Personal Injury

Published on: May 20, 2015

Takata admited that its airbags were defective and agreed to double the number of cars recalled in the US, making it the largest auto recall in American history

One in seven vehicles on American roads may have defective airbags that can potentially severely injured or even killed passengers as they violently deployed and send shrapnel flying into the car passenger’s compartment. Yesterday after more than 10 years of denial, Takata admitted that his products were defective and agreed to double the number of vehicles recalled in the Unites States to nearly 34 millions.

When a crash happens, pellets of a propellant based on ammonia nitrate are ignited and generate the nitrogen gas that inflates the airbag in a fraction of a second. Takata said manufacturing problems, together with exposure to moisture in cars in humid regions, can cause the propellant to degrade. This can make the propellant burn too strongly when the airbag is deployed, rupturing the inflater and sending metal fragments into the car’s interior and injuring the driver or passengers.

Read more in the New York Times

Published on: May 18, 2015

Premises Liability: a two year old girl died from her injuries after being struck by fallen debris in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A 2 year old girl who suffered severe personal injury yesterday after being hit by falling debris, died Today at the hospital. Greta Greene (facebook picture on the left) was sitting outside with her grand mother when they were both struck by terra-cotta bricks from a window ledge that fell from the 8th floor of the Esplanade Manhattan nursing home at 305 West End Ave in Manhattan.

The toddler lost consciousness and nurses from the nursing home tried to resuscitate her. Her grandmother, 60 year old Susan Frierson, suffered severe leg injuries. They were both transported to the hospital where Greta passed away Today.

A protective scaffolding was erected last night on orders on the Department Of Buildings. The DOB is investigating what caused the ledge to fall. It also issued a violation to the Esplanade Manhattan nursing home for failure to maintain a property in a safe and compliant manner.

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Published on: May 15, 2015

William Rockefeller, the sleep deprived engineer who caused the fatal Metro North Train Accident in New York in December 2013 will not face criminal charges

By GGCRBHS&M

In December 2013 4 people died and 70 others suffered personal injury in a Metro North train accident in New York. The National Transportation Board Investigation found that William Rockefeller the engineer who was operating the train had undiagnosed sleep apnea and nodded off just before taking a 30 mph curve at 82 mph, causing the train to derail. Yesterday the office of Bronx DA Robert Johnson said that Rockefeller will not face criminal charges. Read more here

Published on: May 13, 2015

6 people dead and more than 100 injured in an Amtrak train accident

By GGCRBHS&M

An Amtrak train heading from New York to Washington DC derailed yesterday night in Philadelphia. 6 people died and many the 243 passengers of suffered personal injury and were taken to the hospital. Among the people injured 6 of them were in critical condition. The Amtrak accident happened yesterday night around 9:30 close to Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane near a bend in the track. One of the nation’s deadliest railroad accidents happened in the same spot on Labor Day 1943. A train carrying military service members on leave derailed killing 79 of them and injuring 117. The cause of yesterday’s train accident is still unknown. Speed as well deteriorating infrastructure and aging equipment are among the potential factors to be investigated. Former Congressman Patrick J. Murphy was on board when the accident happened and tweeted the pictures on the left.
Read more about this train accident in the New York Times

Published on: May 12, 2015

Thankfully nobody was injured when a bus from New York exploded on the Massachussets Turnpike

By GGCRBHS&M

A Boltbus that departed from New York to go to Boston exploded on the Massachusetts Turnpike yesterday during rush hours. The bus driver noticed smoke coming out of the bus, pulled over and immediately evacuated the 47 passengers with their belongings. Shortly after the bus exploded and caught fire. The recasons of the explosion are still being investigated.

Published on: May 11, 2015

A woman was injured after she was hit by falling debris in Soho, New York City

By GGCRBHS&M

A woman suffered personal injury after being hit by debris in Manhattan. The woman was in front of a Zara store at 580 Broadway near Prince Street on Friday afternoon when debris fell from above onto her head and knocked her to the ground. According to witnesses, the woman was bleeding from her forehead but she remained conscious. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for trauma.

