Articles Posted in Personal Injury
To reduce construction accident deaths in NYC Mayor de Blasio signs a new bill requiring more safety training for hardhats
Too many construction workers die or are getting injured on the job in New York City. A majority of fatal construction accidents occur at non unionized sites. Most of them can be prevented if workers observe basic safety rules. Unfortunately too often construction workers are not proprely trained about the dangers of working on construction sites. Many greedy contractors or developers hire cheap immigrant workers with little to no experience who get injured or even die in accidents because they haven’t been proprely trained.
To curb the recent increase of deaths on NYC construction sites, Mayor de Blasio signed yesterday “Intro. 1447-C” a bill requiring each construction worker to attend 40 hours of safety training to be able to work at a New York construction site. “For the hard-hats in one of our city’s most dangerous jobs, this bill will help get them home to their families at night and keep the general public safe around construction sites. I want to thank Speaker Mark-Viverito and the Council for bringing this legislation into fruition and helping making our city even healthier, fairer and safer city for all.” said Mayor de Blasio in his press release.
The bill was supported by the construction workers unions but most of the contractors and the real estate industry opposed it. They argue that it would be expensive and that the timeline was impractical. However, according to Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn), a sponsor of the bill, the city will provide $5 million to help pay for the training for small companies and minorities.
Construction Accident Lawyer Christopher J. Donadio obtains a $1.1 million settlement in a New Jersey forklift accident
Our Construction Accident Attorney Christopher J. Donadio obtained a $1.1 million settlement in a construction accident that occurred in New Jersey.
The case involved a construction accident that occurred on April 15, 2015 on a construction site in Hackensack, New Jersey. On that date, the plaintiff,who was a worker on the job site, was struck by a large forklift, suffering injuries to his left leg and right ankle.
Due to the impact, the plaintiff was taken by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center. At the hospital, the plaintiff was diagnosed with fractures of his left leg and right ankle. As a result of the injuries, the plaintiff required a surgery to repair his fractured left leg, and required three surgeries on his right ankle.
More than 5,000 people injured in auto accidents in NYC last August
Since Vision Zero started in 2014 fewer people are dying in traffic accidents in New York City but more and more are getting injured. Vision Zero initiatives helped decrease the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries however the number of motorists injured in car accidents in the city increased at an alarming rate over the last 3 years.
5,163 people suffered personal injury in motor vehicle accidents in New York City last August compared to respectively 5,383, 4,737, 4,445, 4,007 and 4,846 in August 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Since the month of May the monthly number of people injured in traffic accidents stayed above 5,000. The same occurred last summer as well.
Despite a decrease in both pedestrian and bicycle accident injuries over the last 3 years the total number of motor vehicle accident injuries continued to grow mostly due to a steady increase of motorist injuries over the last 3 years.
Pedestrian critically injured in NYC motorcycle accident
A pedestrian suffered critical injury after he was struck by a motorcycle in NYC yesterday. The accident occurred at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave and Fulton Street near Highland Park in Brooklyn, NYC. A surveillance video from a nearby car wash shows the pedestrian waiting at the red light while a few cars are passing by and then starting to walk in the cross walk as the light was still red. Seconds later the pedestrian gets hit by a motorcyclist speeding North on Pennsylvania Ave. The 28-year-old pedestrian flew in the air while the motorcyclist fell off his bike. Both were transported to a nearby hospital. The pedestrian is still fighting for his life while the motorcyclist is in stable condition.
Read more ans see video in the NY Daily News
Record Setting $71 Million Verdict For Spinal Injury Suffered In New York Car Accident
Ben Rubinowitz, managing partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf just obtained one of the largest verdicts ever in the Country for a Spinal Injury case. The Plaintiff, Morgan Wang, was awarded $71 Million by a Manhattan Jury last Thursday.
The case was tried before Supreme Court Judge James d’Auguste. After 3 weeks of trial, the Manhattan Jury awarded Ms. Wang a stunning amount of money to fully and fairly compensate her for injuries suffered in a car accident in New York in August of 2012. The jury awarded $5 million for her Past Pain and Suffering, 6 Million for her Future Pain and Suffering and 60 Million for her medical needs over her lifetime. “We put in an incredible amount of time and effort to make sure Morgan received Justice” said Ben Rubinowitz, who represented Morgan at trial, noting that “this young girl suffered life changing injuries.” She came to the right law firm. “We have a tremendous amount of expertise with Spinal Cord Injuries and no one will work harder or prepare for trial better than us” said Rubinowitz.
The jury of 3 men and 3 women took two days to reach their verdict. Morgan suffered a fracture of her Lumbar Spine, often referred to as a broken back. Although she is now able to walk with braces, she still suffers from Neurogenic Bowel, a condition that makes it difficult for her to move her bowels. As a result she will need continued medical and psychiatric care for the rest of her life. “Morgan is an amazing young woman” said Rubinowitz. “She refused to listen to her doctors at the trauma center who said she would never walk again. She overcame tremendous obstacles and worked through her pain at Mt Sinai Rehabilitation Center in Manhattan to learn to walk again. She is the epitome of someone who will never give up. I am proud of Morgan. She cares deeply about people and, to show you how remarkable she is, she now donates her time to help injured veterans. It was an honor to represent Morgan.”
