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 Wrongful Death

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A child died, and 3 others suffered personal injury including one who is in critical condition and two others who are still hospitalized after they ingested Fentanyl at El Divino Nino Daycare in the Bronx.

A Bronx daycare center operator and a man living with her are now facing murder charges following the tragic death of 1-year-old Nicholas Feliz-Dominici. The child’s passing has prompted not only grief but also profound questions about the city’s oversight and regulation of daycare centers. Investigators suspect that Nicholas lost his life due to exposure to the lethal opioid fentanyl, raising concerns about childcare safety and the effectiveness of regulatory checks.

Grei Mendez, a 36-year-old, owns El Divino Nino Day Care, located on Morris Ave. near E. 196th St. in Fordham Manor. Carlisto Acevedo Brito, aged 41, is the man who resided with her. Both individuals have been charged with a slew of serious offenses, including murder, criminal possession of a narcotic, and endangering the welfare of a child. These accusations cast a pall over this harrowing case.

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yearly pedestrian fatalities in New York CityA grandmother who was pushing her 2-year-old granddaughter in a stroller was fatally struck by the driver of a pickup truck who failed to yield to them. The pedestrian accident occurred yesterday afternoon around 1:00 p.m. at the intersection of Bay 25th Street and Bath Avenue in Brooklyn. The 56-year-old driver of the pick-up truck,  identified as Faheem Shabazz, was making a left turn when he struck the grandmother and her goddaughter. He remained at the accident scene and was later charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian. According to How’s my driving, the pick-up truck has a history of recklessness. In the last 9 months, the pick-up truck received 9 violations for a total of $850 in fines. 4 of them were school zone speed camera violations.

The 66-year-old grandmother was transported to the hospital in critical condition but she did not survive. Miraculously her granddaughter survived and was not injured.

In New York City,  the Right of Way or Failure to Yield Law was passed in May 2014 to reduce pedestrian fatalities. Under this law drivers who fail to yield to a pedestrian or a cyclist can be subjected to a fine of up to $150 and up to 15 days in jail.  While this law and other initiatives such as the lowering of the city speed limit and the installation of speed cameras in school zones have led to a decrease in pedestrian fatalities in the city, large vehicles driven by reckless drivers remain a significant danger for pedestrians. Last year 116 pedestrians died in car accidents in New York City and 8,500 of them were injured.  While these numbers are lower than in 2013, before Vision Zero,  when 168 pedestrians were killed and 11,978 were injured they are far from the “zero” fatality goal of the Vision Zero program.

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OSHA logoAs construction accident attorneys in New York City, our commitment lies in ensuring the safety and well-being of workers in the construction industry. We are dedicated to upholding the rights of workers who have suffered due to the negligence of employers. A recent case highlights the importance of enforcing safety regulations in construction and the consequences faced by a New York contractor for willfully exposing employees to dangers that led to a fatal trench collapse in Brooklyn in 2018.

In September 2018, a horrific trench collapse in Brooklyn resulted in the tragic death of a worker. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched an investigation into the incident, revealing shocking negligence on the part of the contractor, WSC Group LLC. The OSHA investigation found that WSC Group LLC had willfully failed to provide an adequate protective system for employees working in the trench. This negligence exposed workers to serious excavation hazards that ultimately led to the worker’s death. The gravity of the situation was undeniable, and OSHA issued citations against the company.

WSC Group LLC, however, chose to contest OSHA’s citations before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The case took an unexpected turn when the Kings County District Attorney’s office pursued a criminal case against the company’s owner, Jiaxi “Jimmy” Liu. In March 2023, Liu was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and other charges related to the trench collapse.

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location of the deadly crash in Queens, NYCA grandfather was killed and his wife and two grandchildren were seriously injured in a car accident in New York City after a driver lost control of his vehicle and plowed into their parked car. The driver who remained at the scene has so far not been charged.

67-year-old Sam Amorese and his wife were in the process of getting their two young grandchildren, aged 1 and 5, out of their white Honda SUV. They were near their home on 73rd Avenue.  Their car was parked in a spot well-known to locals as a danger zone. This area had earned a notorious reputation as the “dead man’s curve.” It was notorious for being a high-risk location due to speeding cars, a concern that residents had repeatedly voiced.

A 39-year-old driver of a Nissan Pathfinder, coming around the corner, slammed into the Amorese family’s parked SUV. The impact was devastating. Witnesses describe the horrifying scene: the baby was ejected from the backseat of the SUV, and Mr. Amorese was pinned between his vehicle and another car.

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the dangerous intersection Eastern Parkway and SchenectadyFour lives were lost in three separate collisions in a single day in New York City.

On Sunday, the Staten Island Expressway bore witness to a horrific crash that claimed the lives of two young women, Jianna Pischetola and Gabriella Shammas, both aged just 22. The fiery collision left their Chevrolet Corvette unrecognizable, underscoring the devastating impact of the accident.

