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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Tappan Zee Bridge3 men died after their tugboat crashed into a barge at a Tappan Zee Bridge construction site on Saturday morning.

63 year old Paul Amon from New Jersey, 29 year old Timothy Conklin from Long Island and 56 year old Harry Hernandez from Staten Island were the 3 crew members of the  tugboat “Specialist” that sank Saturday morning after crashing into a stationary construction barge belonging to Tappan Zee Constructors . The rescuers were able to find the bodies of Amon and Conklin. Searches to find Hernandez who is presumed dead were suspended sunday night according to The Associated Press.

The accident happened Saturday morning. The “Specialist” was one of three tugboats that were pushing a crane barge from Albany to New Jersey. The “Specialist” was located at the right of the barge while the second tugboat was on the left and the third one in the back. As they arrived at the Tappan Zee Bridge construction site, the “Specialist” hit a stationary construction barge. Before the accident happened, the crew sent a radio message saying “”We are too close. We have to move left,” but it was too late. The tugboat sank 40 feet within minutes with the 3 men on board. The tugboat also leaked into the Hudson some of the 5000 gallons of fuel that were on board at the time of the accident.

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Among the various types of medical malpractice suffered by hospital patients, misdiagnosis accounts for approximately 10% of patient deaths. In a recent Opinion Page from the New York Times, Sandeep Jauhar, a Long Island cardiologist, wants to Bring Back the Autopsy as a weapon to fight misdiagnosis.

With the evolution of medicine and the proliferation of medical tests, autopsy doesn’t seem as essential these days as it was in the past to determine the cause of death of a patient. Before 1971, community hospitals were required to perform autopsies on 20% of their dead patients to earn their accreditation from the Joint Commission. This requirement was dropped after that date. Furthermore in 1986, Medicare considered autopsies financially draining and stopped paying for them. Now an autopsy is mostly considered by doctors as an educational tool.

Recent studies however have demonstrated that despite the medical technological advances autopsy can be a very effective manner to reduce the rate of hospital misdiagnosis.  In his opinion Sandeep Jauhar suggests that Medicare and private insurers pay for them again so that financial considerations doesn’t limit their use.

 

 

 

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Vision Zero mapA pedestrian was fatally struck by a van in NYC on Thursday. The accident happened at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Shakespeare Avenue in the Bronx. The man was crossing the street where the two avenues make a V shape when he was hit by the van. The driver of the van, Danny Telpha, a Bronx plumber, sstayed at the scene of the accident. He said that he never saw the victim. Read more in the NY Daily News

A look at the Vision Zero map, shows that residents have reported speeding and aggressive driving at this intersection.

 

 

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In New York State, 142 bicyclists and 925 pedestrians died in accidents during the 3-year period of 2011, 2012 and 2013 according to the recently released  Alliance for Biking and Walking 2016 Benchmarking Report. The number of bicyclists and pedestrian fatalities increased compared to the 3-year period of 2008, 2009 and 2010. This doesn’t mean however that the streets and the roads in New York are getting more dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists. A study of the bicyclist fatality rates between 2005 and 2013 shows that the bicyclist fatality rate over the 3-year period of 2005, 2006, 2007 was 13 fatalities per 10K biking commuters compared to 9 on average for the 3-year periods of 2008-2010 and 2011-2013. For New York pedestrians the sames rates were respectively 6, 5 and 5.

Even though these rates indicate that the roads of New York have gotten slightly safer, New York State’s bicyclist fatalities as a percentage of all traffic fatalities is 3% which is the second highest rate of all states in the US behind Florida with 4%. Looking at the pedestrian fatality rate as a percentage of all traffic fatalities, New York has the highest rate of all states in the US with 24%  (click on graph below to see them in a larger size)

bicyclist fatality by state
pedestrian fatality by states
Looking at selected demographics, data shows that in New York State from 2005 to 2013 an average  31% of bicyclists killed in bicycle accidents were Hispanic, 11% were seniors (over age 65) and 15% were youth (under age 16).

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There are usually less personal injuries and deaths related to motor vehicle accidents in New York City during the month of January than during most other months. This January there were 17,798 traffic accidents compared to 15,977 in January 2015, 16,597 in January 2014 and 15,599. Even though motor vehicle accidents decreased from January 2014 to 2015 the number of monthly accidents has been on an increasing trend. It is the first time that the number of traffic accidents is above 17,000 for the month of January.

Traffic Accidents NYC January 2016
Despite an increasing number of traffic accidents the number of injuries and deaths related to theses accidents have decreased. This is hopefully related to the introduction of various initiatives to make the streets safer launched under the NYC Vision Zero project. As motorists are driving slower and in a safer way, accidents still happen but less road users are injured or die.

3,624 people were injured in a traffic crash in New York this past January.  This is more than in January 2015 (2,449) but less than in January 2014 (3,899) and in January 2013 (3,993).  Globally over the last 3 years the monthly number of people injured in NYC auto accidents has been decreasing. However during the last few months, the number of injuries have been picking up again. For example, In December 2015 there were 4,519 people injured in auto accidents in NYC compared to 4,117 in December 2014 and 4,277 in December 2013. It was the first time that the number of injuries related to traffic accidents in NYC was above the trend line in December.

