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 NY

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Two houses caught on fire and 3 people were injured after a propane tank exploded in East Meadow, Long Island, NY.  A fire started in a house located on 7th Street. The flames reached two propane tanks that were located on the side of the house and caused a massive explosion. The fire was so intense that the house next door caught on fire as well. One person had to be hospitalized and two others were treated at the scene. It took 3 hours for the firefighters to extinguish the fire.

In the US it is estimated that there are approximatively 60 million propane-fueled devices.  While the usage of propane tanks is restricted in New York City, their usage is common in the rest of New York State for heating water, heating houses and grilling.  Propane explosions and propane deaths are not that common. Explosions are rare but when they occur they are extremely destructive. Injuries resulting from propane tank explosions are often severe burns.

Gas leak or BLEVE?

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accident sceneA 27 year old driver died and 3 passengers in their twenties were seriously injured in  a car accident in Long Island, NY, last Monday night around 8:30 pm.  Jeffrey Laroche from Springfield Gardens, Queens, was driving an Infiniti with 3 passengers on board: 21 year old Jayda Mouldrie from Hempstead was sitting in the front seat while 20 year old Nicole Walter and 18 year old Nathaly Walter, both from Laurelton, Queens, were sitting in the back seats. They were heading West on the Southern State Parkway when Jeffrey lost control of the car and hit the center median guide rail and trees between exits 18 and 19.  In their report the police mention that the vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed.

The impact was so intense that Jeffrey was ejected from the car. He was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries. Jayda who was in the front seat got stuck in the mangled vehicle and had to be extricated. She was also rushed the hospital and survived.  The two girls in the back, Nicole and Nathalie, were both injured but also survived the accident. Nathaly broke her pelvis.

Speeding is one of the most common causes of car accident fatalities and serious injuries especially among young people

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accident scene2 young people died and 2 others were injured in a car crash on the Saw Mill Parkway near Yonkers, NY. Investigation is still ongoing as to what exactly happened but speed seems to be a factor. Previous to the accident, the group of teenagers had visited friends in several locations. They were heading South on the Saw Mill River Parkway around 12:45 am when the driver lost control of the vehicle and rolled over.  The accident occurred near the interchange with the Cross Country Parkway.

When the police and EMT arrived they found 17 year old Ali Alghaithi, a Manhattan resident, dead outside the vehicle.  17 year old Abdlwahab (Abdul) Abushaar was still alive  but he later died from his injuries. Two other teens, a 15 year old and an 18 year old were seriously injured and are still hospitalized.

Two of the teens were working together at a cellphone store in Manhattan.

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snow tubing can be dangerousA 16 year old died from her injuries in a sledding accident in Lewiston, New York. The teenager, identified as Renee Hill was riding a sliding tube with her 3 year old nephew in front of her on the tube when she realized that they were about to hit a tree. To prevent her nephew  to hit the tree first she put her foot down to flip the tube. She hit the tree while her nephew was saved.  She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but she died on the way. Renee was a sophomore at Niagara Wheatfield High School.

The sledding hill in Clyde L. Burmaster Park where the  fatal sledding accident occurred  was closed until further notice and the accident is being investigated.

While it is quite fun, sledding can be dangerous

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carbon monoxide danger signA woman and two children suffered carbon monoxide poisoning last week in Dix Hills, Suffolk County, NY. The accident occurred at a residential home located on Pineland Court.  A crew of workers were doing some roofing work while a mother and her two children were inside the house. The roofers used a generator that was positioned too close to the door causing fumes to get in the house and poisoned the family. The woman and the two children started to get really dizzy and she called 911. When EMS arrived the 3 of them could not walk anymore and firefighters found a vey high level of carbon monoxide in the house. The mother and her children were transported to the hospital to be treated.

The silent killer

Carbon Monoxide is an invisible gas that has no smell and no color and therefore is  very hard to detect by human. It is deadly. Firefighters nickname it “the silent killer”.  This why in New York State, it is required by law that any house or apartment with at least one fuel-burning appliance or heater has working carbon monoxide detectors installed. The following precautions should be taken to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning:

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accident scene4 people died  and several others were injured in a car crash on a Long Island highway in an area nicknamed by locals “Blood Alley” for the many car accidents that previously occurred in this specific area of North Massapequa, NY . The accident caused by a wrong-way driver occurred early morning, around 5:00 am yesterday.

