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 Personal Injury

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brNew York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz who is representing Dana Lerner and Richard Stock in a wrongful death lawsuit against Koffi Komlani, the taxi driver who killed their son Cooper in a traffic accident, said to the New York Post that both parties were proprely served after the lawyers representing the cabbie tried to  use a technicality to dodge the lawsuit.

Copper was crossing the road with his dad at 97th Street and West End Avenue in the Upper West Side in January 2014 when he was fatally struck by the taxi driver who was making a left-hand turn. A witness took a video of Richard Stock trying to pick up his son just after he was run over by the taxi. This video will be included in the lawsuit. “[Richard Stock] is screaming at the top of his lungs. There could never be anything worse for a father,” said Ben Rubinowitz.

Because of insurance caps, Cooper parents do no expect to receive more than $50,000 but they want to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit to hold the cab driver accountable for his recklessness.

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The Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans are one of 63 Vision Zero initiatives designed to eliminate deaths and personal injuries from traffic accidents in New York City. This set of five plans have been developed by the New York Department of Transportation and the NYPD. Each safety action plan addresses specific borough related challenges to pedestrian safety. The action plans are based on the input of the borough inhabitants gathered during multiple community workshops and also from numerous data and comments collected on the interactive Zero Vision map.

Bronx Pedestrian Safety Action Plan

Bronx Pedestrian Safety MapThe Bronx pedestrian fatality rate is higher than the NYC average. Most traffic fatalities and personal injuries happen  in the high-density neighborhoods in the north- and south-westerly portions of the Bronx. Arterial streets such as The Grand Concourse, 3rd Avenue, and Fordham Road are the most dangerous.  A lot of pedestrians are killed when crossing the street mid- block because of the lack of an adequate number of crossroads. The Bronx has a lot of overnight pedestrian fatalities. Seniors represent 36% of the Bronx pedestrian fatalities and young adults 18%. Dangerous driving such as speeding, failing to yield, turning on red distracted driving and DUI are the cause of 85% of the pedestrian fatalities in the Bronx and hit and run occurs in 30 % of cases.

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New York Wrongful Death Lawyer Howard HershenhornOur partner New York Personal Injury Lawyer Howard Hershenhorn commented on the recent pictures that 28 year old Dominique Sharpton posted on Instagram and told the New York Daily News that “Her gallivanting around in high heels and climbing a mountain in Bali drastically diminish the value of her case because it clearly shows that her injuries are not severe, and as a result, she will not be paid or awarded any substantial amount of money by any rational jury”. The daughter of Reverend Sharpton who sued the city for $5 million after injuring her ankle in Soho recently posted pictures of herself climbing mountains in Indonesia. She has also been pictured in high heels at a hippie party and climbing the dicey terrain of Red Rock Canyon in Nevada.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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airbag1aOne in seven vehicles on American roads may have defective airbags that can potentially severely injured or even killed passengers as they violently deployed and send shrapnel flying into the car passenger’s compartment. Yesterday after more than 10 years of denial, Takata admitted that his products were defective and agreed to double the number of vehicles recalled in the Unites States to nearly 34 millions.

When a crash happens, pellets of a propellant based on ammonia nitrate are ignited and generate the nitrogen gas that inflates the airbag in a fraction of a second.  Takata said manufacturing problems, together with exposure to moisture in cars in humid regions, can cause the propellant to degrade. This can make the propellant burn too strongly when the airbag is deployed, rupturing the inflater and sending metal fragments into the car’s interior and injuring the driver or passengers.

Read more in the New York Times

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Greta GreeneA 2 year old girl who suffered severe personal injury yesterday after being hit by falling debris, died Today at the hospital. Greta Greene (facebook picture on the left) was sitting outside with her grand mother when they were both struck by terra-cotta bricks from a window ledge that fell from the 8th floor of  the Esplanade Manhattan nursing home at 305 West End Ave in Manhattan.

The toddler lost consciousness and nurses from the nursing home tried to resuscitate her. Her grandmother, 60 year old Susan Frierson, suffered severe leg injuries. They were both transported to the hospital where Greta passed away Today.

A protective scaffolding was erected last night on orders on the Department Of Buildings. The DOB is investigating what caused the ledge to fall. It also issued a violation to the Esplanade Manhattan nursing home for failure to maintain a property in a safe and compliant manner.

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In December 2013 4 people died and 70 others suffered personal injury in a Metro North train accident in New York. The National Transportation Board Investigation found that William Rockefeller the engineer who was operating the train had undiagnosed sleep apnea and nodded off  just before taking a 30 mph curve at 82 mph, causing the train to derail. Yesterday the office of Bronx DA Robert Johnson said that Rockefeller will not face criminal charges.  Read more here

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Amtrak AccidentAn Amtrak train heading from New York to Washington DC derailed yesterday night in Philadelphia. 6 people died and many the 243 passengers of suffered personal injury and were taken to the hospital. Among the people injured 6 of them were in critical condition. The Amtrak accident happened yesterday night around 9:30 close to Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane near a bend in the track. One of the nation’s deadliest railroad accidents happened in the same spot on Labor Day 1943. A train carrying military service members on leave derailed killing 79 of them and injuring 117. The cause of yesterday’s train accident is still unknown. Speed as well deteriorating infrastructure and aging equipment are among the potential factors to be investigated. Former Congressman  Patrick J. Murphy was on board when the accident happened and tweeted the pictures on the left.
Read more about this train accident in the New York Times

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A Boltbus that departed from New York to go to Boston exploded on the Massachusetts Turnpike yesterday during rush hours.  The bus driver noticed smoke coming out of the bus, pulled over and immediately evacuated the 47 passengers with their belongings. Shortly after the bus exploded and caught fire. The recasons of the explosion are still being investigated.

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A woman suffered personal injury after being hit by debris in Manhattan. The woman was in front of a Zara store at 580 Broadway near Prince Street on Friday afternoon when debris fell from above onto her head and knocked her to the ground. According to witnesses, the woman was bleeding from her forehead but she remained conscious. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for trauma.

Read more in DNA Info

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A defective surgical staple used to close tissue in the left atrial appendage of the heart is being recalled by the FDA after reports that patients suffered personal injuries such as tissue tears and bleeding  including a possible tear of the left atrial wall (top left chamber) during use of the device.   The manufacturer of the defective medical device, Maquet Medical Systems, sent an “Urgent Medical Device Recall (Removal) Immediate Action Required” letter to all affected customers asking them to immediately remove and quarantine the Tiger paw System II from their inventory.

Read the press release from the FDA