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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accident scene3 pedestrians died and 6 were injured including 2 critically in 4 different motor vehicle accidents in New York City that all occurred early Sunday morning during the supermoon.

The first accident occurred on the Upper East Side at 2:00 am. A 29 year old pedestrian suffered severe head trauma after being hit by a car. According to the NY Daily News, the pedestrian was crossing First Avenue at the intersection of 82nd Street against the red light. He was hit by a vehicle that was crossing the intersection with the green light. The pedestrian was rushed to the hospital to be treated.

Two hours later, around 4:00 am a pedestrian was killed in a Queens crash. The 71 year old victim was attempting to cross the Belt Parkway near Farmers Blvd in Springfield Gardens when he was hit by a car. The man was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

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pedestrianIn Jacksonville, Florida, the police has been issuing hundreds of tickets to pedestrians.  Tickets are not only issued for jaywalking or crossing at the red light but also for crossing at the yellow light or “failing to cross the street at a right angle”.  The police also ticketed pedestrians because they were walking on the right side of the road instead of the left side when there were no sidewalks on both sides of the road. In other cases pedestrians were ticketed for walking on the road when a sidewalk was available.

A pedestrian ticket in itself is not such a big deal however if it is left unpaid it can damage a credit history or lead to a driver license suspension.

In a recent investigation ProPublica asked the sheriff why so many pedestrians were ticketed in Jacksonville. The sheriff replied that his city had one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the country and that tickets were the best way  to save lives.

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According  to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) , 94% of serious auto accidents are due to dangerous choices or human errors. Recently developed driver assistance technologies are attempting to address these errors. As these technologies become more and more sophisticated they will ultimately lead to self-driving vehicles.

The NHTSA believes that self-driving vehicles will result in a drastic reduction of auto accident fatalities however we are not there yet. As of Today, the newest vehicles on the market are far from being fully automated but they do have technologies that prevent accidents due to human errors. These technologies can prevent forward collisions, help drivers while backing up and parking and assist them to detect blind spots or to stay in their lane. New technologies can also make sure drivers keep a safe distance in various situations such as driving in traffic jams or on highways.

The NTHSA and the DOT are expecting that vehicles will go through a technological evolution  that can be summarized in 6 steps until full automation:

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A cyclist died from his injury after he was struck by a car in New York City. The accident occurred on November 17 around 2:40 pm. 84 year old Yau-Teg Fung, of Queens was riding his bike on Albertson Street near Fleet Street when he collided with a car driven by an 80 year old woman. He suffered a massive head injury after being thrown off his bike. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He died from his injuries after 10 days of hospitalization. The police told the NY Daily News that the driver had stopped at a stop sign and she was in the intersection when the cyclist hit her rear door. No criminal charges were filed.

 

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3 people suffered personal injury in a bus accident in Manhattan on Wednesday morning. A double decker charter bus carrying tourists crashed into a box truck belonging to Pat La Frieda Meat Purveyors.  The impact caused the truck to rear-end a police car in front of it. The accident occurred around 8:50 am in front of the Richard Rodgers Theater on 46th street near 8th Ave. 3 people were transported to the hospital. One person suffered serious injury. The two others suffered minor injury. The bus belongs to City Sights Bus, a tour company offering hop and off bus tours to tourists.

Read more in the NY Daily News

 

 

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distracted-driving-can-cause-accidents-1Last year the number of fatal auto accidents reached a record high in the US. Despite unclear data, mobile devices are suspected to be a main factor in these accidents.

Mobile phone addiction is real and the consequences are deadly when people use their phone while driving. The wireless industry knows it. Big tech companies have  developed sophisticated tools to prevent these deaths but they don’t implement them for fear of seeing their profits decreasing.

Almost 10 years ago Apple submitted a patent for a technology that had the capacity to disable any function of a handled computing device that may interfere with safe driving.  While submitting the license , in 2008, Apple stated “Texting while driving has become so widespread that it is doubtful that law enforcement will have any significant effect on stopping the process.”  For unknown reasons, the license was not issued until 2014. Anyway Apple never deployed it.

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Defective Hoverboard Lazy BoardDespite the many fire accidents and injuries caused by defective lithium-ion battery packs in hoverboards, the toy remains among the most popular holiday gifts. If you or your kids own a self balancing scooter or if you are planning to buy one as a gift you should visit the Consumer  Product Safety Commission website and check on the recent Self Balancing Scooter recalls. Here are some of the most recently recalled models:

  • The Layz Board hoverboard was recently the subject of a second warning by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to the agency this hoverboard caused a fire on October 23, 2017, in Manchester Township, Pennsylvania, which destroyed one town home and damaged four others. The hoverboard was the object of a previous warning in May 2017 after two young girls died in a house fire caused by the Layz Board hoverboard on March 10, 2017, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • Salvage World just recalled 700 Smart Balance Wheel self-balancing Scooters/Hoverboards. The battery can overheat and pose a risk of smoking, exploding or catching fire
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garbage truckPrivate garbage truck companies are responsible for too many deadly truck accidents in New York City.  Since 2010 43 New Yorkers died after they were struck by a private dump trunk. Something has to be done to reduce these deadly accidents.

In New York the Business Integrity Commission (BIC) is in charge of overseeing this industry. BIC was created 20 years ago with the main purpose to run background checks to root out potential mob ties. The commission doesn’t have the legal power to impose safety standards for privately owned garbage trucks.

On  Monday, members of the Commission appeared in a hearing about the private trash hauling industry in front of the New York City Council. BIC Chair, Dan Brownel asked the Council to provide BIC with more authority so that the Commission has the legal power to enforce safety protocols.

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OSHA logoUnder the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, some employers in high risk sectors such as construction, manufacturing and building materials are required to report employees illnesses and injuries to OSHA. Until last year these employers reported these data manually in what was commonly called the “OSHA Log”.  The OSHA log commonly refers to:

  • the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA Form 300)
  • the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA Form 300A)
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Extramammary_Paget_diseaseExtramammary Paget’s disease (EMPD) is a very rare form of cancer that is often misdiagnosed as a jock itch, a fungal infection in the skin of the genitals, inner thighs and buttock. EMPD usually invades the scrotum and requires multiple operations and skin grafts. The cancer is so rare that patients suffering from this cancer may feel extremely isolated. A year ago, Sandra G. Boodman published an article in her “Medical Myststeries” column about Stephen  Schroeder, a patient whose doctors failed to diagnose EMPD.  Schroeder wanted to speak publicly about his cancer because he wanted other men to be aware of the common misdiagnosis and also because he felt isolated and he was trying to connect with other patients who were suffering from the same rare disease.

After the article was published in October 2016, he received hundreds of emails and connected with 80 people who were suffering from the same rare form of  cancer. He created an online support group where patients and doctors treating them can share information about the disease. Schroeder’s website contains so much information about Extramammary Paget’s disease that scientists used his data for a study recently published in Urology.

The article was also read by patients who had  been mistakenly diagnosed with jock itch.  A 50 year old engineer read the article on the plane on his way back from China. He was diagnosed with a fungal infection but Shoeder’s story felt so similar to his own experience that he went back to his dermatologist and asked for a biopsy. He also used Shroeder’s website to figure out which questions to ask doctors. The biopsy results confirmed the man was misdiagnosed and he had cancer.  He had surgery and he is now in remission. He developed a friendship with Shroeder and the two men met twice in person.