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

Published on:

UWS%20construction%20site.jpgA construction accident 0n the Upper West Side led to the death of a 61 year old worker. The man was working on the renovation of a landmark townhouse on 70th street near Columbus Avenue when he fell down the shaft of the elevator from the second floor to the first one. He was transported to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on:

A man who couldn’t reach the fire escape died after he jumped from a fourth floor window and seven other people were injured, including one critically after a fire broke out at the Flatbush Hardware store in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

The man who died is Bassam Awad. He lived on the top floor of the building and owned a deli nearby. He tried to get to the fire escape but the flames were too intense so he decided to jump out of a window. He was married and had two children, ages 18 and 23. Another person is in critical condition and two others suffered serious burn injuries. Two civilians and two police officers were treated at the scene for minor injuries and smoke inhalation.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on:

In New York, poorly maintained cellar doors leading to death or injury can result in premises liability against the owner of a building. It’s the nightmare of every New Yorker. Yesterday a man in his 30’ies fell 12 feet and died after walking on a metal cellar door on Bedford Ave in Brooklyn, NYC. The doors were leading to the basement of an abandoned building.

Red more in the New York Daily News

deadly%20cellar%20grate.jpg

Published on:

most%20wanted.jpgTransportation accidents are killing and injuring thousands of people every year. Many of these accidents are preventable.

To support and increased awareness of the most critical changes needed to reduce these accidents the NTSB is releasing every year its most wanted list.

This year, distracted driving caused by portable electronic devices (PEDs) is at the top of this list, followed by substance impairment while operating a vehicle and helicopter safety. Implementation of train control, improvement of rail tank car safety, increased safety in mass transportation, prevention of loss of control in non-airline flights, medical fitness for duty, strengthening of commercial trucking safety and strengthening procedural compliance among airlines are the other priorities on the NTSB Most Wanted List.

Published on:

Death, injury and warranty claims can serve as an early warning of defects or other problems in a car and manufacturers are required by law to submit this information to the government. For the last 11 years, Honda consistently under reported these claims and was fined $70 million for not doing so (see Honda Fined for Violations of Safety Law).Even though this penalty is the highest amount ever fined a car manufacturer by the federal regulators it still seems very modest in comparison to the revenue of the giant car manufacturers. The Obama administration wants to raise the maximum fine to $300 million but would that be enough?

Honda.jpg

Published on:

A man working in an elevator shaft was crushed to death by an empty elevator that moved down 3 floors at 75th West End Ave on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, NYC. A resident of the building complained that “elevators have been a mess in the building for years”. The building received 12 elevator violations since 2003 and 3 major violations for poor maintenance from last year are still open. The Brodsky Organization which owns and manages the building says it was in the process of modernizing the elevators.

Published on:

cruise%20medical.jpgIn 2011, the family of 82 year old Pasqualre Vaglio from New York sued a cruise line for medical malpractice after the medical staff on board failed to diagnose a brain injury that would lead to the death of the man a few days later. Medical malpractice lawsuits against cruises have been for a long time impossible to win as cruise lines would use various exemptions created by previous court decisions. One of these exemptions known as “Barbetta” held in 1988 that passengers should not expect the same type of medical care on a ship as on land and ships’ doctors and nurses were private contractors beyond the cruise lines’ direct control. In the recent Vaglio case, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – which has jurisdiction over the major Florida-based cruise lines – recently held Barbetta is outdated law. The judges said that the doctors and nurses on the cruise line were wearing the cruise uniforms and were held out as ship employees in the promotional material of the cruise line. They also opined that cruise lines these days have sophisticated ICUs and laboratories. They can video conference with medical experts if necessary.

Read more in the New York Times

Published on:

28 year old Prezidor Porbeni surrendered and admitted that he fled the police after he fatally hit a woman with his SUV in Harlem, NYC, on New Year’s eve.

The victim, 44 year old photographer Guler Ugur-Yaacobi (see picture), was hit by the SUV near the intersection of W.113th St and Amsterdam Ave at the beginning of the evening on December 31st. The impact was so strong that witnesses said the woman was sent 80 feet down Amsterdam. She was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital.

Porbeni turned himself in after the police released surveillance video and asked the public to help them find Porbeni’s 2006 Land Rover. He was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and driving with a suspended license.

Published on:

kitchen%20fire%20prevention.jpgHome cooking is the number one cause of fire accidents and fire injuries in New York. 33 % of these fires are caused by unattended cooking. The most recent one happened in Queens, NYC, last week when a family left a traditional Haitian holiday soup unattended on the stove. The fire spread from the stove to the dining area and then to the living room and down the hall to the bedrooms. 3 people were killed and several firefighters suffered personal injuries as they were trying to save the victims.

Unattended cooking often happens when the cook becomes distracted and leaves the kitchen for various reasons such as answering the phone or the bell, looking at TVor taking care of the kids.

To avoid fire accidents, remember to stay in the kitchen all the time when you are cooking. Also avoid wearing loose sleeves that can catch fire and keep the area around the stove free of paper towels or anything than can catch fire. Keep children away from the stove and turn pot handles on the wall side. Avoid very high temperatures and in case of a pan fire do not use water but baking soda or shut off the heat and use a mitt and a lid to cover the fire.

Published on:

Dylon%20Ramirez.jpg16 year old Dylon Ramirez is dead and a 15 year old female is in critical condition as a result of a pedestrian accident that happened yesterday around 5pm at the intersection of Baychester Ave and Crawford Ave in the Bronx, NYC.

Both teenagers were crossing the road when a Honda hit them. The impact propelled the young man into the other lane of traffic where he was struck by another car.

The driver of the Honda fled but later came back to the scene of the accident and was arrested by the Police.