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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E-bike now legal in NYCSafety and the risk of an increase in bicycle accident injuries have  long been the main worry in legalizing e-bikes and e-scooters in New York.

While pedal assists bicycles that travels at an average 20 mph speed were not much of an issue for legislators, throttle-controlled e-bikes that do not require pedaling and travel at an average 25 mph were more controversial. Despite being illegal until recently, throttle-controlled e-bikes were  widely used by restaurant delivery workers in the city. Food delivery workers were frequently harassed by the police who have been ticketing them and confiscating their bikes.

However in mid-march as food delivery workers became crucial in feeding New Yorkers during the pandemic, the city decided to suspend enforcement on e-bikes as long as restaurants would be able to operate as a take-out and delivery only. Following this decision, two weeks later, NY State finally legalized e-bikes ad e-scooters.

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NYC traffic deaths and injuries declined for all categories of road users except for cyclists between February 2020 and March 2020. As businesses gradually shut down around mid March and the city was officially locked down on March 22nd,  traffic in the city drastically declined and so did the number of traffic accidents.  The only two categories of road  users that recorded an increase in accidents between February and March were motorcyclists and bicyclists. The fear of catching the corona virus in public transportation or taxis has lead to an increased amount of people using bicycles and motorcycles in the city in March. Another factor was the increased amount of speeding recorded in the city as streets were getting emptier and emptier.

Drop in accidents not only due to Covid-19 but also to new NYPD report policy

The number of traffic accidents reported by the NYPD dropped to 10,877 in March compared to 13,586 in February and 14,183 in January. The drop seen in traffic accidents over the last few months is not only related to the coronavius crisis but also to the new NYPD “No Report” crash policy.

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1 worker died and 158 others were injured on construction sites in New York City during the first quarter of 2020  compared to respectively 0 and 137 for the same period of 2019.  When looking at a 5 year period, the first trimester of 2018  was the worst for New York City construction workers with  170 of them sustaining injuries and 3 of them dying in accidents.

Most accidents resulting in injuries occurred in Manhattan  with 96 workers injured, followed by Brooklyn, 35, Queens, 14 and the Bronx, 13. No injuries were reported in Staten Island during the first trimester. With the exception of Staten Island all other boroughs recorded an increase in construction accident injuries during the the first 3 months of this year compared to the same period a year earlier.

NYC Construction Accident Injuries 2020 Q1
Working on construction sites is one of the most dangerous activities in New York and in the US.  The Department of Buildings classify injuries in 6 different categories. The largest category is “Other”. Injuries in this category are usually not life threatening or not critical. Many of them are small cuts and lacerations that do not require ambulance transportation or hospitalization. Most of the time a visit to an emergency call center is sufficient to treat the injury. It is also rare that a safety violation is issued after these types of injuries.  The second largest category of NYC construction accident injuries are  injuries related to falls. Falls often result in serious injuries. An ambulance is often called and workers end up most of the time at the hospital after a fall. Most fall injuries could be prevented if workers were fully protected. During the first quarter of 2020, 45 hart hats were injured in falls in New York. This is the highest number of fall injuries recorded during the first quarter over the last 5 years. Another very common cause of injuries is when material fell onto workers. 12 workers were injured in that manner during the first three months of the year compared to  respectively 22, 21, 23 and 10 during the same period of 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. 6 people were also injured in scaffolds accidents and 2 sustained injuries related to mechanical construction equipment.

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location of the deadly Mercedes crashSpeeding cars caused 3 fatal car accidents in New York City this weekend.  A speeding driver lost control of his vehicle in the Bronx and killed himself and his passenger. A thief who stole a car ran a red light in Staten Island and crashed into another car killing one of the occupants and seriously injuring the other. Drag racing cars killed a NYPD cop on his bike (see previous blog).

Speeding Mercedes Driver crashes into a pillar on Bruckner Boulevard

32 year old Gasper Vallejo who was visiting New York from Miami was speeding on Brucker Boulveard in his 2016 Mercedez Benz around 3.35 am on Sunday. 2 other passengers were in the car: a 22 year old woman and a 25 year old woman.   As the car was speeding on Bruckner Boulevard by the elevated Bruckener Expressway, Vallejo lost control of his vehicle and hit a pillar.  The impact was so intense that the car broke apart and all 3 passengers were ejected from the vehicle onto the pavement. Vallejo died at the scene of the accident. Both passengers were still alive when the EMS arrived. They were rushed to the hospital. The 22 year old died at the hospital and the 25 year old is in critical condition. (read more in the Daily News)

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accident scene
Based on the reputation of our Personal Injury Law Firm, superior results have been obtained for a NY pedestrian who was injured in a car accident without the need for protracted litigation. The following case demonstrates the ability of our attorneys to obtain a swift and speedy resolution of a case while protecting the interests of the client.