For reasons that are still unknown, 33-year-old Marvin Balcaseres from Farmingdale, NY, entered the Southern State Parkway the wrong way, most probably at exit 30 or exit 31 according to preliminary investigations. He traveled for about a minute before crashing into a SUV driven by 67 year old Ruben Sanchez who was heading to work with three other passengers identified as 34 -year-old Ivis Sanchez Cordova, 56-year-old Edith Magana and 44 year old Nadina Sanchez-Cordova.  The wrong way driver as well as all the occupants of the SUV, except Nadina Sanchez-Cordova, died at the scene of the crash. Nadina was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Another car was also hit by the wrong way driver. Thankfully the driver wasn’t hurt. A motorcyclist who tried to avoid the area of the crash was hit by debris and sustained minor injuries.

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location of the fatal tractor trailer truck accidentA mother and her two children lost their lives and several other family members suffered personal injury in a truck accident in Upstate NY.

The accident occurred last night around 8:30 pm on the New York State Thruway near Exit 19 for Ulster. A family from Pelham Bay in the Bronx, NYC, was returning home from a trip Upstate in two separate cars: a Honda and a Kia minivan. Both cars were stopped in traffic when a truck rear ended the Honda and swiped the rear end of the Kia. Zulika Salim, a 47 year old mother was sitting on the back seat of the Honda with her two children, 19 year old Justin Gayapersad and 14 year old Chelsea Gayapersad. They all died in the crash. The driver of the Honda, 24 year old Neta Singh and the front seat passenger, 18 year old Singh suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital hospital.  3 other family members who were travelling in the Kia minivan that the truck sideswiped also suffered personal injury. One of them, a 48 year old passenger identified as Ramnarine Singh, was seriously injured and had to be airlifted to a medical center in Albany. Two other passengers, 27 year old Sangeeta Singh and 45 year old Saleema Salim suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital. The driver of the Kia Van, 26 year old Maheshwarnauth Karan declined medical treatment at the scene of the accident.

The truck driver was identified as 61 year old Luc Leblanc from Quebec. According to the police, the truck driver was driving in the right lane when he encountered traffic stopped in front of him. He tried to avoid a collision but the distance between the truck and the stopped cars was too short for the truck to stop and he rear-ended the Honda. He was not injured in the accident and so far he has not been charged by the police.

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rear-car-seatSince November 1st, all children under the age of 2 instead of 1 previously, must use a rear-facing car seat when riding in a car in New York State. This requirement is coming on top of the actual New York State Child Passenger Restraint Law that was enacted in 1982 and requires that:

  • all children under the age of 4 ride in child safety seats
  • all children ride in child restraint systems until their 8th birthday
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leave raking can lead to injuriesSummer is over, the trees are changing colors, the kids are back to school and the weather is getting colder and wetter.

The change of season also affects doctor offices and emergency rooms where typical summer injuries such as injuries related to water activities or burns from BBQ are slowing down and autumn injuries are increasing.

While in the city most people do not have a private yard, most people living in Upstate New York or in New York City suburbs ares starting to rake leaves around their house. While raking leaves might be perceived as a fun autumnal activity it can also lead to serious injuries. In the US 76,000 people are injured every year while raking leaves or using manual garden tools related to this activity. Many of these injuries include back strains or wrist strains due to the repetitive movements of raking.

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E-Cigarette-16 people have now died in the US and 450 others, including 64 of them in New York, have suffered lung injuries connected to vaping. In order to prevent more deaths and injuries related to vaping in New York State, Governor Cuomo just announced that he is planning to issue an emergency regulation to ban all vape flavors beside tobacco and menthol.  By banning fruity and sweet flavors such as bubble gum,  cotton candy or captain crunch that are usually appealing to teenage customers, the governor hopes that he can fight addiction to nicotine at an early age.  Tobacco and menthol flavors will be allowed as some studies have indicated that vaping might help smokers to quit cigarettes. The American Lung Association released a statement criticizing Cuomo’s decision to keep tobacco and menthol flavors saying that it will just make more people addicted to menthol flavor.  The governor said a ban of menthol might be considered in the future.

Investigation by the NY Department of Health

In addition to the ban, the NY Department of health will also investigate the 64 cases of lung injuries that occurred in New York State.  So far it has been difficult to identify exactly what caused some vape users to check in to the emergency room however according to the NY Department of Health many cases were linked to cannabis products which contained a high level of vitamin E acetate. Vitamin E acetate acts as a thickening agent for vaping products. As a result of this preliminary investigation, Cuomo also directed the Department of Health to subpoena companies that are manufacturing and selling what is called “thickening agents” which are often added to black market products.