Personal Injury

Published on: August 22, 2022

Peter Saghir and Ben Rubinowitz served as faculty at the 2022 Legal Services Advocacy Program in New York

Last week our partner Peter Saghir and our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz served as faculty at the American Bar Association (ABA) Litigation Section and National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Legal Services Advocacy Program held in New York City. This program offers free two-day intensive trial advocacy training to attorneys who do not usually have access to this type of training.

During the workshop, Peter and Ben volunteered their time to train lawyers in the art of trial advocacy who work at various services for indigent clients including Prisoners Legal Services of New York, The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Bronx legal services, Queens legal services, The Urban Justice Center, The Brooklyn defender services, The Federal Public Defender, and Staten Island legal services.

Published on: August 22, 2022

Drunk driver critically injure 3 pedestrians in New York City

By GGCRBHS&M

3 pedestrians are in critical condition after a drunk driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into them in Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC.

The accident occurred around 4:20 am early Saturday morning at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and 86th Street. A video surveillance shows the 3 young men aged 25, 28 and 32, chatting at the corner of the intersection of the two streets when suddenly a SUV traveling at a high rate of speed lost control of his vehicle as he was trying to pass another car and slammed into the pedestrians.

The 23 year old driver of the SUV was taken into custody and is expected to be charged with DWI.

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Published on: August 18, 2022

9 of our personal injury attorneys named “Best Lawyers” and 4 named “Ones to Watch” in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America

By GGCRBHS&M

Congratulations to the 13 attorneys at our New York Personal Injury Law Firm who have been included in the 2023 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America:

BEST LAWYERS New York, NY 2023

- Marijo C. Adimey (listed for the first time in 2016)

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Published on: August 15, 2022

Ben Rubinowitz to be a faculty member at “Case Framing: How to Identify and Prove Good “I Just Can’t Get Over” Issues, and How to Overcome Bad Ones” Webinar

By GGCRBHS&M

Come to listen to our partner Ben Rubinowitz and other trial legends including Mark Mandell, Judy Livingston, Paul Luvera and Danielle Mason as they discuss the Case Framing theory and give you guidance on identifying issues that jurors “just can’t get over,” proving good issues, and overcoming bad issues. You’ll learn about the science behind case framing, how to adjust your discovery, and turning seemingly negative facts into facts that work to your advantage.

This webinar organized by the American Association for Justice will take place on Thursday, September 29,2022 between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm with the following Agenda:

Welcome Announcements

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Published on: August 10, 2022

To reduce truck accidents in New York City, the NYC DOT and Vision Zero launches the TRUCK SMART Campaign

By GGCRBHS&M

While trucks remain essential in new York City, they pose a serious risk to other road users in particular to pedestrians and cyclists. According to statistics, 67% of truck accidents involving a cyclist or a pedestrian result in serious injury or death.

The largest the truck, the most dangerous it is

Large blind angles can hide pedestrians and cyclists when they stand in front or on the side of a truck. Additionnally the heaviest a truck is, the longest it will take for the truck to stop.

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Published on: August 5, 2022

A 5 year old girl and a 36 year old girlfriend were killed while the dad was critically injured in E-bike battery fire in Harlem, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

An e-bike battery explosion caused a deadly fire in Harlem, NYC, inside NYCHA’s Jackie Robinson Houses.

5 year old Erika Williams was sleeping in a an apartment with her dad Erik Williams and his 36 year old girlfriend Chanise Anderson when a little after 2:30 am on Wednesday morning, the lithium battery of an e-bike stored next to the apartment entrance door exploded and created a fire.

The fire and heavy smoke prevented the toddler and the girlfriend to escape while the father covered in flames ran into the hallway screaming for help. He is still in the hospital in critical condition. The 5 year old girl and the girlfriend both died. 3 dogs also died in the fire.

