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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In a recent article in Street Blog NYC, Brad Aaron looks at the fatal accident that killed 8 year old Rylee Ramos and is questioning why the driver wasn’t charged. The driver is a 55 year old woman who backed onto a sidewalk near a school, striking 10 people including two students. Rylee Ramos was one of them, She was hit so hard that she died from her injury.
Read the complete article here

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A pedestrian was hit by a private sanitation truck and dragged on Canal Street until he dislodged from the truck near the intersection of Center Street Friday morning around 9:30 am. The victim died at the scene. The driver continued on his way and the police said it wasn’t clear if he was aware of what happened.
Earlier this month another pedestrian was killed on Canal Street (see previous blog).

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Edgar Torres, 40, had the light and was in the crosswalk when he was hit and killed by a MTA bus that didn’t yield. The accident happened at the dangerous intersection of Myrtle Avenue, Wyckoff Avenue and Palmetto Street, steps away from the location where 23 year old Ella Bandes was struck and killed by a bus in January 2013.

After the death of Ella Bandes, The NYC Department of Transportation added some safety improvements but didn’t change the bus routes. There are 6 bus routes crossing the intersection and 5 of them require drivers to turn around and restart their route in the other direction.

Edgar Torres is the sixth pedestrian to be killed by a MTA Bus this year in New York City.

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Richard Romano Santos and Gerrard Herbert were both drunk when they crashed into each other on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NYC, a few months ago. Michelle Mignot who was lying down on the back seat of Herbert’s car was killed during the accident. Both men were charged together for the death of Michelle Mignot and they are facing up to 15 years in jail.
Read more in CBS New York

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A contractor who was supposed to expand a construction well as part of the MTA East Side Access project used a massive drill bit at the wrong location and pierced a F train tunnel at the same time as the train was passing by. The drill bit cut the top and the side of the train triggering the train’s emergency brakes. It’s a miracle that nobody was injured.

The MTA East Side Access Project is a mega construction project from the MTA to bring Long Island Rail Road trainsto Grand Central Station. The contractor has been identified as Griffin Dewatering New England Inc.

The accident happened near the 21st St subway station In Long Island City, Queens, NYC.

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drive-25-vz-logo.jpgStarting November 7 New York City’s default speed limit will be lowered to 25 mph unless otherwise posted. The new law was signed at the beginning of the week by Mayor de Blasio during a press conference that took place on Delancey Street near the location of the accident that killed 12 year old Dashane Santana in 2012. The event was attended by families of victims of traffic accidents and other elected officials. To lower the speed limit in New York City is a key milestone of the Vision Zero Initiative to reduce injuries and death related to traffic accidents.
See Mayor de Blasio’s speech below.

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21 year old Dyasha Phelps Smith, a special need student, died after choking on a muffin two days ago at the School for International Studies on Baltic St. in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, NYC. The young woman was eating a muffin in a classroom when she started to choke. She was rushed by paramedics to the Hospital where she died. According to the mother, her daughter was attending a special education program housed within the school for International Studies during which she was supposed to receive one-to-one attention. The mother also said to the NY Daily News that the school didn’t tell her that her daughter was dead. She learned it from the doctors at the hospital.

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The Metro North Train accident that killed 4 people and injured at least 61 on December 1st 2013 was caused by the engineer’s noncompliance with the 30-mph speed restriction because he had fallen asleep due to undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea exacerbated by a recent circadian rhythm shift required by his work schedule.

According to a report released Today by the National Transportation Safety Board, the accident could have been avoided if Metro North and the Federal Railroad Administration had a policy requiring medical screening for sleep disorders and if the train was equipped with a system that would have automatically applied the brakes to enforce the speed restriction.

The NTSB also released Today the following Metro North train accident reports:

  • A report on the March 10, 2014 train accident during which an electrician was fatally struck by a train in Manhattan, New York
  • A report on the July 18,2013 accident during which a train transporting municipal refuse derailed in the Bronx, New York
  • A report on the May 28, 2013 accident during which a track foreman was struck and killed by a train in West Haven, Connecticut
  • A report on the May 17, 2013 accident during which two trains collided, injuring at least 65 passengers in Bridgeport, Connecticut
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Ben%20Rubinowitz%20and%20Evan%20Torgan.jpgIn their Trial Advocacy column, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write that obtaining a just and proper award from a jury for pain and suffering in a wrongful death case can be challenging. An effective trial attorney must thoroughly prepare for all stages of the trial, including a voir dire that explores the feelings and beliefs of the potential jurors, and a strong summation that relates those feelings and beliefs to the evidence.

Read the complete article in the New York Law Journal
or Download it here.

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defective%20alarm.jpgSome Kidde alarms may be defective and fail to alert consumers of a fire or a CO incident. Kidde residential smoke alarm model i12010S with manufacture dates between December 18, 2013 and May 13, 2014, combination smoke/CO alarm il2010SCO with manufacture dates between December 30, 2013 and May 13, 2014, and combination smoke/CO alarm model KN-COSM-IBA with manufacture dates between October 22, 2013 and May 13, 2014 are being recalled by Kidde. The defective alarms are white and round (see picture) with the name Kidded engraved in front of the alarm. These alarms were sold at major retail stores such as Home Depot and also online through Amazon and other online retailers. Consumers who own this product should immediately contact Kidde to have it replaced.
Read more here