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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matthew vo nohlen A man who fatally struck a bicyclist in NYC last July was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Last July Matthew Von Olen was riding his bike on Grand Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when he was intentionally struck by a car.  According to acting DA Eric Gonzales, the driver recklessly swerved into the bike lane and struck the bicyclist. He hit him from behind knocking him off his bike. He then drove over him and dragged him 10 to 20 feet as he was speeding away (see previous blog). The man was identified as 56 year old Juan Maldonado from South Williamsburg. He was arrested yesterday morning. He was brought to Brooklyn Supreme Court and indicted on eight counts including leaving the scene of an accident, criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter. He may be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail if convicted. 35 year old Matthew Von Holen was the founder of BikeStock and and an avid cyclist.

Read more in the Gothamist Picture source: Facebook

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carlos moncayoForeman Wilmer Cueva negligent act caused the death of New York construction worker Carlos Moncayo. Wilmer Cueva, a foreman for Sky Material, an excavation company, was supervising work at a construction site located on 9th Ave in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan.

As the excavation of the site was progressing, Cueva received repeated warnings of imminent danger by an inspector. The trench that had reached 7 feet was not reinforced as it should have been. The NYC construction code requires that any trench reaching 5 feet be reinforced. Cueva ignored the warnings and the code and asked workers to continue to excavate.

The trench was 14 feet and still wasn’t reinforced when it collapsed on Carlos Moncayo. The accident was foreseeable and preventable and Wilmer Cueva acted in a criminal manner. He was was convicted of Criminally Negligent Homicide and Reckless Endangerment by a York State Supreme Court jury. He will be sentenced in December.

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accident sceneA 17 year old driver accidentally killed his grandmother in a car accident in New York City on Sunday.  The young man who lives in Queens with his parents and grandparents was about to take the family to church when the accident occurred.  As he backed up in the narrow driveway of their home, Jadesh struck his grandmother who had stepped into the path of the car. 75 year old Chandravti Lakhan was transported to the hospital in critical condition. She couldn’t be saved.  According to the neighbors, the whole family is very united. The parents  and the grandparents live together  with 5 children in a house located on 267th St. near 83rd Ave in Queens, NYC. It wasn’t uncommon for Jadesh to take his grandparents out.  The whole family was visibly distraught by the tragedy.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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A woman died in a truck accident in New York last Monday. 68 year old Nuesa Marques-Diniz was crossing 42nd street between Fifth Ave and Madison Ave, in Manhattan, when she was struck by a truck. The accident occurred around 8:00 pm. The woman was a New York resident from Brazil.  The truck belonged to the electrical company Hugh O’Kane Electrical Co. It was transporting two huge spool of wire. The pedestrian was crushed with the front and rear driver-side tires. She died at the scene of the accident.  The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. Read more in the NY Daily News

Last week Vision Zero launched a campaign to reduce pedestrian accidents after Daylight Saving Time. Recent statistics have shown that the number of pedestrian fatalities increase by 40% during the 3 months that follow Daylight Saving Time. Poorest visibility related to earlier darkness when most New Yorkers are still outside increases the risk of accidents.

truck accident location

The woman had just came out of the Mc Donald and was crossing the street here. Picture: courtesy of Google Map

 

 

 

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methShaun Martin was high on PCP and Meth when he crashed his car into a New York grocery store and killed the florist standing outside. Two other workers were also injured in the crash. He was convicted of murder last July (see previous blog). On Friday, the 35 year old man appeared in front of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Melissa Jackson. He was sentenced to 20 years to life.

In 2013 Shaun Martin was drunk and high on Meth and PCP when he decided to drive his car in the East Village. He jumped the curb at more than 90 mph and crashed into the flower stand of a grocery store located on Second Ave and E. 4th Street. 62 year old Mohammed Akkas Ali died in the car accident. He was the florist at the grocery store. He was about to finish his shift when the accident occured.  Read more in the NY Daily News

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9 pedestrians were killed in NYC car accidents last year during the 8 days following the end of the Daylight Saving Time. All the victims were between 55 and 88 years old.  6 of the 9 accidents occurred after sunset. According to data collected between 2010 and 2014, the number of pedestrians dying or being severely injured in car accidents increased by 40% during the last 3 months of the year. Statistics also indicate that crashes involving turns are doubling during the colder and darker months of the year.