Earlier in the day, a motorcyclist lost his life in another tragic incident on Staten Island. The 29-year-old rider collided with a Dodge Ram as the truck was turning left onto 10th Street from New Dorp Lane. The motorcycle attempted to pass the truck on the left side, resulting in a fatal collision. The severity of the head trauma sustained by the rider resulted in his being pronounced dead at the scene.

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Long Island, NY, has seen a record number of fatal crashes in AugustIn August alone, more than 30 traffic accident fatalities were recorded on Long Island roads. September started badly as well, with two pedestrian deaths occurring over the weekend. On Saturday night around 11:00 pm, 50 year old Christopher Briscoe was killed by a 28 year old driver as he was attempting to cross Montauk Highway. The driver wasn’t charged as no criminality was suspected. A day later, 47 year old Santos Aguirre was struck by two hit and run drivers in Amityville. One of them, 26 year old Danielle Lapersonerie was driving intoxicated and was caught by the police shortly after the accident. The other driver is still at large.

Janine Logan of the group Walk Safe Long Island aptly describes the situation as a “silent epidemic” because it happens far too often. Over the past three years in Nassau and Suffolk counties, 515 people have been hit and injured while walking or biking.

Many of these accidents involve elderly individuals attempting to cross the road, often when vehicles are making left-hand turns. Additionally, joggers face significant risks, especially in areas lacking sidewalks. The recent tragic case of Ilyona Kaydanov, a 22-year-old ballroom dancer from Commack, who was hit and killed while jogging, serves as a stark reminder of the dangers pedestrians and cyclists face daily. Her family’s grief is compounded by the fact that the driver responsible has not been charged.

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Long-Island-NY

Long Island, NY, has seen a record number of fatal crashes in August

According to recent reports, 21 lives have been lost in car crashes in Long Island NY this month alone, and among the victims are four children whose futures were tragically cut short. These are not just statistics; they represent individuals with dreams, aspirations, and connections to the people around them.

In East Moriches, a young life came to an untimely end when 20-year-old Olivia Montgomery lost her life in a crash. Gabriel Reyes, a seasoned motorcyclist at 50, met his unfortunate fate in a head-on collision in Brentwood. Christopher W. McGuckin, 54, lost control of his vehicle in Port Jefferson Station, a stark reminder that accidents can affect anyone, regardless of age or experience.

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location of the deadly e-bike accident in the Bronx, NYCIn the early hours of a Wednesday morning, a man on an electric bike was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in The Bronx. The impact of the collision led to severe head trauma, ultimately claiming the cyclist’s life.

The streets of New York City have witnessed a tragic surge in cyclist fatalities this year. Yesterday’s accident marks the 21st fatality of the year, making it a grim record within the Vision Zero era. As bicycle accident lawyers, we would like to shed light on the legal complexities surrounding such cases and advocate for safer streets and stricter accountability for drivers.

From a legal standpoint, hit-and-run cases can be particularly challenging. The act of fleeing the scene not only demonstrates a disregard for human life but also creates obstacles for identifying and holding the responsible party accountable. Gathering evidence, such as surveillance footage and eyewitness testimonies, becomes crucial in building a strong case against the driver.

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The dangerous intersection of Shore Parkway and Shell Road

The dangerous intersection of Shore Parkway and Shell Road

On the morning of August 4th, Yelena Gervolskaya, a 75-year-old pedestrian and a beloved family member, lost her life after being struck by both a dump truck and a Jeep at the intersection of Shore Parkway and Shell Road in Gravesend, Brooklyn. Both drivers fled the scene; however, they have now been identified by the police. As of now, no charges have been filed against either of them.

Both vehicles hit the victim while making a left turn

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When the total number of crash fatalities during the first semester of 2023 is lower than the previous years, one category of road users, the cyclists, had a record number of fatalities with 14 deaths. Pedestrian fatalities were lower than usual with 41 fatalities. The NYPD also recorded 31 driver fatalities and 16 passenger fatalities for the first semester of 2023.

After two years of an unusually high number of auto accident fatalities in New York City during the first six months of the year, the total number of crash fatalities for the first six months of 2023 was pretty much similar to the levels observed before the Covid19 crisis, oscillating around 100 for the first six months of the year. In 2023, 102 people died in crashes during the first semester compared to 113, 118, 92, 101, 84, 96, 107, 107, 97, and 121 during the semesters of 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013 respectively.

NYC car accident deaths by category June 2023
During the first semester of 2023, 24,535 people were injured in crashes. This number is slightly higher than the two previous years, during which 23,963 and 22,898 people were injured during the first semester of 2022 and 2021, respectively, but still lower than what it was before the pandemic when the number of traffic injuries for the first six months of the year was above 25,000. Among the category of road users, drivers were the most injured with 10,785 injured motor vehicle operators for the first semester, followed by passengers (7,564), pedestrians (4,098), and cyclists (2,088).