New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog
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Three pedestrians killed in crashes in New York City in less than a week
A 20 year old pedestrian died after she was struck by a racing hit and run driver sending her barreling toward a MTA Bus that also struck her. The accident occurred last Thursday around 6:30 pm at the intersection of Third Avenue and 96th Street (see Google Map picture on the left). A witness who was working near by said the impact was so loud that she could heard it. The bus driver stayed at the scene of the accident but the driver of the car that hit her, a black sedan, never stopped. The police are still looking for the driver. The victim was rushed to the hospital but the injuries were so bad that she could not be saved. (read more in the NY Daily News)
Two more pedestrians killed earlier during the week
A senior pedestrian was killed as she was crossing the street in Lower Manhattan, last Monday morning. The accident occurred around 9:30 am. An 83 year old woman was crossing Lafayette Street when the driver of a pick up truck who was making a left from White Street onto Lafayette struck her. The 35 year old driver remained at the scene of the accident and so far has not been charged. A certified nurse assistant who happened to drive by the scene of the accident told the NY Daily news that the victim was too injured for emergency care. Other witnesses mentioned blood everywhere on the sidewalk. Paramedics still rushed the victim to the hospital but she could not be saved.
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E-bike rider killed by hit-and-run driver in Manhattan
A cyclist riding an e-bike was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Manhattan, early Sunday morning. 38 year old Carlos Garcia Ramos was riding his e-bike East on West 24th Street in Chelsea and had just crossed 7th Avenue when the driver of a black Infinity sedan rear-ended him. The cyclist who suffered severe head and body trauma was rushed to the hospital but he could not be saved. After the accident occurred, the e-bike got stuck in the wheel of the car. Instead of assisting the cyclist, the driver left his car on the side of the road and fled on foot leaving the cyclist dying in the street. He was later on identified as 24 year old Edgar Maeda-Luca. He was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of the accident. (Read more in the New York Post).
Crosstown streets are dangerous for cyclists as very few of them have protected bike lanes
In Manhattan while most avenues are now equipped with protected bike lanes, crosstown streets remain dangerous for cyclists. Bike lanes are still rare on crosstown streets and most of them are unprotected. So far, according to a recent article in Streetopia, out of hundreds of them only 8 crosstown streets have a protected bike lane in Manhattan: 12th Street, 13th Street, 26th Street, 29th Street, 52nd Street, 55th Street, 61st Street, and 62nd Street. According to NYC Crash Mapper, over the last 12 months and including Carlos Garcia Ramos, out of the 5 people who died in bicycle accidents in Manhattan, 3 of them died in bicycle accidents that occurred on crosstown streets, one of them on an avenue with an unprotected bike lane and another one lost control of his e-bike in a bike-lane:
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Forbes Advisor lists 3 of our Attorneys in its 2022 Best Personal Injury Lawyers In New York City
Anthony Gair, Howard Hershenhorn and Ben Rubinowitz are among the 15 attorneys that have been selected by Forbes Advisor as Best Personal Injury Lawyers in New York City in 2022.
It is an honor for our Personal Injury Law Firm to have multiple attorneys listed in such a prestigious and reliable list. The Forbes editorial team is completely independent and uses strict methodologies to create their “best” rankings.
Ben Rubinowitz, our managing partner, recently secured the highest pain and suffering award ever in NY State history. During his three decades of practice Ben has won 28 verdicts in excess of one million dollars and more than 180 million-dollar settlements. He also lectures all over the country and writes a column for the New York Law Journal on trial advocacy. Ben has been voted “Lawyer of the Year” 4 times by Best Lawyers in America. He served as Chair of the Board of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and belongs to multiple prestigious organizations including the Inner Circle of Advocates.
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Construction worker fell to his death from scaffold on Manhattan construction site
A construction worker died after falling from a scaffold in Manhattan last Monday morning. The accident occurred at a residential building located at 263 West End Avenue, on the corner of West End Avenue and 72nd Avenue in the Upper West Side of Manhattan (see picture).
According to a preliminary investigation of the Department of Buildings, the 36 year old construction worker whose identity was not revealed, was installing netting on a scaffold at the 15th floor of the building when he fell to his death onto the sidewalk shed. So far, the investigation of the DOB found that the worker did not receive site safety orientation before he started his work.
