Truck Accidents

Published on: June 23, 2015

A bicyclist died yesterday morning after being struck by a box truck in Brooklyn NYC

A man died in an accident between a bicycle and a truck in New York City. The man who was 57 years old was riding his bicycle at the Corner of Church Ave and Ocean Ave near Prospect Park in Brooklyn when he was struck by a box truck.

According to the police both the cyclist and the truck were riding in the same direction when they collided. The bike rider was run over by the rear wheels of the truck. The police found him with severe trauma to his body and he was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital. Read more in the Mean Streets section of the Brooklyn Paper

For the last two years 3 people died in a bicycle accident in the month of June. Even though the Vision Zero Program includes several measures to protect bicyclists from being hurt or dying in dangerous traffic crashes the recent collision statistics published by the NYPD show no decline in deaths and injuries related to bicycle accidents in New York City.

Published on: June 19, 2015

Our personal injury law firm is featured in the 2014 New York’s Top 25 Verdicts and Settlements section in this week’s edition of New York Magazine

By GGCRBHS&M

Last year, our partners New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Sagir obtained a $8,570,000 verdict for a bicyclist who suffered personal injury after being hit by a bus in New York (see previous blog. This verdict is the 16th highest verdict of all verdicts obtained in New York in 2014. Therefore our firm is honored to be featured this week in the 2014 New York’s Top 25 Verdicts and Settlements section of New York Magazine. This verdict was also was the highest verdict in New York in 2014 for a bicycle accident involving another vehicle.

Since 1919 we have been representing victims of catastrophic injury and we are constantly thriving to achieve the highest results for our clients and their family in order to help them get back to their life with dignity and independence. A few years ago our New York personal injury law firm obtained a 27.5 million verdict for a female pedestrian who lost her leg after being struck by New York City Transit Authority Bus (see previous blog). Last year, in addition to the above verdict we also obtained a $7,125 million verdict against the City of New York for a woman who was struck by a bus when riding her bike and a $5 million verdict against the Federal Government for a woman who died after being struck by a postal truck (see previous blog).

Published on: June 19, 2015

Following the death of 8 year old Noshat Nahian whose family is represented by our personal injury law firm, The New York State Senate passed the Gianaris bill, new legislation that stiffens penalties for motorists who injure and kill people while driving without a valid license

By GGCRBHS&M

A bill that makes it a felony for drivers to kill or injure others while driving without a license was passed yesterday by the New York State Senate. The bill was introduced by state Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) following the death of Noshat Nahian, an 8 year old pedestrian who was on his way to school when he was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer driven by an unlicensed driver. Our partner, personal injury lawyer Anthony Gair (picture) who is in charge of the case commented: “This is a very important bill and long over due. In this tragic case, all charges against the driver were dismissed except for driving without a licence for which he paid an $85 fine. This is outrageous in a case in which Noshat was in the crosswalk with the right of way and easily visible at the time the tractor trailer turned left striking him. Hopefully the law will also discourage commercial carriers from hiring unlicensed truck drivers.” Read more in the Times Ledger

Published on: June 17, 2015

New York Bus Drivers’ Union initiated a work slowdown this morning to protest a new Zero Vision Law that makes it a misdemeanor for drivers to strike pedestrians or cyclists with the right of way.

By GGCRBHS&M

In New York every year several pedestrians and cyclists die and many others suffer personal injury after being struck by an MTA Bus. In many of these accidents investigation shows that drivers were negligent and failed to yield or failed to exercise due care. Since the beginning of the year a few bus drivers were arrested after a new Vision Zero Law made it a misdemeanor for drivers to strike pedestrians or cyclists who have the right of way. TWU Local 100, the bus drivers Union is against this new law and would like bus drivers to be exempted from it. This morning TWU local 100 launched a work slow down on 181st Street in Washington Heights between 7:00 am and 9:00 am to protest the law.

The flyers handed out to bus drivers by the Union (see picture) said “DO NOT TURN UNLESS THE INTERSECTION IS CLEAR!”. Isn’t that what bus drivers are supposed to do to keep NYC streets safe?

Read more in the New York Post and on Streetblog

Published on: June 4, 2015

The new Electronic Stability Control (ESC) final rule issued by the National Transportation Highway Traffic Safety Administration may prevent as many as 1759 bus and truck accidents as well as 649 personal injuries and 49 deaths every year

By GGCRBHS&M

A long awaited NHTSA rule has the potential to decrease by 56% untripped rollover crashes (rollover crashes that are not caused by striking an obstacle or leaving the road) of large trucks and big buses. This new rule requires that all Class 7-8 trucks and large buses be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) system. According to the NHTSA “ESC works instantly and automatically to maintain directional control in situations where the driver’s own steering and braking cannot be accomplished quickly enough to prevent the crash.”

