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 Tagged with personal injury

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child-playingChildren and teenagers are prone to traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Over a million of them check in an emergency room in the US for a non fatal Traumatic Brain Injury every year. A recent study conducted by researchers under the lead of Bina Ali for the nonprofit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation  looked at the causes of these injuries.  To do so the researchers used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. They  found that between 2010 and 2013 more than 4 million children were diagnosed by emergency room doctors for non fatal TBI.

Among the different categories of ages, those the most prone to suffer TBI were among the youngest and among the oldest. 1,085,680 children between the age of 1 and 4  and 1,107,463 teenagers between 15 and 19 year old were diagnosed with TBI during the period under review.

The causes of  TBI vary depending on the age of the child. Almost 3 quarters of TBIs suffered by  toddlers were related to home fixtures, furniture and structures.  Falling from chairs and beds were the most common furniture related accidents while tripping on the floor or falling down the stairs caused the most TBIs related to home fixtures and structures.

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Engineering-study-of-injury-in-car-crashPreventing personal injuries and saving lives is a component of safety and public health. Every year, the Center for Injury Research and Prevention is offering several summer programs to undergraduates who are interested in injury science research. Students who have limited access to research opportunities such as American Indian Natives, Alaskan Natives Black and Latino students as well as women, vets and people with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply.

The 10-week program takes place over the summer and provides students with hands-on research experience, participation in multidisciplinary research approach  and one-on-one mentoring by leading scientists. Students receive a $5000 stipend as well as help for their travel expenses and will be housed for free in separate units for projects requiring in-person participation. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the projects will be held remotely but the situation may change depending on the evolution of the pandemic.

This summer the projects will be split in 3 areas: Engineering, Behavioral Science and Epidemiology.

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accident sceneThe National Highway Safety Administration was created 50 years ago in an effort to curb the number of Americans dying or getting injured in car crashes. Its role was to create safety standards for motor vehicles, supervise recalls in case of defects, educate people and conduct research on traffic safety as well as allocate safety grants to states.

Back in the days, when the agency was created, more than 50,000 people were killed very year in car accidents in the US.  It went down to 32,479 in 2011 and then gradually went back up to 36,120 last year.

Over the years the Agency had its ups and downs, the last four years were among the worst

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Snow stormIf you want to avoid getting injured during a snow storm in New York City, the best way is to stay home, wait for the snow to stop and for the sidewalks and roads to be cleaned before going out. However if you really have to or want to step out to enjoy some winter fun with the kids, make sure to wear proper shoes and exercise caution when walking around.

If you have to get somewhere you might think that you would be safer walking than driving. It might actually be quite the opposite.

In a study published last May in the Journal of the American Meteorological Society and entitled “Winter Storms and Fall-Related Injuries: Is It Safer to Walk than to Drive?” researchers analyzed the visits to hospital emergency rooms in a medium sized urban community, in Canada, during multiple snow storms. They found that, during a snow storm, visits to the emergency room for injuries caused by falls accounted in average for 64% more than visits to the ER caused by a motor vehicle accidents.

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Calico Critters can cause personal injury to childrenGo Launch Missile can lead to eye and facial injuries
FX Claw can cause eye and face injuries
Gloria Owl can cause aspiration injuries
Superstar fist can cause blunt injuries
SCI-FI Slime contains dangerous chemicals
Boomerang UFO can cause cut and propeller related injuries
Boom city can cause face injuries
Babies minis can cause choking injuries
saber toys can cause injuries
Some toys are more dangerous than others and can potentially lead to personal injury and sometimes even death to children. Every year before the holidays, the children safety advocates World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (W.A.T.C.H.) publishes a list of the 10 most dangerous toys.

Below are the 2020 “10 worst Toys Nominees”:

  1. CALICO CRITTERS NURSERY FRIENDS sold by Walmart, Amazon and Kohl’s for children above 3 year old. This toy contains small pieces, including a toy pacifier, that are very appealing to oral-age children and can cause choking injuries.
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metal in mask MRIThe FDA recently received a complaint from a patient whose face was burned after wearing a facemask with metal during a MRI. The patient was undergoing a 3 TESLA MRI scan of the neck. The burns were consistent with the shape of the mask.