As Daylight Saving Time ends this week-end, a $1.5 million Vision Zero campaign will be launched this Friday by the mayor’s office to prevent pedestrian deaths during the most dangerous period of the year.

Yesterday Bill de Blasio was joined by Transportation Commissioner Trottenberg, Aging Commissioner Corrado, Commissioner and Chair of the Taxi and Limousine Commission Joshi and NYPD Chief Chan at One Police Plaza to present the new pedestrian safety campaign to the press.

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NYC MTA Subway logoOne MTA worker was seriously injured and another one died in a subway accident in NYC yesterday. The two men were working on the southbound G train track between the Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Ave. stations in Kensington, Brooklyn. A little after midnight, a train running on the track struck them both. Emergency workers rushed to the location of the accident. One of the workers, a 53 year old man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries. The other worker, a 49 year old man, was also transported to the hospital. He was seriously injured but in stable condition. It is not clear why the two men were working on the track when the  subway train was in service. Read more in the NY Daily News

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92-20 Astoria Boulevard view from Goggle mapAn infant died in a car accident last week in Queens. 8 month old Navraj Raju was in a stroller pushed by his mother last Thursday morning when he was struck by a van. The mother and the infant were on the sidewalk when the driver of the van backed out of a driveway and hit the stroller. The van driver was unlicensed. The car accident occurred at 92-20 Astoria Boulevard.  The picture above shows the location of the accident. It is an area particularly difficult to navigate for pedestrians, especially families. Cars parked in front of the building between the deli and the gas station have to back out onto the sidewalk when leaving their parking space. They have reduced visibility when backing out. Additionally vehicular traffic is constantly crossing the sidewalk to access the gas station.

Astoria Boulevard was identified in 2015 as a Vision Zero priority. The segment of Astoria Boulevard between 80th street and 110th street was identified as a pedestrian crash corridor. It is among the top 10% most dangerous corridors for pedestrians in this particular neighborhood.  It is supposed to be re-engineered in the future to make it safer for pedestrians. The proposal from the Department of Transportation to make some specifically dangerous segments of Astoria Boulevard safer can be downloaded here.  However despite fixes being identified for Astoria Boulevard in 2015, not enough is being done by the de Blasio administration to quickly implement these changes. Transportation Alternatives organized a stroller protest to ask the Mayor to fulfill his promise to reduce traffic deaths.

Read more about the accident on Streetblog

 

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A construction worker died after falling from a scaffolding in New York City. 31 year old Michael Buffamante was working on scaffolding at the Coney Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sheepsheadbay yesterday. He was installing dechlorination equipment.  A little after noon he fell from his scaffolding into a 35 foot-deep sewage tank filled with wastewater and chlorine.

FDNY divers ran to the rescue and found the young worker lying at the bottom of the tank. They brought him to the surface. The worker was in cardiac arrest after having been in the water approximately 8 minutes . The paramedic gave him CPR and transported him to the hospital in critical condition. Buffamante died at the hospital. The worker was employed by Welkin Mechanical, a construction company based in Queens. According to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the worker was wearing protective equipment.The DEP did not specify what type of protective eqipment. Further investigation will be necessary to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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fatal NYC fire accidentOne person died and 13 others were injured in a  fire accident in New York. Around 3:30 am yesterday morning a fire broke out in a residential building located on E. 93rd Street between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave. The building was a five-story building with 10 apartments. 250 firefighters were called to the rescue to battle the 6-alarm blaze. Most residents were able to get out using the fire escape. A resident living on the third floor wasn’t able to make it and died in the blaze. 3 other residents were injured as well as 8 firefighters. An elderly resident was saved by a courageous firefighter who used a dangerous technique known as roof-rope rescue.  Jim Lee was lowered on a rope off the roof of the building to save an elderly resident who was screaming for help from his third floor window. The courageous firefighter grabbed the man from his window and pulled him down to safety before the rope burned through. Residents said fire alarms woke them up in the middle of the night. They smelled smoke and quickly realized they had to evacuate the building. The fire erupted on one of the top floors of the building. Further investigation will be necessary to determine what caused the blaze.