More than 12,500 patients of a New York Hospital had their financial records compromised after an assistant clerk sold them for $3 a piece to a ringleader who made purchases at various high end retailers in Manhattan. Between January and June 2013 32 year old Monique Walker who worked in the financial department of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx sold information such as names of patients, social security numbers, credit card numbers and birth dates to 28 year old Fernando Salazar who was sending his “buyers” Patricia Charles, 43, Lawrence Davenport-Brown, 23 and Charde Lawrence, 28, of Staten Island, Ashly Garrett, 25, of Queens, Sasha Rivera, 31, of Brooklyn, and Crystal White, 32 to shop at various high end venues in Manhattan. They all face charges including grand larceny, possession of a forged instrument, identity theft, unlawful possession of personal identification information and related counts. Read more in the NY Daily News
Our personal injury law firm is featured in the 2014 New York’s Top 25 Verdicts and Settlements section in this week’s edition of New York Magazine

Last year, our partners New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Sagir obtained a $8,570,000 verdict for a bicyclist who suffered personal injury after being hit by a bus in New York (see previous blog. This verdict is the 16th highest verdict of all verdicts obtained in New York in 2014. Therefore our firm is honored to be featured this week in the 2014 New York’s Top 25 Verdicts and Settlements section of New York Magazine. This verdict was also was the highest verdict in New York in 2014 for a bicycle accident involving another vehicle.
Since 1919 we have been representing victims of catastrophic injury and we are constantly thriving to achieve the highest results for our clients and their family in order to help them get back to their life with dignity and independence. A few years ago our New York personal injury law firm obtained a 27.5 million verdict for a female pedestrian who lost her leg after being struck by New York City Transit Authority Bus (see previous blog). Last year, in addition to the above verdict we also obtained a $7,125 million verdict against the City of New York for a woman who was struck by a bus when riding her bike and a $5 million verdict against the Federal Government for a woman who died after being struck by a postal truck (see previous blog).
Following the death of 8 year old Noshat Nahian whose family is represented by our personal injury law firm, The New York State Senate passed the Gianaris bill, new legislation that stiffens penalties for motorists who injure and kill people while driving without a valid license
A bill that makes it a felony for drivers to kill or injure others while driving without a license was passed yesterday by the New York State Senate. The bill was introduced by state Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) following the death of Noshat Nahian, an 8 year old pedestrian who was on his way to school when he was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer driven by an unlicensed driver. Our partner, personal injury lawyer Anthony Gair (picture) who is in charge of the case commented: “This is a very important bill and long over due. In this tragic case, all charges against the driver were dismissed except for driving without a licence for which he paid an $85 fine. This is outrageous in a case in which Noshat was in the crosswalk with the right of way and easily visible at the time the tractor trailer turned left striking him. Hopefully the law will also discourage commercial carriers from hiring unlicensed truck drivers.” Read more in the Times Ledger
A pregnant woman and 3 other people suffered personal injury in a car accident in the Bronx, NYC
A motorist who was speeding lost control of his car and crashed into a SUV , spun around ran into other parked cars, injuring himself and 3 other people including a a woman who was four months pregnant. What will it take to prevent these needless accidents caused by drivers who are so irresponsible they never consider the dire consequence of their behavior. Long term suspension of their licences would be a good start. When death or catastrophic injuries result jail would not be a bad idea. Too few accidents caused by reckless driving result in criminal prosecutions. See our post above. The car accident happened last Friday around 7:00 pm on Boston Road near East Gunhill Road in the Bronx, NYC. Read more in the NY Daily News
The monthly number of pedestrians who died or who suffered personal injury in a traffic accident in New York City was at its lowest in April while the number of deaths and injuries related to bicycle accidents remained high
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.
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.

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.
New York Bus Drivers’ Union initiated a work slowdown this morning to protest a new Zero Vision Law that makes it a misdemeanor for drivers to strike pedestrians or cyclists with the right of way.
In 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
Our partner, New York Construction Accident Lawyer Howard Hershenhorn, who is representing the family of a worker who fell to his death from an elevator that was powered by an unsafe electrical system told the NY Daily News that “the findings indicate the 25-year-old man’s death should never have occurred”
Christian 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.
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
Our partner Richard M. Steigman will be chairing the “Civil Practice Laws and Rules 2015 Update” seminar presented by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association
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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:
Unintentional injection of soft tissue fillers into blood vessels in the face can be medical malpractice that can lead to rare but serious personal injury
The 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.
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
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