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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Amtrak AccidentAn Amtrak train heading from New York to Washington DC derailed yesterday night in Philadelphia. 6 people died and many the 243 passengers of suffered personal injury and were taken to the hospital. Among the people injured 6 of them were in critical condition. The Amtrak accident happened yesterday night around 9:30 close to Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane near a bend in the track. One of the nation’s deadliest railroad accidents happened in the same spot on Labor Day 1943. A train carrying military service members on leave derailed killing 79 of them and injuring 117. The cause of yesterday’s train accident is still unknown. Speed as well deteriorating infrastructure and aging equipment are among the potential factors to be investigated. Former Congressman  Patrick J. Murphy was on board when the accident happened and tweeted the pictures on the left.
Read more about this train accident in the New York Times

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A Boltbus that departed from New York to go to Boston exploded on the Massachusetts Turnpike yesterday during rush hours.  The bus driver noticed smoke coming out of the bus, pulled over and immediately evacuated the 47 passengers with their belongings. Shortly after the bus exploded and caught fire. The recasons of the explosion are still being investigated.

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Two workers who were trying to remove an underground oil-tank from a backyard died after the tank exploded. One of the workers was sitting on the tank and was cutting into it with a saw when the explosion happened. The blast was so violent that his body was thrown 25 yards away into the woods. The other man who was standing  nearby was also killed. The accident happened last Thursday in the backyard of a home on Hillside Avenue in Hasting-On-Hudson. The two men killed were Mora Segundo, 50, and Luis Jacho, 52 from Ossining.  Investigators discovered that the tank contained gasoline instead of oil. Gasoline vapors that built up pressure over time are suspected to be the cause of the explosion. Read more here

 

 

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A woman suffered personal injury after being hit by debris in Manhattan. The woman was in front of a Zara store at 580 Broadway near Prince Street on Friday afternoon when debris fell from above onto her head and knocked her to the ground. According to witnesses, the woman was bleeding from her forehead but she remained conscious. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for trauma.

Read more in DNA Info

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Truck-DriverIf a diabetic truck driver is suddenly impaired by an an episode of hypoglycemia he can potentially loose  control of his vehicle and crash. Hypoglycemia is a condition in which blood glucose drops to a dangerously low concentration and creates symptoms such as blurred vision, shaking, trembling, unclear thinking, fainting, seizure or coma. Too much insulin relative to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low, resulting in hypoglycemia. Drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) usually don’t suffer from these types of episodes and are not considered more dangerous than other drivers as long as their condition is well controlled. However current regulations prohibit truck drivers from operating interstate commercial vehicles unless they obtain an exemption from The FMCSA. The process of obtaining this exemption is costly and time consuming for the drivers and for the FMCSA administration.  A notice of proposed rule making would enable truck drivers with ITDM to obtain a Medical Examiner’s Certificate from a Medical Examiner at least annually in order to operate in Interstate Commerce if the Treating Clinician who is prescribing the insulin for the driver can provide documentation that the truck driver’s diabetic condition is stable and well controlled.

Read more in Trucking Info or read the  complete notice of proposed rulemaking

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NY Personal Injury Lawyers Rubinowitz and SaghirNew York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz told the NY Daily News yesterday that the family of Marilyn Dershowitz, was “very pleased” with the verdict of Judge Sarah Netburn who ordered the government  to pay out a total of $4,646,548.15 to Dershowitz’s husband, Nathaniel. Rubinowitz said “they feel vindicated knowing Marilyn did nothing wrong and that indeed she was entirely free of fault” but while the money judgment is “a nice thing to have, they are very much aware it could never replace Marilyn. She was one of a kind. She was a tremendous woman. The loss is very real to them, every day of their lives.”

Marylin Dershowitz was riding her bicycle in downtown Manhattan with her husband when she was fatally struck by a  postal truck. Last month U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn found the federal government 100% liable for the fatal accident in a 72 page Opinion (see our previous blog).

Also see article in the New York Law Journal

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A defective surgical staple used to close tissue in the left atrial appendage of the heart is being recalled by the FDA after reports that patients suffered personal injuries such as tissue tears and bleeding  including a possible tear of the left atrial wall (top left chamber) during use of the device.   The manufacturer of the defective medical device, Maquet Medical Systems, sent an “Urgent Medical Device Recall (Removal) Immediate Action Required” letter to all affected customers asking them to immediately remove and quarantine the Tiger paw System II from their inventory.

Read the press release from the FDA

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NYC Fatal Personal Injury ChildrenPersonal Injury is the leading cause of death among children 1 to 12 years old in New York City and in the U.S. as well. Between 2003 and 2012 438 NYC children died from injuries according to a new report just published by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  These injuries were primarily related to motor vehicle accidents followed by fire related injuries, suffocation and falls. Most of the children who died after being involved in a traffic accidents were pedestrians.

Most injuries leading to death (65%) were unintentional.  Infants between 1 and 2 years old are the most at risk as well as non Hispanic black children of all ages and kids from very poor neighborhoods. Boys have a much higher risk of death from an unintentional injury than girls.

Death related to intentional injuries are more prevalent among infants, in poor neighborhoods. Non Hispanic black kids are the most at risk of dying from an intentional injury.

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trcuck accidentTo keep the roads safe and prevent truck crashes that can result in serious personal injuries or deaths, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program identifies high-risk motor carriers for further investigations such as targeted roadside inspections and compliance reviews. However some recent high profile truck accidents have raised concern about the efficiency of this program and The Department of Transportation just announced that it will audit the investigative practices of The FMCSA for high risk motor carriers. This audit was initially requested by Senator Dick Durbin after a high risk motor carrier that the FMCSA had neglected to investigate was involved in a fatal truck accident.

Read more in Truckinginfo

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brNew York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz has extensive experience representing the families of pedestrians and cyclists who have been killed or severely injured by negligent motorists in New York. Recently Ben tried a wrongful death case in The U.S. District Court for The Southern District  of New York, in which the Court held the Federal Government %100 liable and awarded monetary damages estimated to be approximately $5 million for lawyer Nat Dershowitz in a successful civil case against the driver of a U.S. Postal Service Truck that struck and killed his wife(see prior blog). Ben also represents Dana Lerner, the mother of 9 year old Cooper Stock who was hit by a taxi driver as he was in the crosswalk with his father resulting in his death.  In a recent article in NY Press Ben reflects on a recent decision by Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. to charge a  motorist who killed a pedestrian  in the Bowery with manslaughter.

Read the article here