This new rule has been a long time coming. The first recommendation to equip large truck and buses with ESC was issued by the NHTSA in 2011.

Read the press release from the NHTSA

Published on: May 29, 2015

Walmart settles Tracy Morgan’s lawsuit almost a year after the comedian suffered severe personal injury in a truck accident during which one of the retailer’s tractor trailers crashed into his limo

By GGCRBHS&M

Tracy Morgan and other people who were injured after a Walmart truck crashed into their limo van have reached a confidential settlement with the retailer. The children of comedian James ‘Jimmy Mack’ McNair who was killed in the accident, settled a separate lawsuit for $10 million last January. Our partner, New York personal injury lawyer Howard Hershenhorn, who is regularly quoted by the New York City Press, told the Daily News that the deal was likely “multiples of that — many, many multiples of that.” He noted that Morgan, Fuqua and Millea have serious injuries they’ll likely deal with the rest of their lives, and that Morgan — who hasn’t worked since the accident — has a strong claim that his injuries have impacted his substantial earning power. Read more here
Picture: wikipedia

Published on: May 15, 2015

William Rockefeller, the sleep deprived engineer who caused the fatal Metro North Train Accident in New York in December 2013 will not face criminal charges

By GGCRBHS&M

In December 2013 4 people died and 70 others suffered personal injury in a Metro North train accident in New York. The National Transportation Board Investigation found that William Rockefeller the engineer who was operating the train had undiagnosed sleep apnea and nodded off just before taking a 30 mph curve at 82 mph, causing the train to derail. Yesterday the office of Bronx DA Robert Johnson said that Rockefeller will not face criminal charges. Read more here

Published on: May 11, 2015

The FMCSA says that truck drivers with controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) don’t pose more of a crash risk than other drivers and proposes a new rule that would allow them to operate in interstate commerce without the inconvenience and added cost of obtaining and maintaining an exemption

By GGCRBHS&M

If a diabetic truck driver is suddenly impaired by an an episode of hypoglycemia he can potentially loose control of his vehicle and crash. Hypoglycemia is a condition in which blood glucose drops to a dangerously low concentration and creates symptoms such as blurred vision, shaking, trembling, unclear thinking, fainting, seizure or coma. Too much insulin relative to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low, resulting in hypoglycemia. Drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) usually don’t suffer from these types of episodes and are not considered more dangerous than other drivers as long as their condition is well controlled. However current regulations prohibit truck drivers from operating interstate commercial vehicles unless they obtain an exemption from The FMCSA. The process of obtaining this exemption is costly and time consuming for the drivers and for the FMCSA administration. A notice of proposed rule making would enable truck drivers with ITDM to obtain a Medical Examiner’s Certificate from a Medical Examiner at least annually in order to operate in Interstate Commerce if the Treating Clinician who is prescribing the insulin for the driver can provide documentation that the truck driver’s diabetic condition is stable and well controlled.

Read more in Trucking Info or read the complete notice of proposed rulemaking

Published on: May 9, 2015

Our partners Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Saghir obtained a $4.6 million verdict for the family of Marylin Dershowitz who was killed by a postal truck while riding her bike

By GGCRBHS&M

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz told the NY Daily News yesterday that the family of Marilyn Dershowitz, was “very pleased” with the verdict of Judge Sarah Netburn who ordered the government to pay out a total of $4,646,548.15 to Dershowitz’s husband, Nathaniel. Rubinowitz said “they feel vindicated knowing Marilyn did nothing wrong and that indeed she was entirely free of fault” but while the money judgment is “a nice thing to have, they are very much aware it could never replace Marilyn. She was one of a kind. She was a tremendous woman. The loss is very real to them, every day of their lives.”

Marylin Dershowitz was riding her bicycle in downtown Manhattan with her husband when she was fatally struck by a postal truck. Last month U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn found the federal government 100% liable for the fatal accident in a 72 page Opinion (see our previous blog).

Also see article in the New York Law Journal

Continue reading →

Published on: May 7, 2015

Do FMCSA investigative practices for high-risk motor carriers protect road users from dangerous truck accidents?

By GGCRBHS&M

To keep the roads safe and prevent truck crashes that can result in serious personal injuries or deaths, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program identifies high-risk motor carriers for further investigations such as targeted roadside inspections and compliance reviews. However some recent high profile truck accidents have raised concern about the efficiency of this program and The Department of Transportation just announced that it will audit the investigative practices of The FMCSA for high risk motor carriers. This audit was initially requested by Senator Dick Durbin after a high risk motor carrier that the FMCSA had neglected to investigate was involved in a fatal truck accident.

Read more in Truckinginfo