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 man died in a motorcycle accident in New York City last Friday. 26 year old Michael Ramnath from the Bronx was riding his bike north on the Cross Island Parkway in Queens when the accident occurred. According to the NY Daily News, the motorcyclist was attempting to switch lanes when he struck a car. He then hit the guardrail and got ejected from his motorcycle.  The young man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries. The driver of the car stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged.

Another motorcyclist was in critical condition after he hit a pothole in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The biker was riding South on Marcus Garvey Boulevard. As he was approaching Kosciuszko Street he hit a pothole and got ejected from his motorcycle. he was transported to the hospital in critical condition. It is obviously extremely dangerous to ride in The City. One has to deal with numerous roadway defects as well as drivers who are not alert to motorcycles. If you must ride keep within the speed limit, don’t expect drivers to yield and always be on the lookout for potholes and improperly laid metal plates, among other hazardous roadway conditions.

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drunk drivingA young drunk driver was caught driving the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway in Queens, NYC, early yesterday morning. 23 year old Ivan Ceron was charged with drunk driving, driving an unregistered vehicle and driving below the minimum posted speed.  Several people called 911 to alert the police. Thankfully no one was hurt unlike previous incidents of reckless driving that recently occurred on the LIE. On August 31st , 3 people died and 11 were injured in a traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway near Maurice Ave in Queens. Results of preliminary investigation show that speed caused the accident. 10 days earlier 5 people died and six suffered injury in another crash related to speed on the LIE. Among those who died was an ex-Cuomo aid.

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accident sceneA livery car crashed into scaffolding and injured several people including a child. ABC7 reported that the crash occurred Saturday night around 9:45 pm in Harlem, New York. Very few details were provided as to what caused the crash and who were the victims. Pictures however show that the impact was strong as it destroyed the scaffolding.

Less than 24 hours earlier in Harlem, a pedestrian was seriously injured by a hit and run driver. The 32 year old man was visiting from Syracuse. The man was crossing Broadway near 125th street when he was struck by a car. The car must have hit the pedestrian at high speed as its bumper fell off after the crash. Despite a man on the ground and part of his car missing, the driver sped off and disappeared into the night. The police are still looking for him. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital. He suffered face injuries and a fractured left elbow according to the NY Daily News.

In Brooklyn, two people were injured in a crash involving a police car. The crash took place Monday afternoon in Park Slope according to the NY Daily News .

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Among the many Vision Zero initiatives to reduce deaths and injuries related to traffic accidents in New York, the city has installed pedestrians islands at dangerous locations. Last December, such islands were installed along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.  The main objective of these pedestrians islands was to protect numerous children who were crossing the dangerous parkway every day to go to school.  Eastern Parkway was identified as a priority corridor in the Vision Zero Brooklyn Pedestrian Safety Action Plan. Between 2009 and 2013 4 people died and 7 were severely injured in the Eastern Parkway segment between Grand Army Plaza and Ralph Avenue.

Last week a few days before the West Indian Day Parade, the New York City Department of Transportation destroyed the concrete medians at Kingston and Brooklyn Avenues. The destruction happened after the organizers of the West Indian Day Parade asked the DOT to do do this so the floats could navigate the road. When asked about it De Blasio said the islands were posing a parade safety hazard.

The destruction of public infrastructures that have taken residents and road safety advocates years to be installed is leaving people scratching their heads and wondering how serious de Blasio is about making the streets of New York City safer.

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accident sceneA bicyclist died after being struck by a minivan in NYC early Monday morning. The man was riding his bike on the left shoulder of the eastbound Grand Central Parkway near 111th Street in Corona, Queens. At one point he swerved into the traffic. He was hit by a minivan. The cyclist died at the scene of the accident. The driver of the minivan stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged.

In New York City, bicycles are prohibited on highways. It is unclear why the bicyclist decided to use the highway. The investigation is ongoing.

Read more in DNA

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accident scene3 people died and 2 suffered personal injury in a car accident in Upstate New York last Saturday around 4:20 am. All the victims were in their 20ies. Nelson Osegueda, Ray Rivera, and Waner Nunez were riding in a car with two other young women on Route 6 in Southeast, NY, toward Danbury.  A deputy sheriff allegedly saw the car swerving over the center line and suspected the driver was intoxicated. He tried to pull the car over. As the driver didn’t comply, the deputy sheriff started to chase the car. The average speed of the chase was around 65 mph and twice went up to 80 mph. As the deputy sheriff arrived near the border of his jurisdiction, he alerted the Danbury police and slowed down. According to the deputy sheriff, the chased car then sped up. 15 seconds later the driver hit a utility pole.

The car was completely mangled. the 3 young men mentioned above died and the two young women were injured. One of them suffered serious leg fractures. They were transported to the hospital to be treated.

Read more in Newstimes

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Hard HatTwo hard hats were severely injured in a construction accident in New York. The accident occurred this morning on a construction site located at 21 West 86th Street near Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side. The two men were working on a door frame when it fell. The two workers lost their balance and fell 10 feet below into the basement below. After that an I-Beam fell on them. One of the men suffered a bad leg injury and the other one was also badly hurt. They were both transported to the hospital. A stop work order was issued at the site by the NYC Department of Buildings. From looking at photographs of the scene it is clear the there was no planking covering the hazardous opening as is required by The New York State Industrial Code to protect workers performing work in the area of the opening to prevent these types of accidents.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Picture: courtesy of Wikipedia

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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