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 Wrongful Death

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accident scene3 men were struck by a minivan as they were changing a flat tire on a highway. One of them died and the two others suffered serious injury. They were expected to survive. The car accident occurred around 2:00 am this morning on a segment of the New England Thruway in the Bronx, NYC.  After one of their tires broke, 3 men in a car pulled over on a narrow shoulder of the highway. As they were changing the tire, a 52 year old man driving a minivan struck all 3 men. The driver remained at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. Read more in AMNY

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A one year old boy died and six people were injured including two severely in a NYC fire accident yesterday morning morning. The fire started in a three bedroom apartment located on the 13th floor of a building located on Mother Gaston Blvd in Brooklyn NYC. Seven people were living in the apartment. Firemen rescued the bay boy but he died an hour later at the hospital. two other people are still fighting for their life and 4 others were injured but expected to survive. They were all transported to a nearby hospital. Read more in Brownsville Patch

Another fire broke at a new wing of the NYU Langone Hospital in Midtown Manhattan. Nobody was injured as the building was still under construction. Black smoke and massive flames caused by tar burning erupted from the rooftop. The smoke invaded the entire Kips Bay neighborhood. Read more in the NY Daily News

Yesterday 8 people including two firefighters were injured in a fire that erupted in a Bronx two-story houses (see NY Daily News). As the weather is getting colder in the City the number of residential fires has been increasing these last days.

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fatal truck accident locationA woman was fatally struck by a truck in New York on Friday afternoon. The 57 year old pedestrian was crossing 39th Street and 10th Ave when she was hit by a truck. The truck driver was travelling North on 10th Ave and was making a left turn on 39th street (see picture) when the accident happened.  The driver identified as 28 year old Clyburn Rance stayed at the scene of the accident. He was later arrested by the police.  He was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian, failure to exercise due care, and failure to adhere to the highway law.

At the beginning of November, a campaign entitled “Dusk and Darkness” was launched in New York City to inform drivers and pedestrians about the increased risk of accidents during fall and winter darkness. During the 3 months following daylight saving time, twilight sets around 4:30 pm in New York City.  Between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm when most commuters are coming out of work, the streets are already dark. The risk of accidents increases as visibility decreases and a higher number of pedestrians hit the streets of New York City.  Recent statistics show that 6 out of 9 pedestrian accidents during the 3 months following daylight saving times occur after sunset.

The intersection of 10th Ave and 39th street is extremely busy on Friday around 5:00 pm as it is located next to the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey.

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Domino_Sugar_refineryA construction worker fell to his death in New York City on Friday morning around 8:00 am. 59 year old Wilfredo Enrique was working on the facade of  a new residential development when he fell to his death.  Enrique was employed by Two Trees Management and was working on the construction site located on the old site of the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn. After the accident the site was closed and investigators were working on determining the exact cause of the fatal accident.

According to the most recent complaints reported on the NYC Department of Building website, the scaffold didn’t meet the building safety code standard. The worker fell approximately 4 floors from the master climbingwork platform, after Two Trees Management failed to safeguard the platform.  Since the construction started 41 complaints have been filled. The Department of Building issued a total of 27 violations, most of them immediately hazardous. 3 of them were still open at the time of the accident. Among the open violation were the use of rigging equipment by a non licensed rigger and the failure to safeguard all persons and property affected by the construction operations.

The accident occurred just a few weeks after the death of two other NYC construction workers in Queens (see previous blog). According to Union representatives, Enrique is the 29th construction worker who died over the last two years in New York City. The boom in the construction sector in New York has led to an increase in construction jobs in the city. In 2015, the New York Building Congress recorded 138,200 construction jobs, the highest in 40 years.

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Building at 720 Hunts Point2 sisters died from burns after a radiator exploded in their apartment in the Bronx, New York City. 1 year old Scylee Ambrose and 2 year old Ibanez Ambrose were sleeping in their bedroom when a radiator valve blew off. The entire room quickly filled with hot steam. The two girls were rushed to the hospital but they couldn’t be saved.

