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38 year old Daniel Cabrera was trying to cross Broadway at W 225th street in Marble Hill, NYC, when he was hit by a driver who sped away and left him dying in the street.  Daniel Cabrera is the second pedestrian to die in 3 hit and runs in two days. The deadly accident happened in a very dangerous area located North of the Manhattan bridge.  The area is busy with pedestrians visiting stores and restaurants on both sides of Broadway and cars are often speeding. 450 speeding tickets have been issue in this area since the beginning of the year. The area is prone to accidents. 58 pedestrians were injured last year according to DOT statistics .  Crashstat.org recorded 8 pedestrian deaths and dozens of personal injuries between 1995 and 2009. Read more  in Streetblog

Another pedestrian died in a bus accident this weekend in Brooklyn, NYC. 64 year old Martin Hernandez Tufino was caught under the front wheels of a Freightliner bus that hit him as he was in the crosswalk on Avenue M near Coney Island Ave in Midwood. The bus which was transporting handicapped people was making a right turn when he struck the victim. 12 people were on the bus. None of them were injured. Read more in the NY Daily News 

The driver remained at the scene and the police said that he wasn’t expected to be charged.  In his latest blog, Brad Aaron from Streetblog is questioning why the bus driver wouldn’t be charged as Tufino had presumably the right of way. Under the Right of way Law that took effect in August 2014 drivers who are injuring or killing pedestrians because they failed to yield are supposed to be charged with misdemeanor and punished by a fine or up to a month of jail.

Illustration: Streetblog

9 year old Cooper Stock recently died after being struck by a taxi. His uncle, Barron Lerner in a column for the New York Times explains why he believes that reckless drivers should be treated as criminals just like drunk and drugged drivers. Lerner who is a professor of medicine and population health at New York University, is also the author of “One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900” . Lerner compares reckless driving these days to drunk driving prior to 1980. He says that reckless driving “is poorly defined in the law, sometimes poorly investigated by police and almost never results in a criminal charge”.

The car accident that killed Angel Figueroa, a 74-year-old Bronx resident, last month was the latest of many other accidents on Tremont Ave near Westchester Square in the Bronx New York.

At a recent presentation in front of the Community Board 10, the NYC DOT highlighted that between 2007 and 2011 traffic accidents in this area resulted in 149 motor vehicle passengers injuries, 30 pedestrian injuries and 4 bicycle injuries. During the presentation the DOT proposed a list of measures that would make the area safer and prevent future car accidents. This proposal was accepted on Monday by the Community Board 10 and work will begin next spring.

In their most recent Article on Cross Examination, Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan discuss comparative approaches to that part of the trial in which witnesses are often confronted with inaccurate statements based on dishonesty or mistake.Cross examination, if done properly, can disclose those facts. Too often, lawyers fail to take advantage of details that can make or break the case. In this article, the authors discuss when to use an aggressive approach on cross and when to use a friendly, even tempered approach to prove dishonesty or mistake and maximize argument for summation.

http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202575819706&CrossExamination_Comparison_of_Different_Approaches&slreturn=20120927104112

On Saturday, Septenber 15, 2012 our Partner, Ben Rubinowitz will speak on “Trial Practice” as part of the Flagship Decisions Program sponsored by the New York State Trial Lawyers Institute.

The Decisions Program is designed for practicing lawyers who are interested in learning about the most up to date aspects of Personal Injury Practice. The program is a two part series detailing all aspects of practice from pleadings to appeal. In speaking about the program Ben Rubinowitz stated, “If you are truly interested in helping your practice, this is the program for you. The speakers are experts in the field and will offer insight and practical knowledge that will certainly help you achieve the best result for those who matter most — your clients.”

In recognition of our firm’s skill in handling medical malpractice cases our partner Ben Rubinowitz was asked to be a featured speaker at the 25th Annual MLMIC Risk Management Seminar held in Albany , New York on October 29, 2010. Ben was asked to speak as an advocate for the patient. Ben spoke to more than 125 Risk managers and doctors about common themes in hospital liability cases and how he has handled the high exposure cases.

“I consider it an honor to be asked to lecture to the very people who are often my adversaries,” said Ben “and I like to think it that we were asked to participate in this seminar based on the extraordinary results we achieve on behalf of out clients.” Joining Ben as speakers at the seminar were Dr. Kathy N. Shaw, the Chair of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, Fay Rozovsky of the Rozovsky Group and Nancy E. May Skinner, Esq. of Fager & Amsler.

This program sponsored by The Association of The Bar of the City Of New York will be held on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:00 am – 9:15 am at The New York City Bar, 42 West 44th Street, Stimson Room.

The program will focus on various aspects of litigating medical malpractice cases, with attention to pitfalls of practice and other insights, all as viewed from the perspective of an experienced trial judge and two seasoned practitioners. The distinguished panel will consist of The Honorable Douglas E. McKeon, J.S.C. and two members of the medical malpractice bar, Ben B. Rubinowitz, Esq., Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, and Glenn W. Dopf, Esq., Kopff, Nardelli & Dopf, LLP. Justice McKeon will serve as speaker and moderator.
To register click here.

Our partner, Jeffrey B. Bloom, was recently quoted in New York Newsday about the proposed legislative changes to New York’s Medical Malpractice Insurance laws.

Mr. Bloom said that the administration proposed giving doctors a 6 to 7 percent reduction in premiums, establishing new patient safety provisions, helping the handful of malpractice insurers take excess liability off their books, and re-establishing an assessment so all the state’s property and casualty companies would support the malpractice high-risk pool, not just those few writing malpractice insurance.

However, with the collapse of the financial market and troubles at insurance giant AIG, the program bill was put on hold.