New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog

Published on: June 11, 2015

Personal injuries and wrongful deaths related to rear end crashes could decrease significantly if collision avoidance systems were standard on all new passenger and commercial vehicles

Half a million people suffered personal injury and 1,700 died in more than 1.7 million rear-end vehicle accidents in 2012 in the US. Many of these accidents could have been avoided or at least mitigated if vehicles were equipped with collision warning systems paired with active braking systems according to a new Special Investigation Report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) entitled “The Use of Forward Collision Avoidance Systems to Prevent and Mitigate Rear-End Crashes“. In the report the NTSB demonstrates the efficiency of such systems and criticizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for not doing enough and being to slow in implementing performance standards for these technologies. The report also notes that manufacturers have too little incentive to add these technologies to their new vehicles.

Picture: before and after a rear-end crash courtesy of Wikipedia

Published on: June 11, 2015

According to a second update from the NTSB on its investigation into the Amtrak derailment, the train engineer wasn’t using his cell phone while operating the train

By GGCRBHS&M

As part of its investigation into the Amtrak train accident that killed 8 and injured more than 200 people, the National Transportation Safety Board thoroughly analysed the engineer’s cell phone calls, texts, data and cell phone tower transmission activity records from the phone carrier; and records from Amtrak’s on-board Wi-Fi system. This analysis indicates that the engineer was not using his cell phone while operating the train. Read the NTSB press release

Published on: June 9, 2015

Con Ed sues the City of New York over the Harlem gas explosion that killed 8 people and injured many others

By GGCRBHS&M

Con Ed says the city’s negligence caused the gas explosion that destroyed two buildings last year in Harlem. In a law suit filed yesterday, Con Ed indicates that, over the years, the NYC Department of Transportation received multiple complaints of huge depressions in the street pavement on Park Avenue near 116th street where the two buildings exploded.”As a result of these defects in the city’s infrastructure in the vicinity of the incident, the gas facilities were exposed to and affected by leaking water, rocks, debris, sand, soil, roadway pavement and other foreign objects,” the filing says.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: June 9, 2015

Our partner Jeffrey B. Bloom will be speaking at the “Automobile Litigation Update 2015 : Keeping Current in New York” seminar organized by the New York State Bar Association

By GGCRBHS&M

New York Car Accident Lawyer Jeffrey B. Bloom will be speaking on “Taking a Meaningful Deposition in an Auto Accident Case” tomorrow June 10th at the “Automobile Litigation Update 2015 : Keeping Current in New York” Seminar presented by the New York State Bar Association. This seminar will take place at the CUNY Graduate Center, at 365 Fifth Avenue in New York from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. For those who can not attend in person there will be an option to follow the program on a live webcast however newly admitted attorneys must attend the program in person to receive New York MCLE credit.

Trying or resolving a motor vehicle case requires an understanding of the latest developments and trends in automobile tort law. Designed to familiarize attorneys with the intricacies of automobile litigation in New York State, this seminar will include an overview of the latest developments in underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage, accident reconstruction and the use of biomechanical experts. Experienced practitioners will provide practical information you can use to prepare an automobile claim from the claim stage through discovery and trial. Coverage issues impacting automobile litigation will be also be discussed. The program also includes a segment on ethical considerations.

To learn more about this program or to register click here

Published on: June 9, 2015

Two pedestrians suffered personal injury after a motorist lost control of his car in Midtown, Manhattan

By GGCRBHS&M

A 62 year old woman and a 52 year old man were hit by a car after the driver lost consciousness and his car jumped the curb in front of the Apple store at the intersection of 59th street and 5th Avenue. The two pedestrians as well as the driver and the passenger of the car were injured and taken to the hospital. Midtown North has one of the highest concentration of pedestrian activity in New York City. The sidewalks are crowded with locals, commuters and tourists. Between 2009 and 2013 there were 2684 auto accidents involving pedestrians that resulted in 23 deaths and 252 personal injuries.

