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 Posted in Auto Accidents

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5 pedestrians died and 696 suffered personal injury in April in New York City compared to respectively 8 and 854 in April 2014 and 12 and 904 in April 2013.  Pedestrian fatalities have been declining since the beginning of this year and reached their lowest in April. The total number of pedestrian fatalities since the beginning of the year was 28 compared to 39 for the same period of 2014 and 55 for the same period of 2013.  Since the beginning of the year there was also a decrease in the number of pedestrians who suffered personal injury in a traffic accident in NYC.Pedestrian deaths and injuries NYC April 2015

2 people died and 300 were injured in a total of 300 bicycle accidents in New York City in April compared to respectively 1, 306 and 382 in April 2014 and 0, 288 and 358 in April 2013.  The number of cyclists fatalities and injuries remains elevated in the City.

Bicycle accidents injuries deaths NYC April 2015
Even though there was an unusually high number of 10 motorist deaths last April the total number of traffic fatalities in New York City since the beginning of the year is down compared to the same periods of 2014 and 2013.

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BeforeAndAfterMINICooperSHalf a million people suffered personal injury and 1,700 died in more than 1.7 million rear-end vehicle accidents in 2012 in the US. Many of these accidents could have been avoided or at least mitigated if vehicles were equipped with collision warning systems paired with active braking systems according to a new Special Investigation Report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) entitled “The Use of Forward Collision Avoidance Systems to Prevent and Mitigate Rear-End Crashes“.  In the report the NTSB demonstrates the efficiency of such systems and criticizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for not doing enough and being to slow in implementing performance standards for these technologies. The  report also notes that manufacturers have too little incentive to add these technologies to their new vehicles.

Picture: before and after a rear-end crash courtesy of Wikipedia

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Jeffrey BloomNew York Car Accident Lawyer Jeffrey B. Bloom will be speaking on “Taking a Meaningful Deposition in an Auto Accident Case” tomorrow  June 10th at the “Automobile Litigation Update 2015 : Keeping Current in New York” Seminar presented by the New York State Bar Association. This seminar will take place at the CUNY Graduate Center, at 365 Fifth Avenue in New York from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. For those who can not attend in person there will be an option to follow the program on a live webcast however newly admitted attorneys must attend the program in person to receive New York MCLE credit.

Trying or resolving a motor vehicle case requires an understanding of the latest developments and trends in automobile tort law. Designed to familiarize attorneys with the intricacies of automobile litigation in New York State, this seminar will include an overview of the latest developments in underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage, accident reconstruction and the use of biomechanical experts. Experienced practitioners will provide practical information you can use to prepare an automobile claim from the claim stage through discovery and trial. Coverage issues impacting automobile litigation will be also be discussed. The program also includes a segment on ethical considerations.
To learn more about this program or to register click here
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Right of WayLowering the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on Prospect Park West may have saved the life of 5 year old Roark Bennett who was hit by a car at the exact same spot where 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein was fatally struck by a car two years earlier.  After the death of her son, Amy Cohen became a Vision Zero activist and successfully campaigned to lower the speed limit on Prospect Park West from 30 mph to 25 mph.  Yesterday when Roark Bennett escaped from his parents and ran out in the street against the light, the driver who hit him was travelling at the speed limit and thankfully Roark suffered only minor injuries.  Read more in the NY Daily News

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Every day in New York  City pedestrians and other road users are endangered by reckless drivers who are running red lights.  A study just released by Hunter College indicates that nearly one out of 10 motorists don’t follow the most basic rule of the road.  Lead by Professor Peter Tuckel of Hunter’s sociology department, the study analyzes the behavior of 3,259 motorists at 50 different intersections in New York City. The intersections are all within a few blocks from subway stations.

A total of 283 drivers were caught ignoring red lights. Half of them didn’t even reduce their speed. 85 of them ran the red light as they were turning.

The intersection of Gates and Evergreens Avenues in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC, was the most dangerous of all intersections analyzed during the study followed by W50th and Seventh Ave in Manhattan and New Lots and Miller Avenues in Brooklyn.

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34 year old Ashmeade Rohan died in a motorcycle accident in Brooklyn, New York City, yesterday night around 9;30 pm. Ashmeade and a 20 year old female passenger were riding North on Rockaway Parkway In Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, when he collided with a car making a left turn on Avenue J. The two bikers were ejected from the motorcycle. Ashmeade was severely injured and died later on at the hospital while his passenger suffered only minor injuries. The driver of the car wasn’t hurt. Read more in the New York Daily News. Vehicles making left turns in front of motorcycles are one of the most, if not most common cause of motorcycle accidents. Having ridden since I was a teenager I always am extra alert when entering intersections for vehicles about to turn left. Another word of advise if you are older and want to start riding, take intensive lessons and don’t make a Harley your first bike. Rule number one, your first Bike should be one that matches your capabilities. If you are over 40 and riding for the first time, a Harley does not. Nor does a racing bike. Make a shaft driven bike no more than 750cc’s your first one.

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61 year old Robert Ray who served 10 years in prison after admitting he was drunk when he crashed a train in Union Square in 1991 was hit by a car and suffered critical personal injury as he was crossing The Grand Concourse from east to west at E.182 St  in the Bronx last Thursday night. The driver sped off and disappeared in the night. Police who don’t have a description of the car haven’t made an arrest. Read more in the NY Daily News

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A 35 year old pedestrian was in critical condition after he was hit by a car driven by a 44 year old retired police officer who was drunk. The retired NYPD cop crashed into the pedestrian as he was turning off the Henry Hudson Parkway onto Broadway near W. 254th street in the Bronx, NYC. He remained at the scene of the accident and was taken into custody for drunk driving. The pedestrian was rushed to the hospital in grave condition.

Every month in New York City, there are more than 100 vehicle accidents related to drunk driving. This number reached a peak of 235 in September 2014, went back down below 150 at the beginning of the year and was again above 150 in March 2015.

car accidents alcohol NYC

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A 42 year old man died in a horrible bicycle accident in New York.  Yesterday night, around 11;30 pm, New York Court State Officers saw a silver Mercedes Benz sedan running a red light North of the Third Avenue Bridge in the Bronx. The Court Officers put on their flashing lights to stop the Mercedes but the driver sped off and and as he tried to make a turn on E.129th street he hit the bicyclist. The driver and the two passengers ran out of the car and disappeared leaving the cyclist dying on the road. The police are still looking for the three men.

 

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An elderly woman suffered personal injury after she lost control of her car and crashed into a doctor’s office in Long Island, NY. The auto accident was caught on tape by a camera that was previously installed by the doctor who got fed up after two other drivers previously slammed into the doctor’s office and fled the scene.  The tape shows the car barreling across the roadway barely missing another car and hitting the fence at full speed before ending up in the medical building owned by the doctor. The elderly woman was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The police are still investigating  the cause of the car accident.