Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is proud to announce that 9 of our New York Personal Injury Lawyers were listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2017.
Marijo Adimey, Jeffrey B. Bloom, Seymour Boyers, Anthony H. Gair, Howard S. Hershenhorn, Stephen H. Mackauf, Ben B. Rubinowitz, and Richard M. Steigman were selected in the following practice areas:
Marijo Adimey, listed in Best Lawyers since 2015
A hit and run driver hit a couple crossing Flatbush Ave, killing the husband and seriously injuring the wife. Last Thursday around 5pm Angel and Samantha Sagardia were crossing Flatbush Ave in front of the King Plaza Mall in Marine Park, Brooklyn when they were struck by a van. According to witnesses the van was speeding. He hit the woman first and then the man. The van driver didn’t slow down and continued on his way leaving the couple critically injured on the road. A side mirror from the van was also found on the street by investigators. The van was also found later on near the intersection of Rogers and Tilden Avenues in East FlatBush. The driver is still at large. Read more in the NY Daily News
In their recent Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write: With discovery and depositions as broad as they currently are, problematic issues in a case should be laid bare before you even walk into the courtroom. It is not the fact that there is a problem but often the trial lawyer’s ability to confront and address the problem during jury selection that can make the difference in the outcome of a case.
A construction worker was in critical condition yesterday after a four-story fall at a Brooklyn construction site. According to neighbors, the construction site located on Nostrand Ave was previously a case wash that was being converted into a five-story condo building. The construction site was lacking safety as no gate had been built around the 10-foot foundation. Neighbors also complained their houses were shaking during construction. After he fell the worker was rush to the hospital. He suffered traumatic arrest. Read more in the NY Daily News
A few days before a construction worker was injured after he fell 10 feet down in a trench on a Queens construction site. The man who was covered by debris was promptly rescued by the FDNY. Thankfully he only suffered minor injuries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJcBpHhugYs
A man died in a NYC motorcycle accident yesterday night. According to the NYPD the 28 year old motorcyclist was speeding on Grand Central Parkway, weaving in and out of traffic. As he was traveling in the right center lane he crashed into the back of a SUV. The driver and the passenger of the SUV suffered neck and back injuries and were transported to the hospital. The motorcyclist was also taken to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved.
Read more in the NY Daily News
Picture of the Grand Central Parkway and Jewel Ave courtesy of Google Map
57 pedestrians, 21 bicyclists and 289 motor vehicle occupants were injured in a car accident between 2010 and 2014 at the intersection of Atlantic Ave and Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, New York City. 5 people also died in crashes at this same location between 2008 and 2016. This busy intersection is one of the most dangerous in New York City and the Department of Transportation wants to make it safer. Last week the DOT presented a study of the actual traffic conditions at this intersection and proposals to make it safer. As of now, pedestrian crossings are extremely long, the traffic is heavy and often conflicting with pedestrians while turning. Bike lanes do no connect, taxi and buses block the traffic while dropping passengers and the sidewalk design is not appropriate. The intersection is very dangerous. The DOT proposes not only to redesign the intersection of of Flatbush Ave and Atlantic Ave but also the Flatbush Ave intersections near Hanson Place and Ashland place. Among the changes, the plan includes the addition of pedestrian islands and curb extensions to reduce the crossing distances as well some blocks being converted to pedestrian areas and new signalization. The complete study can be downloaded here
Picture courtesy of Google Map
Caleb Schwab sustained a fatal neck injury as he was riding the the “Verrückt” which is the world’s tallest water slide. The 10 year old boy was decapitated and found dead in a pool at the bottom of the slide.
The accident happened at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas. The “Verrückt” which means insane in German was named the tallest water slide in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2014. The opening of the ride was delayed after tests on the 168-foot water slide had rafts flying off the slide (see video below). When the ride finally opened the minimum age to ride it was 14 years old. However a month after the opening the age limit was removed and only the height requirement of 54 inches was kept as a limit to get on the ride.
Caleb boarded the raft with two other women who were not related to him. Both women suffered face injuries. Kelsey Friedrichsen and Josh Foster, a couple waiting at the top of the water slide to be on the next ride told People Magazine that they saw a group of people at the bottom and a woman being treated for injury to her face. Then they saw first responders covering the body of Caleb. “It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down,” Friedrichsen said. “He would have fallen down without the raft. It’s kind of like a tube.” A 14 year old girl who took a ride on the “Verrückt” earlier during the day also mentioned that “toward the end of the ride the Velcro on her belt had come undone.” Investigators are still working on determining the exact cause of the accident.
When a victim is injured in a car accident in NYC, the NYPD tends to blame the victim and anonymous police sources often speculated to the press about the cause of the accident. This attitude was criticized in a recent report published by Transportation Alternatives (see page 19 of the report). They did it again last week as a preliminary report from the police indicated that 22 year old Jack Delaney Koval was killed on the West Side Highway after the young man jumped a divider and stepped into oncoming traffic. Further investigation and surveillance footage of the accident revealed that the young man was in the crosswalk when he was fatally hit by the car. He wasn’t jumping a divider like police sources initialy told the press. Read more in the Gothamist
42 people were injured at a Snoop Dog and Wiz Khalifa concert last Fridat night in Camden NJ. The two artists were performing at the BB&T Pavillon when a railing collapsed causing dozens of fans to fall several feet below onto the concrete (see video at the bottom). One person was critically injured and dozens of them were transported to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries such as bruises and broken bones.
Accidents at concerts and festivals are not very common however when they happen they are often catastrophic because they include a large number of people that are often intoxicated. It is the responsibility of the event organizers to make sure the venue is safe and that contingency plans are in place in case of complications. Inadequate protection and planing can quickly lead to dramatic disasters during crowded concerts and festivals.
Here are some of the most terrifying concert accidents that happened in the past, the most deadly were due to fire accidents in venues where organizers neglected attendees safety:
29 people died in car accidents in New York City last June bringing the total number of car accident fatalities in the city to 111 for the first sixth months of 2016. These numbers are higher than last year when 20 people were killed in NYC car accidents in June and a total of 107 vehicle accidents fatalities were recorded for the first semester. At the end of 2015 Mayor de Blasio was proud to announce that the number of NYC fatal car accidents was at its lowest thanks to the many initiatives launched in the city under the Vision Zero program .
So what went wrong in 2016? A report recently released by Transportation Alternative is pointing fingers at the NYPD and said they are getting Vision Zero data wrong. Transportation Alternatives conducted an in-depth analysis of the NYPD traffic enforcement practices and discovered that the NYPD hasn’t committed to use appropriate policing to deter the most deadly driving violations: failing to yield and speeding. Transportation Alternatives also found out that there are no clear plans in regards to participating in the Zero Vision program and that the allocations of resources is not based on street conditions.
In its report, Transportation Alternatives especially criticizes the attitude of the NYPD towards bicyclists. While 12 of the 14 fatal bicycle accidents that occurred this year were caused by negligent vehicle drivers, the police still continue emphasis on minor cyclists violations rather than going after reckless drivers endangering bicyclists. Transportation Alternatives recommends that initiatives like Bicycle Safe Passage be a norm rather than a temporary police blitz.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog