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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NYC construction workers have a high risk of fatalitiesAs construction accident attorneys in New York, we have witnessed the devastating consequences of heat-related injuries among construction workers.

The parents of Tim Barber, a young construction worker who tragically lost his life due to heat stroke on his second day at a new job Upstate NY, have been tirelessly raising awareness about heat-related illnesses. They have played a crucial role in advocating for a New York bill called the Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program, aimed at amending the state’s labor law to provide broader protections against the risks posed by heat and cold stress. Regrettably, despite their efforts, the bill did not successfully pass into law.

With the summer months upon us, it is crucial to shed light on this pressing issue and explore preventive measures that can ensure the safety of construction workers during the summer. By recognizing the risks associated with heat exposure and implementing appropriate safety protocols, we can protect construction workers from the debilitating effects of heat-related injuries.

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NYSLTAJust a friendly reminder that tomorrow, The New York State Trial Lawyers Association is hosting a daylong continuing legal education (CLE) master series. This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insights from some of the most successful trial attorneys of the past half-century. The faculty, chaired by our esteemed managing partner Ben Rubinowitz and featuring our partner Marijo Adimey, collectively represent over 200 years of invaluable experience. NYSTLA President Thomas P. Valet describes this event as an “unprecedented coming together” of legal talent.

Don’t miss out on this exceptional event! Join us tomorrow for a day filled with enriching discussions and invaluable knowledge-sharing. Register now to secure your spot at this esteemed webinar panel.

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Lithium ion battery can be dangerousDefective lithium-Ion e-bike batteries have been the cause of 216 fires in NYC last year. 147 people suffered personal injury and 6 of them died in these fires. This year so far more than 20 lithium-ion battery fires have caused serious injury and death. Two weeks ago, in Brooklyn, a woman died from her injuries after being rescued from a fire in her building that was caused by batteries exploding in an another apartment that a tenant had transformed into an illegal lithium battery repair shop.

Yesterday the New York City Council voted on a legislative package dedicated to strengthen safety and prevent fires related to e-bike batteries:

  • Introduction 663-A restricts the sale, lease or rental of e-bike, e-scooter or any other mobility device powered by lithium batteries as well as storage batteries that do not meet recognized safety standards.  This means that these devices and their storage batteries will have to be tested by an accredited laboratory and  meet the applicable Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards. the testing laboratory or name will have to be displayed on the product itself or on the packaging or documentation.
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e-scootersThe Consumer Product Safety Commission just released an in-depth report on personal injuries, deaths and hazards linked to the usage of micro-mobility devices. The report looked at data from 2017 to 2021 and  found that personal injuries and fatalities have been growing significantly over the last 5 years.

Hoverboards and e-scooter accidents accounted for almost 90% of all visits to the Emergency Department

It is estimated that 34,000 people visited the Emergency Room in 2017, after they suffered personal injury associated with the usage of a micromobility device.

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The lithium battery of this bike might be defectiveAncheer is recalling the potentially defective lithium battery of 22,000 e-bikes. The recall decision was made after the company received 6 reports of accidents that include batteries igniting and causing sparks, fires and/or explosions. Among the 6 accidents reported, 4 resulted in burn injuries.

The battery recalled is a cylindrical battery that looks like a water bottle and is mounted on the Ancheer e-bikes model AM001907. The model number can not be found on the bike but on the packaging and on the user manual.

The recalled Ancheer e-bikes models were sold between January 2016 and June 2022 by major retailers including Walmart, Sears, Amazon, eBay, Overstock, Aliexpress, Ancheer, Newegg, Rakuten and Wish.

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MeFDA-logodtronic HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) device caused the wrongful death of more than 3,000 people since it was introduced on the market more than 10 years ago. The sale and distribution of the heart pump was stopped in June last year but many patients still have the pump implanted in them. Now some of the batteries powering the device might be deadly too.

Medtronic announced last May that a model of battery that was powering the Medtronic HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) was defective and that it could cause serious personal injury or death if it was not changed for a new battery. An urgent Medical Device Correction letter was sent out by Medtronic to all affected customers on May 5th  recalling 429 devices manufactured in April 2021. Then a month later, after the company received 1,159 complaints including 6  injuries and one death, the recall of the same model of batteries was extended to those that were distributed since January 2009.

The recall affects 23,372 Medtronic HVDA Batteries with model number 1650DE that were distributed between January 1st 2009 and now

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cyber attack can arm patientsHospitals are one of the favorite targets of ransomware hackers because hospitals simply can’t afford to have their IT down as it can cause severe harm or even death to patients. As a result when a hospital  has its systems blocked by hackers it might be more willing to pay a ransom than any other type of organization in order to get their systems working again.

Recently, a debt collection company working with 657 healthcare providers announced that it had been the victim of a cyber attack. Hackers were able to obtain patients information including their name, address, social security number and medical information. It is unclear so far how many patients have been affected but this might have been of of the largest healthcare data breach of 2022.

CISA warns hospitals and healthcare providers of Maui ransomware

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Forklifts can be dangerous and result in accidentsAround 100 people die and around 34,000 are injured in forklift accidents every year. The most common forklift accidents are rollovers  and in almost half of the fatal accidents, the operator of the forklift is being crushed when the forklift tips over. Forklifts can also be very dangerous to pedestrians who can get struck or crushed by a forklift or by a falling load.

To raise awareness about forklift safety, the second Tuesday of June is NATIONAL FORKLIFT SAFETY DAY for the 9th consecutive year.

Why do forklift accidents occur?

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Injured in New YorkIn New York,  anyone who suffered injury or damages as a result of the negligence of someone else or of an entity can file a claim. In order to obtain compensation the victim will have to prove the liability of the person or entity responsible for the injury and the damages resulting from the negligence. These element constitute the basis of a personal injury case. Because they are sometimes difficult to evaluate, victims of personal injury, especially those who suffered catastrophic injury work with personal injury attorneys who will handle their claims so they can concentrate on their recovery.

In New York, the most common personal injury claims are auto accident claims. In New York City only, according to the most recent statistics, 15 people were killed and 4,105 people were injured in car accidents last March.  Among those killed were 8 pedestrians, 3 drivers and 4 passengers. Among those injured were 1782 drivers, 1289 passengers, 294 cyclists and 740 pedestrians. Crash injuries or death are most of the time caused by the negligence of another road user and therefore  victims of car accidents can often file a personal injury claim.

Premises liability claim are also quite common in New York City as anyone who suffers injury on the premises of a residential or commercial property that was caused by dangerous or defective conditions on the premises can potentially file a lawsuit. Falling debris from inadequately maintained buildings, faulty cellar doors or cellar grate, sidewalks not proprely maintained, defective elevator or escalator, electrical issues can all lead to accidents causing personal injury and sometimes death.

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In its latest bulletin, the Center for Construction Research and Training looks at injuries and fatalities sustained by construction workers in the US over a 10 years period. Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) for the fatal injuries and on on employer logs obtained from the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) for the non fatal injuries, this bulletin provides an overview of the trends of injuries and deaths in the construction industry.

Construction work remains one of  the most dangerous job in the US

In 2020 construction workers represented 7.3% of the total workforce in the US and 21.7% of the workforce fatal injuries. Globally, between 2011 and 2020, working on a construction site became more dangerous with both hard hat fatality and injury rates on the rise. 2020 was affected by the Covid 19 pandemic and while less fatalities and injuries were reported because the activity was limited, the fatality rate and the injury rate both reached a record high that year.