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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jbNew York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Jeffrey Bloom will be speaking at the New York City Bar Seminar “Current Issues in New York Medical Malpractice”. This program features a multi-disciplinary view of the current state of medical malpractice in New York, including regulatory concerns for the admitted professional liability insurers, techniques for judicial intervention in resolving malpractice claims; and recent changes in the law affecting the scope of the duties owed by physicians and hospitals. The program will highlight recent legislative developments and the prospect for further changes in the malpractice liability environment. Jeffrey will be speaking on the impact of the recent and proposed legislative changes on litigation of medical claims.  The event will take place this Monday May 23rd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036. For more information or to register to this event click here.

Jeffrey Bloom is a partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf. In addition to trying and managing medical malpractice cases, Jeffrey Bloom is the Co-chair of the Medical Malpractice Committee of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association as well as the Co-Chair of LAWPAC New York, the Trial Lawyers political action committee. In these roles, he works to protect the rights of victims of medical malpractice in Albany with the Legislature and State government.

 

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Last year in New York 14 bicyclists were killed and 4,400 were injured in bicycle accidents. The accidents are often caused by other vehicle drivers who are making the road unsafe for bikers. Cars or other vehicles parked in the bike lane or double parked put bicyclists at a higher risk of accidents.

As part of the Vision Zero Program, the NYPD  chose this week, which is also bike to work week  to launch the“Bicycle Safe Passage” initiative.

During the whole week NYPD officers of all precincts of the 5 boroughs of New York City are cracking down on motorists who are endangering bicyclists. Cars parked in designated bike lanes and forcing bike riders to ride in traffic to get around the parked cars as well as drivers crossing bike lanes illegally or driving on the bike lanes are the main target of NYPD officers.

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New York Wrongful Death Lawyer Howard HershenhornThe widow of David Wichs who was killed by a crane that collapsed on a New York Street (see previous post) is intending to sue the City for $600M. Rebecca Wichs who is represented by our partner, New York crane accident attorney Howard Hershenhorn, filed a notice of claim last week with the New York City Comptroller. Her husband David Wichs was walking on Worth Street, in downtown Manhattan, when a crane fell in the street and killed him. Rebecca Wichs is seeking $550 for wrongful death, $25 million for conscious pain and suffering and $25 million for loss of services.

Rebecca Wichs claims that The City was negligent in the manner in which they supervised the construction site.  It is also claimed The City failed to proprely consider the weather conditions in their decision making process. Knowing about the heavy snow and winds that were forecast for that day, The City should have ordered the lowering and securing of the crane the day before the collapse.

Read more in the New York Law Journal and on CBS News

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Daniel+Pollack-1Many parents who suffer mental illness are still fit to take care of their children.  However in some cases the mental illness of a parent may be such that it may impair the emotional development of a child and his or her physical health. In such cases, the court may restrict parenting time. In a recent article, Daniel Pollack, a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City explains how a determination of mental illness or instability may affect affect the court’s decision as to child custody. The article also describes how the court is assessing the mental fitness of the parent. It also explains how difficult it can be for the court to act in the best interest of the child while respecting the parent’s right to privacy and confidentiality and points out how human service agencies can help in providing useful and objective information that will serve the child’s best interest.

The complete article can be downloaded here

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brOur managing partner, New York Personal Injury Attorney Ben Rubinowitz, will be a speaker at the Nassau Academy of Law “Openings and Summations” Seminar. The event will take place Tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Nassau County Bar Association, 15th and West Streets in Mineola, NY. David J. Dean from the New York personal injury law firm Sullivan, Papain, Block, McGrath & Cannavo P.C. will speak on Openings and Ben Rubinowitz will speak on Summations. Terrence Tarver, Chair, NCBA Plaintiff’s Roundtable Committee will be the moderator for the event.

To sign up go online, or download a form here

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The two pedestrians plazas located between 35th street and 41st street in Manhattan will be remodeled and made permanent. The garment district alliance is working with the DOT to make this area a “true public space”. As part of its NYC Plaza Program, the NYC Department of Transportation is working with various non-profit organizations to develop neighborhood plazas in New York City. Not only is this type of plaza very efficient in protecting pedestrians from being injured in traffic accidents but they also provide quality open space to NYC residents. Non profit organizations in NYC can submit their proposal to the DOT. The DOT will conduct analysis such as traffic and pedestrian counts, crash data, impact on parking, impact on bike lanes, truck lanes and bus lanes to study the viability of the plaza proposal. If the proposal is selected, the DOT will first set up a temporary “One Day Plaza” at the selected location. If the outcome is positive , the next step is an interim plaza and the final step is a permanent fixture.

