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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Inadequately Maintained Building New YorkA 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.

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Hudson Yard had many construction accidents2 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

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accident sceneA 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).

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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.

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Super-lawyers-2017-1024x366Super-lawyers-goldGair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is proud to announce that 11 of their New York personal injury lawyers were named 2017 Super Lawyers for the New York Metro area. The 11 named are Marijo Adimey, Jeffrey Bloom, Seymour Boyers, Diana Carnemolla, Anthony Gair, Howard Hershenhorn, Jerome Katz, Stephen Mackauf, Ben Rubinowitz, Peter Saghir and Richard Steigman. Among them, our our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz and our senior partner Jeffrey Bloom also made the top 100 New York Metro Super Lawyers.

The firm also would like to congratulate NY personal Injury Lawyers Christopher Donadio and Rachel Jacobs for their selection as Rising Stars for the New York Metro area.

Over the last 12 years, no other personal injury law firm in New York City had that many attorneys selected by Super Lawyers.  7 of  our senior partners have been nominated for 12 consecutive years. All our attorneys have extensive experience in the field of  personal injury law. They have honed their skills and developed expertise in Construction Accidents, Auto Accidents, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability and other areas of personal injury litigation. The firm has gained a national reputation as “counsel to the profession”.

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truck and bicycle accident locationA cyclist was fatally hit by a truck in New York  and another one was critically injured after being struck by a car yesterday in Brooklyn. The first accident occurred in  Crown Heights, Brooklyn, around 7:00 am. A  35 year old man was riding his bike on Utica Avenue when he got hit by a car at the intersection of Empire Boulevard. The cyclist suffered critical injury and was rushed to a nearby hospital. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged. (read more on PIX11).

Another bicycle accident occurred later on around 5:45 pm in Manhattan. A box truck  fatally hit a cyclist. The 38 year old truck driver was driving East on Walker Street. As he was making a right turn onto Broadway he hit 48 year old Yan Jindee who was riding her bike.  A witness working near the scene of the accident said he heard a loud bang and stepped out. He saw the victim on the ground. When the paramedics arrived the victim was unconscious. They performed CPR on her for a few minutes but they couldn’t save her. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. According to the police, it is not clear yet if he is facing charges or not. There are no bike lanes  either on Walker or on Broadway. (read more in the NY Daily  News)

Picture of the location of the accident between the truck and the bicycle, courtesy of Google Map

 

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accident sceneThe cyclist struck by a drunk and unlicensed driver in New York last Sunday is still in a coma. 55-year-old Nancy Pease was part of a group of 6,000 cyclists who were participating in the “NYC Century bike tour” organized by Transportation Alternatives. Nancy and a group of around 25 cyclists were waiting at a red light at 12th Ave and 39th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn, when a minivan plowed into them. Several bicyclists were injured. Among them, Nancy who disappeared under the minivan as the driver literally drove over her.

The driver, 39-year-old Antonio Pina, was highly intoxicated. According to the police who arrested him he had a blood alcohol level of .287, three times the legal limit. Pina also told the police he didn’t have a driver’s license. He had been drinking margaritas and Coors light before driving his van. Witnesses saw him getting out of his parking space and crashing into another vehicle before accelerating and intentionally plowing into the group of cyclists. After he ran over the woman he got out of his car with bloodshot eyes and a disheveled appearance. As the police took him away he stuck his tongue out of his mouth looking crazy.

The FDNY had to remove Nancy Pease from under the van (see video below). Pease suffered serious physical injuries including a lacerated liver, abdominal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury. She had to undergo surgery and her spleen was removed. She is still in a coma according to the most recent news from the New York Post. A few other bicyclists also suffered injuries during the   accident.  They were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the accident and declined to go to the hospital.

