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 wrongful death NY

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the two young New Yorkers who alerted the residents about a fire in their buildingThree people died and several people were injured in NY fire accidents that erupted mostly in the North West area of the city these past few days.

Yesterday morning 3 people were injured in a fire that started in a third floor apartment of a 5-story building located on West 184th Street near Amsterdam Ave in Washington Heights. One of the victims was critically injured while the two others only suffered minor injuries. Read more in the NY Daily News.

Also yesterday in Mount Vernon, NY a mother and her child died in a fire accident. The fire broke out at the second floor of a residence located on 13th street. 11 people lived in the house. A 30 year old mother and her 17th month baby both died in the fire. Another person was injured and transported to the hospital. The causes of the fire accident are not clear yet. Read more and see pictures on PIX11 

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464 hard hats died in construction accidents in New York State between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2016. 55 of them died in 2015. Construction is the second most dangerous industry in NY Sate after the agricultural industry. In New York City deaths related to construction accidents represent 34% of all occupational deaths compared to 32% in Los Angeles and 24% in Chicago. Most of these deaths are preventable according to the Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State published this week by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH)

Over the last few years, the boom in the construction industry led to an increase in hard hat fatalities in New York City.  25 construction workers died on the job in 2015 compared to 22 in 2014, 17 in 2013, 20 in 2013 and 17 in 2011. Over these five years, almost 60% of the fatalities were related to falls.  Other common construction accidents were related to elevator installations, electrocutions, falling objects and workers caught between equipment or machinery. From 2014 to 2015, the number of NYC construction accidents involving injury or death almost doubled, It went from 231 in 2014 to 435 in 2015.

fatal construction accidents NYC
There are only 66 OSHA inspectors in New York State. In 2014, these inspectors visited more than 2,000 construction sites. Inspectors found violations on 2 out of 3 sites visited. The most common violation was failure to protect workers from falls. The average fine was $3,673. Since August 2016, OSHA increased its fines, hoping that it may deter contractors from violating safety standards. This increase in penalties took place two months after the preventable death of 22 year old Carlos Moncayo. After the death of Moncayo, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance collaborated with construction workers advocate groups to support the use of criminal laws to prosecute negligent contractors who recklessly endangered their employees life (see previous blog). As a result, Moncayo’s employer was criminally convicted and sent  to jail.

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A woman died from her injuries after being struck by a car at a Long Island gas station. 62 year old Rosalie Koenig, was pumping gas when an out of control car crashed into the gas station. Koenig was pinned between the pump and her car. The reckless driver, 53 year old Renee McKinney, lost control of her vehicle after she overdosed on heroin. She was arrested by the police and charged with driving while impaired by drugs. Koenig was transported to the hospital with critical injuries. She died the following day. The accident happened at a gas station located on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, Long Island.

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Our NY personal injury law firm is proud to announce that our partners Ben Rubinowitz and Richard Steigman obtained a $7.75 million settlement in  a snowmobile accident in Saranac Lake, NY.

snowmobile accident
The plaintiffs, Thomas Taylor (63) and Linda Taylor (57) were guests at The Point at Saranac Lake, a luxury 5-star hotel in Franklin County. The plaintiffs claimed that the hotel arranged a snowmobile tour with Adirondack Snowmobile Rental. The tour was set up by the hotel for the plaintiffs and four other guests (2 other couples) who were also staying at the hotel. All 6 of the guests were beginners – each of whom had never been on a snowmobile before.Payment was arranged through the hotel. The hotel not only arranged the tour but charged the guests 20% extra for this service.

The Tour Guide, Robert Pinsdorf, an employee of Adirondack Snowmobile, started the tour approximately 10 miles from the hotel, at a campground know as Charlie’s Inn. The hotel guests were given a 10-20 minute lesson in the operation of the snowmobile; however, the guide was charged with the responsibility of leading the guests on the tour and keeping them safe throughout the tour. The plaintiffs claimed that they were unfamiliar with the trails, road crossing and trail signs. Although the first hour of the tour went fine during the second hour, one of the snowmobiles broke down due to a faulty drive belt. The tour guide then decided to head back to Charlie’s Inn to get another belt. He left one guest in the broken snowmobile and took one guest with him on his snowmobile. He told the others to follow him. It was claimed that he was in a rush and, at this time, failed to protect the novice snowmobilers by traveling ahead of them without warning them of road crossings and stop signs and without knowing where they were. Plaintiff s decedent, Thomas Taylor, failed to stop for a stop sign. It was claimed that he was unaware that he was traveling towards a road and stop sign. It was at this point that the plaintiff s decedent crossed the road, without stopping, and was struck by a van driven by an elderly man (who was dismissed from the case on summary judgment).