The explosion occurred wednesday afternoon in a building located at 720 Hunts Point Avenue in the Bronx. The building shelters 5 homeless  families. It is run by the Bushwick Economic Development Corp. As part of a city program called cluster-site, five families are living in this building. The rent is paid by the city until the families can find permanent housing. The cluster-site program has a bad reputation. Many of the units housing families in this program are among the worst maintained and the most poorly monitored properties among all NYC shelters. Last year a report published by the Department of Investigation found “a lot of dangerous conditions at clusters”.

The building in which the accident happened has received 60 complaints form the Department of Buildings.

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constructionLast September we wrote a blog about a third of NYC construction accident deaths not being counted or investigated by the city. After Crain’s reported this continuing problem, Mayor de Blasio acted in a very nonchalant manner and brushed off the issue. Unions workers were outraged by his attitude.

Among the multiple deaths that the city didn’t count or investigate last year was the death of Alton Louis, a construction worker employed by CRV Precast. Alton Louis collapsed and died during the summer of 2015 after the subcontractor failed to implement a heat stress program and had him working a full shift during a day when the temperature reached 105 degrees. CRV precast was cited by OSHA for the death of the construction worker, but neither the NYC Department of Buildings nor the NYC Department of Investigation investigated the company. CPR was fined $6,300 by OSHA for the death of Alton Louis while the City looked the other way.

Two weeks ago, two construction workers died in Queens (see previous blog). Crain’s reported that one of these construction workers was employed by CVR Precast. The other hard hat who died worked for a firm subcontracted by CVR Precast.

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accident sceneMore Pedestrians and Bicyclists have been killed in car accidents in NYC at this point in 2016 than in 2015. Through November 20th 124 pedestrians have been killed. 17 bicyclists have also suffered fatal injuries. For the same time period in 2015 115 pedestrians were involved in fatal accidents and 14 bicyclists were killed. Interestingly the death rate for those in cars and on motorcycles decreased this year to 61. At this point last year the number of such deaths was 73. Brian Zumhagen of Transportation Alternatives commented that these statistics indicate that the Vision Zero project is not sufficiently protecting those who are most at risk and that the City needs to fix those areas which have already been classified as hazardous Vision Zero priority locations.   The stated mission of Transportation Alternatives is to promote bicycling, walking and public transit in NYC. Read more in The New York Daily News.

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On November 17, 2016, Orlando Savino was hit by a four door sedan while walking across Neried Avenue at its intersection with Richardson Avenue in the Bronx, NYC. The car accident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. The pedestrian was found unresponsive by the police. He was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center. Video at the scene depict the driver of a black Ford Fusion driving south on Richardson and turning left onto Neried where he hit Mr. Savino. He then fled the scene. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or (888) 57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. Read more in Bronx Times.

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At around 4:00 am Sunday morning Kevin Melgar, 23, was driving his 2004 Infiniti on Sunrise Highway against traffic. He apparently was speeding for approximately 7 miles the wrong way when he crashed into a van operated by 49-year-old Ozcan ‘John’ Ayyildiz which was proceeding the right way. Both drivers were killed as a result of the impact. According to ABC News Ayyildiz was a flower deliveryman, and was on his way to work when the wrong-way car slammed into his van. He is survived by his wife and 3 daughters. 25-year-old Johnathan Valladarez was a passenger in the Infinity. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. While the police were investigating the accident a street sweeper drove thru the closed area of the accident striking 2 police cars. Fortunately none of the officers suffered serious injuries. The car accident is under investigation. Read more at ABC News.

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A Missouri firearm dealer that sold a gun to a mentally ill woman who shot and killed her father agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle his widow’s wrongful death case, attorneys said Tuesday. According to Janet Delana’s lawsuit, she called Odessa Gun & Pawn and told the store manager that her adult daughter, Colby Weathers, had a history of mental illness and should not be sold a gun. Delana testified that she pleaded with Odessa’s store manager, “I’m begging you. I’m begging you as a mother, if she comes in, please don’t sell her a gun.” Read More in Courthouse News Service