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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Two houses caught on fire and 3 people were injured after a propane tank exploded in East Meadow, Long Island, NY.  A fire started in a house located on 7th Street. The flames reached two propane tanks that were located on the side of the house and caused a massive explosion. The fire was so intense that the house next door caught on fire as well. One person had to be hospitalized and two others were treated at the scene. It took 3 hours for the firefighters to extinguish the fire.

In the US it is estimated that there are approximatively 60 million propane-fueled devices.  While the usage of propane tanks is restricted in New York City, their usage is common in the rest of New York State for heating water, heating houses and grilling.  Propane explosions and propane deaths are not that common. Explosions are rare but when they occur they are extremely destructive. Injuries resulting from propane tank explosions are often severe burns.

Gas leak or BLEVE?

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The road where the deadly NY crash occurred3 High School Students were injured and one died in a car accident in Rockland County, NY. All teenagers were students from Clarkstown North High School. 18 year old Allan Mendoza was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer with 3 other students from his high school on board last Thursday night around 11:00 pm when they got involved in a 3 vehicle crashes.

The accident occurred near 256 Congers Road in New City.  Among those who suffered the most serious injuries were a 16 year old boy and a 17 year old girl. The 16 year old boy died from his injuries on Friday. He was identified as Vladzslav Hvalyk.

The 18 year old driver was drunk behind the wheel and was charged with reckless driving, driving while intoxicated, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second degree manslaughter aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault. He was arraigned and sent to Rockland County Jail pending a future Court date.

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nurseNational Nurses Week starts Today until May 12. When someone is ill or injured, nurses not only bring physical support but also psychological support to the patient and to the family. During the pandemic they scarified their own health, mental and physical, to fight the pandemic and we thank them for their work. Nurses are our super-heroes.

To kick-off #NationalNursesWeek The Center for Injury Research and Prevention just launched a new website for nurses and medical staff to help children and families coping with illness and injuries. The “Health Care Toolbox”  looks at Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress for children and families and how nurses can play a significant role in reducing distress, bringing emotional support and interact with the family.

When a child is injured or sick, the pain endured by the child as well as the medical procedures or treatment the child has to go through can create psychological and physiological responses from the child and the family called “Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress Disorder”.  Having trouble concentrating, sleeping and eating, blaming each other or feeling numb about the situation, having unwanted thoughts or avoiding things reminding them of the event are some of the symptoms that can be experienced during  Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress Disorder. If the symptoms persist they can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

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Construction Safety Conference NYC 2021How to prevent injuries and deaths caused by construction accidents in New York City is the main subject of the yearly Build Safe, Live Safe Conference organized by the NYC Department of Buildings.

The conference is digital for the second consecutive year because of the ongoing Covid19 restrictions in regards to large gatherings in indoor spaces.  The event started this Monday and continues until Friday.

The Conference which takes place during the same week as National Construction Safety Week, and OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is free and covers a broad area of subjects related to safety and sustainability in the construction industry in New York City such as :

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unprotected bike lane on 35th StreetA 37 year-old delivery man was killed and several other people were injured in a reckless car crash in Queens, NYC. The accident took place last Thursday night around 6:00 pm. A 60 year-old woman driving a 2013 Merccedez-Benz C-300 who was driving behind a slow-moving vehicle lost patience and decided to use the bike lane to pass the vehicle. She struck two parked cars and  37 year old Xing Long Lin, a delivery man on a scooter, who got trapped and dragged under the car as the driver continued to drive and crashed into the outdoor setting of Rosatoro Restaurant located at the corner of 35th Street and Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens. After the car crashed into the outdoor setting, it jumped the curb, knocked down a tree and ended in the front window of the restaurant.

Xing Long Lin died in the accident. The delivery worker  came to US from China 14 years ago and lived with his wife and his two children 5 and 9 year old  in Elmhurst. He was the sole provider for his family and was also taking car of his mother in China.

Among those injured was a 32 year-old woman who was sitting in the restaurant and who sustained injuries to her leg after glass and debris went flying into the dining areas. She was transported to the hospital to be treated.