For now the two Broadway plazas located between 35th and 41st street are interim plazas but according to an exclusive article from the Daily News, they will become permanent fixtures.

pedestrian plazas

Picture: courtesy of Google Map

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accidents queens blvdBicyclists using the  so called “Boulevard of Death” will soon be protected from dangerous accidents. A controversial protected bike lane will be built on Queens Blvd despite the opposition of the Community Board 4. Last Tuesday night during a contentious meeting of the Queens Community Board 4, its chairman Lou Walker pushed a vote to accept a DOT safety plan to re-design Queens Blvd but without the Bike lane. Walker’s argument was that Queens Blvd was “not a park” .  The day after, Mayor de Blasio announced that despite the vote, the DOT will go ahead with its plan to safely re-design Queens Blvd including the protected bike lane. “I respect those who disagree with us, but in the end, the safety of our neighbors and our children is the most fundamental responsibility we have in this work,” de Blasio said in a statement released this afternoon. “Today, I have instructed the Department of Transportation to move forward on the next phase of safety enhancements to Queens Boulevard, including a protected lane for cyclists.”

Queens Boulevard is infamously nicknamed Boulevard of Death because it is one of the most dangerous streets in New York City. As part of the Vision Zero initiative the Boulevard will be completely redesigned by the end of 2017. The project is divided into 3 parts. The first part was completed last year between Roosevelt Ave and 74th Street. It included Queen’s Boulevard’s first bike lane. The second part of the project is the one that was partially opposed by CB4 on Tuesday night but pushed through  by de Blasio. In this phase, a protected bike lane will be installed on Queens Blvd between 74th Street and Elliott Ave. In this section of Queens Blvd. from 2010 to 2014 777 people were injured (including 42 severely) and 5 people died in traffic accidents.   In its PDF presentation, the DOT estimates that 250 people ride their bikes every day on this part of Queens Blvd. When the bike lane will be installed there is a good chance that this number will increase as people will feel safer using their bikes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSKGbSTvUEA

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During the summer, there are between 500 and 700 bicycle accidents  in New York City every month. Most of them will result in injuries and an average 2 to 3 bicyclists will die in these accidents. Bicyclists who wear a helmet reduce their chance of death or serious injury in an accident by 85% according to recent studies.  In New York State the law makes it mandatory for bicyclists under 13 years old to wear a helmet. Adults are not required by law to wear a helmet but are highly encouraged to do so especially if they are riding in the congested streets of the city.

From April to the end of October 2016 the NYC Department of Transportation is organizing giveaways and helmet-fitting events across the city.  23,000 free helmets will be distributed to New Yorkers during these events. One of them took place last week at the Brooklyn Public Library (see NY Daily News).  Saturday, May 14th, a free helmet fitting and distribution event took place at St. Catherine ‘s Park, 1245 1st Ave in Manhattan. Another distribution of helmets took place on Sunday May 15th in Brooklyn during the Bike Bonanza event. During this event, families were invited to participate in free fun activities and get free helmets. For more free helmet events check here.

Bicycle accidents injuries deaths NYC February 2016

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Our partners, New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers Ben Rubinowitz and Jeffrey Bloom appeared this morning on Good Morning America to discuss the settlement that they reached in the Joan Rivers malpractice case. See video below

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Our law firm is pleased to announce that our attorneys Jeffrey Bloom and Ben Rubinowitz were successful in resolving the Joan Rivers Medical Malpractice case on behalf of her family. The amount is confidential.

Here is the statement from Melissa Rivers in regards to this settlement:

“In accepting this settlement, I am able to put the legal aspects of my mother’s death behind me and ensure that those culpable for her death have accepted responsibility for their actions quickly and without equivocation.  Moving forward, my focus will be to ensure that no one ever has to go through what my mother, Cooper and I went through and I will work towards ensuring higher safety standards in out-patient surgical clinics. I want to express my personal gratitude to my legal team for their wise counsel and prompt resolution of this case. ”