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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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.

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New-York-Construction-Site-1-e1523363525354More than two years ago,  our client Rebecca Wichs lost her husband in a crane accident in downtown Manhattan. David Wichs was crossing the street when he was fatally struck by a collapsing crane.  That day, despite heavy snow and winds, the City didn’t order crane operators to lower and secure their cranes.  Now when the winds are above 30 mph, all crane operators in New York City are required by law to stop their operations. Last Wednesday, as winds were unusually strong, the DOB made surprise crane inspections all around the city.

All big cranes installed in the five boroughs are now required to be equipped with an operating wind measuring device.  When the device indicates that winds are above 30 mph, operators are required by law to cease all operations.  If they don’t, they can face up to a $25,000 personal fine for violation.

It is difficult for the only 12 DOB crane inspectors to be able to check the 300 cranes installed across New York City but when it is necessary, the DOB brings in additional inspectors from other parts of the agency. Despite the limited number of resources the DOB has increased the number of violations for unsafe crane operations over the recent years. They went from 4000 five years ago to 8000 last year. The DOB also indicates that since the 2016 accident, crane operators don’t usually take risks when the weather turns bad.

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Trinity Grace ChurchA NYC hard had suffered critical injury after he fell from scaffolding at a church construction site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  The man who was employed by 4M Construction was doing brick work on the Trinity Grace Church located at 231 Ainslie Street in Williamsburg. He was on scaffolding when he fell two stories onto the sidewalk shed. The accident occurred Monday afternoon around 2pm.  The emergency responders rescued the man and rushed him to the hospital. A neighbor told the NY Daily News that he previously called 311 because he was worried about the unsafe conditions at the construction site.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Picture of the accident location: courtesy of Google Map

 

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Daniel-Pollack-1In a new article entitled “Multiple Foster Care Placements Should be Considered a Mitigating Factor in Criminal Proceedings”  Daniel Pollack, a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social in New York City, and a frequent expert witness in child welfare cases, Khaya Eisenberg, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist in private practice in Jerusalem, Israel and Amanda Dolce,  an attorney in Florida practicing child welfare law write :”It is widely believed that attachment to a primary caregiver is an inherent need and a prerequisite for healthy psychological development. For foster children, this attachment may be challenged  Many foster care adolescents perceive their biological and foster parents to be less invested in them, which can lead to weaker social bonds and increased vulnerability to delinquency. Difficulties with attachment have been associated with lack of impulse control or empathy and criminality. Some suggest that the lack of opportunity to experience parents as benevolent, result in children feeling devalued and perhaps reacting defensively by devaluing others through aggressive or defiant behavior. ”

The complete article can be downloaded here

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NY-bus-accident-locationTwo people suffered serious injury, 5 moderate injuries and dozens others minor injuries in a bus accident in Long Island, NY that occurred on Sunday night a little after 8:00 pm.

The bus driven by Troy Gaston from Bethlehem, PA belonged to Journey Bus Line in New Jersey. The driver had just picked up 38 students and 5 chaperons at JFK airport. The teenagers aged 16 to 19-year-old were coming back from an Eastern Europe trip organized by EF Educational Tours.  The bus was heading to a mall where parents were supposed to pick up their children. The driver took the Southern State Parkway to get to his destination, apparently not aware that the Parkway was forbidden to most commercial vehicles.

As he drove through the Eagle Avenue overpass in Lakeview, Nassau County, LI, the top of the bus was ripped off by the overpass injuring multiple passengers. According to the police someone shouted “duck” just before the bus hit the overpass. This may have helped keep the number of seriously injured students to just a few. Two 17-year-old girls suffered the most serious injuries. They are still hospitalized but in stable condition. They are expected to leave the hospital in the next 24 to 48 hours. The injuries ranged from broken bones to cuts and scrapes.

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accident sceneA young couple died and 5 other people suffered serious injury in a car accident involving 5 vehicles early Thursday morning in New York City.  So far the investigators are still trying to figure out what exactly caused the five-car chain reaction crash.

The accident occurred between 1:00 am and 2:00 am  on the Nassau Expressway in Inwood.  The massive collision left debris of car parts, oil and gasoline over 800 feet on the highway. According to the police one of the cars’engines went out of the vehicle.

The young couple was identified by the police as 21-year-old Yisroel Levin, of Brooklyn, and 20-year-old Elisheva Basya Kaplan, of Far Rockaway.  They got trapped in their car as it burst on fire. The two of them got engaged last week and were set to be married over the summer.