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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35 Perry Street aerialConstruction workers and residents living nearby a West Village townhouse in Manhattan were put at risk of a deadly collapse by a greedy homeowner. Inspectors from the New York City Department of Buildings who responded to a complaint at 35 Perry Street found a giant illegal excavation in the backyard. The excavation that was 7 feet deep in some areas was hidden by a fake grass carpet. The fake floor was suspended in a canopy style over the excavation. The owner, Joseph Ienco, had no construction permit. The excavation not only compromised the base of the 1,852 structure but also the foundation of 37 Perry Street. The owner put his workers and his neighbors at risk of a deadly construction accident. He was slapped with several safety violations. The inspectors also found illegal workers hiding in the house and a rental truck used to move debris out of the site.

Read more in the NY Daily News

 

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Two pedestrians were critically injured in a strange car accident in New York City two days ago. A driverless van suddenly started to roll backward hitting a 80 year old woman and a 71 year old food vendor.  The driver of the van had exited his vehicle after he thought he left the van in “Park”.  Instead he left it in “Reverse”. The van rolled back in the middle of the Broadway and 32nd Street intersection in Astoria.

People started to panic and jumped out of the way. The 80 year old woman couldn’t move fast enough and was hit by the vehicle. The van then crashed into a food stand. The impact of the crash moved the foot stand 25 feet away. The owner was clipped in the back of his head. He then fell and the stand rolled onto him. Both victims were transported to the hospital. The woman was listed in critical condition while the man was in stable condition.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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accident sceneA 29 year old man died in a car accident in Long Island, NY. Navado Pratt was driving his car South on Peninsula Boulevard in Valley Stream when he lost control of his vehicle. The car hit a guardrail and barreled onto a grassy median separating the North and South lanes. It finally hit an electrical tower more than 100 feet away. The the driver was ejected from the car and landed in a nearby creek. The police are investigating the cause of the accident. Speed is highly suspected.

see video here and read more here

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An estimated 438 people will die and 50,300 will be seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident this Labor Day Holiday. These estimates were released recently by the National Safety Council and cover the period beginning Today at 6:00 pm and ending Monday at 11:59 pm. The estimated number of traffic fatalities is 18% higher than the average number of fatalities for the last six previous Labor Day Periods.  It would also be the highest total number of fatalities for the holiday period since 2008 when the National Safety Council started keeping these statistics.

The National Safety Council also estimated that 170 of these 438 estimated traffic fatalities could be avoided if the front seat passenger wears a seat belt. Another estimated 104 deaths could be prevented if all wear seat belts.

Traffic Fatality Labor Day

Data Source: National Safety Council

 

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surf rescuersWhat are the risks of injury while surfing? As the swell of tropical storms Gaston and Hermine are hitting the East Coast, New York surfers are getting amped-up by possible big waves coming for this Labor Day week-end.  But is it dangerous?

A recent study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine says no. The study entitled “Surfing USA: an epidemiological study of surfing injuries presenting to US EDs 2002 to 2013” was conducted by Cole Klick, MD, Courtney M.C. Jones, PHD, MPH and David Hadler, MD, MPH from the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester – Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY, USA.  They analysed 12 years of data related to surf accidents and injury in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. They came to the conclusion that surfers do get hurt very often but the injuries are rarely serious.

Among the 2,072 cases analyzed, 41% of the injuries were lacerations, 14% were sprains and strains, 13% were contusions and 12% were fractures. Hospital admission rates were extremely low with 96% of the injured surfers visiting the ER being released after treatment. While the median age of injured surfers showing up at the ER was 27 years old, the study shows that older surfers above 60 were the ones at risk of being admitted for trunk injuries or internal organ injuries. Body parts most often injured were lower extremities, face, head and neck.

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NYPDA teenager was seriously injured in a bicycle accident involving a police car in Brooklyn, NYC.  The 14 year old boy was riding his bike with a group of friends in Bensonhurst yesterday night around 9:15 pm. As they were riding by 18th Ave and 78th Street, a marked NYPD car headed their way. The police car was responding to an assault nearby and its lights and sirens were on. According to the cops, the group of teens moved to the side with the exception of one. The cops said that the driver tried to avoid him but the teenager “fell onto the car”. The young bike rider was transported to the hospital with serious injury but in stable condition.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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injured worker in construction accidentInjury data collection is getting modernized at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A new rule was recently released in regard to workplace injury tracking. Effective January 1st 2017, the new rule requires some employers including those in high risk industries such as the construction industry to submit electronic records of injuries and illnesses.

For decades OSHA has been recording data related to injury and illness on the job.  Employers are required to record onsite injury and illnesses in specific forms often called the “OSHA Log”. The recording of injury and illness is an invaluable tool in detecting serious hazards on the work place and finding solutions to prevent them.

The new rule requiring electronic filing allow for a faster and more transparent reporting of injuries. Data will be released in standard open format. OSHA strongly believes that public disclosure will help “nudge” employers to focus on safety.  Additionally researchers will be able to use this data to find new ways to improve workplace safety.

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New York Product Liability Attorneys Tony Gair and en RubinowitzSuccessful product liability lawyers possess an exceptional set of skills. Not only do they have to be able to sit for hours to decipher  extremely technical documents but  they also have to deal with clients suffering life changing injuries or grieving over a loved one who wrongfully died, most of the time in dramatic manner. They also need to juggle tight deadlines, keep their calm and always be courteous with all parties involved. A recent article  in Law 360 describes the 5 top qualities of a top product liability attorney as:

  1. Having a head for science and engineering
  2. Being able to deal with serious injury and death
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Patient checked by doctorDischarging a patient too early can be hospital negligence that puts a patient at higher risk of readmission or death. An alarming new study shows that 1 out of 5 patients is released from the hospital before his vital signs are stable. The study released in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, was conducted by Dr. Oanh Nguyen (Assistant Professor Internal Medicine Department of Clinical Science), Dr. Anil Makam  (Assistant Professor Internal Medicine Department of Clinical Science) and Dr. Ethan A. Halm (Professor Internal Medicine Department of Clinical Sciences and Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine), all from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center.

Vital signs include:

  • temperature
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kayak7 people suffered personal injury in New York after a NY Waterway ferry backed up into their kayaking group. The kayakers were part of a routine guided tour of 10 kayaks organized by the Manhattan Kayak Co. The collision occurred on the Hudson River as the ferry was pulling out of Pier 79. He was maneuvering to turn South to head to Wall Street. Police said the sun glare may have prevented the captain from seeing the group of kayakers. The captain passed a breathalyzer test. He was 100% sober.

The most injured of the kayakers was the guide, a veteran with the kayaking company. He his arm was lacerated to the bone. He lost a lot of blood and lost consciousness. This morning 6 of the 7 kayakers injured were still in the hospital. The investigation is ongoing to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Read more here