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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1.18 million mid-sized crossovers are being recalled because a defective wiring harness of seat-mounted side airbags may prevent the side airbags from deploying. Another 303,000 full size vans are also being recalled to replace plastic material in the passenger instrument panel to meet federal head-impact crash standards for unbelted passengers and finally 63,9000 XTS models are also recalled because a brake booster pump wiring issue can lead to overheating, melting of plastic parts and a possible engine compartment fire.

Read more in Reuters

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Documents related to the product liability lawsuits against J&J’s transvaginal mesh show that Vincente Lucent, a well-known urogynocologist who was paid $800,000 over 10 years by J&J, may have influenced the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists into changing the language of the product guidelines in their bulletin and have the word “experimental” removed.

Other documents related to the product liability lawsuits also indicate that that J&J tried to influence research papers by giving $750,000 to a Swedish University that was conducting a clinical trial of a transvaginal mesh procedure. The company tried to convince the professor who was doing the trial to sign a contract that would give J&J control of the trial but the professor refused.

Read more in the Wall Street Journal

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A pedestrian struck by a car is twice as likely to survive if the car speed is 20 mph instead of 30 mph. To increase traffic safety and combat speeding in residential areas, the DOT started in 2011 a Community based Neighborhood Slow Zone Program which includes a reduction of the speed from 30 mph to 20 mph with signage, gateway and speed bumps (see previous blog). The program was an immediate success and the DOT received so many applications that not all of them could be immediately accepted. Also some of those that were accepted were vetoed by community boards.

Last week-end with the help of the Right of Way advocates, residents of 10 NYC communities who believed their applications have been unfairly rejected by the DOT or who have been waiting for more than 2 years for the city to implement the Slow Zone Program installed “20 is plenty” speed limit signs in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Greenpoint, Astoria, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, the Upper West Side, the Lower East Side, Tribeca and the West Village.

As part of Vision Zero, Mayor de Blasio has called for a rapid expansion of the Neighborhood Slow Zone. The communities are calling on the mayor to stick to his promise.

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An increased number of people dying in MTA bus collisions in NYC prompted Traffic Safety Advocates to ask that The MTA be included in the Vision Zero plan to end traffic fatalities. (See New York Post)

For the first 3 months of 2014, 5 people lost their lives in a MTA bus accident. In the most recent case a young pedestrian, 23 year old Marisol Martinez (picture), was killed in a crosswalk after witnesses said the bus driver didn’t yield. (see previous post). Another young women, Martha Tibillin-Guamug, 25, died after she was struck by a bus in a busy intersection of Brooklyn (see Streetblog) and in January, Pedro Santiago a bicyclist died after colliding with a MTA bus in Harlem. (see previous blog)

In another case, a motorist died after having a stroke and striking a bus. In the fifth case the bus driver died after an out of control drunk driver crashed into his bus (see previous blog).

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4 NYPD auxiliary police officers and a civilian were seriously injured after the police car was struck by another car in Queens, NYC, yesterday afternoon. The accident happened at the intersection of 172nd street and 73rd Ave. Police said they are still investigating the crash.

Read more in the New York Post

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6 people suffered serious personal injury after a MTA bus crashed into a row of parked cars in Brooklyn, NYC. The bus driver apparently suffered a stroke behind the wheel and lost the control of the bus. Read more in the New York Daily News

To prevent accidents caused by medically unfit drivers, bus drivers are required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to pass a medical test every two years. The quality of this medical test has often been criticized. Therefore starting May 21st 2014, only specially trained medical examiners will be allowed to give the test. Additionally in the future the results will not be on paper anymore. They will be recorded in a unique database and integrated electronically to the driver’s license. (see our previous blog)

 

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A young boy died after he was hit by a minivan on Empire Blvd in Brooklyn, NYC. The minivan driver, 23 year old Elysabeth Mayard, backed up, drove over 5 year old Roshard Charles (picture) and ran away as the mother of the boy was banging on her window asking her to stop. Mayard returned to the scene after she was chased by witnesses who convinced her to come back. She was charged with hit and run, reckless driving and driving through 3 red lights.
Read more in DNA Info New York

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As GM is facing multiple product liability lawsuits related to the defective ignition switch and the late recall of several of its models, the Center for Auto Safety, a private watchdog group in Washington just published a review that questions the efficiency of the NHTSA in detecting the problem.
According to the review , “the examination of NHTSA’s Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) reveals 303 deaths of front seat occupants in the recalled 2005-07 Cobalts and 2003-07 Ions where the airbag failed to deploy in non-rear impact crashes”.

Read more in the New York Times

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A FRA investigation prompted by the Metro North Deadly New York Train Accident found that “Metro North’s management emphasis on-time performance to the detriment of safe operations and adequate maintenance of its infrastructure, resulting in a deficient safety culture, increased risk and reduced safety on the Metro North system”. Metro North has 60 days to submit a plan to the FRA on how to address these safety concerns.
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r_steigman_small.jpgOur partner, NY Personal Injury Attorney Richard M. Steigman, will be the Chair of the “2014 CPLR Update: Learn the Cutting-Edge Decisions Every Litigator Must Know” Seminar presented by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association on March 25th 2014 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Hon. Ariel E. Belen (Ret) will also be on the faculty.

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 with perspectives from both the practitioner and the bench.

Topics will include: