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

Published on:

Patient SafetyMedical errors and adverse events are among the leading causes of death and personal injury in the U.S. According to a recent study in the Journal of Patient Safety  the number of premature deaths associated with preventable harm to patients is estimated at more than 400,000 per year. Serious harm seems to be 10- to 20-fold more common than lethal harm.

The patient safety awareness week is an annual campaign led by the National Patient Safety Foundation to create awareness about patient safety among healthcare providers and their patients. The campaign is running this week and the subject is “United in safety” . The emphasis is on better communication between healthcare providers and patients to reduce adverse events or medical errors.

Tomorrow Wednesday March 11th at 8:30 pm ET anyone interested can join a twitter chat on patient and family engagement using  #PSAWunited to participate. People interested can also join a free webcast on patient safety on Thursday March 12th.

Published on:

Janet Hickey, a resident of City Island in the Bronx, NYC, was recovering from  brain surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital and was transferred by ambulance to Phelps Memorial Hospital, for  rehabilitation. During the trip between the two facilities, the ambulance that was transporting her crashed into a pole in Westchester County. During the accident, the 60 year old woman suffered serious head and neck injuries that left her brain dead. According to doctors who tried to save her after the accident, the woman wasn’t proprely strapped to her stretcher by the Senior Care Emergency Services ambulance staff. Read more in the New York Daily News

Published on:

The risk of  being injured in a manhole explosion will be at its highest this week for New Yorkers as salty melted ice and snow will pour into the city manholes after a sudden increase in temperature. Hundreds of manhole explosions have sent several people to the hospital this winter in New York City. The heavy use of salt in the streets of New York during the wintry weather is to blame for these explosions.  The salty melting ice gets through the street cracks and erodes the underground electrical wires and cables causing dangerous manhole explosions that can injure passers by.There were well over a thousand of them so far this winter according to Con Ed. 600 explosions were reported in New York City in the first week of February alone. To prevent these explosions Con Ed started to install manhole covers with grates. These covers don’t prevent fire but at least in case of a fire they allow smoke to escape thus preventing an explosion.

Published on:

Pigment_stone_extractionAfter two patients died and many other suffered personal injury from a recent “superbug”outbreak involving duodenoscopes, the safety of these medical devices (see previous blog) and the method used by hospitals to reprocess them are being questioned. In a recent Hazard Report, the ECRI Institute is recommending culturing Duodenoscopes as a key step to reducing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).  The Institute believes that duodenoscope procedures are vital when treating and diagnosing conditions of the gall bladder and pancreas with Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures and the risk of infection can be mitigated if hospitals upgrade their reprocessing methods by also scope culturing.The Institute recommemds that hospitals not only check with the duodenoscope manufacturer as to whether they are using the appropriate reprocessing method but also add a baseline culture of all duodenoscpoes.  Read the complete ECRI High Priority Hazard Report 
Picture Duodenoscopy image of two pigment stones extracted from common bile duct courtesy of Wikipedia

Published on:

A New York mother and her two children suffered serious personal injury after being bitten by a dog Saturday morning. The mother was taking a stroll with her two kids on the Rockaway Boardwalk in Queens when a stray Rottweiler attacked them and viciously bit them.  Neighbors and the police rushed to the scene of the attack, alerted by the scream of the 31 year old mom. When the police arrived she was lying face down on the ground in the snow with a Rottweiler on her back. The two children, 4 and 10 years old, were nearby, bloody and terrorized, helplessly looking at the scene. According to neighbors, the police had no other choice but to shoot and kill the dog. Police said that the mother suffered deep wounds on her face and hands and the children suffered bites on their hands and arms. They were all transported to the hospital.

 

Published on:

Several people were taken to the hospital after being badly injured in a car pile-up. The accident happened Sunday around 5:00 am  in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens section of Brooklyn, NYC. According to witnesses, a car tried to pass another car by using the left lane to allegedly beat a red light when the driver lost control of his vehicle and hit another car triggering a chain reaction between five vehicles. Some of the vehicles occupants who were injured were stuck in the crashed cars and had to wait for the NYC Fire Department to cut through the cars to extricate them and transport them to hospitals.

Published on:

brNew York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz will be a speaking on “Openings and Closings: Advocacy and Argument” at the New York City Bar program “Anatomy of a Trial: Tips & Strategies to Win Your Case”. This seminar will take place Monday, April 27th 2015 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the New York City Bar, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY.

Hon. Sarah Netburn , United States Magistrate Judge United States District Court, SDNY and Philip R. Schatz from Wrobel Schatz & Fox LLP will co chair the seminar. The other faculty members are  Sheila S. Boston, Kaye Scholer LLP, Rosemary M. Nidiry, Assistant United States Attorney, Complex Frauds Unit, SDNY, David E. Patton, Executive Director, Federal Defenders of New York, Southern & Eastern Districts Hon. Herbert J. Stern, Stern & Kilcullen LLC, Former Assistant District Attorney, New York County and Richard A. Williamson, Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer LLP.

As Judge Herbert Stern notes in his classic Trying Cases to Win, most of us stumble out of schools of law and into courts of law, with little knowledge of how actually to try a case. And few tasks are as intimidating as presenting a case to a jury. But trial practice can be learned and mastered. In this program, leading trial advocates and experienced judges will teach the basics of a federal trial, from voir dire to verdict, and share their “how-to” tips and tricks for victory in the courtroom.

Published on:

Daniel+Pollack-1Rural America may seem idyllic but  children living in these areas have a higher risk of being maltreated and are more vulnerable to death from injuries then children living in urban settings. According to recent data, rural children have twice the rate of overall maltreatment as the general population. The risk of sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect as well as physical abuse is much higher for those living in rural area than in urban areas.

These children need to be protected and represented by experienced lawyers who can can communicate with children in order to proprely assess their well-being, are technology savvy, develop relationship with community organizations to access their resources, exercise care if any conflict of interest arises and are knowledgeable about  states mandatory reporting requirements.

In a recent study that was published in the March edition of the ABA Child Law Practice, Cameron R. Getto and Daniel Pollack, a professor at the School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York look at the most recent child maltreatment trends in rural areas and offer advice on how to address challenges when representing these children. For a copy of the article contact Professor Pollack.

Published on:

cme-concussion-2015-std-canonicalEvery day students from elementary school to college are sustaining concussions during sport or playground activities.  A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that can affect the student’s cognitive, physical emotional and sleep functions.  Recent research has shown that knowledge of a concussion’s potential effects on a student and appropriate management of the return-to-school process is critical for helping students recover from a concussion.  Clinicians and school personnel who are  are involved in the management of care for students with concussion can attend a one day conference on this subject organized on May 9th by the Children Hospital of Philadelphia. Click here for more info and to register. For detailed information on Traumatic Brain Injury see the CDC related web page.

Published on:

A 42 year old woman was loading her luggage in the trunk of a cab when she was hit by another cab that crashed into her and pinned her between the two vehicles. A witness who saw the crash said that the taxi crushed the leg of the woman who fell on the ground in extreme pain. The witness also stated that she lost a lot of blood. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital in critical condition. Both taxi drivers remained at the scene and none of them was charged as the police were till investigating the cause of the accident. This morning’s icy and slushy weather may have played a role in the crash. According to the sister of the victim, the woman was on her way back to California after she came to New York for the wake of a friend who was sick and had just passed away. Read more in the NY Daily News