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 sceneA 17 year old driver accidentally killed his grandmother in a car accident in New York City on Sunday.  The young man who lives in Queens with his parents and grandparents was about to take the family to church when the accident occurred.  As he backed up in the narrow driveway of their home, Jadesh struck his grandmother who had stepped into the path of the car. 75 year old Chandravti Lakhan was transported to the hospital in critical condition. She couldn’t be saved.  According to the neighbors, the whole family is very united. The parents  and the grandparents live together  with 5 children in a house located on 267th St. near 83rd Ave in Queens, NYC. It wasn’t uncommon for Jadesh to take his grandparents out.  The whole family was visibly distraught by the tragedy.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Construction worker helpin another one to set up safety harness

Picture source: Wikipedia. Photos taken on residential construction sites which use fall arrest systems

Construction workers have a higher risk of accidents than many other workers in other industries. According to the most recent census of fatal occupational injuries, 611 workers died in construction accidents in the US in 2014. It is the highest number of construction worker deaths since 2009.

Most studies about construction workers safety present the management perspective. In a recently published study, the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) focuses on workers perception.

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A NYC cop was injured in a car accident involving a livery cab driver at a New York Airport. Tuesday afternoon around 1:00 pm, 30 year old Macias Rubio, a livery cab driver was looking for customers at Laguardia Aiport . As he was negotiating a fare with a potential customer, a police officer approached him. The officer put his head through the open window of Rubio’s car and started talking to him. Rubio sped off and dragged the police officer with him. After a short distance, the livery cab driver, stopped. He got out of his car and ran away. He was chased by other cops and arrested. The officer suffered several injuries in the accident. Read more in the NY Daily News

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A woman died in a truck accident in New York last Monday. 68 year old Nuesa Marques-Diniz was crossing 42nd street between Fifth Ave and Madison Ave, in Manhattan, when she was struck by a truck. The accident occurred around 8:00 pm. The woman was a New York resident from Brazil.  The truck belonged to the electrical company Hugh O’Kane Electrical Co. It was transporting two huge spool of wire. The pedestrian was crushed with the front and rear driver-side tires. She died at the scene of the accident.  The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. Read more in the NY Daily News

Last week Vision Zero launched a campaign to reduce pedestrian accidents after Daylight Saving Time. Recent statistics have shown that the number of pedestrian fatalities increase by 40% during the 3 months that follow Daylight Saving Time. Poorest visibility related to earlier darkness when most New Yorkers are still outside increases the risk of accidents.

truck accident location

The woman had just came out of the Mc Donald and was crossing the street here. Picture: courtesy of Google Map

 

 

 

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Medical technology can prolong life expectancy. However when not proprely handled, complex medical equipment can also increase the risk of medical malpractice.When the staff is not adequately trained or is too busy, medical errors related to technical equipment can occur. Medical malpractice related to technology hazards can seriously injure or kill patients. The ECRI Institute is closely monitoring risks and related medical errors related to new health technology.  Every year the patient advocate organization publishes a report of the 10 biggest technology hazards. Here is the 2017 ranking:

  1. Infusion error

    After a nurse or a member of the medical staff  installs a new infusion pump for a patient with an IV line, it seems obvious that he or she would check if the medication drips proprely in the tube. Unfortunately, this simple step is often neglected making infusion errors the biggest technology hazard in healthcare. Physical damages to the pump or staff not making appropriate use of the roller clamp on the IV tubing can cause uncontrolled flow of medication to the patient .”IV free flow” is mostly the result of medical malpractice that is easily preventable. It can cause severe harm to patients. Some of them die.

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New Jersey Transit trainAfter a train crashed into the Hoboken terminal killing one and injuring more than hundreds, the New Jersey Transit has been under intense scrutiny. Steven Santoro took over the role of executive director of the agency 3 weeks ago. He was appearing Friday at a joint hearing of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which together are investigating NJ Transit’s troubled leadership and poor safety record.

During the hearing, Santoro revealed that a federal investigation into the New Jersey Transit found multiple safety violations. According to NorthJersey.com the Federal investigators found that emergency tools and fire extinguishers were lacking on some trains. They also found that employees were using their cellphones when they were not authorized to do so.  Engineers sometimes didn’t blow the horn at grade crossings or didn’t perform brake checks as required. Additionally, locomotives were not proprely secured in train yards.

Santoro admitted that to operate safely the agency would need to hire at least 305 more employees. Additional funding will also be necessary. Santoro explained that the money allocated to construction projects to keep the railroad safe was used to pay for new equipment purchases.

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methShaun Martin was high on PCP and Meth when he crashed his car into a New York grocery store and killed the florist standing outside. Two other workers were also injured in the crash. He was convicted of murder last July (see previous blog). On Friday, the 35 year old man appeared in front of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Melissa Jackson. He was sentenced to 20 years to life.

In 2013 Shaun Martin was drunk and high on Meth and PCP when he decided to drive his car in the East Village. He jumped the curb at more than 90 mph and crashed into the flower stand of a grocery store located on Second Ave and E. 4th Street. 62 year old Mohammed Akkas Ali died in the car accident. He was the florist at the grocery store. He was about to finish his shift when the accident occured.  Read more in the NY Daily News

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accident sceneA pedestrian who was crossing the street was struck by a bicyclist on Saturday night. The bicyclist didn’t stop. He sped off leaving behind him a pedestrian seriously injured. The accident happened at the intersection of E. 70th Street and First Ave in the Upper East Side of New York around 8:10 pm. The pedestrian was attempting to cross the street when the bicyclist struck him. Witnesses said they heard his head cracking as it slammed on the asphalt. They also said the man had convulsions. The police haven’t apprehended the cyclist yet. Read more in the NY Daily News

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9 pedestrians were killed in NYC car accidents last year during the 8 days following the end of the Daylight Saving Time. All the victims were between 55 and 88 years old.  6 of the 9 accidents occurred after sunset. According to data collected between 2010 and 2014, the number of pedestrians dying or being severely injured in car accidents increased by 40% during the last 3 months of the year. Statistics also indicate that crashes involving turns are doubling during the colder and darker months of the year.

As Daylight Saving Time ends this week-end, a $1.5 million Vision Zero campaign will be launched this Friday by the mayor’s office to prevent pedestrian deaths during the most dangerous period of the year.

Yesterday Bill de Blasio was joined by Transportation Commissioner Trottenberg, Aging Commissioner Corrado, Commissioner and Chair of the Taxi and Limousine Commission Joshi and NYPD Chief Chan at One Police Plaza to present the new pedestrian safety campaign to the press.

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NYC MTA Subway logoOne MTA worker was seriously injured and another one died in a subway accident in NYC yesterday. The two men were working on the southbound G train track between the Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Ave. stations in Kensington, Brooklyn. A little after midnight, a train running on the track struck them both. Emergency workers rushed to the location of the accident. One of the workers, a 53 year old man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries. The other worker, a 49 year old man, was also transported to the hospital. He was seriously injured but in stable condition. It is not clear why the two men were working on the track when the  subway train was in service. Read more in the NY Daily News