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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3000 pages of documents related to the investigation of the deadly gas explosion that destroyed two buildings in the East Harlem area of Manhattan, NYC have been released  by the National Transportation Safety Board.  The documents indicate that Con Edison replaced a section of the old iron pipe with a plastic pipe in 2011 and that the installation wasn’t pneumatically tested when it was installed. Investigators found that the that the service line had separated from the plastic main. Adding to that it appeared that the foreman wasn’t proprely trained . Read more in the New York Times

 

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A 37 year old woman was killed in a construction accident in New York on Tuesday. Tina Nguyen was walking on a West Village sidewalk when a four foot-by-eight foot piece of plywood flew into her right side and slammed her against the wall of a building located at  175 West 12th street . She was pronounced dead upon her arrival to the hospital. The piece of plywood was blown off a security fence across the street that surrounds a construction site where a 200-unit condominium complex, the Greenwich Lane, is rising on the site of the former campus of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan.

The site, located at 1 Seventh Avenue and developed by the the Rudin Management Company and Global Holdings, has 11 open violations issued between last may and November. In August 2014, The NYC Building Department received a complaint that debris falling from the building struck someone in the head.

Yesterday workers were seen securing the fence and the New York City Building Department issued a full stop-work order for the construction site. The contractor, Turner Construction Company was also issued Environmental Control Board violations for a failure to safeguard property and for failing to provide plans for its construction fence.

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Five years ago a woman suffered horrific injuries in an elevator accident  in Brooklyn, NYC, after a negligent repairman bypassed a safety mechanism while he was fixing the elevator.  The doors of the elevator caught the arm and the leg of 52 year old Debra Jordan and struck  floor after floor, after the elevator car suddenly shot up. She was almost killed and she is now confined to a wheelchair. The 30 year old repairman was convicted of reckless assault and was sentenced to 3 months in jail with 5 years probation. Read more in the NYDaily News 

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A 61 year old woman is in critical condition after she was struck by a car which was making a right turn from 21st Ave onto Cropsey Ave, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NYC. The accident happened Monday morning around 8:20. The pedestrian was crossing the street in the intersection. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and he wasn’t charged. Meanwhile the police are still investigating. Read more in the Bensonhurst Bean

Update: the driver has been arrested, see NY Daily News

intersection of 21st Ave and Cropsey Ave
Picure: Google map

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Wallcure simulation ssalineTwo patients were seriously injured in a New York urgent care facility after they were inadvertently administered non sterile simulation intravenous fluids. They both experienced a febrile illness during administration and had to be hospitalized. One of them developed sepsis. Both of them survived.

The cases were reported to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)last year. The NYSDOH  began a collaborative investigation with the CDC in December.  The investigation found that four other New York outpatient facilities had received Wallcur simulation saline. All facilities said they had ordered the real product and weren’t aware that they had received a simulation product until they were were notified by the NYSDOH. Fortunately none of the facilities had used the product yet.

Wallcur recalled all its saline simulation products from the market at the beginning of the year (see previous blog). Investigation was pursued by the CDC at a national level. So far nationally 9 adverse events have been reported for 25 people including 11 hospitalizations. Two deaths occurred even though it wasn’t clear that they were related to the administration of the product.  All clinical facilities that received the products confirmed that they were not aware at time of purchase that the product was intended for simulation only. Read more on the CDC website

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TestosteroneIn recent years the off-label use of testosterone has been exploding as doctors prescribed testosterone to their aging patient to improve their libido and make them feel more vigorous and younger. However, the FDA warned that recent studies indicate that the off label use of testosterone as the ultimate anti-aging therapy may  increase cardiovascular risks.  Testosterone was only approved by the FDA to treat hypoginadism, a condition of the sex glands that can be genetic or result from damages of chemotherapy or infection.   Therefore the FDA is now requiring all manufacturers of approved prescription testosterone to change their labeling to clarify the approved used of the medication and warn about  the possible increased risk of heart attacks and strokes associated with testosterone use. Read more in Medical Law Perspectives

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LACTATED_RINGERS_IRRIGATIONHopsira announced a voluntary product recall after reports from customers indicated that a lot of Lactated Ringer’s Irrigation, 3000mL may be contaminated with mold. Lactated Ringers Irrigation is a sterile, nonpyrogenic solution of electrolytes in water for injection, intended only for sterile irrigation, washing and rinsing purposes. Contaminated solution can be  fatal if used on patients as it may cause bacteremia, sepsis, septic shock and endocarditis. This product is used on humans and animals. Read the press release from Hospira

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Polly+Trottenberg+Bill+De+BlasioFour NYC streets that have a very high pedestrian fatality rate may be completely redesigned and reconstructed in a safer way over the next four years. According to mayor de Blasio’s preliminary budget, 100 million will be allocated to make Queens Boulevard safer and the other 150 million will be allocated to Fourth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn as well as the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. These four streets have been identified as some of the most deadly streets in New York City and even though some safety upgrades such as lower speed limits and speed cameras have already been implemented, the city is planning to completely redesign them. According to officials, theses safety improvements should lead to a reduction of 30 to 40% of deaths and injuries on these streets. Read more in Transportation Nation
Picture: Mayor de Blasio and Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg

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Guler-Ugur-Yaacobi44 year old Guler Ugur-Yaacob, was struck and killed by 28 year old Prezibor Porbeni at the intersection of W. 113 Street and Amsterdam Ave on December 31st 2013 (see previous blog). The driver fled the scene of the accident leaving the woman dying on the street. He later surrendered to the DA’s office and  was charged with leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it and aggravated unlicensed driving.  Yesterday Porbeni appeared for a brief appearance at Manhattan Supreme Court where several friends of Guler Ugur-Yaacob were present to face him and to plead for harsher charges. Read more in the NY Daily News

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A year ago 8 people were killed and many others suffered severe personal injuries in a gas explosion that destroyed two five-story buildings in Manhattan. A vigil led by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito was held this to mark the anniversary of this tragedy. Cecilio Hernandez, a Mexican immigrant who lost his wife and his daughter in the explosion will be among the attendees with Oscar, his teenager son who was badly injured and spent months in the hospital recovering from his injuries. The family lived in the 1644 Park Avenue building. Four other victims lived in this building: Griselde Camacho, 44, Carmen Tanco, 67, George Amadeo, 44, and Alexis Salas, 22.  The two other victims 43 year old Andreas Panagopoulos and 34-year-old Mayumi Nakamura lived at 1646 Park Avenue.

The investigation indicates that the ground beneath the building was saturated with natural gas.

The 8:30 a.m. vigil was held at 108 E. 116th St. and attended by other survivors of the blast along with Mark-Viverito and other elected officials. Read more in the New York Daily News