The investigation is still ongoing in the NYC car accident during which Dorothy Burns drove into a group of pedestrians and killed two young children on March 5th. According to a new article in the NY Daily News, a medical crew was dispatched to Burns’ apartment on March 2nd after receiving a call about a cardiac condition. It wasn’t the first time that emergency responders showed up at this address. Investigators found that they were previously called to the rescue for cardiac condition on December 22nd and November 19th. The health of Dorothy Burns had deteriorated so much at the beginning of the year that she had to ask for a medical leave from her job in January. She didn’t return until February after she received a medical clearance. The investigators are now trying to find out if the doctors told Burns she had to stop driving because of her condition. The woman who suffers from multiple sclerosis had a seizure before crashing into a group of pedestrians who were crossing the road in Park Slope. Two young children died and three other people were injured in the accident (see previous blog)
Construction Accidents Prevention in New York City: the 2018 Build Safe, Live Safe Conference will take place on May 10th
Unfortunately too many construction workers are injured on the job in New York City. In order to reduce these accidents and make construction the safest possible in the city, the Department of Buildings is organizing an annual conference on Construction Safety. The 2018 Build Safe│Live Safe Conference will take place Thursday May 10th at 117 West 46th Street in Manhattan. During this one day conference, the DOB invites experts to present the most recent trends in construction and discuss safe construction operations.
NEW YORK CONSTRUCTION SAFETY WEEK
This conference is one of the many activities that will take place in New York City during Construction Safety Week (May 7-11). During this week, staff from the DOB will visit NYC construction sites to promote workers and public safety. They will promote a multilingual campaign entitled Experience is Not Enough. This campaign is stressing the importance for every construction worker independently of his experience to use safety equipment especially fall protection such as harnesses, guardrails and netting. The DOB staff plans to distribute flyers in various languages such as Arabic, Chinese, English, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
Are doctors failing to appropriately treat stroke patients?
More than twenty years ago, a medication was developed that can save lives and reduce the disabling impacts of a stroke. Known as tissue plasminogen activator (or “T.P.A.”), this medication is now considered the gold standard for the treatment of ischemic strokes by the American Stroke Association.
Generally speaking, there are two types of strokes that can occur—ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke. An ischemic stroke occurs when there is an obstruction to one of the vessels that supplies blood to the brain. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into the area surrounding the brain. T.P.A. can only be used to treat ischemic strokes. When timely used to treat an ischemic stroke, it can be a brain-saving treatment.
RECENT STUDIES SHOW TPA CAN PREVENT BRAIN INJURY AFTER A STROKE BUT SKEPTICS SAY TPA IS DANGEROUS
NYC Medical Malpractice Attorneys Jeffrey Bloom and Ben Rubinowitz to respectively chair and speak at the NYSBA program “Anatomy & Medicine for Lawyers”

Our partner, New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Jeffrey Bloom will be chairing the “Anatomy & Medicine for Lawyers” program offered by the New York State Bar Association Thursday March 29th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the CFA Society, 1540 Broadway #1010 in New York City. The program will also be webcasted live.
During the program Jeffrey will talk about preparing a medical malpractice case. He will discuss cases from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives. Our managing partner, Ben Rubinowitz will also attend the program as a speaker. He will lecture, about orthopedic and spinal injuries. He will be joined by Dr James Naidich, a radiologist in discussing these types of injuries.
This unique program will familiarize medical malpractice attorneys and personal injury attorneys (both plaintiff and defense) as well as workers’ compensation attorneys with the medical concepts and terminology necessary to
Concurrent Surgery: In Whose Best Interest?
In their latest Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, NYC Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write: Concurrent or overlapping surgeries are becoming more common in major teaching hospitals. Although studies have suggested that the practice can be performed without endangering patient safety, the attorney prosecuting such a case should focus on the motives behind the practice. Developing “case frames” such as profit over safety will certainly answer questions in the minds of jurors as to who benefits from double booking.
New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz to participate in “CLE With the Stars”
Our personal injury law firm is proud to announce that our managing partner, Ben Rubinowitz, was invited to be one of the 5 distinguished faculty members of “CLE with the Stars”, a seminar organized by the Connecticut Trial Lawyer Association.