Woman injured in New York sidewalk collapse
A woman fell 6 feet after the sidewalk of an inadequately maintained building collapsed under her. 47 year old Mariana Fuentes is a flower vendor in Washington Heights. Last Saturday around 7:40 am she parked her cart next to a building located on West 158th Street near Broadway. Suddenly the sidewalk collapsed and she fell 6 feet down into an abandoned underground vault. Her husband who was standing near her when the accident happened watched in horror. There wasn’t much he could do to help her as he was himself injured after having been run over by a city bus a while ago.
A good Samaritan who saw the accident, brought a ladder and went down to help Fuentes. He found her lying on the ground with a big concrete slab on her leg. He wasn’t able to remove it but he stayed next to Fuentes until EMS arrive. The firefighters were able to free her and bring her out on a backboard. She was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Inspectors from the Department of Building came and issued a partial vacate order for the underground vault and the sidewalk as well as for an adjacent building. A sign on the building read “The Department of Buildings has determined that conditions on these premises are imminently perilous to life”. The hole was covered with police tape and plywood.
The Fuentes have been living on the block for more than 20 years. The flower business is the family’s only income.
2 workers fell to their deaths in 2 separate construction accidents in New York
2 construction workers died and another one was seriously injured in New York last Thursday at 2 different locations. The first fatal accident occurred around 9:15 in the morning. 43 year old Juan Chonillo, a veteran construction worker and a father of 5 was working on the 29th floor of the 1 Seaport Residences construction site when he lost his balance. He fatally fell on the top of the scaffold bridge installed above the sidewalk. Just before the accident Chonillo was raising a concrete framework to lay concrete on the floor. According to his cousin Angel Munoz, at the time of the accident Chonillo was trying “to free the crane from the building after a cable got stuck somehow”. Chonillo who was trained and certified. He was wearing his harness but it wasn’t attached to anything. Chonillo had 10 years experience in the New York construction industry including several construction sites in the Financial district. The day before the accident the DOB issued a partial stop work order for the unsafe operation of a crane. It appeared that the crane had been installed without a permit. It is not exactly clear so far if the death of the worker is directly related to the unsafe installation of the crane. Prior to the accident the construction site was hit with 28 complaints including several failures to safeguard workers and property and a failure to provide a concrete safety manager at the time of an inspection. Chonillo was employed by the contractor Pizzarotti IBC. The construction site of the luxury all-glass residential building is located at 161 Maiden Lane.
Later on during the same day, two other construction workers fell 36 feet from a bucket lift at a construction site located at 401 9th Ave. The buildiing is part of the Hudson Yards development. One of the workers died and the other one was seriously injured. He was rushed to the hospital. According to NBC New York, the two workers were wearing a safety harness but were not attached to the bucket. It is the second time that a worker fell to his death at this location. Last June, Roger Vail was surveying the 16th floor of the building when he stood on a wooden platform that gave way (see previous blog). The site was temporarily shut down in June and then re-opened after a safety plan was submitted to the city. Read more in the NY Daily News
Elderly man in a wheelchair mowed down by taxi driver in Manhattan
A pedestrian in a wheelchair was seriously injured after being hit by a cab in New York. The elderly man whose identity wasn’t revealed was in a motorized wheelchair on Park Ave near 86th street when the taxi struck him. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon around 2 pm. The cab driver stayed at the scene of the accident. The NY Daily News indicates that he was taken into custody for a charge not related to the accident.
Over the summer several accidents involving yellow cabs occurred on the Upper East Side. On September 14th a woman died after being hit by two consecutive yellow cabs on Lexington between 68th and 69th street (see previous blog). In August, a family who was brunching at the corner of 85th and Second Ave was almost killed after two cabs collided (see previous blog). In July, 80 year old Barbara Horn was killed by a yellow taxi while she was in the crosswalk. The taxi was making a left turn from third Ave onto 70th street (see previous blog).
Driver who killed himself and two others in NYC bus accident was previously fired from MTA for DUI
3 people died and 16 suffered injury in a bus accident that occurred in Queens, NYC, last week. Around 6:00 am last Monday, 49-year-old Raymond Mong was driving an empty charter bus owned by the Dahlia tour company when he ran a red light and crashed into a MTA bus in Flushing. The crash occurred at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Main Street. Footage from a security camera shows the Dahlia bus recklessly speeding through the intersection and crashing into the MTA bus which was making a right turn from Main street onto Northern Boulevard.
The bus driver, Raymond Mong, died in the accident as well as a pedestrian (68 year old Henry Wdowiak) and a MTA bus rider (55 year old Gregory Liljefors). Among the 16 other people who were injured in the accident, five of them were still hospitalized with 3 of them in critical condition. According to the most recent results of the investigation, Mong drove through the intersection at a speed of 58 mph. The maximum speed limit in the city is 25 mph.