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.
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location of truck and bicycle accident on Webster AveA cyclist died after he was hit by a truck that never stopped. The accident occurred at the intersection of Webster Ave and the ramp of the Cross Bronx Expressway in the Tremont section of the Bronx.  The bicyclist was riding to the right side of  a white box truck when the truck made a right turn to get on the expressway ramp.  The truck hit the cyclist but never stopped. He just continued on his way onto the ramp and headed south toward I-95 New Jersey.  According to witnesses the cyclist who was in his twenties was knocked off his bicycle. He was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. He died there from his injuries.

Sparse and dangerous unprotected bike lanes offer little protection to Bronx Bicyclists

Too little is being done in the Bronx  to prevent bicycle accidents. Webster Avenue was redesigned in 2012 to implement “Select Bus Service” but  bike lanesSouth Bike Lane Gand Concourse implementation were not part of this re-design.

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Vision Zero Initiatives have helped decrease traffic accident deaths in New York City especially for pedestrians and bicyclists  but the number of people injured in auto accidents during the first three months of the year has been on a rising trend. Distracted driving is the number one cause of accidents in the city and might be a factor leading to this high number of car accident injuries.

The number of motor vehicle accidents in New York City during the first semester stayed over 50,000 for the last 3 years. During the first trimester of 2018, 52,317 accidents were reported to the NYPD. Since 2013 the number of accidents in the City has been on a steady rising trend. From 46,438 during the first trimester of 2013, they reached a peak at 53,050 in the first trimester of 2016, slightly decreasing in the first trimester of 2017 and going slightly back up this year.

Motor vehcile accidents NYC first trimester 2018
12,920 people were injured in these 52,317 accidents. This is the highest number of personal injuries related to traffic accidents in New York City during the first trimester of any year  since Vision Zero started in 2013. 11,676 were injured in accidents during the first trimester of 2013. This number went down to 10,805 during the first trimester of 2014 and continued to decline to 10,069 for the same period of 2015. After that injuries went back up to respectively 11,939 and 12,608 for the first 3 months  of 2016 and 2017.

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Marty Martinez plane crash picturesA woman died in a plane accident. 43 year old Jennifer Riordan, a mother of two and a Wells Fargo bank executive was sitting in a plane that just took off from Laguardia airport when one of the engines exploded.

Shrapnel blew out the window where she was sitting nearly sucking her out of the plane. Passengers struggled to pull her back while others tried to stuff clothes to fill the holes.  As the plane was quickly loosing altitude, pilots prepared for an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Terrorized passengers had to use their oxygen masks to be able to breath. The whole scene was completely chaotic with passengers screaming and flight attendants breaking into tears.  A nurse who was on the plane gave CPR to the injured passenger. She was rushed to the hospital after the plain landed. Unfortunately she couldn’t be saved and later on died from her injuries.

Operated by Southwest Airline, the aircraft that was originally heading to Dallas reported the accident as it was 32,000 feet in the air.  Southwest is operating 3500 flights every year. It is the first time that a passenger was killed in a flight accident since the airline started  51 years ago.  The plane was visually inspected on Sunday and no problems were detected.

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Two women died after their home caught fire in Queens, NYC.  The two women were an elderly mother and her daughter living on Wheatley Street in Far Rockaway.  The two women had been living in the house for 20 years. The mother was around eighty years old. Her daughter was a nurse. The fire erupted around 4:00 am on Monday and quickly spread throughout the house.  More than a hundred firemen were called to the rescue to fight the blaze. According to witnesses the fire spread so fast that they had great difficulties to get to the victims. When they finally were able to get them out they were rushed to the hospital but it was too late. They both died. Investigation is ongoing to determine what caused the fire.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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road construction workers143 workers lost their lives on road construction sites in 2016 in America compared to respectively 130, 119 and 105 in 2015, 2014 and 2013. This is the third consecutive year that the number of worker deaths has been increasing.  Over the last 10 years the number of road construction workers dying in crashes has been oscillating between 100 and 130. The average for the last 3 years is 130.7 It is the first year that this number is above 140.

Increased vehicular traffic, distracted driving and increase of road construction projects are among the main causes of this increase in fatalities. In a recent press release the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) urges drivers to be more careful and keep their eyes on the road when they drive near or through road construction zones.

Because of the nature of their activity, road workers and especially highway workers are highly exposed to fatal accidents.  Last year they represented almost 20% of the 765 fatalities that occurred on road construction sites. Drivers and passengers of motor vehicles represented around 80% of the fatalities.