Published on: June 8, 2015

Trial Advocacy: From Opening to Summation, Making First Impressions Count

By GGCRBHS&M

In their Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz, and Evan Torgan write: There is an old adage that every trial lawyer should accept as gospel: “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” Keeping this maxim in mind, attorneys must strive to make a winning impression early on in the trial so they can use that impression to set the tone for each phase of the remainder of the trial. Read more in the New York Law Journal .
Download a PDF document of the complete article

Published on: June 8, 2015

Doctors who are communicating well with their patients decrease their risk of being sued for medical malpractice

By GGCRBHS&M

Unfortunately many doctors are not very good at communication with their patients and to protect themselves from medical malpractice, they increase the number of office visits and perform additional but often unnecessary procedures and tests. They call it “defensive medicine” but according to a recent article in the New York Times written by Aarron E. Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, all these extra precautions don’t reduce the risk of being sued. Better communication with the patients does. Previous studies and statistics clearly demonstrate that doctors who are willing to change their behavior and become better communicators will significantly decrease their risk of being sued for medical malpractice. Read the complete article

Published on: June 8, 2015

Andrew Cuomo endorses “Lavern’s Law”, a bill that strengthens the rights of victims of medical malpractice by extending the statute of limitations to run from date of discovery

By GGCRBHS&M

The law in New York State requires victims of medical malpractice to file their claim within 15 months after medical malpractice occurs at a public hospital and 2 1/2 years against a private hospital or physician. Lavern’s Law proposes to start the statute of limitations from the time a patient discovers the malpractice rather than from the time the medical malpractice occurs. Lavern’s Law is named after Lavern Wilkinson who died from a curable form of lung cancer after doctors at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, NYC, failed to tell her that a chest X-ray they took in 2010 showed a small, suspicious mass on her right lung and instead sent her back home with Motrin. Lavern only discovered that she had cancer when she was terminal. By that time, the statute of limitations had expired and she wasn’t able to sue the hospital for failure to diagnose lung cancer. She died leaving behind her a daughter who was severely autistic. The city settled Wilkinson’s lawsuit, for $625,000 the day she died, March 7, 2013. Medical malpractice experts said her case would have netted over $10 million had it not been for the statute of limitations. Yesterday Governor Cuomo gave his support to the law. Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: June 8, 2015

A young pedestrian suffered minor injury in a car accident at the intersection of Prospect Park West and Third St in Brooklyn, NYC, where another boy was killed in 2013

By GGCRBHS&M

Lowering the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on Prospect Park West may have saved the life of 5 year old Roark Bennett who was hit by a car at the exact same spot where 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein was fatally struck by a car two years earlier. After the death of her son, Amy Cohen became a Vision Zero activist and successfully campaigned to lower the speed limit on Prospect Park West from 30 mph to 25 mph. Yesterday when Roark Bennett escaped from his parents and ran out in the street against the light, the driver who hit him was travelling at the speed limit and thankfully Roark suffered only minor injuries. Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: June 5, 2015

Random survey shows nearly 1 in 10 motorists ignore red lights in New York City which puts pedestrians at risk of dangerous accidents resulting in personal injury or death

By GGCRBHS&M

Every day in New York City pedestrians and other road users are endangered by reckless drivers who are running red lights. A study just released by Hunter College indicates that nearly one out of 10 motorists don’t follow the most basic rule of the road. Lead by Professor Peter Tuckel of Hunter’s sociology department, the study analyzes the behavior of 3,259 motorists at 50 different intersections in New York City. The intersections are all within a few blocks from subway stations.

A total of 283 drivers were caught ignoring red lights. Half of them didn’t even reduce their speed. 85 of them ran the red light as they were turning.

The intersection of Gates and Evergreens Avenues in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC, was the most dangerous of all intersections analyzed during the study followed by W50th and Seventh Ave in Manhattan and New Lots and Miller Avenues in Brooklyn.

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