Personal Injury

Published on: September 11, 2017

Injured on 9/11? Now what?

9 11 injured survivors So many people died and so many people were injured on 9/11 in New York. Despite healing some survivors are still struggling. Some physical injuries have healed but psychological trauma remains. Many survivors have seen their consumption of alcohol increase. Many of them struggle financially. They feel socially isolated. Some of them have deep psychological trauma.

Among the 9/11 survivors many of them are volunteer workers who just came to help without using much protection. 16 years later some healed but others are still struggling. A study entitled “Hospitalizations for asthma among adults exposed to the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack” was conducted by the New York City Department of Health and published last June. The study shows that in the decade after the attacks many workers who were exposed to dust and debris resulting from the collapse of the World Trade Center not only continued to suffer from asthma but also from a high rate of co-morbid gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (GERS), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sinus symptoms. The study found that co-morbid conditions, including PTSD and GERS, are associated with an increase in asthma hospitalizations, as are female gender, black and Hispanic race/ethnicity and lower levels of education.

Another study published this year and conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and by The Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University looks at Chronic Diseases. In “Injury, intense dust exposure, and chronic disease among survivors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001“, Howard E. Alper , Shengchao Yu S, Steven D Stellman and Robert M Brackbill found that acute exposure to 9/11 dusts led to significant long term heart and respiratory diseases.

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Published on: September 11, 2017

Confronting the Immigration Bias in Jury Selection

By GGCRBHS&M

New York Personal Injury Attorneys Rubinowitz and Torgan In their Trial Advocacy Column in the New York Law Journal, NYC Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write: “From a procedural point of view, the real goal of jury selection for the trial attorney is to preserve peremptory challenges. In civil cases in New York each side is allowed only three peremptory challenges; however, each side is allowed an unlimited number of challenges for “cause.” This article was written in light of the recent political commentary on immigrant status. It is essential that the trial lawyer confront these issues directly or risk an adverse verdict. Unfortunately, certain political speeches have had the effect of improperly targeting immigrants. This article was written to assist Trial Lawyers to overcome such bias and bigotry.

Read the complete column in the “New York Law Journal”

Published on: September 7, 2017

One critically injured after car crashes into police cruiser in Brooklyn NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

accident scene A sedan crashed into a police cruiser yesterday night in Brooklyn at the corner of Ralph Ave and Macdonough St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The car accident occurred as the driver of the sedan was trying to escape the police.

Yesterday night 19 year old Scott Adam was behind the wheel of a black Sedan. His passenger was 29-year old Marquise Middeltown. After he blew a red light, two police officers approached the car to ask him to pull over. Instead Adam tried to escape but the young driver lost control of his vehicle. He almost hit the two officers and crashed into their cruiser. He was charged Today with reckless endangerment, assault with a vehicle, fleeing police and running a red light. Adam has two prior arrests. His passenger who was critically injured in the accident was charged with illegal weapons possession and reckless endangerment. He has 22 prior arrests.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: September 6, 2017

Leading causes of fatal injuries in the U.S. in 2015

By GGCRBHS&M

How many people die from personal injury every year in the U.S.? What are the leading causes of these injuries? How many were the result of a disease? Were these injuries intentional or not? Every year since 2000 the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide very precises statistics about the type of injuries people suffer in the U.S. They recently released their statistics for 2015 and here are some interesting points:

Among the entire population of the U.S., Heart Disease was the leading cause of death in 2015, followed closely by Malignant Neoplasms. More than 23% of the 2.7 million deaths recorded in 2015 in the US were related to Heart Disease and 22% were due to Malignant Neoplasms.
146,571 people died from Unintentional Injury. This number represents 5.4% of all deaths and is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. just behind Chronic Low Respiratory Disease. Click on the graphs for full size

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Published on: September 5, 2017

6 people injured after driver crashed into NYC laundromat; 2 Pedestrians struck in separate hit and run accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

6 people were injured including 3 seriously in a car accident in Staten Island, NYC on Sunday. A 74 year old driver who was backing out of a parking spot in front of a laundromat, hit the gas instead of the brake and reared back at full speed in the busy laundromat. The storefront was completely destroyed and damages are estimated to be above $20,000. 8 customers were inside the laundromat at the time of the accident. 6 of them were hurt including a pregnant woman who complained she couldn’t feel her legs anymore. She was in a lot of pain according to witnesses. Some of the customers were directly hit by the car and others by the folding tables that came crashing against the washing machines and dryers. The accident was extremely scary. According to the owner of the laundromat it is not the first time that a car crashed into the storefront. Another car crashed into the laundromat last year according to the owner. See video of the accident below and read more in the Gothamist

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Published on: September 5, 2017

25 firefighters injured in 6-alarm fire in Manhattan

By GGCRBHS&M

25 firefighters were injured in a fire in New York. 23 of them had to be hospitalized and 2 of them were treated at the scene of the accident according to AM New York. No civilians were injured. The fire started in the lower level of a large Tribeca commercial and residential building located at the corner of Church and Murray at the end of the afternoon last Friday. The FDNY is still investigating the cause of the fire. According to the Gothamist, the fire was ignited in the kitchen of a restaurant located on the ground floor and quickly spread into the duct work and the rest of the building. Heavy black smoke came out of the building and spread through the financial district. The fire that began as a two-alarm fire turned into a 6-alarm one necessitating 200 firefighters to respond. The Post indicates that the building had 3 unresolved fire safety violations from 8 months ago:

failure to provide a fire-alarm system.
inappropriate fire exit.