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location of the fatal pedestrian and e-bike collisionA pedestrian died from his injuries after being struck by an e-bike in NYC. The accident took place on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. 71 year old Hing Chung, the manager of the Dim Sum restaurant Jing Fong, stepped on the bike lane between two cars and was hit by a 39 year old cyclist travelling North on the bike lane. The accident occurred a few steps away from his restaurant. The e-bike rider stayed at the scene of the accident and was not charged.

Hing Chung was hospitalized and later on died from his injuries at the hospital. The restaurant manager immigrated from Hong Kong more than 30 years ago and was a friendly and funny man who was loved by his clients and employees. (read more in the Gothamist)

3 fatal collisions between pedestrians and e-bikes in NYC since 2014

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1,393 pedestrians, 695 bicyclists, 2,564 passengers and 4,332 motorists were injured in car accidents in NYC during the first 3 months of the year compared to respectively 2,206, 715, 3,306 and 5,032 during the same period a year earlier. After a peak in the first quarter of 2019 the number of  injuries sustained in crashes in the city declined in 2020 and reached a record low in 2021.

car accident injuries NYC Q1 2021
New York car accident fatalities followed the same trend. 22 pedestrians, 1 cyclist, 5 passengers and 10 motorists lost their life in traffic accidents in New York during the first quarter of 2021 compared to respectively 26, 1, 4 and 10 during the first 3 months of 2020.

New York car accident fatalities Q1 2021
In a city that has not yet returned to its usual level of activity, it make sense that less people would be injured or killed in crashes.

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Gair-Gair_Tony-Gair_02Our partner Anthony Gair has carved out a reputation as one of the best product liability lawyers in NYC.  Yesterday he talked to CNBC journalist Lauren Thomas about the refusal by Peloton to comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and recall its high-end treadmill Tread+. 

Multiple children  and a pet have been injured and recently a child died in a Peloton Tread+ treadmill accidents but Peloton has been very reluctant to cooperate with the federal safety agency. The company is fighting a request to recall the dangerous product and refuses to provide the name of the child who recently died after getting stuck under the high end Peloton treadmill.

“The CPSC must have reason to believe that the treadmill wasn’t designed appropriately” said Anthony Gair.  According to him, Peloton might not have done a hazard analysis before launching the product or if they did, he questions if they knew about the danger and ignored it.

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Ghost bike showing locations of previous NYC deadly bicycle accidentsA cruel and reckless driver  blows a stop sign, hits a cyclist critically injuring him, drives away, comes back, takes a look at the cyclist, gets back in his car and speeds away.

The accident occurred at night last week in the Bronx. A 46 year-old cyclist was riding his bike through the intersection of Dudley and Edison Avenues in Pelham Bay when a driver blew the stop sign and slammed into him.  A video surveillance first shows the driver taking off.  He then returned to the scene of the accident, took a look at the victim who was suffering critical injury and took off again. The victim was found by EMS and rushed to the hospital. (Read more in the Daily News)

Bicycle accidents injuries in the Bronx have been on the rise during this period of the year compared to the same period last year.  According to the most recent NYPD traffic statistics, 17 people were injured in bicycle accidents in the Bronx during the week of April 5 to April 11 compared to 2 during the same week a year earlier.  Last years numbers were much lower because the city was observing the Covid19 lock-down and the streets were mostly empty. The same can be said when looking at statistics on a 4 week basis. 54 people were injured in Bronx bicycle accidents between March 14 and April 11 2021 compared to 20 for the same period a year earlier.

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Paraquat is a dangerous herbicideMultiple personal injury and product liability lawsuits have recently been filed against Syngenta, a Swiss company manufacturing the weed-killer Paraquat.

According to the lawsuits, the manufacturer omitted to mention to its customers the risk of Parkinson’s disease caused by exposure to Paraquat despite knowing about it.  Syngeta was aware that exposure to its weed-killer Paraquat increased the likelihood of getting Parkinson’s disease by two to five times but concealed it to its customers according to the lawsuits.

All plaintiffs contracted Parkinson’s disease after being exposed to Paraquat