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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5 pedestrians died and 696 suffered personal injury in April in New York City compared to respectively 8 and 854 in April 2014 and 12 and 904 in April 2013.  Pedestrian fatalities have been declining since the beginning of this year and reached their lowest in April. The total number of pedestrian fatalities since the beginning of the year was 28 compared to 39 for the same period of 2014 and 55 for the same period of 2013.  Since the beginning of the year there was also a decrease in the number of pedestrians who suffered personal injury in a traffic accident in NYC.Pedestrian deaths and injuries NYC April 2015

2 people died and 300 were injured in a total of 300 bicycle accidents in New York City in April compared to respectively 1, 306 and 382 in April 2014 and 0, 288 and 358 in April 2013.  The number of cyclists fatalities and injuries remains elevated in the City.

Bicycle accidents injuries deaths NYC April 2015
Even though there was an unusually high number of 10 motorist deaths last April the total number of traffic fatalities in New York City since the beginning of the year is down compared to the same periods of 2014 and 2013.

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i - bus driverIn New York every year several pedestrians and cyclists die and many others suffer personal injury after being struck by an MTA Bus. In many of these accidents investigation shows that drivers were negligent and failed to yield or failed to exercise due care.  Since the beginning of the year a few bus drivers were arrested after a new Vision Zero Law made it a misdemeanor for drivers to strike pedestrians or cyclists who have the right of way.  TWU Local 100, the bus drivers Union is against this new law and would like bus drivers to be exempted from it.  This morning TWU local 100 launched a work slow down on 181st Street in Washington Heights between 7:00 am and 9:00 am to protest the law.

The flyers handed out to bus drivers by the Union (see picture) said “DO NOT TURN UNLESS THE INTERSECTION IS CLEAR!”. Isn’t that what bus drivers are supposed to do to keep NYC streets safe?

Read more in the New York Post and on Streetblog

 

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Christian GinelliChristian Genesi, a 25 year old construction worker, fell 24 stories to his death at the beginning of May  as he was riding a temporary hoist to get to the top of a hotel that was being built on 8th Ave.  The city building inspectors who have been investigating the case found out that the hoist temporarily lost power that day and that the electrical system that powered it was installed without a permit. The elevator relied on “unapproved, unsafe, unsuitable electrical equipment” that shouldn’t have been in use, documents show.New York Wrongful Death Lawyer Howard Hershenhorn

Howard Hershenhorn was quoted in the NY Daily News stating “It’s obvious that this is an enormous tragedy, which could have absolutely been prevented had basic safety measures been put in place,” he also added Ginesi wouldn’t have died “had there been safety netting, had there been safety harness and had there been a working electrical system.” “There’s blatant violations of multiple laws in the State of New York, which caused this senseless death,” he also said.

Read the complete article here

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New York Personal Injury Lawyer Richard M. Steigman
, a partner at Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom & Rubinowitz will be chairing the CPLR 2015 Update. Also on the faculty is Honorable Ariel E. Belen (Ret.), JAMS Mediator & Arbitrator, Justice, Appellate Division, Second Department. This Seminar will be presented by NYTSLA on Wednesday July 15 at 132 Nassau Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10038.

One of the key requirements of successfully managing a civil caseload is staying abreast of legislative changes and court decisions in the field of New York Civil Practice. This seminar will provide an in-depth review of these new developments, including practice tips and pitfall warnings that are invaluable for the civil litigator.

Topics will include:

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Face InjectionsThe FDA is warning that in rare cases  unintentional injections of soft tissue fillers into blood vessels in the face can block blood vessels and restrict blood supply to tissues and in the worst cases result in embolization. The filler could travel to another part of the body and could cause vision impairment, blindness, stroke and damage and/or death of the skin (necrosis) and underlying facial structures.

Soft tissue fillers are mostly use by dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons to reduce the appearance of wrinkles or to augment cheeks or lips. Ophthalmologists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons also use them for other medical procedures.

If you are considering injecting soft tissue fillers in your face, make sure that your health care provider is board certified, has appropriate training and experience and is knowledgeable about the anatomy at and around the injection site.

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BeforeAndAfterMINICooperSHalf 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

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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

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East_Harlem_apartment_explosion_aerial_viewCon 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  

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Jeffrey BloomNew 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
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59th Street and FifthA 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.