New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog

Published on: August 6, 2014

The number of pedestrians who died in traffic fatalities in NYC is down by 24% but the number of fatal bicycle accidents is up 33% for the first six months of the year

There were 18,321 motor vehicle accidents in New York City in June according to the recent statistics published by the NYPD. This is the highest number of accidents per month in one year and the second consecutive month that this number is above 18,000. A similar increase in vehicle accidents was also observed for the months of May and June last year. During these two months this number was also above 18,000. The total number of motor vehicle accidents for the first six months of 2014 is 8068 compared to 8828 in 2013, a decrease of 9.1%.

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4950 people suffered personal injury in a motor vehicle accident last June compared to 4621 in May and 5046 in June 2014. During the first six months of the year 24,383 people suffered personal injury in a vehicle accident compared to 26,119 for the first six months of 2013, a decrease of 7%.

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For the first 6 months of 2014 there were 117 traffic fatalities compared to 121 in 2013. 20 people died in traffic accidents in June compared to 25 the previous month and 22 in June 2013. The number of motorist deaths was higher than usual for the last two months.

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Published on: August 6, 2014

Deadly house explosion in Port Washington, NY

By GGCRBHS&M

One person was killed in a massive house explosion that happened Tuesday night at 10 Prospect Ave in Port Washington, Long Island,NY. According to CBS New York, one home was completely destroyed and 8 cars were burned. Nearby homes were evacuated and gas was shut down.

Published on: August 6, 2014

62 year old MTA contractor dies after being crushed by an industrial battery being unloaded from a truck in the Bronx, NYC, during construction / renovation project

By GGCRBHS&M

A MTA contractor was killed by a 2700 pound industrial battery that fell of a crate that he was unloading from a truck. The accident happened at the Throgs Neck Expressway facility near Pennyfiels Ave in the Bronx, NY. The workers at the facility are operating and maintaining the Throgs Neck Bridge. The contractor was part of a team who was working on upgrading the electrical infrastructure at the site.

An accident between two double-decker tourist buses left 15 injured in Time Square, New York

By GGCRBHS&M

tour%20bus%20accident%20time%20square.jpg At least 14 people suffered personal injury after the driver of a doudble-decker red Gray Line sightseeing bus sideswiped a parked double-decker City Sights bus and another vehicle before jumping the curb onto the sidewalk at 47th Street ad 7th Ave in Manhattan next to the TKTS discount ticket. The bus crash happened in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday and sent a traffic light falling to the ground with debris flying all over the place in an area crowded with tourists. 3 people sustained serious injuries while all others were minor. The bus driver was initially arrested by the police and charged for driving while impaired but yesterday night the prosecutors delayed charges against him and released him from custody.

Read more in the New York Times and the Daily News

Picture source: FDNY Twitter

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Published on: August 5, 2014

The Summer issue of the Impact Magazine from the Center for Justice and Democracy focuses on General Motors’ Product Liability

By GGCRBHS&M

For over a decade, GM knowingly kept 2.6 million defective cars on the road killing and injuring an untold numbers of road users. From the civil lawsuit brought by personal injury lawyer Lance Cooper who discovered that GM hid information about the defective ignition switch to the multiple recalls of 2014, Impact Magazine, the quarterly issue from the Center for Justice and Democracy focuses on General Motors’ product liability. The magazine looks at the history of the recalls as well as the bankruptcy shield, the issues with used and rented cars and also questions the NHTSA stand.
Download the complete issue of Impact here

Published on: August 5, 2014

To reduce traffic fatalities the NYC Department of Transportation is reviewing each street of the city to determine where a new 25mph default speed limit would be suitable

By GGCRBHS&M

On June 25th the New York State Senate passed a bill that granted Bill deBlasio the authority to reduce the maximum speed limit from 30 mph to 25mph in all 5 boroughs of New York City (see previous blog). Now the Department of Transportation is conducting a street by street analysis to determine which streets will have their sped limit lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph. According to the DOT, most of the major avenues will see a speed reduction.

The NYPD and Vision Zero: Transportation Alternatives new report shows that while some preccints excel at enforcing dangerous traffic violations others are lagging

By GGCRBHS&M

Speeding and failure to yield to pedestrians are the leading causes of traffic fatalities and personal injuries to pedestrians in New York City. Therefore as part of the Vision Zero Initiative all NYPD precincts have been instructed at the beginning of this year to increase enforcement of the most dangerous traffic violations.

A new report card from Transportation Alternatives published last week looks at six months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement in New York City. Globally across the city, speeding tickets increased by 32% and tickets for failure to yield increased by 153% for the first 6 months of 2014 compared to the first 6 months of 2013. However while looking at the numbers precinct by precinct, Transportation Alternative discovered huge discrepancies. The most troubling was to find neighborhood precincts with similar traffic conditions and street design that had very different enforcement efforts. For example In Harlem,the 26th Precinct nearly doubled the number of speeding summonses issued from last year(294 to 533),

while the adjacent 30th Precinctin Washington Heights issued half as many summonses as they did the prior year.

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Published on: August 4, 2014

79 year old pedestrian died after being struck by a van in Queens, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A 79 year old woman was killed in a traffic accident in Queens on Friday morning. The woman was crossing 99th street when she was hit by a van which was making a left-hand turn from 62nd road. The driver stayed at the scene (see video below).

One day before another elderly pedestrian was killed by a vehicle in Queens (see previous post) and a 77 year old woman suffered critical personal injury after being struck by a Jeep Wrangler at the Lily Pond Avenue and Narrows Road South in Arrochar, Staten Island, NYC (read more in the SILive)

Last week, the AARP published the results of a voter survey that indicates that 40% of of voters above 50 years old consider drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians a serious problem and 25% of them also say that traffic signals are too quick and don’t allow enough time to cross the road. (read more in New York City Street Blog)

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Published on: August 4, 2014

Two men dead in speeding car accident on Long Island Expressway in Queens, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A man who was driving at 107 mph in a 50 mph zone lost the control of his vehicle and killed himself and his passenger in a frightening car accident, Friday night, a little after midnight in Queens, NYC. The 30 year old driver who was speeding West on the Long Island Expressway lost control of his car as he was trying to switch lanes near Flushing Meadows Park. The car struck a guardrail, flipped over over it and ended it course against a pillar. Both the driver and his passenger, another man in his 30’s died shortly after they arrived to the hospital.

Congratulations to our Managing Partner Ben Rubinowitz for receiving the Robert Keeton Award for Outstanding Service as a NITA Faculty Member

By GGCRBHS&M

GGCSMB&R is proud to announce that our Managing Partner New York Personal Injury Attorney Ben Rubinowitz was the 2013 recipient of the Robert Keeton Award for Outstanding Service as a National Institute for Trial Advocay (NITA) Faculty Member. This award recognizes Ben’s exceptional work as a NITA faculty member. Here is what NITA has to say about Ben: “In considering his nomination, it was recognized that “Ben is a ‘best’ teacher and deserves the best teacher award.” He began teaching early in his career, and has contributed to new and evolving methods, such as “drills” and the drill room. He lectures in the same persona that he presents to a jury-a consummate role model.”

The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) is the nation’s leading provider of legal advocacy skills training. It is a deidcated team of professors, judges and practicing lawyers who believe that skilled and ethical advocacy is a critical component of legal professionalism and all systems of dispute resolution that seek justice

Below is a video demonstrating Ben’s skills as a NITA teacher

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