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.

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The NYPD are actively looking for five negligent hit and run drivers who killed a bicyclist as well as two pedestrians and injured two other pedestrians.

The first accident took place Sunday morning in the Bronx around 1:30 am. 63 year old Jose Contreras was attempting to cross Webster Avenue at the intersection of 175th street when he was struck by a grey SUV. The driver never stopped. The victim who had just attended his sister’s birthday at a nearby catering hall was found by his son. He suffered severe trauma and was rushed to the hospital. He didn’t survive. The police are looking for a 2001-2006 gray suburban Cadillac Escalade. More information about the accident can be found on the ABC7NY website.

The second accident occurred less than an hour later in Queens, NYC.  A 22 year old woman was crossing Guy R. Brewer Boulevard at 118th Road in South Jamaica when she was hit by a silver minivan. The driver never stopped. The police found the young pedestrian unconscious on the ground. She was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with critical head trauma.

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Cumberland Farm Convenince Store43 year old Kimmy Dubuque was about to enter a Cumberland Farms convenience store when she was fatally pined against the store wall by an out of control SUV.  The car accident happened in Chicopee, Mass, the hometown of the victim in 2010. Yesterday, the Dubuque family was awarded $32.4 million plus interest by a Massachusetts jury in a case that highlights the high frequency of storefront crashes and the negligence ofCumberland Farms in failing to protect clients from dangers they were previously aware of.

Cumberland Farms is a privately held chain of convenience stores and gas stations spread all over the state of Massachusetts. The Dubuque family sued Cumberland Farm on the basis that despite many previous issues with cars speeding in their parking lot, Cumberland  Farms failed to install safety barriers and bollards which are a common safety fixtures in retail parking lots.  The lawsuit revealed that the fatal accident was far from being an isolated event. According to records submitted during the lawsuit, between 2000 and 2009 there were 485 similar incidents at Cumberland Farms convenience stores. This is almost one incident every week.  Lawyers for the family produced evidence that Cumberland Farms had looked into the issue and found that the best way to protect their customers would be to install arrays of 6-inch-wide bollards in front of their stores. This would cost $3000 to $3500 per store. The company picked narrower posts and thinner steel to reduce costs. Additionally this protection was only installed in half of the locations.

Storefront car crashes are common crashes. Fair Warning reports that 7-eleven had more than 1500 incidents in seven years and that similar incidents occur frequently at Starbucks and Dunkin Donut locations.  There are no official statistics about this phenomenon but according to Fair Warning at least 16 people (employees or customers) died and at least 587 suffered personal injury including 121 who were seriously hurt between April 2013 and April 2014. Most of these crashes could have been prevented if the owners had installed bollards or other type of safety barriers in front of their stores. These types of safety measures usually cost less that $10,000.

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Polack and LernerIn a recent article, Daniel Pollack, a professor at the School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York and Jonathan G. Lerner look at the progressive deinstitutionalization of  individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in favor of community-based services. While some are pleased with the progressive closings of developmental centers others believe that some patients are not fit for community based services and would fair better in an institution.

The article looks at the following subjects:

  • Recent deinstitutionalization trends and services available now for  individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
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The police are looking for a hit and run driver who killed a teen pedestrian Tuesday night in Queens, NYC.  The accident happened on Northern Blvd near Junction Blvd. 17 year old Jaremello Ovidio was crossing the road when he was hit by the car. The driver didn’t stop. The teen was left dying in the street. He was walking home from a funeral when he was hit by the car. The police are looking for a black Toyota Camry that was driving westbound on Northern Blvd around 11:00 pm on Tuesday night.

So far this year there were 38,000 hit and run accidents in New York City. 31 people died in these accidents and 4000 suffered personal injury.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Last Thursday an 84 year old woman was killed in a bus accident in Queens, NYC, and the driver just sped away. Earlier during the week another victim was killed by a hit and run bus driver in New York City (see previous blog). This particular accident happened at the busy intersection of Main Street and Kissena Boulevard in Flushing around 8:30 pm. 84 year old Aglaia Goularis was crossing the street when a white Skyliner charter bus that was on its way to Foxwoods Casino struck her. She suffered severe body trauma and was declared dead at the scene of the accident. The driver didn’t stop but he was later identified by the police. Read more in the New York Post.

Intersection of Main Street and Kissena Blvd

The intersection of Main Street and Kissena Boulevard in Queens where the deadly bus accident happened

 

 

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A car accident in the Bronx, NYC, left two pedestrians in critical condition, three in stable condition and one with minor injury. The two victims in critical conditions are children according to the FDNY.  The accident occurred Wednesday morning at 7:45 at 229 E. Kingsbridge Road in New York City. A group of children and their mothers were waiting for the school bus on the sidewalk when a Uber driver lost control of his vehicle and went flying onto the sidewalk. A 5 year old boy and his 8 year old sister as well as their mother were crushed under the car. Both children suffered broken legs. The boy also suffers chest trauma and his sister has internal bleeding. Neighbors told the media that the area has  high traffic and a history of speeding problems and that the bus stop should not be positioned at this spot.  Read more and see chilling surveillance video on Streetblog NY 

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Daniel+Pollack-1In a recent article published in Policy & Practice, Daniel Pollack, a Professor at the School of Social Work, Yeshiva University in New York explains why lawsuits against human services agencies are very often settled through mediation.  The article is related to lawsuits against human services agencies but most points can apply to personal injury lawsuits as well. The article provides a detailed definition of  what a mediation is and how it differs from a hearing or an arbitration. Professor Pollack also looks at the benefits of a mediation compared to a trial and refers to specific cases where it is the best alternative for both sides. The article emphasizes the instrumental role of the mediator and what defines a good mediator.

Download the complete article here

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The police are investigating a motorcycle accident that happened on Grand Central Parkway in Queens, NYC.  32 year old Adolso Espinal was riding his bike west on Grand Central Parkway near 165th Street in Jamaica, when he hit a bump and was thrown from his bike onto the parkway. He was then struck by another motorist who couldn’t avoid him. Read more in the NY Daily News.

 

 

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FullSizeRenderAfter several pedestrians were injured and a few died in car accidents on West End Avenue, the New York City Department of Transportation installed mid-avenue islands at two dangerous intersections and narrowed the avenue from four lanes to two in mid-November last year.  Since then, data from the NYPD show a significant decrease in car accidents at both the intersections of West 95th Street and West 97th Street.  A ban on left turns at both intersections between 7:00 and 9:00 am as well as police reinforcement on West End Ave also helped in reducing the number of crashes.  Cooper Stock and Jean Chambers (see previous blog) who both died on West End Ave before the redesign was implemented, were killed by drivers making a left turn. Both victims were in the crosswalk and had the right of way. John Chambers, Jean’s husband, told DNA Info that the island are making a big difference in protecting pedestrians lives. He said that the islands are slowing down drivers and preventing them from making a dangerous sharp turn. He believes that if the islands had been installed earlier, his wife may still be alive. Read the complete article in DNA Info

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A 50 year old pedestrian was seriously injured after being hit by a bus in Manhattan. 50 year old Devan Snipner was in the crosswalk  when he was struck by a double-decker sightseeing tour bus making a left turn from West 4th Street onto 6th Ave. According to witnesses, one of the pedestrian’s legs got crushed under the bus. Snipner was transported to the hospital in critical condition. According to the Gothamist he is now in stable condition. The driver stayed at the scene and so far hasn’t been charged. The police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

Bus accident location

Picture courtesy of Google Map: the pedestrian was crossing on 6th Ave when the bus coming from West 4th made a left turn and hit him

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