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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construction workers have a high risk of fatalityDespite OSHA’s efforts, the death rate on construction sites in the US has not declined for the last 10 years, questioning the effectiveness of the agency.

While there is no doubt that OSHA is doing a great job developing and implementing safety standards, it does not have enough resources to proprely inspect jobsites. Additionnally fines are not only too low to dissuade bad actors but also most of the time they are not being paid and OSHA has little resources to go after those who don’t pay. Also on the top of deaths purely related to construction accidents, the opioid crisis and suicides are also taking a toll on construction workers.

For the last decade, out of every 100,000 construction workers, 10 died on the job. Among those fatalities 3 out of 5 died from what is known in the construction industry as the “Fatal Four”:

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Car are dangerous to pedestrians and cyclistsAmong rich countries, America is one of the most dangerous for road users especially pedestrians and cyclists.  In The Exceptionally American Problem of Rising Roadway Deaths, an article recently published by the New York Times, Emily Badger and Alicia Parlapiano take an in-depth look at road fatalities in the US compared to other rich countries. They found out that during the Covid19 crisis, most countries in the world saw a decline in fatalities with the exception of the United States, Switzerland and Ireland.  When  comparing national traffic fatalities in 2020 to an average yearly traffic fatalities in 2017 to 2019 , Italy, Hungary, Turkey, Spain, France and Sweden all saw a decline or more than 20% in road fatalities. Italy recorded a 27% decline in traffic fatalities while the united States had a 5% rise in traffic fatalities.

While most rich countries have developed bicycle and pedestrian friendly infrastructures over the last decade, the United States did not do as much

While many countries started to take measures to protect pedestrians and cyclists such as protected bike lanes, lowering of speed limits and adopting safe vehicle technologies such as automatic braking systems, cars got bigger and deadlier in the United States.

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The dangerous NYC intersection where a pedestrian was killedA pedestrian was killed in a car accident on a dangerous street of New York City.  The accident occurred on Monday afternoon around 3Pm. 73 year old Yingqui Liu was crossing South Avenue  when he was struck by the driver of a van making a left turn from Forest Avenue in Staten Island.

According to Transportation Alternatives, while 3 people died in crashes on Forest Avenue since 2019, no major safety improvements have been made on Forest Avenue west of Morningstar Road  since Vision Zero started.

So far this year 223 people died in crashes in New York City, including 99 pedestrians. Among the victims 42 of them were 65 and older.

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Lithium ion battery can be dangerousFollowing the fire that recently erupted in a Manhattan Midtown high-rise  after an e-bike lithium battery exploded, the NYC Council finally held a hearing on several bills designated to prevent lithium battery accidents.

While some of the bills are supported by most, others are creating discontent among delivery workers who are the largest category of  e-bikes users.

  • Int 0656-2022 proposes that the FDNY develop an informational campaign to educate people about the fire risks posed by powered mobility devices.  FDNY fully supports this proposal and is already running such campaigns.
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70 people died in traffic accidents in New York City during the third quarter of 2022. Among the victims were 26 pedestrians, 4 cyclists, 15 motor vehicle passengers and 25 motor vehicle operators. Pedestrians and motor vehicle operators accounted for most of the deaths while passengers fatalities reached a record high.

Since Vision Zero started in 2014, auto accident fatalities gradually declined from 82 during the third quarter of 2013 to a record low of 56 fatalities during the third quarter of 2019. However, everything changed during the Covid19 crisis of 2020 when NYC streets were almost empty and speeding caused traffic fatalities to peak again and reach 77 during the third quarter of 2020. Since then, the number of fatalities during Q3 never went back below 70.

Auto accident fatalities NYC Q3 2022

While fatalities remained higher than usual, car accident injuries stayed lower than usual

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429 Est 52nd street where the fire occurredAn occupant of a Midtown high rise who, according to the FDNY, was repairing e-bikes and e-scooters out of his apartment caused a major fire in a high rise after a lithium-ion battery exploded in the front door of his 20th floor apartment. Firefighters said they recovered at least 5 e-bikes from the apartment where the fire started. A woman had to be rescued out of her window in a heroic rescue effort. Firefighters were forced to use a technique called “roof rope rescue” which is a last resort technique to save the woman blocked in the 20th floor apartment.

Firefighters  instructed other residents to shelter in their apartments, put wet towels under the door and wait until they came to rescue them.

A total of 38 people suffered injury in the fire. Two of them are in critical condition. Five of them suffered serious injury and the rest were minor injuries.

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construction is the most dangerous job in NYCMaking sure NYC buildings and construction sites are safe for construction workers, New Yorkers and their visitors, is the big responsibility of the New York City Department of Buildings. However the Department is not always proprely run and corruption scandals are common. The last one is the resignation of its commissioner Eric Ulrich last week, one day after he met with prosecutors from the DA’s office  for an investigation that he might have possible ties with organized crime and illegal gambling (see more in the New York Times). The DOB just announced that for now Deputy Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik, P.E., will serve as acting commissioner.

The change of commissioner comes at a very busy time for the DOB as since Today the new 2022 NYC Construction Codes goes into effect

The 2022 NYC Construction Code includes 600 major updates and thousands of smaller changes that are supposed to improve safety and incorporate the latest building technologies. It is the largest comprehensive revision of the code since 2014.

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Personal Injury Attorney Ben Rubinowitz to speak at Trial School SymposiumOur managing partner, Ben Rubinowitz, a top New York Trial Attorney, will be speaking about “Using the Cross Examination of Common Sense” at the Trial School Symposium that will take place in Denver, CO from November 17th to November 20, 2022.

During this 3-day event, you’ll learn and workshop the latest mixed method advocacy approaches for two of the hardest skills to master, Voir Dire and Cross Examination from a nationally recognized faculty. The  program will feature an intensive program of study incorporating a combination of daily lecture presentations and small group break-out sessions each afternoon.

For more info or to register please click here

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Best Law Firms - Standard BadgeOur firm is proud to announce that for the 13th consecutive year it has been named by U.S. News – Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms” a Tier 1 Firm in New York City for:

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Julie Hyman and Fran Hoffinger just wrote an article about the New York Women’s Bar Legacy Project: Our Stories Our Voices” that was screened for the first time on Thursday October 20.  Our founding member Harriett Gair who was a President of the New York Women’s Bar is included in this project and her son Anthony Gair spoke about her mother in one of the videos.

The article can be found in the November Newsletter of the NYWBA


Legacy-Project

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