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Published on: August 2, 2022

E-bike rider critically injured after being side-swiped by a SUV

By GGCRBHS&M

An 18 year old man was critically injured in an e-bike accident in the Bronx, NYC. The accident occurred on Saturday morning on Schley Avenue near the Throggs Neck Houses NYCHA complex. The young man who was was riding his e-bike on the sidewalk changed paths and moved onto the roadway when he got side-swiped by the SUV. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where he is still struggling for his life. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He was questioned by the police and was not charged. (reads more in AMNY)

Micro-mobility device users need to be better protected in the Bronx

While the police do not suspect any criminality, the accident clearly highlights that infrastructures protecting cyclists and pedestrians alike are still missing in the Bronx, especially in family housing areas where it is expected that young people are riding their bikes around. Compared to Manhattan and Queens where 75% of the protected bike lanes are installed in the city, only 6% of the bike lanes are installed in the Bronx, even though an equal percentage of residents use micro-mobility devices in every borough. Every New Yorker should be equally protected while they ride their bike, e-bike or e-scooter.

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Published on: August 2, 2022

NYC Speed cameras on 24/7 starting August 1st, 2022

By GGCRBHS&M

In an effort to reduce car accident fatalities and serious injuries in New York City, more than 2000 speed cameras located in 750 school zones throughout the 5 boroughs of New York City will be turned on 24/7 365 days a year, starting August 1st, 2022.

Speed cameras that used to be turned on weekdays from 6:00 am to 10:00 am have proven to be one of the most effective ways to reduce speeding in the city. Statistics from the NYC DOT show that speeding was reduced by more than 70% at locations where speed cameras were installed.

With many dangerous crashes caused by speeding occurring at night time and during week-ends, the DOT strongly believes that the new speed camera schedule will help curb these type of crashes.

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Published on: July 27, 2022

Lifeguards inaction at NYC pool almost costed life of a young boy

By GGCRBHS&M

A five year old boy was seriously injured after he nearly drowned at a NYC pool and witnesses are pointing fingers at the lifeguards who remained seated on their chairs while a good Samaritan dove in the pool and saved the child.

The accident occurred last Sunday at the McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn. 37 year old Anthony Torres, a former lifeguard, was enjoying the day at the pool with his family. He was swimming with his sister when he heard a lady screaming about a child drowning. He saw the child lying at the bottom of the pool and immediately dove to pick up the child. As he got the young boy out, he started to scream for help but instead of running to the rescue, lifeguards just stayed seated on their chairs staring at him and not one of them would come down. Anthony took the child out of the water and went to the deck where he put him on the side position in order for the child to be able to evacuate the water out of his body. As water started to pour out of the nose and the mouth of the child, a guard finally arrived and started to perform CPR on the child.

The boy was unconscious and it took at least 3 minutes until he opened his eyes and started to breath normally again. More lifeguards then arrived as well as the police and instead of thanking Anthony Torres for his help, they acted very aggressively toward him and pushed him away, telling him to go home and pretending they were the ones who saved the boy. (see video of witness testimony in the Daily Mail).

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Published on: July 21, 2022

New York auto accident fatalities remained high during the first six months of 2022 while crash injuries stayed lower than before the Covid19 crisis

By GGCRBHS&M

52 pedestrians, 5 cyclists, 27 passengers and 29 motor vehicle operators died in crashes in New York City during the first semester of 2022 compared to respectively 58, 5, 16 and 39 during the first 6 months of 2021. The total number of fatalities comes to 113 for the period under review compared to 118 for the same period a year earlier. While the total number of crash fatalities slightly declined for the first six months of 2022 compared to the first six months of 2021, it remains much higher than any other years since Vision Zero started. Pedestrian fatalities slightly declined, cyclists fatalities remained stable and while drivers fatalities were less, passenger deaths hit a record high.

Crash injuries in New York City during the first semester increased from 22,898 in 2021 to 23,963 in 2022. While the increase is significant it remains below the number of injuries reported before the covid19 crisis. Pedestrian injuries went up from 3,128 to 4,005 as well as passenger injuries from 5,492 to 7,361. Cyclist injuries declined from 2,303 to 2,027 and driver injuries as well from 10,975 to 10,570.

New York Pedestrian fatalities remain above 50 during the first six months of the year

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