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 Pedestrian Accidents

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NYC Personal Injury Lawyers Howard Hershenhorn and Diana Carnemolla

Congratulations to our partners NY Personal Injury Lawyers Howard Hershenhorn and Diana Carnemolla as well as their legal assistant Richard Soldano, for obtaining the Highest Jury Verdict in New York State in 2018. This verdict is also the 25th highest jury verdict in the entire country for 2018.

NY #1 Verdict In Sipher v. Twin America LLC, the jury awarded $85 million to a pedestrian who was ran over by a red double decker sightseeing tour bus in New York. The verdict was delivered on December 4th 2018 after a week trial during which Howard Hershenhorn and Diana Carnemolla tried the case on behalf of the injured plaintiff before the Hon. Barbara Jaffe in New York Supreme Court. The jury awarded to the victim $45 million for past pain and suffering and $40 million for future pain and suffering.

The accident occurred on July 3rd 2015 in downtown Manhattan. The victim was crossing 6th Avenue in the crosswalk with  the light in his favor when he was struck by a sightseeing bus making a left turn from West 4th Street onto 6th Avenue.

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New-York-School-Zone-Speed-CameraIn New York, speed cameras have proven to be one of the most efficient ways to prevent car accidents and save pedestrian lives especially children and seniors. After Governor Cuomo signed a new law allowing the expansion of the school zone speed camera program in New York City (see previous blog), mayor de Blasio recently announced that the number of speed cameras in New York City would gradually increase from 140 now to 750 in 2020.

The number of hours during which the speed cameras will be operating is expected to almost double

Additionally and starting July 11 speed cameras will operate weekdays from 6 AM to 10 PM. They will not only operate during school hours as it was the case before. The new law also expands the distance at which cameras can be installed from the school. As a result additional speed cameras will be installed in dangerous locations such as West End Ave, First Avenue in Manhattan, Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island, Northern Boulevard in Queens and Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
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Two pedestrians were injured in a truck accident in New York City last Friday.  An out of control refrigerated box truck delivering produce jumped the curb at 86th Street and Bay 34th Street in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, NYC. It crashed into a Malaysian restaurant window. As it jumped the curb, it struck a 20-year-old pedestrian. The driver then backed the truck up striking a 24-year-old woman and damaging a parked car then hit a subway pillar. The driver then tried to flee the scene of the accident on foot but the police caught him and he was taken into custody.

The two pedestrians who were injured were taken to the hospital. The 20-year-old pedestrian is in critical condition and still fighting for his life. The 24-year-old woman suffered a head injury but she is in stable condition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTbMavbTRhM

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3 pedestrians were injured in a car accident in Long Island, NY, after a drunk driver jumped the curb and struck them. 66-year-old Mitchell  Messling was intoxicated and witnesses said he was driving erratically on West Merrick Road in Freeport when he jumped the curb and struck a family of 3 yesterday afternoon around 4:00 pm.  A 11-year-old boy was seriously injured and had to be evacuated by helicopter while his parents were rushed to the hospital by ambulance.

The driver was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, two counts of third-degree assault, two counts of driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving. He is due in Court Today in Hempstead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6QRlyQjnVs

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Location of the fatal pedestrian accident in HarlemA NYC pedestrian was among the several people who died in New York traffic accidents during this Memorial Day Holiday. 55 year old Leon Frazier was crossing the street when he was hit by a car making a left turn from W. 112 Street onto Malcom X Boulevard in Harlem. The pedestrian died at the scene of the accident. The 27 year old driver stayed at the scene of the accident. The accident occurred early Saturday morning around 4:00 am in an area which is known to be dangerous. According to statistics, 2 cyclists, 4 pedestrians and 13 motorists were injured in 25 accidents last year in this area.

Read more in Street Blog

Satellite view of the location of the accident courtesy of Google Map

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Location of the fatal pedestrian accident Little Italy New YorkA pedestrian was fatally struck by a taxi in New York on Saturday afternoon. The accident occurred on a busy and sunny Saturday afternoon in Little Italy, Downtown Manhattan. Around 4:00 pm a woman in her 80ies whose identity wasn’t revealed was crossing Broom Street in the crosswalk when a taxi making a left turn from Center onto Broom Street struck her. She was rushed to the hospital with severe personal injury. She was pronounced dead when she arrived there.

