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 Truck Accidents

Published on:

By

A 46 year old mother  suffering from multiple sclerosis was fatally struck by a  garbage truck in New York City as she was trying to cross the street with her walker. Last Thursday around 10:30 pm, Alberta Bagu who was using a walker was crossing Broadway mid block between Ditmars Street and Willoughby Avenue in Bushwick , Brooklyn, when a private garbage truck hit her. The truck driver continued on his way without stopping. Later on the police were able to identify the truck and talk to the driver. The driver told the police that he didn’t realize that he struck a pedestrian. Alberta Bagu was found dead at the scene of the accident.  Read more in New York CBS Local. NYC is becoming a dangerous place for pedestrians.

Another pedestrian died a day earlier in Brooklyn as well after she was struck by a driver who lost control of the car while she was making a turn (see NY Daily News).

Published on:

By

Right HookIn 20o9 fatal bicycle accidents represented 1.9% of all traffic deaths in the U.S. In 2013 this number was 2.3%.  Big trucks such as tractor trailers and box trucks as well as garbage and dump trucks represent a small fraction of the traffic but they are involved in a disproportionate amount of the fatal bicycle accidents. As cities are encouraging cycling and walking and create specific bike lanes and other infrastructures, e- commerce also brings more trucks into urban neighborhoods at the same time.

Trucks are extremely dangerous for cyclists and in many of the fatal crashes involving a bicyclist and a truck, the cyclist is first hit by the side of the truck, slides under it and gets crushed under the wheels.  Such crashes happen most of the time when the truck is making a right-hand turn in front of the bike. It is called the Right Hook. Because of the large dead angles, the truck driver often doesn’t see the cyclist riding on its side and the cyclist realized too late that the truck is turning right.

The installation of side guards on trucks is so far the best way to prevent bicyclists and pedestrians from falling under the wheels if they are hit by a truck. So far a few cities including New York have passed legislation to require the use of truck side guards but the approach is piecemeal and bicycle advocates are calling for federal action. Read more in Fair Warning

Published on:

By

Bicycle accidents injuries deaths NYC April 2015A man died in an accident between a bicycle and a truck in New York City. The man who was 57 years old was riding his bicycle at the Corner of Church Ave and Ocean Ave near Prospect Park in Brooklyn when he was struck by a box truck.

According to the police both the cyclist and the truck were riding in the same direction when they collided. The bike rider was run over by the rear wheels of the truck. The police found him with severe trauma to his body and he was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital. Read more in the Mean Streets section of the Brooklyn Paper

For the last two years 3 people died in a bicycle accident in the month of June. Even though the Vision Zero Program includes several measures to protect bicyclists from being hurt or dying in dangerous traffic crashes the recent collision statistics published by the NYPD show no decline in deaths and injuries related to bicycle accidents in New York City.

Published on:

By

verdict002Top 25 verdictLast year, our partners New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Sagir obtained a $8,570,000 verdict for a bicyclist who suffered personal injury after being hit by a bus in New York (see previous blog. This verdict is the 16th highest verdict of all verdicts obtained in New York in 2014. Therefore our firm is honored to be featured this week in the 2014 New York’s Top 25 Verdicts and Settlements section of New York Magazine. This verdict was also was the highest verdict in New York in 2014 for a bicycle accident involving another vehicle.

Since 1919 we have been representing victims of catastrophic injury and we are constantly thriving  to achieve the highest results for our clients and their family in order to help them get back to their life with dignity and independence. A few years ago our New York personal injury law firm obtained a 27.5 million verdict for a female pedestrian who lost her leg after being struck by New York City Transit Authority Bus (see previous blog). Last year, in addition to the above verdict we also obtained a $7,125 million verdict against the City of New York for a woman who was struck by a bus when riding her bike and a $5 million verdict against the Federal Government for a woman who died after being struck by a postal truck (see previous blog).

