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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A construction worker died recently after plunging 5 stories down an elevator shaft on a New York construction site. The worker was wearing a safety harness but he wasn’t connected to a lifeline. A second worker was also injured as he plunged from the second to the first floor. The site, a 6-story new building under construction, was hit with a stop work order by the Department of Buildings.

Falls is the deadliest hazard in the construction industry. The accident happened during the OSHA National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction.

Read more in CBS New York

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Questionable%20Doctors.jpgWhen a doctor is sanctioned for medical malpractice in New York there is a high probability that he will be able to continue to practice. There is also a good chance that his patients will never know about their doctor’s punishment. A recent NYPIRG report entitled “Questionable Doctors” shows that the New York State Department of Heath’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) is not doing enough to protect patients. The report also proposes recommendations for improvement.

The report found that:

  • 77% of the doctors that have been sanctioned for medical malpractice in New York State can continue to practice
  • it is highly unlikely that New York patients know if their physician has been sanctioned because the information is too hard to find
  • close to 60% of New York State actions against doctors were based on sanctions taken by other states, the federal government, or the courts, and not as the result of an OPMC investigation
  • over the past 10 years New York’s population grew by 2% while New York’s number of doctors grew by 36%
  • The Health Department hasn’t updated its report on OPMC’s physician discipline activities since 2010
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A 22 year old Brooklyn supermarket worker was crushed to death by a forklift yesterday. According to the media, Gustavo Tapia was using an electric pallet stacker to push a Yale forklift up a ramp leading to the rooftop of Moisha’s Discount Supermarket on Ave M in Borough Park, Brooklyn when the forklift suddenly rolled backward and pinned the young worker against the wall. Gustavio Tapia suffered fatal chest injury and was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

Read more in the Gothamist and the NY Daily News

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A labeling error in the packaging of Advocate Redi-Code+ BMB-BA006A blood glucose test strips may cause confusion about which meter models the strips are designed to be used with. As shown in the picture below the manufacturer omitted to write the name of the meter model (BMB-BA006A) with which the strips have to be used.

Blood%20Glucose%20test%20strips.jpgThe confusing labelling may lead customers to believe they can use these test strips with the Advocate Redi-Code blood glucose meters, model numbers TD-3223E, TD-4223E, TD-4223F, TD-4276 manufactured by Taidoc Technology Corp which could result in incorrect glucose results.

Incorrect glucose results may lead customers to choose inappropriate treatment which could ultimately result in serious personal injury or death.

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In the event of a truck accident, interstate motor carriers need to have enough insurance to cover the harm that they may have caused. Therefore all such carriers are required by law to be insured to a minimum level. The current minimums, set in 1985, are $750,000 for general freight, $5 million for the most dangerous hazmats and $1 million for other hazmats. Following a recent report to the Congress demonstrating that minimum insurance requirements for interstate truckers were too low, the FMCSA started to work on a new rule.

However yesterday, the U.S. House approved an amendment that would stop the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from changing insurance minimums. The amendment is a long way from becoming law but it highlights opposition to the agency even considering a change in the minimums.

Read more in Trucking Info

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Sunlamp products and UV lamps pose a risk of skin cancer especially among young people below 18 years old and people with a history of skin cancer in their family. To address this risk the FDA recently reclassified all sunlamp products from low risk to moderate risk. Additionally, the FDA now requires that sunlamp products carry a visible black-box warning on the device that explicitly states that the sunlamp product should not be used on persons under the age of 18 years. Some marketing materials also have to include specific warnings.

Read the FDA press release

Sunbed.jpg
Picture: Courtesy of Wikipedia

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Yesterday a cyclist was struck by a minivan and died near CitiField in Queens, New York. This is the second deadly bicycle accident in Queens in less than 3 days. (read more in the New York Daily News). On Saturday, a 58 year old cyclist died after being struck by a car on N. Conduit near 225 Street (see previous blog).

The accident happened on 126th Street near Roosevelt Avenue. According to NYC Crashmapper, another cyclist previously died in a traffic accident at the intersection and 9 other cyclists were injured at this spot over a period of 31 months.

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Image Source: NYC Crashmapper

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A 58 year old cyclist died after he was struck by a hit and run driver on North Conduit Ave in Queens this week-end. A few hours later a pedestrian was struck by a car on the same avenue a few miles away and died from his injuries at the hospital.

The first accident happened near the dangerous intersection of 225 Street and N. Conduit. According to NYC Crashmapper, over the last 31 months 130 people were involved in 61 collisions and 14 of them suffered personal injury at this intersection. 2 pedestrians, 1 cyclist, 9 passengers and 11 vehicle drivers were among the 14 injured.

Collisions%20at%20225th%20street%20and%20N%20Conduit.jpgThe second accident happened at the intersection of 130 Street and N. Conduit Ave which is also an intersection with a high rate of accidents. According to NYC Crashmapper, over the last 31 months, 64 collisions happened at this intersection. 148 people were involved. 1 pedestrian, 1 cyclist, 15 passengers and 12 drivers suffered personal injury.

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the subway accident during which the F train derailed was not due to a defective batch of rails. MTA spokesman, Adam Lisberg, said that the agency had tested 70 rails that came from the same batch and none of them were defective. The MTA is expected to receive additional results of tests conducted on the rail that snapped. The area where the derailment happened had previously been identified by the MTA as having a high concentration of rail breaks and the agency had plans to address the issue.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Jose Duran was driving his truck on the Cross Bronx expressway when a manhole cover crashed through his windshield striking him in the head. He lost control of his vehicle and crashed into another tractor trailer. No one else was hurt. Duran was declared dead upon his arrival at the hospital.

Read more in the New York Daily News