The cab driver, 44 Bouchouata Miloudi, stayed at the scene  of the accident. He was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oz_3NPX_DI

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Prospect park bike lanes5 bicyclists, 15 pedestrians and 201 motor vehicle occupants were injured and 1 pedestrian died  in traffic accidents on Flatbush Ave between Grand Army Plaza and Ocean Avenue from 2013 to 2017. This section of Flatbush Avenue was identified by Vision Zero as a priority corridor and the DOT proposal to install a protected bike lane was recently unanimously supported by the members of the Community Board 6. Work is scheduled to start this summer.  This segment of Flatbush Avenue connecting to Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park, The Brooklyn Public Library,  Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Zoo is being used by an average of 500 bicyclists a day during the week-end and 350 during the week. It is also one of the busiest bus routes and more than 1100 vehicles per hour cross it at peak hours.

The DOT proposal should not only lead to a decrease in bicycle accidents but also improve bike  access to Prospect Park and on-street bike network

According to the DOT, the Prospect Park edge condition is ideal for two-way protected bike lanes that would provide 2-way routes around the park compared to one now and also provide alternative routes at night time when the park is closed.  Another protected bike lane project is in development for the segment of Ocean Ave that is at the edge of Prospect Park and the DOT is studying options to install bike lanes on Parkside Avenue and Prospect Park SW (see illustration).

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A school bus driver who fatally hit a pedestrian back in February appeared in Bronx Criminal Court yesterday. On February 14th, 68 year old Agnes Egan was crossing the street at the intersection of Havemeyer Street and Story Avenue when she was struck by 66 year old Anton Goodhall who was driving a mini school bus south on Havemeyer. Video footage of the accident shows the minibus rolling over the pedestrian, stopping after the impact and then leaving the scene of the accident. Agnes Egan was critically injured and died 40 minutes later.

In Court the bus driver claimed he never saw the pedestrian. He said he stopped after the accident because he dropped a bottle of water. He also said that his visibility was reduced because two other cars were in  the intersection. He also mentioned a big pile of trash on a corner.

He is due to appear in Court again on July 11.

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Donna Sturm was killed by a cyclistDonna Sturm, a pedestrian who suffered traumatic brain injury after being struck by a bicyclist in midtown Manhattan almost two weeks ago died from her injuries over the week-end. Donna was left in a coma since the accident that occurred on April 24 around 1:00 pm. The 67 year old woman was coming back from lunch and was crossing 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues when  a bicyclist identified as 40-year old Damian Dewart recklessly ran the red light and struck her. (see our previous blog for more details on the accident)

Our managing partner, New York Personal Injury Attorney Ben Rubinowitz who is representing the family of  Donna Sturm  issued the following statement on behalf of the family:

Donna Sturm was a vibrant, energetic and wonderful woman who died as a result of carelessness and negligence.

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Location of the fatal truck accidentA pedestrian was fatally struck by a USPS truck in New York City. The accident occurred on Friday around 5:00 pm in Brooklyn.  52 year old Charles McClean was crossing MacDougal Street at Howard Avenue in Bedforsd-Suyvesant when a USPS truck stopped in the crosswalk. As the pedestrian walked in front of the truck, the driver started  to move forward and struck the pedestrian. The pedestrian fell underneath the truck and was dragged across the the street by the truck to the next crosswalk. Charles McClean was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries but he couldn’t be saved. He leaves behind him 2 twin 10-year-old daughters.  Just before the accident, McClean mother’s sent him to the store to get lottery tickets. He never came back. The mother, 72-year-old Shirley McClean previously lost two other of her eight sons. One died from gun violence and the other one from a medical infection.

USPS drivers above the law

The USPS driver remained at the scene of the accident, so far he hasn’t been charged. One of the surviving brothers, Gregory Mclean told Streetblog that the intersection wasn’t safe because most drivers only looked to their left for oncoming cars but din’t look at their right for oncoming pedestrians. He also said that postal workers in the neighborhood were reckless drivers always rushing to clock out  and accused the young postal driver wo killed his brother of homicide. Another brother, Arkim, mentioned that USPS trucks didn’t have license plates therefore they couldn’t get ticketed by the police. No tickets means no accountability, he said.