Published on:

By

New York Personal Injury lawyer Anthony GairA bill that makes it a felony for drivers to kill or injure others while driving without a license was passed yesterday by the New York State Senate. The bill was introduced by state Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) following the death of Noshat Nahian, an 8 year old pedestrian who was on his way to school when he was fatally struck  by a tractor-trailer driven by an unlicensed driver. Our partner, personal injury lawyer Anthony Gair (picture) who is in charge of the case commented: “This is a very important bill and long over due. In this tragic case, all charges against the driver were dismissed except for driving without a licence for which he paid an $85 fine. This is outrageous in a case in which Noshat was in the crosswalk with the right of way and easily visible at the time the tractor trailer turned left striking him. Hopefully the law will also discourage commercial carriers from hiring unlicensed truck drivers.” Read more in the Times Ledger

 

Published on:

By

i - bus driverIn New York every year several pedestrians and cyclists die and many others suffer personal injury after being struck by an MTA Bus. In many of these accidents investigation shows that drivers were negligent and failed to yield or failed to exercise due care.  Since the beginning of the year a few bus drivers were arrested after a new Vision Zero Law made it a misdemeanor for drivers to strike pedestrians or cyclists who have the right of way.  TWU Local 100, the bus drivers Union is against this new law and would like bus drivers to be exempted from it.  This morning TWU local 100 launched a work slow down on 181st Street in Washington Heights between 7:00 am and 9:00 am to protest the law.

The flyers handed out to bus drivers by the Union (see picture) said “DO NOT TURN UNLESS THE INTERSECTION IS CLEAR!”. Isn’t that what bus drivers are supposed to do to keep NYC streets safe?

Read more in the New York Post and on Streetblog

 

Published on:

By

truck rolloverA long awaited NHTSA rule has the potential to decrease by 56% untripped rollover crashes (rollover crashes that are not caused by striking an obstacle or leaving the road) of large trucks and big buses.  This new rule requires that all Class 7-8 trucks and large buses be equipped  with electronic stability control (ESC) system. According to the NHTSA “ESC works instantly and automatically to maintain directional control in situations where the driver’s own steering and braking cannot be accomplished quickly enough to prevent the crash.”

This new rule has been a long time coming. The first recommendation to equip large truck and buses with ESC was issued by the NHTSA in 2011.

Read the press release from the NHTSA

Published on:

By

Tracy_Morgan_5_Shankbone_2009_NYCTracy Morgan and other people who were injured after a Walmart truck crashed into their limo van have reached  a confidential settlement with the retailer.  The children of comedian James ‘Jimmy Mack’ McNair who was killed in the accident, settled a separate lawsuit for $10 million last January.  Our partner, New York personal injury lawyer Howard Hershenhorn, who is regularly quoted by the New York City Press,  told the Daily News that the deal was likely “multiples of that — many, many multiples of that.” He noted that Morgan, Fuqua and Millea have serious injuries they’ll likely deal with the rest of their lives, and that Morgan — who hasn’t worked since the accident — has a strong claim that his injuries have impacted his substantial earning power.  Read more here
Picture: wikipedia

Published on:

By

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:

By

Truck-DriverIf a diabetic truck driver is suddenly impaired by an an episode of hypoglycemia he can potentially loose  control of his vehicle and crash. Hypoglycemia is a condition in which blood glucose drops to a dangerously low concentration and creates symptoms such as blurred vision, shaking, trembling, unclear thinking, fainting, seizure or coma. Too much insulin relative to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low, resulting in hypoglycemia. Drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) usually don’t suffer from these types of episodes and are not considered more dangerous than other drivers as long as their condition is well controlled. However current regulations prohibit truck drivers from operating interstate commercial vehicles unless they obtain an exemption from The FMCSA. The process of obtaining this exemption is costly and time consuming for the drivers and for the FMCSA administration.  A notice of proposed rule making would enable truck drivers with ITDM to obtain a Medical Examiner’s Certificate from a Medical Examiner at least annually in order to operate in Interstate Commerce if the Treating Clinician who is prescribing the insulin for the driver can provide documentation that the truck driver’s diabetic condition is stable and well controlled.

Read more in Trucking Info or read the  complete notice of proposed rulemaking

  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. ...
  5. 15
  6. 16
  7. 17
  8. 18
  9. 19
  10. 20
  11. 21
  12. ...
  13. 27
Badges
Super Lawyers Best Lawyers Martindale-Hubbell
SEE NEW JERSEY DISCLAIMER PAGE- AWARD METHODOLOGY