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The NYPD are actively looking for five negligent hit and run drivers who killed a bicyclist as well as two pedestrians and injured two other pedestrians.

The first accident took place Sunday morning in the Bronx around 1:30 am. 63 year old Jose Contreras was attempting to cross Webster Avenue at the intersection of 175th street when he was struck by a grey SUV. The driver never stopped. The victim who had just attended his sister’s birthday at a nearby catering hall was found by his son. He suffered severe trauma and was rushed to the hospital. He didn’t survive. The police are looking for a 2001-2006 gray suburban Cadillac Escalade. More information about the accident can be found on the ABC7NY website.

The second accident occurred less than an hour later in Queens, NYC.  A 22 year old woman was crossing Guy R. Brewer Boulevard at 118th Road in South Jamaica when she was hit by a silver minivan. The driver never stopped. The police found the young pedestrian unconscious on the ground. She was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with critical head trauma.

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Daniel+Pollack-1Many children in the welfare system suffer personal injury or or are even killed because they weren’t provided with stable and secure care. When a child is harmed while under the care of child welfare services, that child may have a viable cause of action in state or federal court. In  the article “Ministerial Versus Discretionary Acts or Omissions in Child Welfare Litigation” recently published in the Capital University Law Review, 44(1), 103-125* Andrea MacIver, J.D., DePaul University College of Law, Appellate Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Nathaniel R. Howse, Jr and Daniel Pollack, M.S.S.A. (M.S.W.), J.D., Professor at the School of Social Work, Yeshiva University in New York City, and a frequent expert witness in cases involving child welfare and developmental disabilities,  focus on state claims.

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After a construction worker died and four others suffered personal injury in a construction accident in Brooklyn, NYC, in 2011, the negligent “special instructor” who failed to perform crucial safety inspections on the site of the accident had his license revoked by the New York City Department of Buildings on Friday.

Back in 2011, Steven Schneider, an engineer, was hired as a special safety inspector on the construction site of a 14-unit condo building in Brighton Beach. As part of his duties Schneider was required by the code to perform structural tests such as testing of steel and masonry construction, structural stability and underpinning of adjacent buildings. Investigations show that Schneider never performed any of these tests and therefore didn’t notice that construction workers  had improperly poured concrete on unstable steel structures. This gross negligence led to the collapse of several floors of the building.  During the accident several workers were buried in the debris. Among them was Ivan Lende, a 54 year old worker from the Ukraine who died in the accident. Four of his colleagues were injured. Investigation results also show that Schneider  was unable to provide inspection documentation at many other NYC sites where he had been hired as a safety instructor. Not only did Schneider have his license revoked by the NYC DOB but his case was also referred to the state for “further disciplinary action”.

The DOB also announced Friday the revocation of the plumbing license of Andrew Trombetta. Andrew Trombetta is a master plumber who was involved in the East Village gas explosion that killed two people and injured many others in March 2015. Andrew Trobetta rented his licensed to the unaccredited plumber who installed the illegal hook up that led to the explosion. Earlier this month he was charged with falsifying inspection reports while four other people were charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

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roy webbAfter sustaining minor injury in a car accident, a 27 year old man died during surgery at a New York Hospital.  This morning around 4:30 am Roy Webb, an employee for the catering hall Antuns in Quens Village, was driving a co-worker home. He was driving South on Laurelton Parkway when his lost control of his vehicle. He slammed into a guardrail near 130th Ave.  The car caught fire and the passenger died at the scene of the accident. The passenger suffered such bad burns that an autopsy will be required to formally identify her. The driver suffered a broken neck and was transported to Jamaica Hospital. His girlfriend and his family said that he went for a first surgery and that he woke up fine and was expected to survive. He then went for a second surgery and died during the procedure. According to the NY Daily News, the hospital told the family that his pulse dropped and that was all they could do. The family suspects that the hospital committed medical malpractice.

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car washA veteran car wash worker died two weeks ago in the Bronx, NYC, and “The Car Wash Campaign” is asking for a full investigation into the death of the worker to see if the chemicals that he used may have been the cause of his death. 36 year old William Alberto Castellano Gomez who had been working for the last nine years at C&P Car Wash in the Bronx, NYC started to vomit after work and told his family he suffered from general pain while at work. Two days later he was hospitalized for one night and then released. He died at his home several hours after he was released from the hospital.

On August 21, 2015 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report on Hydrofluoric Acid Injury from Car and Truck Washing. Hydrofluoric Acid is contained in many car and truck wash products. The report points out that, “Exposure to hydrofluoric acid (HF) causes corrosive chemical burns and potentially fatal systemic toxicity”. Read the full report here.

According to activists who are pushing for reform in the industry, car wash workers are using unlabeled chemicals that they are constantly inhaling while they are at work. Even though no proven connections have been established yet in this case, car wash workers have often been complaining about health issues that they believe are related to the inhaling of dangerous chemicals.

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