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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crashIGA driver died and a pedestrian was injured in a NYC car accident involving a cell phone thief who was involved in a high-speed chase by the police. After allegedly steeling a cell phone at the Queens Village Auto Body shop on Hempstead Avenue, 51 year old Derrick Perkins fled in his BMW. The police were alerted about the theft and Perkins was identified by plainclothes officers in an unmarked car. The police officers tried to stop his car but the man fled. A chase followed. At the intersection of 225th Street and Linden Boulevard, the suspect ran a red light and hit a car.  The impact was so strong that the car careened onto the sidewalk striking a 29 year old pedestrian. The pedestrian suffered a leg injury and was transported to the hospital. The innocent car driver 78-year-old Roxina Clayton was killed in the accident.

The NYPD Patrol Guide states, “Department Policy requies that a vehicle pursuit be terminated whenever the risks to uniformed members of the service and the public outweigh the danger to the community if  suspect is not immediately apprehended.” Among the factors to be considered is the nature of the offence.

Read more in the Gothamist .

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altonsterlingPhilando CastilleAlton Sterling and Philando Castille are the two most recent victims of an epidemic of police brutality and discrimination against African Americans all over this country. These two men died this week in two separate incidents during which both of them were literally executed by the police.

On Tuesday a gruesome video circulated among social media and news channels showing two policemen from Baton Rouge, Louisiana murdering Alton Sterling while they were  holding him down on the ground. The video shows that he was not resisting.

A day later, Philando Castille was in his car with his wife and daughter in Falcon Heighth, Minesota, when he got stopped by the police for a a defective tail light. As he was reaching to his back pocket get his I.D in his wallet the cop  shot him for no reason. His wife streamed a video live on Facebook as he was dying in front of her.

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A 76-year-old pedestrian who was struck by a car two months ago in Queens, NYC, died from her injuries. Maria Damaco was crossing the  intersection of Fresh Pond Road and Myrtle Ave Avenue when she was hit by car making a left turn. The car driver, a 36-year-old woman,  stayed at the scene of the accident.

Read more in the NY Daily News


 

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A pedestrian died, a bicyclist was  critically injured and two drivers suffered personal injury in a car accident in New York City. The accident  occurred last Thursday in Queens.  56 year old Irene Lee was driving her Porsche on Horace Harding Expressway service road near the Intersection of Junction Boulevard. She lost control of her car and jumped the curb, hitting a pedestrian and a bicyclist.  She then fled the scene of the accident and hit two other cars waiting at a nearby red light. She then fled away one more time and drove North on Junction. She later had second thoughts and returned to the scene of the accident. The pedestrian, the bicyclist and one of the car drivers were transported to the hospital. The other  car driver  suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene of the crash. The pedestrian, a 21-year-old woman, suffered severe head trauma  and died from her injuries. The bicyclist, a 26 year old woman, was in critical condition.  The driver was in stable condition. Irene Lee was arrested and charged with running a red light and leaving the scene of the accident resulting in death which is a class D felony.

Read in the Gothamist  

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Harlem River HousingA 3-year old boy died after he fell from a window in a  public housing development in Harlem, New York City.  Latyre Sene fell  from the 13th floor of a building located in the Harlem River II Houses on Frederick Douglass Blvd. near W. 151st St (picture).  The window guard was found next to him. Police are investigating why the window guard fell and didn’t protect the toddler.

Building owners have the responsibility to install and maintain window guards in any apartment where a family is living with children. Because Latyre Sene’s family was illegally subletting the apartment,  it wasn’t clear if  NYCHA who owns the building was aware that a child lived in this apartment.

On Monday, a maintenance employee was seen leaving the apartment with a drill and 3 guards in his hands. Following the tragic accident, several other residents of the building also asked for a revision of their window guards.

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Four people died and two were injured in a car accident in Long Island, NY on Yaphank Middle Island Road near Rustic Road last night. For some unknown reason the driver of a pick up truck veered in to the opposite lane of traffic and hit a car that was coming in the opposite direction. There were four adults and a baby in the car. The driver of the pickup truck as well as two men and a woman who were in the other car died in the accident. The baby and another woman sustained injuries and were taken to the  hospital to be treated.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

 

 

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HitRun2A bicyclist was fatally hit by a car that didn’t stop after an accident  last Saturday in Brooklyn, NYC. The police believe that the driver hit the bicyclist intentionally.  35-year-old Matthew Von Olen was riding back home from a shift at a bar in downtown Manhattan when he was struck by a car in Williamsburg.  A video obtained by the police  shows that the driver intentionally hit the bicyclist and killed him.  The car driver first slowed down at the level of the bicyclist who was riding in the bike lane and then hit him. As Von Olen fell off his bike, the car driver hit him a second time and then ran over him and dragged him about 20 to 30 feet before fleeing. Von Olen suffered severe trauma and died from his injuries. The police are still looking for the car driver who was driving a black 2014-2015 Chevy Camaro with gold New York State license plates (see picture from surveillance camera).  Read more in the Gothamist

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NYC motorcycle accidents February 2016A motorcyclist died in an accident in Brooklyn, NYC, this weekend. The motorcyclist was heading north on Buffalo Ave. near E. New York Ave. in Crown Heights early Sunday morning when he struck a limo. He was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved.

Motorcycle accidents in New York City always increase during the months of June, July, August and September. There are usually between 250 and 350 motorcycle accidents every month of the summer in the city. Because motorcyclists only have a helmet to protect themselves, motorcycle accidents often results in serious injuries or death.

Read more in the NY  Daily News

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image After a 30-year-old pedestrian was killed by an unlicensed driver who jumped the curb in Brooklyn (see previous blog ), NYC, her family petitioned the Brookyn DA’s office to initiate a grand jury investigation into the accident and obtain justice for their loved one.

Last December Victoria Nicodemus was walking on  a Fort Greene sidewalk with her boyfriend  when she was  fatally  struck by a SUV that apparently  jumped the curb to avoid a bus. The SUV was driven by  39-year-old Marlon Sewell. The driver had his license suspended and wasn’t supposed to be behind the wheel. Also according to a recent article from the Gothamist, a preliminary  police report indicated that Sewell jumped the curb to avoid the bus in front of him but in a statement yesterday, Transportation Altternatives Deputy Director Caroline Samponaro said that Sewell made the reckless decision to drive on the sidewalk to avoid waiting behind the bus.

Immediately after the accident, Sewell was charged with two misdemeanors and thought he would get away with a $500 ticket. However after the Brooklyn DA office agreed to open a grand jury investigation things changed. Yesterday the grand jury voted for Sewell to be indicted for second-degree manslaughter.

 

 

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imageLast week a young pedestrian died in a truck accident but the police said that the truck driver, despite leaving the scene of the accident, will not be charged.

21-year-old Noha Goldstein (picture) was crossing Broadway at the intersection of 61st Street near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, NYC, when hit by a garbage truck, suffering injuries resulting in his death. The driver never stopped. He continued on his way  leaving the young man dying in the street.  The police were able to find the driver a few days later by looking at video footage of the accident. However for some strange reason the video jumps and only footage of before and after the accident are available. The  police said that they believe that the truck driver wasn’t at fault and that he didn’t stop because he probably didn’t see the pedestrian and didn’t know that he hit him because of the nature of the garbage truck.

Read more in the Gothamist