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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Location of the car, MTA Bus and truck accident7 people were injured in a multi-vehicle collision involving a car, a MTA bus and a truck in New York City during Tuesday rush hour. The accident took place on Ralph Avenue near 66th Street in Old Mill Basin, Brooklyn, NYC around 5:40 pm. The driver of a Toyota Camry was trying to pass a MTA bus on the left lane when he side swiped the bus and careened across the street and into a work truck.

The driver of the car was given CPR by bystanders before being rushed to the hospital

A witness who lived nearby told the NY Daily News that the sound of the impact felt like a gun shot. He ran out of his house and saw the Toyota Camry smoking with the driver inside. Several other witnesses ran to the car and got the driver out of the car. They lied him on the ground and gave him CPR.  6 other people were injured including the driver of the work truck who suffered whiplash according to his brother who was also present at the scene of the accident with the wife’s driver. All crash victims were transported to the hospital to be treated.

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The New York block where a cyclist and two pedestrians were struckA reckless driver who tried to flee the police in Brooklyn, NYC, struck a bicyclist and two pedestrians, continued driving, struck three other pedestrians, crashed into a vehicle and then into a wall before running away with a passenger. One suspect is in custody while the other is still at large.

According to the police, two officers patrolling in Bedford-Stuyvesant saw a car with mismatched plates which is usually an indication that the car might have been stolen. They also noticed that the two people inside the car were smoking marijuana.   As they got out of the police car to talk to the driver after turning on their lights and pulling the car over, the driver of the vehicle took off.

As he was fleeing from the police, the reckless driver  first struck a cyclist and two pedestrians at the intersection of Macon Street and Ralph Avenue. He did not stop and continued speeding on Ralph Avenue. As he reached Hasley Street, the driver hit a grandmother and her grandson who were crossing the street. He then crashed into another car and careened into the wall of building. The driver and the passenger then got out of the car and ran away.

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11 pedestrians, 3 cyclists, 4 passengers and 8 motor vehicle operators died in crashes in New York City last May compared to respectively 6,2,0 and 2 in April and 15, 1, 3 and 11 in May 2021. This is the first time that the number of monthly fatalities is above 25 since October 21.

After a drop during the Covid19 crisis in 2020, monthly traffic accident fatalities have been above 25, 8 times during the last 2 years, Before the Covid19 crisis, since Vision Zero started in 2014, fatalities only went above 25 5 times over a period of 6 years. These numbers are very preoccupying.  At the very beginning of May, The Adams administration launched a $4 million campaign urging  motorists to slow down but so far this campaign doesn’t seem to have much effects on car accident fatalities.

New York motor vehicle accident fatalities May 2022
Car accident deaths have been exploding over the last two years in New York City. Last May, as mentioned above, 26 people died in traffic accidents compared to 10 a month earlier and 30 in May 2021. Since May 2015 when they reached 28, monthly car accidents deaths had remained below 20 during the months of April and May. While the trendline since Vison Zero started remains on the decline, the last 2 years have been more deadly than before.

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Forklifts can be dangerous and result in accidentsAround 100 people die and around 34,000 are injured in forklift accidents every year. The most common forklift accidents are rollovers  and in almost half of the fatal accidents, the operator of the forklift is being crushed when the forklift tips over. Forklifts can also be very dangerous to pedestrians who can get struck or crushed by a forklift or by a falling load.

To raise awareness about forklift safety, the second Tuesday of June is NATIONAL FORKLIFT SAFETY DAY for the 9th consecutive year.

Why do forklift accidents occur?

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Injured in New YorkIn New York,  anyone who suffered injury or damages as a result of the negligence of someone else or of an entity can file a claim. In order to obtain compensation the victim will have to prove the liability of the person or entity responsible for the injury and the damages resulting from the negligence. These element constitute the basis of a personal injury case. Because they are sometimes difficult to evaluate, victims of personal injury, especially those who suffered catastrophic injury work with personal injury attorneys who will handle their claims so they can concentrate on their recovery.

