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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ben1Personal injury attorneys Ben Rubinowitz  and Doris Cheng are the directors of a new training program designed by the  National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Entitled “NITA Drills: a Witness Examination Boot Camp”, this rapid-fire 3-day program will take place June 19th thru June 21st 2017 at the NITA Education Center in Boulder, CO.

Taught by highly experienced trial lawyers, this program will focus on direct examination of of  witnesses, including impeachment and expert witness variations, as well as methods for delivering openings and summations. Using NITA’s method of learning by doing and limiting the enrollment to 24 people, this program will allow each participant to take their trial skills to the next level.

To register or to learn more about this program click here

 

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diatracted driving accidents prevention poster

Just is all it takes

In New York Sate, car crashes involving distracted drivers killed 160 people and injured more than 33,000 in 20015 according to a study from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research that was published a few months ago. The study estimates that around 20 to 22% of the fatal car accidents in New York State are related to distracted driving. The problem is not only in New York but all over The United States.  Nationally during the whole year of 2015, 3,477 people died and 391,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents.

April is “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” and during the whole month the National Safety Council (NSC) is campaigning to crack down on this epidemic. The NSC invites organizations and communities to share information about distracted driving. Various material is available to download on their website.

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accident sceneA 25 year old man died in a car accident in New York City around 4:00 am this morning. The man was riding a car driven by a 22 year old driver who may have been drunk or high according to the police. The car had  a Taxi & Limousine Commission license plate. So far it is not clear if the passenger knew the driver or if he was a customer.

As he was attempting to exit the Bronx River Parkway at East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx, the driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a concrete wall. Speed may have been a factor contributing to the accident as well.

Both the driver and the passenger where rushed to the hospital. The passenger didn’t survive. The driver is in critical condition.

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A 21 year old man died and several other people were injured in a car accident in NYC last Saturday night.

Around 8:30 pm, 37 year old Terrance Smith was driving his car on Powell Street in Brooklyn, NYC. He was speeding while at the same time arguing with his passenger.  As he approached the intersection of Glenmore Ave in Brownsville he hit 21 year old Michael Joefield who was rollerblading in the street.  The impact of the accident was so violent that the roller-blades were ejected from Michael’s feet and flew into the window of a nearby van.

Michael’s body got stuck under Terrance’s car but he didn’t stop. He continued on his way dragging the body under his car and slamming into two others vehicles and into a stop sign.

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accident sceneA pedestrian was critically injured after an out of control SUV jumped the curb last Friday afternoon in Queens, NYC. The driver of the SUV was an elderly man who just came out of an appointment at a radiology center on Steinway Street in Astoria. His SUV was parked in front of the radiology center. As he was pulling out of the parking space, the driver suddenly accelerated. He mounted the sidewalk, hit the pedestrian violently and crashed into the wall of the radiology center. When the doctor came out he recognized his patient. The patient told the doctor that the accelerator pedal got stuck on the floorboard. The pedestrian was critically injured and was bleeding from the head. The driver also suffered serious injury. They were both transported to the hospital.

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A young pedestrian was critically injured in a truck accident in New York City last Thursday around 1:00 pm. The 11 year old girl was in a crosswalk and had the right of way when she was run over by a box truck . The driver, 51 year old Douglas Watson of Maryland, was stoned behind the wheels. He hit the young girl as he was making a left turn from Wythe Ave onto Rutledge in Brooklyn. The girl fell on the ground and the driver ran over her body with the front left wheel. The young pedestrian suffered a collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen and very bad injuries to her torso. She was rushed to the emergency room in critical condition. The driver was arrested by the police. The police found out that the man had one prior sealed arrest in New York City and that he was driving with a suspended licensed. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle failure to yield and failure to exercise due care.

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Daniel-Pollack-1Parental immunity is a doctrine that prevents a minor from suing his or her parents for personal injury. This old doctrine has been completely abrogated by many states or very limited in others.

In a recent article  Daniel Pollack, a professor at the School of Social Work, Yeshiva University, in New York City looks at the case of foster children abused by their biological parents. The children were removed from their biological parents and placed in foster care. Gradually they were allowed to visit their parents. The biological father molested his children during unsupervised visits in plain sight of the mother. Can the children sue their mother for failing to adequately protecting them from personal injury?
Find out in the article.

 

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the truck was making a left turn onto 9th Ave when he hit the bicyclist A bicyclist was hit by a box truck in New York yesterday morning.

The 31 year old woman was riding her bike on East 9th Street around 7:20 am. As she was crossing First Ave she was hit by a box truck.

The box truck was making a left turn from First Ave onto 9th Street when he struck the bicyclist. The woman was pinned under the back wheel of the driver’s side. Witnesses heard her say “I can’t move, I can’t breath”.  Shortly after, emergency responders arrived. They lifted the truck to free the victim. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

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New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben RubinowitzAfter last year’s success, Co-Chairs NYC Personal Injury Lawyers Ben B. Rubinowitz and Jeff S. Korek as well as Hon. Douglas E. McKeon are back with “25 Trial Issues that keep you up in the middle of the night”. This year’s seminar is an informal panel discussion where audience participation is encouraged. Over two evenings, come hear from an elite panel of Trial Attorneys to discuss those items that trial attorneys face during a trial that require fast and strategic thinking. The panel and audience will deal with a large array of perplexing trial topics. Do you have a question? Now is the time to ask.

The first part of this seminar organized by the New York State Trial Lawyer Association already took place on March 28 and the second part will take place on April 4th.

For more information and a list of the key issues addressed during the seminar click here

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accident scene1 person died and two people were injured in a truck accident in New York early Monday morning.  Around 2:20 am, 23 year old Sandhu Simranjeet Singh from Durham, NC was driving a tractor-trailer, heading west on the Cross Bronx Expressway. As he was near the George Washington Bridge he lost control of his truck and slammed into a car. He then fled the scene of the accident leaving behind him 3 critically injured people. The reckless drunk truck driver was later caught by the police near the Vince Lombardi Rest Stop. He was arrested and charged with drunk driving.  The 3 occupants of the car had to be pulled out of the mangled vehicle by the emergency responders. They were transported to the hospital. The driver, 25 year old Caeser Contreras, didn’t make it and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The two other passengers who were 28 and 39 years old were in critical condition.