Articles Tagged with New York Wrongful Death
New York City streets are getting safer with both traffic deaths and traffic personal injuries trending lower
4,737 people were injured and 21 died in 18,862 traffic accidents in New York City in August according to recent statistics released by the NYPD. The number of motor vehicle accidents has been increasing steadily over the last three years however the number of deaths and injuries are both on a declining trend in the city (click on graphs for a larger view) which indicates that New York City streets are getting a little safer.

Pedestrians are the most at risk of dying in a traffic accident in New York City. They represent more than half of the traffic fatalities. Last month 11 of them died after being struck by a vehicle compared to 6 during the previous month and 10 in August 2014.
While pedestrian fatalities are on a downtrend, bicycle accident fatalities have been increasing since the beginning of 2013. Last August 3 cyclists died in accidents. 3 cyclists also died in July bringing to 11 the total number of people who died in a bicycle accident this year. During the same period of 2013 and 2014 there were respectively 7 and 15 bicycle accident fatalities.
Does the recent jaywalking enforcement help reduce pedestrian accidents?
Since the de Blasio administration launched The Vision Zero program to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities in New York, jaywalking tickets have been increasing significantly. By the end of last year, according to NYPD statistics, jaywalking summonses had nearly quadrupled the average for the previous six year. In a long article, the Village Voice looks at the history of Jaywalking in the city since 1920 and question the manner it is being enforced by the NYPD these days. Read the complete article here
Failure to diagnose Borderline Personality Disorder can be Medical Malpractice that can have fatal consequences
In 2001, Pam Tusiani died as a result of Medical Malpractice in New York after she fatally reacted to Parnate, an antidepressant she had been prescribed by a treatment center that was providing medical care without a license. The young woman was suffering from borderline personality disorder, a disease often misdiagnosed.
Using the settlement from their malpractice suit, Pam’s parents started the Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital in 2003. Last July the Tusianis hosted some of New York’s top neuroscientists and psychiatrists at a day-long event to review the latest science on BPD and devise new avenues for research.
Read more in The Washington Post
A 27-year-old bicyclist died in a hit-and-run accident on City Island
A 27 year old woman was killed in a bicycle accident on the City Island bridge in the Bronx, NYC. The police are looking for the driver of a 2015 White Hyundai who struck 27 year old Gabriella Aguilar and sped away, leaving her to die on the road. See video below
Two people died this weekend in two separate New York motorcycle accidents
A 29 year old man and a 27 year old woman died in two separate motorcycle crashes early Saturday night in New York City. The first motorcycle accident occurred in Brooklyn around 1:15 AM. The driver of the motorcycle tried to pass a van by squeezing between the parked cars and the van on Parkside Avenue near Park Circle. He lost control of his motorcycle and died in the hospital a few hours after the crash.
The second accident happened 40 minutes later in the Bronx. A 27 year old woman who was riding as a passenger on a bike driven by a 30 year old man was ejected from it after the driver lost control of the vehicle on Commerce Avenue near Newbold Avenue. The woman died and the driver suffered a broken jaw. Having ridden motorcycles for over 50 years the lack of foresight never ceases to amaze me. We all know riding bikes carries a multitude of risks from other drivers. Why compound it by riding foolishly.
Read more in the New York Daily News
A worker died in an elevator accident at a New York construction site
A construction worker died after he fell down an elevator shaft in New York. The accident happened yesterday at the beginning of the afternoon at the construction site of a future hotel located at 577 9th Avenue near 41st Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan.
According to DNA Info the construction worker was not wearing a harness at the time of the accident. He was working on the fourth floor near the elevator shaft which, at the time, was just a hole that extended all the way to the ground. He fell in and landed on his back. The man who was 30 years old was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died.
A few months ago the general contractor for the construction site, BRF Construction Corp, was fined for failing to secure the site after a construction worker was spotted on a 15 to 20 foot wall without a harness. BRF employed non union workers.
After seven people died and 79 others contracted Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx, the city of New York is finally taking action announcing, new legislation to identify the cooling towers spreading the diesease
86 cases of Legionnaire’s disease have been confirmed in the South Bronx during the last three weeks. This is the largest and deadliest outbreak of Legionnaires’disease in New York City. The disease which is a severe form of pneumonia is spread through a bacteria that grows in the water. This bacteria has been plaguing New York City cooling towers for years and there are between 200 and 300 cases reported every year in New York City. New York City residents contract the disease when they inhale the mist of cooling water contaminated with the bacteria. According to the CDC, the number of Legionnaire’s disease cases in NYC increased by 230% between 2002 and 2009. The city’s rate of Legionnaire’s disease is twice the National average. The outbreaks have been happening all around the city for decades especially in poor neighborhoods but so far the city has been neglecting the deadly problem and has no regulations in regards to cooling tower safety.
It took seven people’s deaths in the last three weeks for the City to finally take action and propose legislation to identify, regulate and inspect all New York City buildings using a cooling tower. Mayor de Blasio held a press conference yesterday at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. He provided an update on the recent outbreak of the disease and said the new laws will be introduced to the City Council this week.
Two New York construction managers have been indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter and reckless endangerment after a construction worker was crushed to death by a collapsing wall on their construction site
Last April, 22 year old Carlos Moncayo died in a construction accident in New York because two construction managers put profit over safety. According to the NY Daily News, on April 6th, Christian Ofusu, an independent engineer assigned to oversee the work on a Ninth Ave site in the Meatpacking district warned Alfonso Prestia, the construction site superintendent, that the site was too dangerous and that it should be shut down. Prestia ignored the engineer’s warning so Ofusu went to voice his concerns to foreman Wilmer Cueva who also refused to stop the work. Moments later, as Ofusu was trying to convince the project manager, Mohamad Sharif to shut down the site, a wall collapsed and crushed Carlos Moncaya to death. Cuevas who works for Sky Materials Corp and Prestia who works for Hartco Consultants Corp have both been indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
Yesterday another wall collapsed on a construction site in Nolita, downtown Manhattan, injuring two construction workers (see NY Daily News) and the day before a construction worker was seriously injured after falling two-stories at a construction site in Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan (see previous blog).
A man died and four other people including a firefighter were injured in a New York fire accident
A man died after he jumped out of a building on fire yesterday in East Harlem, New York. The fire started Sunday morning around 5:50 am at 245 E. 124th St. near Second Ave (see picture). In an attempt to flee the blaze, the 58 year old man who was living on the seventh floor jumped out of his window. He was found outside the building in critical condition and was transported to the hospital where he died from his injuries. Four other people, including a firefighter suffered personal injury and were also transported to the hospital. It took firefighters an hour to stop the fire. Read more in the NY Daily News
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