In New York, the most common personal injury claims are auto accident claims. In New York City only, according to the most recent statistics, 15 people were killed and 4,105 people were injured in car accidents last March.  Among those killed were 8 pedestrians, 3 drivers and 4 passengers. Among those injured were 1782 drivers, 1289 passengers, 294 cyclists and 740 pedestrians. Crash injuries or death are most of the time caused by the negligence of another road user and therefore  victims of car accidents can often file a personal injury claim.

Premises liability claim are also quite common in New York City as anyone who suffers injury on the premises of a residential or commercial property that was caused by dangerous or defective conditions on the premises can potentially file a lawsuit. Falling debris from inadequately maintained buildings, faulty cellar doors or cellar grate, sidewalks not proprely maintained, defective elevator or escalator, electrical issues can all lead to accidents causing personal injury and sometimes death.

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Ghost bike showing locations of previous NYC deadly bicycle accidentsWhen a cyclist is hit by a car, the injuries can be devastating and sometimes deadly. Some injured cyclists will recover others will required medical treatments for a lifetime. On the top of expensive medical bills,  injured bicyclists might also suffer emotional consequences and life changes that can have significant financial consequences. Depending on the case, the cyclist and his/her family might be able to obtain compensation for their damages and should consult with an experienced bicycle accident attorney.

What does recovering from a bicycle accident look like?

In a recent article, the New York  Post describes how David Jevotovsky,  a medical student who was riding a bike, suffered traumatic brain injury and almost died after being hit by a car in New York City in 2017. After the accident, he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with what is called an epidural hematoma which is a bleeding between the skull and the brain. This type of injury can sometimes be deadly or if the victim survives, it can have lifetime consequences.

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increased risk of crashes on highway work zonesHighway construction zones are dangerous areas where both construction workers and motorists are at risk of getting injured or killed in crashes.

An annual study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and Heavy Construction Systems Specialists (HCSS), found that during the past year 64% of contractors working on highways experienced at least one crash on their work site. Among them, 32% reported 5 crashes or more.

5 or more construction workers were injured in 2% of these crashes, 3 workers were injured in 3% of them, 2 in 5% of them and  1 hard hat was injured in 8% of them. In the majority of the accidents (82%) no workers were injured.

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children going to school in NYCEvery school day morning in the 8:00 am hours, 57% more car accidents and 25% more injuries from crashes are recorded in streets around schools than in all New York City streets on average during that time.

StreetBlog just published the result of a 6 month study about road safety around schools

They studied almost 1 million car accidents in New York City from July 2015 to November 2021 and looked at every collision that occurred within 250 feet of a public school.   Despite multiple efforts by the city and by the state to reduce danger around school zones such as installation of speed cameras, crossing guards, specific school safety DOT teams and more, school areas remain dangerous.

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Queens construction site where the fatal accident occurred
NYC Construction workers who have been injured or families of construction workers who died on the job can often sue the contractor and/or the owner of the construction sites as, sadly, the majority of construction accidents occurring on New York sites are the result of negligence.

The most common construction accident cases resulting in litigation in New York City are accidents related to falls. New York Labor Law Section 240 also known as the Saffold Law protects hard hats who fell from heights or got struck by a falling object.

A look at last April NYC construction accidents indicates that out of the 35 accidents that resulted in death or injuries, 20 of them were preventable and occurred after safety rules were violated. Among them were 12 fall accidents. Two of them were deadly.

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this is where the man on a motorised scooter was fatally killedA 72 year old man on a motorized scooter is the 8th person to die in a traffic accident in New York City in one week

After a student was killed by a drunk driver in Manhattan, a 16 year old was killed by a truck while on her way to school in the Bronx,  a bike rider was killed by a garbage truck in Brooklyn, a delivery man was fatally struck by a van in Brooklyn, two pedestrians were fatally struck the same day in Queens and a mother was fatally struck by a stolen hit and run truck in Queens as well , an elderly man who was trying to cross the street on his motorized scooter was killed by a van in the Bronx on Sunday night just a few hours before a 20 year old driver speeding on the Belt Parkway killed herself and critically injured her passenger after crashing her car in a city truck.

Additionally, on Monday, a 69 year old man was critically injured after being struck and dragged by a box truck in the UES.