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 Personal Injury

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Spinal%20Cord%20Injury.jpgAfter a spinal cord injury, the assumption that it takes years for degenerative changes in the spinal cord and the brain to happen is incorrect. A study from the University of Zurich, Uniklinik Balgrist, and University College London (UCL), demonstrates that anatomical changes in the spinal cord and brain above the injury site may occur within 40 days of acute spinal cord injury.

The researchers followed 13 patients with acute spinal cord injuries and used a new type of neuroimaging protocol that can measure the extent of tissue loss in the spinal cord and the brain. Because they can display the effects of spinal cord injury treatments on the central nervous system, new neuroimaging protocols will also be extremely valuable in clinical trials of new treatments.

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In order to prevent teen car crashes and personal injury, an innovative online program focuses on improving frontal lobe execution functions such as self-regulation or impulse control so that young drivers can achieve insight about driving risks and improve their driving skills.

The frontal lobe of the brain is not fully developed until the age of 25 and young drivers need specific help. With this concept in mind, Dr Robert Isler, PhD, an associate professor of Psychology at The University of Waikato in New Zealand, created eDrive, an online interactive driver training program that takes drivers on a trip through New Zealand while teaching them specific driving skills.

Read more about it in this interesting blog from Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD from the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

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deck%20inspection.pngIf porches and decks are not maintained properly the weather changes and the exposure to elements can put them at risk of collapse and proprety owners can be held responsible for personal injury that may occur in the event of an accident . For this reason the NYC Building department just launched its annual no-penalty deck and porch inspection program.

New Yorkers who own a property can call 311 during the entire month of July to ask for a free inspection. Inspectors will make sure that deck and porches are structurally sound and will look for cracks, rotting, failed connections or any other signs that could lead to a collapse.

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A boozed up 20 year old driver was going 120 mph when he lost control of his car and slammed into the guardrail on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, New York early Saturday. Two of the passengers died and two others suffered injury and were taken to the hospital. The driver suffered minor injuries and was booked for several charges including manslaughter, assault and criminally negligent homicide according to the New York Daily News

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reverse%20vending%20machine.JPG A 46 year old employee of the Flatbush Ave. Stop & Shop in Brooklyn was severely injured while cleaning a bottle machine return (reverse vending machine). As he was trying to reach for some glass in the machine, his hand got trapped and badly mutilated by the machine.
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In the State of New York, chain retailers selling packaged drinks are required by law to have two reverse vending machines installed on the premises of each of their locations.

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A 68 year old man was riding his bike on Sixth Ave in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York when he was hit by a truck. After the accident, the driver stepped out of his truck and looked around and drove away from the scene leaving the victim to die according to the New York Daily News. The driver told the police that he didn’t know that he hit anyone and that he had stopped to ask directions.

Brooklyn is New York’s deadliest place for fatal traffic accidents. In 2011 (most recent statistics available), 79 people died in car crashes in Brooklyn compared to 45 in Manhattan, 65 in the Bronx and 67 in Queens.

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Prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injury among adolescents may be much higher than previously known according to an innovative study that focuses on 7-12 grades students and include all self-reported TBIs. Previous studies have been mostly based on hospital records leaving many head injuries uncounted because they were not reported to parents, teachers, sports coaches or health care workers.

The study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health contains responses from almost 9,000 students from Grades 7-12 in publicly funded schools across Ontario and is published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The report shows that approximately half of traumatic brain injuries happened during sport activities and also links alcohol and cannabis consumption as well as low grades to a higher risk of traumatic brain Injury.

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meningitis.jpg745 people have been infected and 58 have died from an outbreak of fungal meningitis associated with epidural steroid injections between september 2012 and June 2013 according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The contamination was traced to more than 17,000 vials from three contaminated lots of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) packaged and marketed by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. Doses from these lots were distributed to 75 medical facilities in 23 states, and administered to approximately 14,000 patients after May 21 and before September 24, 2012.

A new report published in the September issue of The American Journal of Pathology, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examines 40 cases including 16 fatalities. The report indicates that all except two fatal cases had a clinical diagnosis of meningitis. Tissue specimens from infected individuals showed inflammation of the leptomeninges and blood vessel walls within the brain. Autopsy examination showed extensive hemorrhage and necrosis around the base of the brain and clots involving the basilar arterial circulation.

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Drug-induced liver injury (also called DILI or drug-induced hepatotoxicity) is a significant cause of personal injury and wrongful death in many patient populations. According to a study published in in the June issue of Gastroenterology induced liver injury is caused in 75% of cases by a single prescription, in 16% of cases by a dietary supplement and in 9% of cases by multiple agents.

The population based study performed in Iceland, demonstrated that the incidence of DILI was the highest reported to date. Lead author Einar Björnsson, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, presents the study in the video below.

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Side car crash test shows that car occupants are better protected than 10 years ago in severe side crash accidents. See below the new video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.