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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Bronx cyclists and pedestrians will soon have more space to safely walk and bike as a second stretch of the Bronx River Greenway is about to be revamped. A new bike lane and play spaces will be created along the Bronx River from E. 233rd St. to Duncomb Ave in Williamsbridge as part of a $3.25 million project.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Picture: Bronx River Alliance

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The Merrill’s Law or “safe distance” Law was created after Merrill Cassell, a devoted cyclist, died in a bicycle accident during which he was struck by a bus that sideswiped him as he rode his bike along Route 119 in Greenburg (see video below).

The Law was enacted 5 years ago but very few tickets have been written under the Law.

In a recent article in the Lohud, Theresa Juva-Brown explains why this law offers little protection to cyclists.Read the article here.

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Citi%20Bike.jpg73 year old Ronald Corvin is suing Citi Bike for the traumatic brain injury he suffered after a bicycle accident during which he fell from one of the Citi Bikes he was riding. The Citi Bike lawyer is arguing that the man should have worn an helmet. However Citi Bike stations in New York do not provide the option to rent helmets at their docking station. This option exists in Canada and in Australia where Alta, the Citi Bike operator, has installed helmet rental kiosks for their clients. Read more in the NY Daily News

It will be interesting to follow the evolution of this case as the Citi Bike program doesn’t have any insurance on their bikes. The cyclists using the share program are responsible for the damages incurred while they are using the bike. (read more here)

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167 people, including 80 pedestrians, 15 cyclists, 17 vehicle passengers and 55 motorists died in traffic accidents in New York City between the beginning of January and the end of August 2013 compared to a total of 177 including 96 pedestrians, 7 cyclists, 18 vehicle passengers and 56 motorists for the same period of time in 2013. The number of motorists and passengers vehicle deaths is stable while pedestrian deaths have been declining following some intense Zero Vision campaigning. However not everything looks good in this picture: the number of cyclists dying in traffic accidents more than doubled during that time.

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Anna%20Maria%20Mostrom%20FB.jpg29 year old Anna Maria Mostrom, a Swedish model, was riding her bicycle on Main St., Roosevelt Island, NYC, when she was struck by a New York City bus making a left turn. The woman fell on the ground and sustained severe brain injuries. She was transported to the hospital where she already has undergone two surgeries. According to the NY Daily News, the young woman is brain dead and her prognosis is bleak.
Picture: Facebook

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A few weeks after a woman died after being struck by a bike in Central Park, NYC, a NYPD officer was struck by a bicyclist yesterday on the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian footpath. The officer suffered personal injury and appeared to haver a broken arm. The accident happened yesterday afternoon on a crowded path. According to the New York police, the cyclist was not arrested.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Brooklyn Bridge as viewed from pedestrian walkway
Picture: courtesy of Wikipedia Every day more than 4000 pedestrians and 3100 cyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge

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Four days after Jill Tarlov was struck by a reckless cyclist and died in Central Park (see our previous post), activists from “Right of Way” took action last night by installing “20 is Plenty” signs along the Central Park Drives. (Read more about the Central Park Campaign here)

The actual speed limit in New York parks is 25 MPH but activists believe it should be reduced. Mark Levine, the City Council’s park committee chairman also shares this point of view. Yesterday he called for a reduction of the speed limit in all New York Parks for both motor vehicles and bicycles. Mr. Levine also believes that Central Park and Prospect Park should be completely car free as cars are a much bigger threat to pedestrians than bicycles. (Read more here)

 

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59 year old Jill Tarlov was struck by a cyclist as she was in a crosswalk in Central Park last Thursday.She suffered severe head trauma and was on life support before she passed away this week-end.

According to witnesses the cyclist was riding his bike recklessly and was most probably above the 25 miles-per-hour speed limit. He swerved to avoid a group of pedestrians and hit the woman.

Transportation Alternative, a bicycling and walking advocay group, released a statement asking the NYPD to “investigate the accident including the cyclist’s speed as he approached Ms. Tarlov”.

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Charles_Schumer_official_portrait.jpg13 projects to prevent pedestrian and bicycle accidents in New York City are going to be funded by a $25 million federal grant secured by Senator Schumer. Previous Vision Zero Crash analysis and input from communities were used to select the13 project locations. Projects will include an extension of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway; street safety improvements near schools in Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island; and pedestrian safety measures along dangerous corridors like Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park.

Read more in Transportation Nation

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The NYPD Motor Vehicle Collision Data report for the month of July is a blow to the various Vision Zero Initiatives that have been deployed since the beginning of the year to reduce traffic deaths. The initiatives that have been mainly focusing on pedestrian fatalities didn’t seem to have been very effective this summer with the number of pedestrian fatalities more than doubling from 7 to 15 between June and July. 11 cyclists also died since the beginning of the year, almost twice more than in 2013 when 6 cyclists lost their lives during the first 7 months of the year.

Even though the total number of vehicle crashes in NYC was lower last July (17,361) compared to the same month in 2013 (17,548) and compared to the previous month (18,321), the total number of vehicle accidents since the beginning of the year is slightly higher than last year with a total of 118,195 crashes compared to 117,022 for the first seven months of 2013.

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4591 people suffered personal injuries during a vehicle collision in NYC during the month of July, a decrease compared to 4950 in June and 5077 in July 2013. Personal injuries related to vehicle crashes are also down by 7% for the first 7 months of 2014 compared to the first 7 months of 2013 with motorists injuries down by 9%, passengers injuries down by 6%, cyclist injuries down by 3.5% and pedestrian injuries down by 7%.

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