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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deblasioA week after a man died in a crane collapse in New York, the Mayor announced that the city will kick off a massive inspection blitz of construction sites and quadruple penalties for serious violations of safety on construction sites. The construction boom in the city has led to a dramatic increase of construction accidents. Last year there were 433 accidents, an increase of 75%  compared to 2014. Before the boom in 2009 there were  218 accidents, 98% less than in 2015.  According to DOT investigations, most of the construction accidents that happened last year in New York City could have been prevented if the contractor had simply followed the existing safety rules. Unfortunately too often contractors and developers are cutting corners and putting the life of their workers at risk to increase their profit.

Despite the cold weather Mayor de Blasio held his press conference in front of a East Village Construction site where a construction worker fell to his death on Christmas Eve. 33 year old Luis Alberto Pomboza, was working on the renovation of a multi-family  townhouse at 356 East 8th Street. Pomboza was demolishing a wall when a large portion of the wall fell on him and caused him to fall 4 stories. An Ecuadorian immigrant and father of 5, Pomboza was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died there from serious head trauma.  The construction site superintendent who was legally required to be on the construction site to ensure the safety of workers and the public wasn’t there when the accident happened. De Blasio indicated that last year 70% of the construction accidents in New York City occurred in buildings with 10 stories or less. Therefore the investigation blitz  that starts this week will focus on these types of construction sites. Inspectors will target contractors with bad safety records and working on buildings lower than 10 stories as well as all construction sites higher than 15 stories. The DOB will inspect a total of 1,500 job sites in the 90 coming days.

Fines for “serious failures to safeguard construction sites” will increase from $2,400 to $10,000 and if the construction site is lacking a site superintendent the penalty will reach a maximum of $25,000 instead of $5,000. Additionally starting in July, superintendents will be required for all major construction projects at buildings under 10 stories. Superintendents will be required to log daily reviews of site safety.

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A pedestrian was fatally hit by a dump truck in New York City on Friday. The accident between the truck and the pedestrian happened at the intersection of 11th Avenue at West 37th Street, Manhattan, in front of the Javits Center. The 48 year old woman was crossing 11th Avenue when the truck made a right turn from 37th Street onto 11th Ave.  Brenda Katz who was in a cab just behind the truck told DNA Info that the pedestrian was most probably in the dead angle of the truck driver and that he didn’t see her. She said the back wheel of the truck ran over her. The woman died at the scene of the accident. According to the Daily News the victim was travelling from Canada.

dump truck accident location

 

 

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Hudson and LaighA bicyclist was critically injured after he collided with a truck in New York last Thursday. The accident happened at the intersection of Hudson Street and Laight Street in Tribeca around 6:40 pm. The 50 year old bike-rider was pedaling North on Hudson Street when he collided with a crane truck driving West on Laight Street. The crane truck is owned by the company “Service Sign Erectors”. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. According to the NY Daily News the bicyclist ran the red light. The accident is being investigated by the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad.

Picture of the intersection: Google Map

 

 

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A 63 year old grandmother died in a truck accident yesterday in New York. The accident happened yesterday night at 8:48 pm at the intersection of Broadway and West 165th Street in Manhattan. Maria Minchala had just come out of the church and was on her way to work. She was crossing Broadway in the crosswalk when a flatbed truck hit her.

The truck driver who was operating a NYC Tire and Auto Care Inc. truck, was making a left turn onto Broadway when he hit her. He stayed at the scene of the accident and told the police that he never saw the victim. He explained that as he was turning he felt a bump and pulled over. He stepped out and discovered the victim.

Maria Minchala was rushed to the hospital but she didn’t survive. She was the second pedestrian to die in a traffic accident in NYC yesterday. Earlier in the day a 16 year old girl was fatally struck by a hit and run van in Queens (see previous blog)

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Kids_at_daycareIn New York City, too many kids are seriously injured or even die every year because their day caregivers ignore safety regulations and break laws according to a special investigation that is being published Today in the New York Daily News. The newspaper investigated the 11,513 licensed day care centers in the city and found that “The New York City day care system is plagued with terrifying overcrowding and lack of oversight, putting the lives of children across the city in danger.” Over the last 3 years, five children died, 8 suffered serious personal injury in New York day care centers. Additionally 9 kids were reported lost while under the supervision of day care staff.  Adding to the danger are  also the increasing number of illegal day care centers which are operating out of apartments and houses without any license.