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A very well organized network of profiteer personal injury law firms, doctors, marketers and finance executives have teamed up together to try to make profit out of women who previously had a vaginal mesh surgery by leading them into believing something is wrong with their implant. A recent article in the New York Time looks at the cases of multiple women who previously had a vaginal mesh implant and were contacted by unidentified callers lying to them and pretending that their implants were defective to lure them into expensive, dangerous and unnecessary surgery.

Hired and trained by a marketing company, the callers usually know most of the medical history of the women that they were calling. Victims of these calls are often told that if they don’t undergo surgery to remove the mesh they might die. The caller then set the woman up with:

  • the law firm that initially hired the marketing company
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lead-poisoningMany children were poisoned by lead in New York as the result of the city neglecting to inspect and fix lead paint hazards in  apartments belonging to the New York City Housing Authority. Some children died and others now have to attend special-education programs and will never be able to live a normal life. Despite multiple lawsuits De Blasio was recently heard saying “Thank God there has not been harm done to any child because of the mistakes that have been made.” bFor some weird reasons the mayor is still trying to cover for the disastrous NYCHA behavior.

In a recent article the Daily News looks at the story of Juana Bison, the mother of two twin daughters who lived in Cypress Hills Houses. In 2001 after her twin daughters were born, Juana complained about the painting chipping and peeling in her apartment. She was scared that the paint might contain lead and could harm her twins. She asked NYCHA to fix it. Instead of fixing it, a NYCHA worker forged Juana’signature and signed a form indicating that Juana’s apartment had been inspected and no lead paint was found.

When the two daughters were two-yer-old the mother took them for a medical check-up that found a blood-lead level of 20 micro-grams per deciliter in one of the girls. This level is five time the level deemed acceptable by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This level is dangerous and can affect the development of a child. The other child was ok.

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Bike lanes in InwoodIn Upper Manhattan bicyclists are now protected from dangerous accidents by a new bike lane on Dyckman Street. The bike lane was installed last December. It connects the Hudson River and East River Greenways (see map).  It took nine years for the Inwood residents to get the NYC Department of Transportation to install a parking-protected bike lane where the traffic is heavy, as painted bike lanes where the traffic is lighter and sidewalk extensions to reduce crossing distance for pedestrians and slow down traffic. However, few months after its installation, the bike lane is now threatened by local politicians. Adriano Espaillat and Gale Brewer  don’t seem to care about bicycle accident prevention. They are asking the DOT to remove the bike lane and to install it two blocks North on 204th Street.

Dyckman Street is a very lively commercial street and the bike lane is not only protecting the delivery staff working at the many restaurants located on the street but also cyclists who are touring Manhattan and may want to make a pit stop between the two Greenways. Forcing bicyclists to go a few blocks away may result in confusion and additional bike accidents. 

In a recent meeting, small business owners also complained to City Council member Ydanis Rodríguez about the bike lane. They said the bike lane prevented clients from parking in front of their businesses and made it difficult for suppliers to deliver merchandise. They also said the bike lane was creating traffic congestion.

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even Hills School Hillsdale campus from aboveA teenager died after being crushed by a defective car seat after making two agonizing phone calls to 911. Sixteen year old Kyle Plush was in his van, a Honda Odissey, on the parking lot of the Seven Hills School – Illsdale Campus in Madisonville, OH when the second-row seat accidentally tipped forward slowly crushing the young man to death. 46 people previously reported minor injuries for a similar issue and Honda issued a recall of this model last year to fix the problem.

“I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,”

As the seat was crushing him, Kyle picked up his cell phone and called 911 begging for help. He told the operator he was at “Seven Hills” but she couldn’t understand where it was. He made a second call and told the operator “I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,” he said. “I’m trapped inside my gold Honda Odyssey van. In the (inaudible) parking lot of Seven Hills Hillsdale. Send officers immediately. I’m almost dead.”

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JohnsonA New Jersey jury recently found that Johnson & Johnson baby powder contained asbestos and that the tainted product caused mesothelioma to a New Jersey banker. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer linked to asbestos.

Stephen Lanzo was awarded $30 million for his pain and suffering and his wife was awarded $7 million in damages as well. 70% has to be paid by J&J and the other 30% by talc supplier Imery Talc America.

Both companies are planning to appeal. They pretend the banker developed cancer after being exposed to another asbestos source such as his school or childhood home.