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accident scene3 people died and 2 suffered personal injury in a car accident in Upstate New York last Saturday around 4:20 am. All the victims were in their 20ies. Nelson Osegueda, Ray Rivera, and Waner Nunez were riding in a car with two other young women on Route 6 in Southeast, NY, toward Danbury.  A deputy sheriff allegedly saw the car swerving over the center line and suspected the driver was intoxicated. He tried to pull the car over. As the driver didn’t comply, the deputy sheriff started to chase the car. The average speed of the chase was around 65 mph and twice went up to 80 mph. As the deputy sheriff arrived near the border of his jurisdiction, he alerted the Danbury police and slowed down. According to the deputy sheriff, the chased car then sped up. 15 seconds later the driver hit a utility pole.

The car was completely mangled. the 3 young men mentioned above died and the two young women were injured. One of them suffered serious leg fractures. They were transported to the hospital to be treated.

Read more in Newstimes

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accident sceneA 29 year old man died in a car accident in Long Island, NY. Navado Pratt was driving his car South on Peninsula Boulevard in Valley Stream when he lost control of his vehicle. The car hit a guardrail and barreled onto a grassy median separating the North and South lanes. It finally hit an electrical tower more than 100 feet away. The the driver was ejected from the car and landed in a nearby creek. The police are investigating the cause of the accident. Speed is highly suspected.

see video here and read more here

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MartellaSpeed was a factor in a NY Car accident that left 6 people injured and 5 dead. 29 year old Scott Martella, a former aid to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,  was among the victims who were killed in the accident. Yesterday morning around 9:30 a.m. Scott was driving his Honda in the westbound lane of the Long Island Expressway near Exit 68 in Manorville, NY. Next to him in the passenger seat was his fiancee, 29 year old Shelbi Thurau. As they were driving an eastbound Subaru went airborne and landed in the westbound lane. The Subaru struck the Honda and a BMW. The Subaru was driven by 26 year old Carmelo Pinales. His sister Patricia Pinales was in the passenger seat and his son was in the back. Scott Martella, Carmelo Pinales and Patricia Pinales all died at the scene of the accident. Pinales 10 year old son died later on from his injuries at the hospital. Scott’s fiancee survived. The BMW was driven by 73 year old Marvin Tenzer. He was with his wife Sandra and another couple: Helen and Isidore Adelson. Mr Adleson died from his injuries yesterday night and the rest of the BMW occupants sustained injuries. Witnesses who saw the Subaru passing them before the accident said the car “was flying”.

Read more in the NY Times  Picture:Linkedin

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Four people died and two were injured in a car accident in Long Island, NY on Yaphank Middle Island Road near Rustic Road last night. For some unknown reason the driver of a pick up truck veered in to the opposite lane of traffic and hit a car that was coming in the opposite direction. There were four adults and a baby in the car. The driver of the pickup truck as well as two men and a woman who were in the other car died in the accident. The baby and another woman sustained injuries and were taken to the  hospital to be treated.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

 

 

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A window washer died on Monday in New York. The 57 year old worker was cleaning the windows of a building in the Upper East Side located on East 81st Street between Lexington and Park Ave. He fell off a third-story ledge and died. In New York Window Washers are protected under both Section 240 and Section 202 of the New York State Labor Law. For a discussion of Section 240 see our New York Construction Accident page. Section 202 known as The Window Washers Law provides that ” The owner, lessee, agent and manager of every public building and every contractor involved shall provide such safe means for the cleaning of the windows and of exterior surfaces of such building as may be required and approved by the board of standards and appeals.” As a practical matter most window washing accidents are covered by section 240 which is a self executing statute which does not require violation of a provision of The Industrial Code and to which comparative negligence does not apply.

 

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A cab driver died and a woman were injured in a car crash in Long Island, NY, early Saturday morning. 23 year old Duke Obule was drunk and speeding behind the wheel of a luxury sports car when he lost control of the vehicle at the intersection of Hempstead Turnpike and Lincoln Road in Franklin Square. The impact was so strong that the taxi careened all the way across Hempstead Turnpike and crashed into a utility pole. The cab driver was killed in the accident.  The drunk driver fled the scene of the accident by foot leaving behind an injured 20 year old woman who was in the car with him at the time of the accident. She suffered a broken ankle and was taken to the hospital. Obule  was caught by the police an hour later on Hempstead Turnpike,  a mile away from the accident. Not only was Obule  drunk driving and speeding but he also had no license. He faces 10 charges including manslaughter and DWI. According to residents Hempstead Turnpike has a history of speeding and accidents.