It is clearly negligent to allow a patient to enter an MRI without checking for metal in a face mask. Anyone who is being scheduled for a MRI procedure must be checked for metal placed in or on their body including in their face mask.

Typically, patients undergoing an MRI are submitted to a metal checklist during which they are asked if they are wearing electronic devices, had metal in their eyes, have implants, had previous surgery on their head or ears or are wearing items such as jewelry, hearing aids, medication patches and obviously these days, a mask that doesn’t contain metal.

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Snow stormWinter storm related injuries and fatalities can often be prevented by preparing ahead. Now is the time for individuals and employers to prepare and get ready for future winter snow storms. The occupational Safety and Health Administration just released a set of guidelines that covers most winter weather related hazards and how to prevent them:

  • Winter driving is always hazardous, OSHA recommends drivers who have to drive in wintery conditions to follow the “3 P’s of safe driving: “Prepare for the trip”, “Protect yourself” and “Prevent crashes on the road”. Preparing for the trip means checking that the car is well maintained, making sure that the breaks are proprely balanced, that the cooling system has a proper mix of antifreeze and water, that the battery is fully charged, that the tires are in good condition and proprely inflated, that the windshield wipers are in good condition and that your windows are clear. Protect  yourself  and your passengers by making sure everybody buckles up and children are in proper seats in the back. Prevent crashes by avoiding drugs and alcohol, keeping a safe distance between cars, keeping alert for pedestrian and avoiding fatigue.
  • Special precautions should be taken for workers exposed to traffic as drivers may skid or loose control of their vehicle during winter weather and strike workers. Signs, cones barrels and barriers should be set up to protect workers.
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Pollack-and-RadcliffeWhen a child suffers personal injury as the result of an abuse by an adult, Child Protective Services will intervene to prevent more injuries to the child. However when a child suffers emotional trauma, child welfare workers often lack knowledge and basic training on the neurology of trauma and the factors that will promote brain resilience. As a result, children are often placed in homes that are not appropriate for their well being and healing.

In a recent article,  Susan Radcliffe, LCSW-C, a mental health therapist and a clinical social worker at the Dorchester County Health Department, Cambridge, MD and Daniel Pollack, MSSA (MSW), JD, an attorney and professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work, look at the case of a Child Protective Service worker who after being informed by a mental health therapist that a boy placed in a safety home alleged that his “emergency plan safety parents” were physically fighting decided the boy should remain in the home. When the mental health therapist questioned the decision,  The Child Protective Services worker replied “What do you want me to do?”.  She also  said she was following her training.

The article provides an in-depth explanation on how, during an emotional trauma the limbic system of the brain produces cortisol, a stress hormone that provides energy to respond to danger. For example if a car is speeding toward an individual, the cortisol will give the person the energy to respond to the danger and quickly get out of the way.

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teen driverThis week is National Teen Driver Safety Week. For the 13th consecutive year, the National Highway Traffic Administration is organizing a one week campaign to raise awareness  and seek solutions to prevent and reduce teen drivers fatalities and injuries.

Car accidents are the leading cause of fatality for teenagers in New York and in the US

In New York State, every day, 10 people are injured or killed in an accident caused by a teen driver.  Unsafe speed accounts for 21% of these accidents, driver inexperience for 8%, failure to yield right of way for 6%, driver distraction for 4% and alcohol for 1%.  Male teen drivers have a higher risk of causing an accident than female teen drivers. Drivers with only a few months of experience driving alone are also at high risk of causing a crash as well as teen driver driving with other teens on board. In New York State, teen drivers are at fault in almost 80% of the car crashes resulting in incapacitating and fatal injuries.

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16 people were injured after a defective pedal on their peloton bike broke. Five of them required medical care such as stiches in their lower leg.  Peloton Interactive, Inc. a New York based company, received so far 120 complaints of defective pedal and announced on October 15 that it was recalling the PR70P Clip-In Pedals fitted on Peloton bikes  which were sold between July 2013 and May 2016. The potentially defective pedal has a orange logo and the name Peloton is printed in white letters next to it.  It was manufactured in Taiwan. While Peloton recommend consumers change their pedals every year, consumers who bought the PR70P Clip-In Pedals are being notified directly by the company that will let them know how they can receive free pedals with accompanying instructions on how to install them.

5,700 defective Extension Cord Splitters sold by Homerygardens at Walmart and Amazon.com recalled the same day