 than in 2015. Through November 20th 124 pedestrians have been killed. 17 bicyclists have also suffered fatal injuries. For the same time period in 2015 115 pedestrians were involved in fatal accidents and 14 bicyclists were killed. Interestingly the death rate for those in cars and on motorcycles decreased this year to 61. At this point last year the number of such deaths was 73. Brian Zumhagen of Transportation Alternatives commented that these statistics indicate that the Vision Zero project is not sufficiently protecting those who are most at risk and that the City needs to fix those areas which have already been classified as hazardous Vision Zero priority locations.   The stated mission of Transportation Alternatives is to promote bicycling, walking and public transit in NYC. Read more in The New York Daily News.

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New York Personal Injury lawyer Anthony Gair photo__2573607_christopher_donadioOur NY personal injury law firm is proud to announce that our attorneys Anthony H. Gair and Christopher J. Donadio obtained a $1.4 million settlement in a bus accident that occurred in Manhattan.

The case involved a bus collision that occurred on May 15, 2015 on the West Side Highway (11th Avenue). On that date, the plaintiff, who was on a bicycle attempting to cross the roadway, was struck by a large tour bus. At the time of the collision, the plaintiff was riding within the bicycle crossing lane and had the right of way per the light. Following the collision, a police officer arrived on the scene and spoke to a number of witnesses. Based on the witnesses, the police officer determined that the tour bus had traveled through a red light and struck the plaintiff.

An action was brought against the tour bus company that owned and operated the bus, as well as against the bus driver. The defendants initially denied that they were responsible for the collision, and argued that even if they were, the plaintiff was also responsible for failing to see the bus before attempting to cross the roadway.

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matthew vo nohlen A man who fatally struck a bicyclist in NYC last July was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Last July Matthew Von Olen was riding his bike on Grand Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when he was intentionally struck by a car.  According to acting DA Eric Gonzales, the driver recklessly swerved into the bike lane and struck the bicyclist. He hit him from behind knocking him off his bike. He then drove over him and dragged him 10 to 20 feet as he was speeding away (see previous blog). The man was identified as 56 year old Juan Maldonado from South Williamsburg. He was arrested yesterday morning. He was brought to Brooklyn Supreme Court and indicted on eight counts including leaving the scene of an accident, criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter. He may be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail if convicted. 35 year old Matthew Von Holen was the founder of BikeStock and and an avid cyclist.

Read more in the Gothamist Picture source: Facebook

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accident sceneA pedestrian who was crossing the street was struck by a bicyclist on Saturday night. The bicyclist didn’t stop. He sped off leaving behind him a pedestrian seriously injured. The accident happened at the intersection of E. 70th Street and First Ave in the Upper East Side of New York around 8:10 pm. The pedestrian was attempting to cross the street when the bicyclist struck him. Witnesses said they heard his head cracking as it slammed on the asphalt. They also said the man had convulsions. The police haven’t apprehended the cyclist yet. Read more in the NY Daily News

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