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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A man died in a truck accident in New York City yesterday. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon on the parking lot of Decorama Building & Plumbing Supplies on Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC. A 32 year old customer who was backing up hit 63 year old Hou Li with his flatbed truck. Hou Li, a 63 year old man who was working for Decorama Building & Plumbing Supplies died at the scene of the accident.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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A young pedestrian was critically injured in a truck accident in New York City last Thursday around 1:00 pm. The 11 year old girl was in a crosswalk and had the right of way when she was run over by a box truck . The driver, 51 year old Douglas Watson of Maryland, was stoned behind the wheels. He hit the young girl as he was making a left turn from Wythe Ave onto Rutledge in Brooklyn. The girl fell on the ground and the driver ran over her body with the front left wheel. The young pedestrian suffered a collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen and very bad injuries to her torso. She was rushed to the emergency room in critical condition. The driver was arrested by the police. The police found out that the man had one prior sealed arrest in New York City and that he was driving with a suspended licensed. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle failure to yield and failure to exercise due care.

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  1. construction-fatality-mapThe “Fatality Mapping Project” just released its 2016 “Construction Fatality Maps“. The release consists of 2 maps. The first map shows all fatalities on construction sites in the US. The second map only shows fatal falls on construction sites.  These maps are interactive. Each pin represents a construction worker who died on the job in 2016. A click on the pin will provide the reader with more information about the accident. It also links to additional news coverage and OSHA records related to the fatal accident.

The maps are based on data from media sources and OSHA investigations. Not all but a significant amount of all fatal construction accidents in the US are reported on the map.  They are a reminder of the dangers and risks encountered everyday by construction workers and of the need for improved safety in this industry.

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Daniel-Pollack-1Parental immunity is a doctrine that prevents a minor from suing his or her parents for personal injury. This old doctrine has been completely abrogated by many states or very limited in others.

In a recent article  Daniel Pollack, a professor at the School of Social Work, Yeshiva University, in New York City looks at the case of foster children abused by their biological parents. The children were removed from their biological parents and placed in foster care. Gradually they were allowed to visit their parents. The biological father molested his children during unsupervised visits in plain sight of the mother. Can the children sue their mother for failing to adequately protecting them from personal injury?
Find out in the article.

 

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Are cell phones and other electronic equipment to blame for the recent spike in pedestrian deaths all over America?

GHSA-Pedestrian-3According to a report prepared by by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants for the Governors Highway Safety Association, projected pedestrian traffic fatalities in the US for 2016 increased by 11% compared to 2015 and by 22% compared to 2014.  This is the biggest increase in pedestrian fatalities in 40 years since national statistics started to be recorded. The second biggest increase was recorded in 2015.

Pedestrian deaths represented 11% of all traffic accident deaths in 2006. They now represent 15% of them.

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the truck was making a left turn onto 9th Ave when he hit the bicyclist A bicyclist was hit by a box truck in New York yesterday morning.

The 31 year old woman was riding her bike on East 9th Street around 7:20 am. As she was crossing First Ave she was hit by a box truck.

The box truck was making a left turn from First Ave onto 9th Street when he struck the bicyclist. The woman was pinned under the back wheel of the driver’s side. Witnesses heard her say “I can’t move, I can’t breath”.  Shortly after, emergency responders arrived. They lifted the truck to free the victim. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

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New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben RubinowitzAfter last year’s success, Co-Chairs NYC Personal Injury Lawyers Ben B. Rubinowitz and Jeff S. Korek as well as Hon. Douglas E. McKeon are back with “25 Trial Issues that keep you up in the middle of the night”. This year’s seminar is an informal panel discussion where audience participation is encouraged. Over two evenings, come hear from an elite panel of Trial Attorneys to discuss those items that trial attorneys face during a trial that require fast and strategic thinking. The panel and audience will deal with a large array of perplexing trial topics. Do you have a question? Now is the time to ask.

The first part of this seminar organized by the New York State Trial Lawyer Association already took place on March 28 and the second part will take place on April 4th.

For more information and a list of the key issues addressed during the seminar click here

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NYSTLA will hold a meeting of the Medical Malpractice Committee on April 19th at 6:00 p.m. and should last until 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at NYSTLA Headquarters at 132 Nassau Street Suite 200.

Red Alert!

As you probably know by now, federal legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 1215 would impose severe restrictions on medical malpractice actions and actions against nursing homes throughout the country including a $250,000 cap on awards for non-economic damages as well as other toxic limitations. The bill has already passed committees in the House. It was scheduled to be brought to the House floor on March 29th, 2017, but that has been delayed. It is anticipated, however, that it will still be brought to the floor, and that it has a good chance of passing.

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defective Tic Tac Toe GameA defective child product was recalled Today by Target. If you recently bought the Magnetic Tic Tac Toe Game you should be aware that this game set is defective and extremely dangerous for your children. The magnets can detach from the game pieces and pose a chocking hazard. Additionally if a child swallows more that one magnet, the magnet can attach together and create serious injuries such as intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis and death.

If you owned this game (see picture)  stop using it immediately and contact Target for a refund.

Read more on the CPSC website

 

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An 87 year old pedestrian who was hit by a SUV in New York a few weeks ago died from his injuries yesterday according to the police. The man was crossing Grand Street in the Lower East Side around 6:40 pm on March 7th when he was hit by a SUV.  The pedestrian was first hit by the front bumper. He then slammed into the windshield and collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries 20 days later. Read more in the NY Daily News 

During the winter months when the sun goes down around 4:30 pm in New York, statistics show an increase of 40%  in pedestrian fatalities. Pedestrians killed are mostly seniors. In an effort to reduce these fatalities, Vision Zero launched the Dusk and Darkness Safety initiative last November.  Over the 3-month period of November 2016, December 2016 and January 2017, 39 pedestrians died in car accidents, compared to 46 for the same period a year earlier, 28 for the same period two years earlier and 54 for the same period three years earlier just before the launch of Vision Zero.

If we compare the recent numbers to a year before, statistics show a decline. However if we compare the same numbers to two years before, the number of fatalities increased despite the Dusk & Darkness Safety Initiative. Too many elderly pedestrians are still dying in traffic accidents and more needs to be done to protect them.