A full stop order was issued as DOB continues its investigation. The building owner, Riverside Towers Corporation, had an active work permit for façade repair and for the scaffold at the time of the accident. The worker was employed by Rennon Construction and the General Contractor of the site is J&S Waterproofing. (read more in Construction Dive)
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Two pedestrians and one motorcyclist killed in NYC crashes on Tuesday
3 people died in 3 separate traffic accidents in New York City on Tuesday.
The first accident occurred early morning in Queens. Around 6:00 am, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a car driver on 84th St near 153rd Ave in Howard Beach. The pedestrian who was found lying unconscious on the ground by EMS was identified as 53 year old Cristina Ana Acosta. She was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. The victim was killed a block away from her home.
The 45 year old driver of the Nissan Rogue who struck her remained at the scene of the accident and was not charged. A picture of the car that struck her in the NY Post shows that the car that struck her had plates reading “JOVILOCO”. It appears that the car driver is a repeated speeding offender and has accumulated almost 30 school zone camera violations in 3 years according to howsmydriving.
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Car driver dies after being sandwiched between two tractor trailer trucks in fiery NYC crash
A car driver died in a fiery NYC crash that occurred in the Mount Even section of the Cross Bronx Expressway, underneath University Avenue, around 12:30 am on Monday night.
According to media, 49 year old Shelly Vilsaint from Bayonne, New Jersey, was driving her 2019 Range Rover west bound of the Cross Bronx Expressway in the middle lane when she rear-ended a tractor trailer contracted by the U.S. Postal Service. Both drivers got out of their vehicles to talk.
The accident was a minor fender-bender for which usually the NYPD does not respond anymore but the woman insisted on waiting for the police. The driver of the truck suggested they pull over but she refused. Both got back in their vehicles and shortly after another tractor trailer rear-ended the Range Rover. The car was crushed between the two trucks and Shelly Vilsaint died at the scene of the accident.
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Two pedestrians and a mopped rider killed in 3 crashes in NYC over the Thanksgiving week-end
A 64 year old pedestrian was fatally struck by a car as he was crossing Seagirt Boulevard near Beach 31st Street in Far Rockaways, Queens, NYC, on Saturday around 6:50 pm
Seagirt Boulevard is notoriously dangerous and multiple crashes occurred on the 6-lane Boulevard in the past. Since 2019 one motorist died and 90 people were injured in crashes – including 19 pedestrians and 7 cyclists – on Seagirt Boulevard between Beach 9th Street and Rockaway Parkway. Speeding is so common that in 2019, one of the speed cameras installed on Seagirt Boulevard had the highest yearly amount of tickets recorded of all the speed cameras of New York City. Despite this sad record it took the DOT until last September to announce that Seagirt Boulevard will finally be subjected to a road diet. (Read more about the accident in the NY Daily News)
Another pedestrian, father of 12 children, was killed by a hit and run driver in Manhattan on Sunday morning around 5:45 am
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Another bicyclist killed by a tractor-trailer truck in New York City
A cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run tractor trailer accident in New York City on Thanksgiving day. The victim was riding her bike East on Liberty Avenue near the intersection of the Van Wick Expressway Service Road in Queens, NYC when she was struck by a tractor trailer truck making a left turn onto the Van Wick Expressway Service Road.
The victim, a 43 year old woman, was knocked down from her bicycle, and fell under the truck where she got trapped. She was then dragged several feet by the truck. The truck driver never stopped. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
The truck driver who was behind the wheel of a 2014 Kenworth T8 Series tractor trailer truck is a 48 -year old man who was later on identified by the police. The accident is still being investigated by the police. The intersection of Liberty Avenue and Van Wick Expressway is extremely dangerous, especially for people on micro mobility devices.
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Construction worker death rate hasn’t changed for the last 10 years
Despite OSHA’s efforts, the death rate on construction sites in the US has not declined for the last 10 years, questioning the effectiveness of the agency.
While there is no doubt that OSHA is doing a great job developing and implementing safety standards, it does not have enough resources to proprely inspect jobsites. Additionnally fines are not only too low to dissuade bad actors but also most of the time they are not being paid and OSHA has little resources to go after those who don’t pay. Also on the top of deaths purely related to construction accidents, the opioid crisis and suicides are also taking a toll on construction workers.