LEFT TURN PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT

Our firm is thrilled to have achieved a $325,000 settlement for our client who was struck by a car as she crossed the street in Westchester, New York. On the day of the incident, our client had just returned home from caring for her elderly mother and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. As our client was crossing Mamaroneck Road (at Park Road), an intersection with no crosswalk, the defendant driver carelessly made a left-hand turn, struck our client, and knocked her to the ground.Shortly after the incident, an ambulance was called to the scene and took our client to the hospital. After our client underwent radiological imaging, she was diagnosed with a tibial plateau fracture of her left knee, but did not require surgery.

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collision with injuries NYCA man died in a car accident in New York City yesterday. The driver who was speeding, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into two other cars, injuring both drivers before destroying a store front. Speeding continues to be reported all over the city and despite the drastic decrease in traffic the number of speed camera tickets even increase on some days according to a recent article by Gridlock Sam.  Our hospitals are overcrowded, our emergency workers are overwhelmed and NYC drivers should slow down!

The man who died yesterday was identified as 45 year old Khairul Chowdhury. He was driving his 2008 Silver Lexus Sedan on Jamaica Avenue, Queens, yesterday morning around 5:35 am when he hit a Toyota Camry driven by a 35 year old man. The crash occurred at the intersection of  Jamaica Avenue and Van Wyck Expressway Service Road. After he hit the Toyota, the car kept going crossing into the other side of the lane of Jamaica Avenue and striking a Toyota Odyssey driven by a 55 year old woman, before crashing into a storefront. Chowdhury who lived a mile away from the car accident was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The two other drivers were also injured and were transported to the hospital to be treated. Read more in the NY Daily News

266 people injured in NYC car accidents last week

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doctor-and-x-rayMissed and delayed diagnoses are common medical errors that can lead to serious injury and death. This morning the Daily Mail wrote about an 11 year old boy who died from severe bowel obstruction after a doctor misdiagnosed him with constipation and sent him back home. The doctor neglected to send him for an X-ray despite symptoms consistent with bowel obstruction.
Failure to diagnose or delay to diagnose a medical condition occur so often that the ECRI institute ranked this type of medical malpractice its number one concern out of its Top 10 Patients Safety Concern in 2020.

In the US it is estimated that 12 million adults or 1 out of 20 patients are misdiagnosed every year

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new bike path in NYC during covid-19After a rise of almost 50%  of injuries caused by bicycle accidents in New York City between March 2nd and March 9, the New York DOT created two temporary bike lanes in Manhattan and in Brooklyn. The new bike lanes have been installed in the East of Manhattan and the South of Brooklyn where many of the accidents reported at the beginning of this month occurred.

The creation of the temporary bike lines takes place at a time during which the Covid-19 crisis has lead to a significant decrease in car traffic and a boom in bike traffic

Between March 1st and March 11, CitiBike rides increased by 67% compared to the same period the previous year with  a total of 517,768 trips compared to 310,132.  The bike traffic increased significantly on the four bridges connecting Manhattan with Brooklyn and Queens. The New York Times  reports that on March 9, 21,300 bike crossings were reported in one day compared to 14,032 a year before, a 52% increase. The increase in bike traffic resulted in an increase of bicycle accidents injuries all over the city (see previous blog) with many of them occurring near bridge crossings.
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Happy family at homeThe Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just released  recommendations on how families can make sure nobody gets injured by dangerous products or other hazards while staying at home during the Coronavirus crisis. The agency highlights specific hazards related to children, seniors and the whole family globally.

Fire, poisoning and drowning are among the most common causes of accidents in the house

As families are staying home, several fires erupted in New York City over the last few days. On Saturday, 6 people and a firefighter were injured in a basement fire in Brooklyn including one critically injured and another one in serious condition. This morning two people were critically injured and several others became homeless after a fire ravaged an apartment in the Bronx.
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infant car seatTo protect children from serious head, neck and spinal injuries during a car crash, the NY Child Safety Seat Law requires that parents use a rear-facing car seat for all children younger than 2 year old.
Tests have demonstrated that infants have a head that is heavy compared to the rest of their body and that if they were sitting in a forward facing seat during a collision, they would be thrown forward and as a result suffer more serious injury.

While most parents do respect the law and install car seats for their little ones, previous research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that almost 60% of child seats are not installed properly

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