Read more in DNA Info

Published on: May 8, 2015

51 reports of personal injuries and one death prompt the FDA to announce an urgent Class I Recall of Maquet’s Tiger Paw System II, a medical device used during heart surgery

By GGCRBHS&M

A defective surgical staple used to close tissue in the left atrial appendage of the heart is being recalled by the FDA after reports that patients suffered personal injuries such as tissue tears and bleeding including a possible tear of the left atrial wall (top left chamber) during use of the device. The manufacturer of the defective medical device, Maquet Medical Systems, sent an “Urgent Medical Device Recall (Removal) Immediate Action Required” letter to all affected customers asking them to immediately remove and quarantine the Tiger paw System II from their inventory.

Read the press release from the FDA

Published on: May 7, 2015

In New York City, personal injuries related to motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury resulting in death among children aged 1 to 12 years

By GGCRBHS&M

Personal Injury is the leading cause of death among children 1 to 12 years old in New York City and in the U.S. as well. Between 2003 and 2012 438 NYC children died from injuries according to a new report just published by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. These injuries were primarily related to motor vehicle accidents followed by fire related injuries, suffocation and falls. Most of the children who died after being involved in a traffic accidents were pedestrians.

Most injuries leading to death (65%) were unintentional. Infants between 1 and 2 years old are the most at risk as well as non Hispanic black children of all ages and kids from very poor neighborhoods. Boys have a much higher risk of death from an unintentional injury than girls.

Death related to intentional injuries are more prevalent among infants, in poor neighborhoods. Non Hispanic black kids are the most at risk of dying from an intentional injury.

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Published on: May 5, 2015

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz to lead the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s National Session this summer

By GGCRBHS&M

Our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz and the Honorable Nancy Vaidik, Chief Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals will direct the National Session of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) in Boulder Colorado from July 22nd to July 30 2015. ” Together Rubinowitz and Vaidik have invited some of the best trial lawyers, judges, and professors in the country, all of whom are also some of the best teachers of trial advocacy in the country.” Participants will have the opportunity to use NITA’s learning-by-doing method to practice and perfect their skills in the art of persuasion and trial advocacy with an outstanding faculty. Participants will be personally coached on speaking well by Brian Johnson and Marsha Hunter, authors of “The Articulate Advocate” and communication experts extraordinaire. Students will also have the opportunity to practice and master isolated trial skills in a dedicated drill room.

To read more about this program and to register click here

Published on: April 29, 2015

Our Personal Injury Law Firm obtained the highest verdict for a motor vehicle accident involving a bicycle which is also one of the New York Law Journal’s Top 25 New York Verdicts of 2014

By GGCRBHS&M

Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom & Rubinowitz was featured in the New York Law Journal’s Top New York Verdicts of 2014 for obtaining the highest award for a verdict in a motor vehicle accident involving a bicycle. The case was tried by our Managing Partner Ben B. Rubinowitz, along with our Partner, Peter J. Saghir. The accident involved a 36-year-old woman who was riding her bicycle south on Broadway across East 14th Street when she was struck from behind by a New York City Transit Authority bus which was traveling southbound in the same direction as the plaintiff. After she was struck by the bus she was dragged into the intersection where the right rear wheels of the bus rolled over her legs. The bus driver claimed that he was in the center or left lane at the time of the accident and that the plaintiff suddenly and unexpe NY Personal Injury Lawyers Rubinowitz and Saghir ctedly rode her bicycle across two lanes of traffic from the right lane to the left lane and struck the right side of the bus. The plaintiff contended she was in the right lane as she approached the intersection. It was undisputed that the plaintiff ended up in the left-hand lane of this three lane roadway. The plaintiff suffered a degloving injury to her right leg as well as fractures to the distal tibia and fibula of her left leg. The plaintiff’s entire claim was based on pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. No claims were made for past or future medical expenses or past or future lost earnings. After two days of deliberation, the jury found the New York City Transit Authority at fault and awarded the plaintiff $8,570,000 ($3,250,000 past pain and suffering and $5,320,000 future pain and suffering over 40.9 years).