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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One Bryan-Loughanyear ago Bryan Loughran (picture) was killed by a hit and run driver in Brooklyn , NYC (see previous blog). The driver who left him dying on the road was later on identified as Michael Casale, a 54 year old Minister from Brooklyn. After he fled from the scene of the accident, the minister abandoned his vehicle and tried to conceal his responsibility by reporting it stolen. Police arrested Casale at his home. Hours after questioning and blaming “his friend” for leaving the scene, Casale broke down into tears and confessed, the judge said. He was sentenced to up to 4 1/2 years in prison two days ago. Read more in the NY Daily News

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The following video is a demonstration of an opening statement in a wrongful death case.  The plaintiff was represented at trial by our managing  partner New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz. The case involved the death of a little girl who was a passenger in a car being driven by her father. She was killed as a result of the combined negligence of a truck driver and the carelessness of the City of New York. The case was significant in that the little girl’s father was in the”zone of danger” when he witnessed the death of his daughter. The jury returned a substantial multi-million dollar verdict in the case finding both the truck driver and the City at fault.

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MTA BusA MTA report on a NYC fatal bus accident that happened last October indicates that the accident was preventable and that the actions of the bus driver were the most probable cause of the accident.  The report indicates that the bus driver, 64 year old Theresa Gallager, was driving North on Willis Avenue in the Bronx at 1:40 am and turning left with a green light onto E. 147th Street when she hit 64 year old John Lavery who was crossing 147th Street in the crosswalk with the right of way. MTA drivers are supposed to take turns at a speed of 5 mph. Gallager was driving at a speed of 11 to 15 miles-per-hour when she turned. If she had followed MTA guidelines and driven slower, the death of John Lavery may have been prevented. Many of the frequent accidents involving pedestrians being hit by buses are the result of drivers who work long hours, are frustrated by the NYC traffic congestion and drive aggressively feeling they always have the right of way and it is the pedestrian’s obligation to get out of the way.

Gallager was the first of six bus drivers that have been arrested under the city’s Right of Way law, which makes it a misdemeanor to fail to yield to pedestrians and cyclists.  In an article in the Post Theresa Gallager’s lawyer and the bus driver’s union blame a broken street lamp for the accident but according to the Gothamist, the report clearly indicates that the bus driver was responsible for the accident.

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A 46 year old mother  suffering from multiple sclerosis was fatally struck by a  garbage truck in New York City as she was trying to cross the street with her walker. Last Thursday around 10:30 pm, Alberta Bagu who was using a walker was crossing Broadway mid block between Ditmars Street and Willoughby Avenue in Bushwick , Brooklyn, when a private garbage truck hit her. The truck driver continued on his way without stopping. Later on the police were able to identify the truck and talk to the driver. The driver told the police that he didn’t realize that he struck a pedestrian. Alberta Bagu was found dead at the scene of the accident.  Read more in New York CBS Local. NYC is becoming a dangerous place for pedestrians.

Another pedestrian died a day earlier in Brooklyn as well after she was struck by a driver who lost control of the car while she was making a turn (see NY Daily News).

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A speeding SUV driver is responsible for the death of 42 year old Susana Ha and her 10 year old daughter Angelica Ung in a crash between two cars that happened last Wednesday on 210th St. in Queens, NYC according to a police source. Susanna Ha was riding with her two young daughters in the back seat and her mother was in the passenger seat of a car driven by her dad when the driver of a speeding SUV who was travelling in the opposite direction veered to the left, crossed the double yellow line and hit their car. The accident took place in a 15 mph school zone with a speed bump in the middle of the street.

The mother and the youngest daughter were killed in the accident while the other daughter was in critical condition. The 67 year old grandmother was seriously injured while the 74  year old grandfather who was driving the car was in stable condition. The 46 year old driver of the SUV was also injured and in stable condition. To date no criminal charges have been filed. Based on photos of the front end of the SUV and video it had to have been going well above the speed limit.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

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A 29 year old male pedestrian died in a car accident in New York City last Saturday night. For some unclear reason instead of using the nearby pedestrian overpass, Caje Dawkins decided to walk across the Bruckner Express Way near Stratford Ave, half a mile from where he lived.  As he was trying to cross the busy highway he was struck by a SUV . The driver of the SUV stayed at the scene of the accident.  Read more in the New York Daily News

 

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The police are still looking for a hit and run driver who struck a pedestrian last Saturday around 12:30 in Queens.  21 year old Betty Jean DiBlasio was crossing Ditmars Blvd near 19th Street in Astoria when she was hit by a Chevrolet Impala.  The driver sped away leaving the young woman lying on the pavement with a severe head injury. She died later at the hospital.  Read more in the NY Daily News.

According to the Vision Zero Queens Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, 16% of Queens pedestrians fatalities happen between 12:00 and 6:00 am though less than 4% of pedestrian activity takes place during these hours. 75% of Queens pedestrian fatalities are caused by dangerous drivers choices such as speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, red light running, distracted driving, and driving under the influence.

Queens Pedestrians Fatality

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Bicycle accidents injuries deaths NYC April 2015A 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.

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CO55 year old Nilda Sing was found dead in her apartment after she was apparently poisoned by  carbon monoxide fumes coming from a defective boiler. The woman was living in a basement apartment of a four-story building on Fort Hamilton Parkway near 55th St. in Borough Park, Brooklyn in New York City. She was discovered dead by her brother early Saturday morning. When the police and the firefighters arrived they detected a high level of CO in the basement and the 16 apartments of the building were temporarily evacuated. Nilda Sing’s sister who was also in the apartment but in another room with AC survived and only suffered personal injury. The origin of the deadly gas leak seemed to come from the boiler that was located just below the appartment of the victim. The boiler was not working proprely and a repair crew had been working on fixing it for the last two weeks. One of the workers didn’t comply with safety guidelines and secured the exhaust pipe with tape. The pipe burst on Friday.

Read more in the NY Daily News  and see video on New York CBS Local

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New York Personal Injury lawyer Anthony GairA 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