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.
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The-NYC-intersection-where-the-e-bike-fatally-struck-the-pedestrianA pedestrian died after being struck by a e-bike rider in New York City last Friday night. 54 year old Kelly William, a Queens real estate professional, was taking a walk with a friend in her neighborhood. The young woman and her friend were in the crosswalk  at the intersection of 21st Avenue and 31st Street in Astoria when a delivery man on a e-bike struck Kelly.

The pedestrian died from head injuries

She fell on the ground and suffered serious head injury.  According to her mother, her skull was fractured at several locations. She was rushed to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries the following day. Kelly’s family was devastated by the accident. Her 78 year old mother told the NY Daily News that her daughter was a very energetic and lovely person who left her corporates career to create her own brokerage company, Kelly NYC LLC.

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One pedestrian died and several other people were injured in multiple car accidents in New York City over the Memorial Day week end.

One of the victims was Leonard Mitchell, a 70 year old resident of Brooklyn, NYC. Mitchell was steps away from his home when he was struck by a dark sedan that took off. The pedestrian was crossing Atlantic Avenue mid-block between Nevin Street and Third Avenue a little before 11:00 pm on Monday night when the accident happened.

Mitchell was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

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The NYC intersection where the senior pedestrian was killedA NYC senior pedestrian died two days after she was struck by a massive SUV in a quiet residential neighborhood in Queens.

82 year old Lopamudra Desai was crossing the intersection of Corporal Kennedy Street and 43rd Avenue in Queens, NYC when she was struck by a Chevrolet Traverse making a left turn. The accident occurred last Sunday afternoon around 3:30 pm. The driver remained at the scene of the accident and has not ben charged.

The intersection where the accident occurred is a one lane intersection with a stop sign for every lane. Anyone driving through the intersection is  required to fully stop and continue when the street is clear.

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location of the fatal hit and run accidentMathew Jensen, a beloved Greenpoint teacher, was crossing McGuiness Boulevard when he was struck by a Rolls Royce whose driver took off, letting the man die in the street.

The car accident occurred 10 days ago and the police still have not made an arrest despite de Blasio saying that they would find the driver.

Yesterday a vigil and a march were organized to pay tribute to the teacher and to call for making McGuiness Boulevard safer. The mourners were mostly parents and students as well as some family members, street activists and local politicians.

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construction workers moving equipment are at risk of struck by accidentsStruck by injuries are the most common non-fatal injuries sustained by construction workers.

Among the 79.7 k construction workers who were injured in 2019, 16.6K suffered struck by injuries and 4 K suffered struck against injuries. Struck by accidents are also among the top causes of construction workers fatalities. In 2019, out of a total of 1,102 workers fatalities, 80 construction workers died after being struck by a vehicle and 70 of them died after being struck by an object or equipment.

The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) recently analyzed data related to these types of injuries and published the result of the study in a recent data-bulletin. Researchers at CPWR found that there was a big difference on how fatal and non-fatal struck by injuries occur. Fatal struck by injuries mostly occur when a construction worker is struck by a vehicle while non fatal struck by injuries are mostly caused by handheld objects or equipment.

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accident sceneTwo teenagers recently died in two separate DWI car crashes in Rockland County NY (see previous blog). In an effort to prevent more drunk driving accidents among students, officials organized a simulation of what a deadly DWI or DUI car crash looks like in reality.

Community emotionally hurt by two previous teen drunk driving deaths

The demonstration took place in the town of Clarkson where 16 year old Vlad Mosyuk died at the beginning of the month after getting in a car with his friend, 18 year old Alan Mendoza and another 17 year old girl. Alan was drunk behind the wheel and got involved in a three-car crash. Vlad died, the girl was seriously injured and the young drunk driver was charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. The accident took place less than two weeks after another teen, Jacqueline Zangrilli died in a similar DWI accident in the nearby town of Montebello.

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Professor Daniel PollackFrom sexual abuse to physical or emotional abuse as well as maltreatment and neglect, child abuse can have various forms. It occurs when a parent or a caregiver causes injury or death to a child because of his or her action or failing to act.

Very often child abuse is discovered and reported by people surrounding the child. Each State has laws requiring “Mandated Reporters” to report concerns of child abuse. In New York, some professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers, emergency healthcare workers, dentists, medical examiners coroners and other medical professionals are mandated to report any suspicion of child abuse.  Therapists and mental health counselors  as well as anyone working in the education system as well as police officers and district attorneys and some people working with them such as investigators are mandated to report any suspicion of child abuse.

Sometimes however, mandated reporters hesitate to report suspicion of child abuse. In a recent article, Dr. Michaela A. Medved, MA, TSSLD, CCC-SLP, ClinScD, a Clinical Assistant Professor at Yeshiva University’s Katz School of Science and Health in New York City and Daniel Pollack, MSW, Esq., a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City  explains why some mandated reporters hesitate in reporting their suspicions. They found in a previous study that reporters are more reluctant to report their concerns when the abuse is mild or less apparent or experienced by children with disabilities.

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For more than 100 years, we at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf have worked to prevent injustice. The Constitution makes it clear that all men are created equal. To update that statement — we truly believe that ALL PEOPLE are created equal, regardless of gender, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation.

On this, the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, we want to take a moment to reflect on this horrific day in the history of America. A knee on the neck is, at best, completely unacceptable, and at worst, murder. Tellingly, even fellow police officers and police experts were offended by the cruelty inflicted by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on another human being. But the fundamental wrongs committed that day went beyond Chauvin’s conduct. Truly disheartening were the images of other police officers watching the events unfold and doing nothing to intervene. Perhaps now, good officers who observe the clear abuse of constitutional civil rights will take action — and will intercede to ensure these incidents be stopped in their tracks.

The bottom line is this:  we have the right to expect better. We have the right to expect better from police officers when it comes to police brutality and the use of excessive force.  This is by no means an indictment of the entire police department. There are many good police officers. But it is an indictment of those who participate in civil rights violations. And it is an indictment of those who turn a blind eye and fail to act when wrongs are perpetrated before their very eyes.

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accident sceneIn less than 8 hours, 2 people were injured and 2 people died in car crashes in New York City.

A pedestrian was killed and another one was seriously injured in a car accident early Monday morning

The two men in their 40ies were crossing the street mid-block near Rockaway Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard  in Ozone Park, Queens, around 12:30 am on Monday when they got struck by a car. They were both transported to the hospital. One of them died and the other one is clinging to life. The victim who passed away was identified as Marcelo Pelaez. The 30 year old driver of the car and his pregnant wife who was sitting in the passenger seat were not injured. They stayed at the scene of the accident. The driver was not charged. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

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New York Personal Injury Lawyer Rich SteigmanOur partner Richard M. Steigman and Hon. John R. Higgitt, Justice of the Supreme Court, Associate Justice, Appellate Term, First Department will chair the NYSTLA CPLR Update Seminar on June 8 and 9 2021 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. During this seminar,  participants will be provided with an in-depth review of the new developments related to legislation changes and court decisions in the field of New York Civil Practice. They will also learn about practice tips and pitfall warnings that are invaluable for the civil litigator.

For more info or to register, click here