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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Two young brothers were injured by a falling tree branch in New York on Monday. Johstin and Edward Reyes were having fun at a children’s playground at the Bronx River Park when a 10 foot long tree limb fell on them. They were both transported to the hospital and while Edward was released from the Hospital with bunps and bruises, his brother was not as lucky. Johstin not only broke his leg and suffered a head injury but  he also will need a spinal surgery. Read more in the NY Daily News

New York personal injury cases alleging negligence in maintaining the tree in a safe condition are difficult to prove. It is usually necessary to retain an expert arborist who can testify based on the condition of the tree that it was apparent that the tree or the branch were in a dangerous condition and at risk of falling.

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Report a potholeA New York bicyclist suffered severe personal injury after he hit a pothole and impaled his neck on a nearby fence. The man in his forties was riding his bike near Stockholm Street and Woodward Ave in Ridgewood, Queens, NYC, when the bicycle accident happened. The man hit the pothole and fell off the bike, hitting his head on the ground. He then tried to stand up but stumbled on a metallic fence on which he impaled his neck. The fence went all the way through his neck. When the EMS arrived they had to cut part of the fence to be able to treat the bicyclist. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Several cyclists interviewed by the NY Daily News were aware of the pothole and said the bicycle accident could have been avoided if the city was more proactive in repairing the potholes.  We can only hope that these cyclists were proactive as well and had previously taken a picture of the pothole and reported it to the City so that this bicyclist stands a chance to be compensated by the City for his gruesome injuries.  In New York, most pothole cases can only be won if the City had “written notice of the defect” before the accident occurred. If you are a bicyclist or a pedestrian in New York City and you notice a pothole, snap a pic and report it! It doesn’t take long and it may cause repair and protect a bicyclist in the future.

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FullSizeRenderAfter several pedestrians were injured and a few died in car accidents on West End Avenue, the New York City Department of Transportation installed mid-avenue islands at two dangerous intersections and narrowed the avenue from four lanes to two in mid-November last year.  Since then, data from the NYPD show a significant decrease in car accidents at both the intersections of West 95th Street and West 97th Street.  A ban on left turns at both intersections between 7:00 and 9:00 am as well as police reinforcement on West End Ave also helped in reducing the number of crashes.  Cooper Stock and Jean Chambers (see previous blog) who both died on West End Ave before the redesign was implemented, were killed by drivers making a left turn. Both victims were in the crosswalk and had the right of way. John Chambers, Jean’s husband, told DNA Info that the island are making a big difference in protecting pedestrians lives. He said that the islands are slowing down drivers and preventing them from making a dangerous sharp turn. He believes that if the islands had been installed earlier, his wife may still be alive. Read the complete article in DNA Info

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Jail MedicineMedical malpractice and negligent care to inmates is the subject of a new article in Fair Warning.  The author, Brian Joseph, looks at various cases of inmates who have died as the result of medical negligence committed by private companies that provides correctional medical services. Some of these companies have been expanding at a fast pace all over the nation despite controversy over inmate deaths. The author also looks at the history of health services to jails and prisons from the 1970’s when wardens and sheriffs lacking medical expertise started to ask for the help of private medical providers until today when private companies have taken over most of the prison healthcare system and put profit over inmates health care.

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A pedestrian with crutches was crossing the street in front of Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan when he was hit by a bus. According to the bus driver, the victim “lost his balance and ended up under the bus”. The victim was transported to the hospital in serious condition. The bus driver wasn’t charged.  Another pedestrian who just happened to fall under a bus in N.Y.C.  This is a classic statement by the driver that we have seen many times. Read more in the NY Post

 

 

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Two people were in critical condition and three others were seriously injured in an accident involving two cars in Brooklyn, NYC, early morning Sunday. The accident happened at the intersection of Quentin Road and E. Fifth Street in Gravesend, Brooklyn, NYC around 12:50 am.  The impact was so violent that one of the cars was sent into a utility pole that tore through the hood and stopped at the dash board. According to the Gothamist two previous car accidents happened this year at the same location.

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A 17 year old driver crashed his car into a SUV last night in New York City. The front passenger of the car died while the back passenger suffered personal injury . Both drivers were also injured. The teen was driving north on 231 St with two other teen passengers when he crashed into a SUV driven by a 20 year old man at 119th Av in Cambria Heights, Queens, NYC. Read more in the NY Daily News

In New York State, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of unintentional deaths for teens. Every day an average of 12 people are killed or are hospitalized because of a collision caused by a teen driver. Newly licensed male teen drivers as well as their teen passengers are the most at risk of being killed or injured in a car accident with unsafe speed being the leading cause of teen crashes. See graph below of most recent New York State statistics.

NY car accidents stats

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4 women are dead and 4 others are still in the hospital after being injured in a collision during which a pick up truck collided with their limo. The 8 friends were having a bachelorette party and had hired a limo to visit distilleries and vineyards from the North Folk Region. The limo was leaving Vineyard 48 winery in Cutchogue, Long Island, NY and was making a U turn when a pick up truck crashed into it. The collision was so violent that that the limo was almost sliced in half. Brittney Schulman, 23, and Lauren Baruch, 24, both of Smithtown; Stephanie Belli, 23, of Kings Park, and Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack all died in the accident. Joelle Dimonte, 25, of Elwood, L.I.; Melissa Angela Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, Westchester County; Alicia Arundel, 24, of Setauket, L.I., and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn, were all treated at local hospitals and survived. Both drivers were also injured and hospitalized. Steve Romeo, the driver of the pick up truck was charged with misdemeanor DWI. He pleaded not guilty. Read more in the NY Daily News

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baby in hospitalTo precribe Proglycem (diazoxide) to a baby with risk factors for pulmonary hypertension can be medical malpractice leading to severe personal injury.  FDA MedWatch, the FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program recently released a drug safety communication to warn that 11 cases of pulmonary hypertension in infants and newborns treated with diazoxide, the active ingredient in Proglycem, have been indentified since the drug was launched in 1973. The drug is usually used in hospital setting after the birth of the baby.

Doctors should not prescribe this drug to babies suffering from meconium aspiration syndrome, respiratory distress syndrome, transient tachypnea of the newborn, pneumonia, sepsis, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and congenital heart disease.

Babies with no risk factor for pulmonary hypertension should be closely monitored as well. Parents and caregivers should look for signs of difficulty breathing such as flaring nostrils, grunting, unusual movement of their child’s chest, rapid breathing, difficulty feeding, or a bluish color of the lips. They should stop the medication and contact their doctor immediately if they see any of these signs.

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airbagThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just announced that they were probing another company for defective airbags. According to the document posted on the NHTSA website, ARC Automotive is being investigated for airbag inflator rupture following two reports of incidents during which two people were injured.  A first incident of airbag inflator rupture was reported in 2009 but was considered an isolated case. However after KIA reported, this year, a product liability lawsuit for another airbag rupture from the same manufacturer, the US Safety regulators decided to probe ARC Automotive, Inc. The ARC probe will cover airbags in about 420,000 Fiat Chrysler Town and Country minivans from model year 2002, and 70,000 Kia Optima midsize sedans from model year 2004. Read more on the CNBC website