The 4 other distinguished faculty members will travel from all over the country. They are Mark Davis from the Honolulu firm Davis Levin Livongston, Randy L. Kinard from the Nashville firm Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge, Zoe Littlepage from the Houston law firm Littlepage Booth and Tyler Thompson from Dole, Thompson, Shepherd & Conway, PSC in Louisville, KY. The program will be chaired by Connecticut attorneys Kathleen Nastri and Michael Koskoff both from the firm Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, PC.
The seminar will take place Friday April 6th 2008 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at The Trumbull Marriott, 180 Hawley Lane, Trumbull CT 06611.
New York Construction Accident Lawyers Anthony H. Gair and Christopher J. Donadio Obtain a $1 Million Settlement for a Construction Worker who Suffered a Crushed Thumb
Our NY Construction Accident law firm is proud to announce that our attorneys Anthony H. Gair and Christopher J. Donadio obtained a $1 million settlement in a construction accident that occurred in New York. The case involved an incident that occurred on a construction site in Manhattan. The plaintiff, who was a worker on the job site, suffered a crush injury to his thumb when a small crane (known as a “gin pole”) failed, and caused a several hundred pound motor to fall on to the plaintiff’s hand.
Due to the incident, the plaintiff was taken by ambulance to the hospital. At the hospital, the plaintiff was diagnosed with a crushed thumb on his non-dominant hand. As a result of the injury, the plaintiff required three surgical procedures to his thumb, including a revascularization procedure and a skin graft.
An action was brought in New York County, Supreme Court, against the general contractor of the construction project, and the owner of the construction site. The action was brought under New York Labor Law §240(1). The Labor Law of New York §240(1) provides that:
200,000 construction sites neglected to electronically file their 2016 annual injury and illnesses log on time
Among the 350,000 construction sites who were required by OSHA to electronically file their annual injury and illnesses log summary by December 31st only 153,653 complied. 61,000 construction sites that were not required to provide electronic records did it anyway. Almost 200,000 work sites didn’t comply with OSHA’s new electronic record keeping rule. It is not exactly clear why so many companies didn’t comply with the new rule. Some companies may have believed they were exempted, some thought that the deadline would be extended one more time. Other employers didn’t want their data to be published online as the new rule requires it.
Technically OSHA now has until June 15 to visit the 200,000 locations that violated the rule. Companies who didn’t file may risk up to $12,934 in penalties. Companies who can demonstrate they had difficulty filing electronically as well as companies who can provide a paper copy of their report may be exempted from a fine.
According to Construction Dive, some experts believe that OSHA wasn’t aggressive enough in its compliance effort.
Top 10 patient safety concerns in 2018
To avoid medical malpractice and make sure their patients are safe, good healthcare organizations stay proactive and identify actual and new risks of medical malpractice to better address them. Every year the ECRI institute, a non profit organization advocating for patient safety, compiles a list of the most urgent issues to be addressed by these organizations. The list, based on more than 2 million events reported to the ECRI Institute, highlights high priority concerns and new risks related to patients safety and proposes solutions to address them.
Diagnostic errors stay the main concern
Diagnostic errors and the opiod epidemic continue to be at the top of the list. Poor Internal Care coordination resulting in numerous medical errors continue to be a major safety concern as well. Staff bending work rules to circumvent or temporary fix what they perceive as a barrier or a system flaw and often unintentionally putting the patient in unsafe condition is also a main issue faced by healthcare organizations. The incorporation of poorly designed Health Information Technology Systems continue to have negative consequences on patients health.
Why are reckless and dangerous drivers still allowed to drive in New York City?
Dorothy Burns, the woman who killed two children and sent their mothers to the hospital after going through a red light, had a history of reckless driving. She was caught four times for running a red light and four other times for speeding in school zones. However she was still able to drive around the city.
In Today’s editorial, the New York Daily News is pointing out several cases of dangerous drivers who have been caught multiple times endangering pedestrians lives but still have their driving licence.
Drivers who are being caught by speed or red-light cameras only risk a $50 fine in New York City. There are no other consequences whatever the number of times they are caught doing it. The Daily News found out that a dozen drivers have accumulated more than 45 tickets each and are still able to drive in the city. Privacy Laws prevented the Daily News from obtaining the names of these drivers. However they found out that the same car in Queens got 74 tickets for speeding in school zone and 1 for going through a red light. A white van got 59 speeding tickets and 7 red light violations. Two livery cars with TLC licenses had a total of 22 red light violations and 25 speeding tickets.
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