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.

Articles Tagged with brooklyn premises liability

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Trump Village where the woman was killed by a solar panelA tragic accident at Trump Village in Brighton Beach has claimed the life of a 76-year-old woman after high winds from a powerful nor’easter tore a solar panel loose from a carport and sent it flying through the air.

According to reports, Lyudmila Braun was walking near Ocean Parkway and Brighton Beach Avenue around 10:30 a.m. Sunday when a large solar panel—measuring approximately 3½ feet by 7 feet—detached from a steel carport at an outdoor parking lot and struck her in the head. She was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) later issued a partial vacate order for the lot owned by Trump Village Apartments Two Owner LLC, citing unsafe conditions. Inspectors ordered the area beneath the carport to be cleared while investigators determine whether the solar installation or the carport’s construction failed to meet wind-resistance or building-code standards.

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The building where the deadly collapse occuredA fatal construction accident in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, has placed the spotlight squarely on the property owner’s failure to maintain a safe structure. Following the collapse of a parapet wall that killed a 58-year-old worker, New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors documented severe façade defects at the one-story garage located at 113 Sunnyside Avenue.

The Deadly Collapse

The accident occurred just before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, when the worker was struck in the back by a collapsing parapet wall while on the roof of the garage, which shares a lot with a six-story building at 224 Highland Boulevard. Emergency responders removed him from the roof using an aerial ladder, but he was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital.

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The Hip Hop that partially collapsed in BrooklynAs Brooklyn personal injury lawyers, we are closely following the recent ceiling collapse at the IHOP in Flatlands that left nine people injured and forced the restaurant to shut down. On September 5, 2025, a 10-by-10-inch section of the ceiling, weakened by water damage, fell onto diners. Five victims were transported to area hospitals, while four others received treatment at the scene. City inspectors later issued a vacate order and cited the property owner for failure to maintain the premises.

What Happened

  • A section of the ceiling collapsed due to water damage.

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AC unit if not properly secured can be dangerous A 4-year-old boy was seriously injured in Brooklyn after he fell from a fifth-story window after an air conditioning unit’s side panel was pushed open. The child survived with serious injuries, and the story has raised important questions about premises liability, particularly in apartment complexes.

According to reports, the boy was playing near the bedroom window when he fell through the gap left by the air conditioner’s side panel. His mother, upon discovering him missing, found the panel ajar and immediately called emergency services. The child was hospitalized with multiple broken bones but is expected to recover. Thankfully, there were no injuries to his brain.

The incident underscores the vital need for proper installation and maintenance of window air conditioning units, especially in homes with young children.

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The recent heartbreaking incident in Midwood, Brooklyn, where a baby tragically lost their life due to a steam radiator malfunction, has raised numerous concerns regarding premises liability and the safety standards in residential buildings.

A baby in Midwood, Brooklyn, suffered fatal injuries after being exposed to steam from a malfunctioning radiator. According to the Department of Buildings, the radiator exploded due to a separation in the part that connected the pipe feeding steam to the radiator. The mother, attending to another child in a different room, found the room filled with steam, likely exceeding 200 degrees.

Duty of Care

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A decorative stone arch on the top of the front door of a residential brownstone in Brooklyn collapsed on the stoop and destroyed it, prompting the Department of Buildings to evacuate the building. Luckily nobody was around when the accident occurred. Three families living in the building were evacuated and temporarily relocated by the Red Cross. The owner of the building located on Carlton Avenue in Prospect Heights was issued a ticket for failure to maintain the building.  The owner was also ordered to immediately install a sidewalk shed to protect pedestrians from further potential collapse and to repair the building.

Building owners in New York City have a duty to maintain their property so they are safe inside and outside

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location of the falling debris accidentA man suffered a skull fracture after a facade collapsed on him as he was walking on a New York City sidewalk.  39 year-old Oumar Ba, a father of two, was walking  on the sidewalk on St. Johns Place in Crown Heights yesterday afternoon around 3:00 pm. when a chunk of bricks and debris fell on him.  His friend Abdouramane Thiam whom he was visiting, as well as other local vendors who witnessed the accident ran to rescue the man as he was lying unconscious on the ground. They called 911 and applied pressure on the back of his head to contain the bleeding until the EMS arrived.  Oumar Ba was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a skull fracture and injuries to his ribs and shoulder. He is now in stable condition.

Violation for for failure to maintain exterior building wall open since 2004!

The building is an old movie theater that has been reconverted into commercial use. Several complaints dating from as far as 2004 have been logged with the DOB about the illegal  occupancy of the second floor. The building received a total of 37 DOB violations including 28 still open and dating as far as 1991.  The building also has OATH/ECB violations for failure to maintain the exterior building walls open since 2004! The violation mentions “brick work cracked and mortar joints missing with missing bricks at second floor front of building also defective brick work with missing mortar joint”.

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church fails to maintain buildingA man scavenging for construction material in a half demolished building was seriously injured after he fell through the floor. The accident occurred at a dilapidated Brooklyn building located at the intersection of Rutland Road and Brooklyn Ave in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.  The floor gave way under the weight of the 33 year old man and he got trapped. It took an hour for the paramedics and the firefighters to shore up the basement to take him out. The man was then rushed to the hospital where he was listed in serious condition.

Before being bought by the church next door, the building was a lounge. The church received a violation from the city Environmental Control Board for failure to maintain the building  after it partially collapsed. Concerned neighbors told the DOB at the end of January that the structure “was leaning”. The owner was supposed to raze the entire building but only half of it was demolished.

After the accident the DOB issued 3 violations to the church:

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A 14 year old cyclist died after being struck by a car in NYC Saturday a little before 6:pm. Edwin Ajacalon from Guatemala was working as a delivery boy for a local restaurant. He was crossing Fifth Ave in Greenwood when he was hit by a BMW. According to the NY Daily News, the BMW had the green light.

A surveillance video shows the car slamming into the bicyclist at full speed. A witness said he saw the cyclist going up in the air and falling onto the windshield. The witness also said the car then continued on its way dragging the boy down the block. An off duty cop saw the scene and was able to block the BMW with his own car forcing the driver to stop. Both the cyclist and the BMW driver were transported to the hospital.Edwin Ajacalon died from his injuries. He arrived in Brooklyn a year ago. His parents are too poor to come to the US to reclaim his body. Edwin was sharing a bedroom with five other delivery boys and was sending money to his parents in Guatemala. The driver of the BMW was cooperating with the police.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN4lGT-Ghis

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A young man broke both his legs after he fell through a skylight at a rooftop party in Brooklyn, NYC. The man was hanging out with friends on the rooftop when  he stood on a skylight. The skylight made of  glass broke under the weight of the 25-year-old man. He fell 5 stories down on to the concrete. He was  rescued by the EMS with two broken legs.  According to residents, party goes may have walked from  one rooftop to another however being on the rooftop wasn’t allowed because of safety concerns. The building has no prior violations according to the DOB website.