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Published on: August 31, 2017

Two people injured in NYC bicycle accidents yesterday;

By GGCRBHS&M

accident scene Two people were seriously injured in bicycle accidents in New York City yesterday. One accident occurred in Brooklyn, the other one in Manhattan. In the first accident, a reckless driver slammed into a bicyclist near the intersection of Washington Ave and Willoughby Ave in Fort Green. The impact was so intense that the bicyclist landed on the hood of the blue four-door Subaru that struck him. He then crashed into the windshield as the driver kept on going. The bicyclist suffered critical injury. He was rushed to the hospital. He is expected to survive. The car was found a few blocks away. The police are still looking for the hit and run driver. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

In the second accident, a NYPD cruiser collided with a bicyclist in Manhattan. The accident occurred near Union Square by the intersection of Fifth Ave and 14th Street. The cruiser was responding to suspicious package alert. According to the police the cruiser was traveling at a low speed in the middle of the street with the siren on when their cruiser struck the bicyclist who was riding in the opposite direction. The 43-year old bicyclist suffered head trauma and was transported to the hospital. He was reported in critical but sable condition.The police cruiser stayed at the scene of the accident. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

Also early this morning a 30-year-old motorcyclist died after crashing into the back of a truck delivering bread. The accident occurred on Broadway near Arion Place under the elevated Subway tracks in Buschwick, Brooklyn. The police are still investigating the exact cause of the accident. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

Published on: August 29, 2017

Preventing ACL injuries in young athletes

By GGCRBHS&M

ACL Injury Knee injury and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury are particularly common among young athletes. As children are heading back to school, parents as well as coaches should be aware that high school athletes are the population the most at risk of suffering ACL injury. Recent studies show that the number of ACL injuries in young athletes has been increasing annually by an average 2.3% over the last 20 years. 16 year old female athletes practicing Basketball, Soccer and Lacrosse have the highest risk of suffering ACL tears followed by 17 year old male athletes practicing Football, Lacross and Soccer. ACL injury often requires reconstructive surgery and the recovery takes months.

As young athletes are heading back to school and are getting ready to participate in various sports activity, parents should check with the school or with the coaches if an injury prevention program is included in preseason or season training. According to recent studies these types of programs have proven to be effective in reducing the number of ACL injuries. They usually include plyometric (such as jump training) and balance exercises on top of the traditional strengthening and stretching sessions. For example during such injury prevention programs young athletes are taught how to properly jump and land in positions that reduce the strain on the knee.

To prevent re-injury, ACL Injury Prevention programs should also be incorporated in return-to-sport training after an ACL reconstruction. According to statistics, young athletes who suffered ACL tears have a 91% rate of return to sport however 32% of them will suffer re-injury. Additionally sufficient recovery time is crucial as athletes who return too fast to sport have a high risk of re-injuring themselves.

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Published on: August 29, 2017

Couple killed, daughter injured in NYC fire

By GGCRBHS&M

A couple died and their 17 year old daughter was injured in a home fire in Brooklyn, NYC. 61 year old Howard Gluck and 59 year old Evelyn Gluck as well as their 17 year old daughter were sleeping in their two-story home located on 44th Street between Fort Hamilton Parkway and 12th Avenue in Borough Park, when a fire broke out on the first floor and spread to the second floor around 3:45 am yesterday morning. The FDNY told the media that the fire had probably been going for a while until someone noticed it and called 911. By the time the firefighters arrived, the fire had already engulfed the stairwells. The couple was found unconscious in a back bedroom on the second floor of the house. They were rushed to the hospital but it was too late and they both passed away. Their daughter was found on the roof of the porch and rescued by the firefighters. She suffered injury and was also transported to the hospital to be treated. She is now in stable condition. The daughter survived because she was able to climb out to a first floor landing before being rescued by the firefighters.

The Glucks had been living in their house for nearly 40 years. They were the first Jewish family to move into the neighborhood and beloved members of a tight knit community. Everybody was in shock yesterday in the neighborhood. Maureen Weiner, who had been living in the house next to them for almost 40 years as well was devastated by the news. She said they were the nicest people.

138 firefighters were called to the rescue to keep the blaze under control and make sure it didn’t spread to neighboring houses. 3 firefighters also suffered minor injury in the exercise of their duty. According to the fire marshals the fire was accidental and caused by “careless cooking/grill”. There were no smoke detectors installed in the house.

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Published on: August 28, 2017

10 injured in firetruck accident in New York City

By GGCRBHS&M

A FDNY truck crashed into two cars in New York City on Saturday injuring 7 people including a child. The accident occurred in Queens at the intersection of Booth Memorial Ave and Kissena Blvd. The fire truck was on its way to a fire in Flushing and its sirens were on. The fire truck hit a Lexus SUV. The Lexus SUV then ricocheted into a Mercedes SUV. The Mercedes flipped over on its side. A total of 10 people were injured in the firetruck crash. 7 of them were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Among them a child and an adult were critically injured. 3 other people including a firefighter were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the accident.

According to a study, there are around 30,000 firetruck crashes every year in the U.S. Firetruck crashes are also the second leading cause of death of on-duty firefighters. In New York City alone, there are between 20 and 40 crashes every month.