According to New York State Law a caregiver can not take care more than 6 children. However because care givers are paid by child most of them ignore this rule and put money ahead of child safety.  Hundreds of complaints related to overcrowding are being filed every year.  Kids don’t have enough space to sleep. They are getting injured because they are not proprely supervised or get lost in parks and play grounds.

According to the investigation, even though the number of negligent day care centers that are being shut down by the city nearly tripled between 2011 and 2015, some day care centers that previously committed gross negligence are still in operation. For example Kathy’s Day Care in Elmhurst, Queens had a special needs child leave the facility without being noticed. The child was found wandering in the middle of Junction Boulevard by a car driver who luckily was able to break in time to avoid hitting him. Kathy received a citation but still continues to operate. Would you feel comfortable leaving your child there?

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rubinowitz_torganIn their Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write: “In crafting the cross of a witness, the trial lawyer must look beyond the obvious. Instead of just focusing on what was said, the trial lawyer should explore that which was not said, but should have been said. These omissions and failures often lead to the most compelling arguments on summation. The problem is that most lawyers are fearful of the unknown.”

Download a pdf of the article

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Sunrise Highway and Francis LewisA 16 year old female pedestrian died in a car accident earlier during the night and police are still looking for the driver of a dollar van who struck her and sped away. The accident happened a little bit after midnight.  The teenage girl was trying to cross the 4 lane Sunrise Highway at the intersection of Francis Lewis Blvd in Rosedale (see picture from Google map on the left) when the van struck her. The driver didn’t stop and continued to head East on Sunrise Boulevard. The teenager was in cardiac arrest. She was rushed to the hospital but she couldn’t be saved.

A resident of the neighborhood who talked to CBS New York said that she crossed this intersection everyday and that she was almost hit a few times. She said speeding was frequent as well. Even when the light is in favor of  pedestrians the Boulevard is so wide that it is difficult to cross before the light changes.

 

 

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A NYC bus crashed in a snowstorm injuring more than 30 yesterday. The bus which had left New York in the morning was driving 55 passengers to the Mohegan Sun Casino.  Around half past noon, the bus was driving through a snowstorm on  Interstate 95 in Connecticut when it flipped over just beyond Exit 61. Ambulances were immediately dispatched to the scene and passengers injured were transported to several hospitals in the region. Among the injured passengers, 6 were listed in critical condition.

So far it is difficult to know if only the bad weather triggered the bus to flip on its side. The police are still investigating the cause of the accident. The highway was closed to the traffic for many hours.

The bus belongs to Dahlia Travel and Tour, a New York City based bus operator. Yeserday’s accident happened 13 years after a Dahlia bus on its way to Atlantic City crashed on the highway, killing two people and injuring many.

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deblasioAs the investigation continues into the causes of Friday’s fatal crane accident in Lower Manhattan, De Blasio announced new safety measures that took place yesterday.  The measures are temporary while a task force will draft long term safety measures over the next 90 days. One of the measures requires crawler cranes to stop operating and to go into safety mode when the wind forecast are for steady winds speeds of 20 miles per hour or higher or gusts of at least 30 mph. Before the rule was respectively 30 mph for steady winds and 40 mph for gusts of wind. Additionally cranes will have to be brought to safety the day before winds are forecasted  to be above the security level.  Pedestrian security will be enforced with the help of the Department of Buildings, Department of Transportation, NYPD, and FDNY anytime there will be a securing of a crane. Before that only construction workers were responsible to secure the site. Nearby residents will not only be informed about when a crane is installed but also when it is moved.

Read the transcript of the Press Conference

 

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Every month almost 100 auto accidents in New York City are caused by drivers who fell asleep or who are drowsy behind the wheel. According to a recent article in the Post, Uber drivers must work more than 19 hours every day to make ends meet. This situation is putting Uber passengers, pedestrians and other New York road users at the risk of dangerous accidents.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission regulation prohibits cabbies from driving more than 12 hours straight. However very few Uber driver seem to respect this rule. If they would they would simply not make enough money.

Limo Drivers were protesting last week at city airports against a cut of 15% of the fares that took place at the end of January. Uber may have simplified the life of many New York commuters but for cabbies and limo drivers conditions have only gotten worse. Those who owned yellow taxi medallions have seen the prices plummet with Uber competition and regular limo companies have lost many clients to Uber.  Limo drivers are making so little money on their fares these days that they are forced to work long hours.

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