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MTA_New_York_City_Bus_Orion_VII_Next_Generation_2009-thumb1A man suffered critical injury in a bus accident in New York City yesterday. The 31 year old man was delivering Indian food on his moped when he was struck by a MTA bus. Both the moped and the bus were riding on Shea Road in Queens.  When they arrived at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue, the bus driver made a right turn onto Roosevelt. The moped collided with the right rear of the bus and was crushed under the undercarriage of the bus. The delivery man suffered critical injury including head and body trauma. He was rushed to the hospital. He is expected to survive.  The bus was empty at the time of the accident. The driver had finished his service and was on his way to the bus depot. Read more in the NY Daily News

Another MTA bus accident occurred in Queens less than two weeks ago. A  bus driver was crushed by his own bus as it rolled backward. Kaleb Oliver, the driver needed a bathroom break at the end of a shuttle service. He stopped his bus on Metropolitan Ave near the All Saints Cemetery in Ridgewood. After he stepped out of the bus, the vehicle started to roll backwards. The bus driver started to run after the bus and attempted to get into it from the passenger side. He got crushed between the bus and a pole. He suffered critical injury.  Another bus driver,  Anibal Rivera, who was standing at the scene of the accident after his own shift also ran after the bus. He was able to get in by the drivers side and to pull the emergency break an action that probably saved the life of his colleague. Oliver was rushed to the hospital with a punctured lung and serious face injuries. He had 9 years of service as a MTA bus driver. It is the second time this summer that a MTA Bus rolled backwards causing injury. Read more in the New York Post

Picture source: wikipedia

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bicyclist and truck accident New York locationA cyclist suffered personal injury after being hit by a truck in New York yesterday morning. The accident occurred around 11:30 am at the intersection of West 30th Street and Seventh Ave.

A woman riding a Citi Bike and a dump truck were both waiting at the red light on 30th Street. When the light turned green, the bicyclist headed straight ahead while the truck made a right turn and hit her. The woman started to scream and the driver immediately stopped his truck. According to witnesses both the biker and the truck driver started to scream at each other. The woman was screaming “you hit me , you hit me” and the driver was screaming back at her “you were in my blind spot, you came out of nowhere! People at a nearby pizzeria ran out of the store and pulled the victim from under the truck. Her leg was badly mangled. An emergency crew arrived a little after and took her to Bellevue Hospital to be treated. She suffered serious injury to her leg but her life was not endangered. The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged.

The intersection at 30th Street and Seventh Ave is dangerous and was the scene of many previous accidents. According to the Vision Zero map, in 2009 3 pedestrians, 1 cyclist and 2 motorists were injured in crashes at this intersection. In 2010, 2 motorists and 1 cyclist suffered injury. In 2011, 2 pedestrians, 1 cyclist and 8 motorists were injured. In 2012, 1 motorist, 1 cyclist and 5 pedestrians were hurt in collisions at this location. In 2013, 2 pedestrians, 2 cyclists and 1 motorist were injured. In 2014 another motorist as well as 3 cyclists were injured in accidents at this intersection. In 2015, again 3 cyclists and a motorist were injured in crashes at the same location. Last year again 3 other cyclists, one pedestrian and one motorist were injured in crashes at this intersection. This year so far, before yesterday’s accident, one motorist suffered injury after an accident at this location.  Also this year a bicyclist died in a crash just a block away at the intersection of West 29th Street and 7th Avenue. In 2014 a pedestrian died in a crash on West 31st and 7th Ave.

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9 11 injured survivorsSo many people died and so many people were injured on 9/11 in New York.  Despite healing some survivors are still struggling. Some physical injuries have healed but psychological trauma remains. Many survivors have seen their consumption of alcohol increase. Many of them struggle financially. They feel socially isolated. Some of them have deep psychological trauma.

Among the 9/11 survivors many of them are volunteer workers who just came to help without using much protection. 16 years later some healed but others are still struggling.  A study entitled “Hospitalizations for asthma among adults exposed to the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack” was conducted by the New York City Department of Health and published last June. The study shows that in the decade after the attacks many workers who were exposed to dust and debris resulting from the collapse of the World Trade Center not only continued to suffer from asthma but  also from a high rate of co-morbid gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (GERS), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sinus symptoms.  The study found that co-morbid conditions, including PTSD and GERS, are associated with an increase in asthma hospitalizations, as are female gender, black and Hispanic race/ethnicity and lower levels of education.

Another study published this year and conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and by The Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University looks at Chronic Diseases. In “Injury, intense dust exposure, and chronic disease among survivors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001“, Howard E. Alper , Shengchao Yu S, Steven D Stellman and Robert M Brackbill found that acute exposure to 9/11 dusts led to significant long term heart and respiratory diseases.

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