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 wrongful death

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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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accident scene

A 31 year old man from the Bronx was killed by a drunk driver in a car accident in New York City. The accident occurred Saturday around 2:50 am on Burke Ave. 54 year old Andres Mayora crashed into 31 year old Shiquam Dunn. Mayora was drunk and speeding when the accident occurred. Five vehicles were damaged during the accident and two other women suffered personal injury. Dunn was the father of an autistic son. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

A van crashed into a parked car in NYC after the driver suffered a heart attack. The driver, a 64 year old man, was driving a van belonging to the Gethsemane Temple outside Kings County Hospital on Clarkson Ave near E. 37th Street in Brooklyn around 5:30 am on Sunday morning. He went into cardiac arrest and lost control of his vehicle. Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic at this time on Sunday and except for the driver who passed away nobody else suffered personal injury. There was only property damage: the driver struck a car parked in the street and a light pole.  The emergency team brought the driver to the hospital and tried to resuscitate him but it was too late. (read more in the NY Daily News)

Another 64 year old man died in  a traffic accident last week-end in New York City. The man was crossing Little Neck Parkway at 83rd Ave in Queens when he was hit by a car. The accident occurred on Friday night around 9:00 pm. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged. The victim was rushed to the hospital but couldn’t be saved. (read more in the NY Daily News)

 

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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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accident sceneA pedestrian was killed by a van driver who had previously crashed into his car in a supermarket parking lot in New York City. The 65 year old victim was coming out of Costco on Second Ave and 37th Street in Sunny Park, Brooklyn when he saw a commercial van striking his car and driving off. The victim jumped in his car and started chasing the van.  He followed the van up to Third Ave and 65th Street in Bay Ridge.  At this point he got out of his car and walked to the van to confront the driver. The 55 year old van driver struck him, ran over him and dragged him over two blocks. Witnesses in the street were screaming at the van driver to stop. He was stopped by another motorist who also witnessed the scene and drove his car in front of the van to stop him.  The firefighters had to lift the van to remove the victim who was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately he couldn’t be saved. The van driver was taken into police custody.

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22 year old Joanna Mei is responsible for the fire that killed two people and injured 10 others in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, on Thursday. The 22 year old nursing student was charged with two counts of murder and arson. Mei told the police that she was upset with the trash filling the hallway and with the death of a relative several years ago. She explained that she set a garbage can on fire and then felt bad about it and tried to kick the can to stop the fire. Instead the burning rubble spread on the floor and reached some nearby gasoline which erupted into flames. Then the fire quickly started to spread all over the building. There were no smoke detectors in the whole building. Specially trained dogs sniffed gasoline on Mei clothes as well as in other spots of the building including on the third floor where the two victims were living. The victims, 58 year old Xi Huang and 56 year old Feng Xu were a couple from China. They had moved into the building a little less than a year ago. Mei also lived on the third floor.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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matthew vo nohlen died in a NYC bicycle accidentLast year Matthew Von Ohlen was riding his bike when he was intentionally hit by a driver who left him dying at the scene of the accident. The accident occurred on July 2nd 2016 on the Grand Street bike lane in East Williamsburg. Brooklyn, NYC.  Von Ohlen was heading home after a night shift at work in Manhattan. Surveillance video of the accident show Von Ohlen riding in the designated bike lane and being intentionally struck by a car. The video clearly shows the car slowing down and moving into the bike lane to strike him. The bicyclist fell, the car ran over him and then dragged him 10 to 20 feet before speeding away. The  car driver was later identified as 56 year old Juan Maldonado,a  South Williamsburg resident. He was arrested by the police.

During an 11-day trial , Maldonado appeared in a courtroom filled with friends and family members of Matthew Von Ohlen. On Monday the jury delivered the verdict after 3 hours of deliberation. Maldonado was found guilty of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and reckless driving.  Maldonado will appear in Court again on October 18 when he may be sentenced for up to 15 years in prison.

Read more in DNA Info

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FDNY fighting NYC home fireA couple died and their 17 year old daughter was injured in a home fire in Brooklyn, NYC. 61 year old Howard Gluck and 59 year old Evelyn Gluck as well as their 17 year old daughter were sleeping in their two-story home located on 44th Street between Fort Hamilton Parkway and 12th Avenue  in Borough Park, when a fire broke out on the first floor and spread to the second floor around 3:45 am yesterday morning. The FDNY told the media that the fire had probably been going for a while until someone noticed it and called 911. By the time the firefighters arrived, the fire had already engulfed the stairwells.  The couple was found unconscious in a back bedroom on the second floor of the house. They were rushed to the hospital but it was too late and they both passed away. Their daughter was found on the roof of the porch and rescued by the firefighters. She suffered injury and was also transported to the hospital to be treated. She is now in stable condition. The daughter survived because she was able to climb out to a first floor landing before being rescued by the firefighters.

The Glucks had been living in their house for nearly 40 years. They were the first Jewish family to move into the neighborhood and beloved members of a tight knit community. Everybody was in shock yesterday in the neighborhood. Maureen Weiner, who had been living in the house next to them for almost 40 years as well was devastated by the news. She said they were the nicest people.

138 firefighters were called to the rescue to keep the blaze under control and make sure it didn’t spread to neighboring houses. 3 firefighters also suffered minor injury in the exercise of their duty. According to the fire marshals the fire was accidental and caused by “careless cooking/grill”.  There were no smoke detectors installed in the house.

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bicycle garbage truck accident locationA garbage truck fatally hit a bicyclist in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC early Saturday morning. The driver didn’t stop.  27-year-old Neftaly Ramirez had just finished his shift at a Brooklyn Pizzeria. He was biking home to the Lower East Side around 12:30 am. As he was riding on Franklin Street near Noble Street in Greenpoint, a garbage truck driving South on Franklin hit him. The garbage truck driver continued on his way leaving the bicyclist dying in the street behind him. The investigation is still ongoing and the police haven’t apprehended the truck driver yet. Therefore it is still unclear if the driver was aware that he hit someone. Ramirez was found by the police with trauma all over his body. He was pronounced dead by EMS soon after their arrival at the scene of the accident.

Franklin Ave in Greeenpoint is a link between Kent Ave and the Pulaski bridge. It is narrow but busy with traffic day and night. According to a local resident, trucks are “flying down the street all night”. There is a shared bike and motor vehicle lane that is completely unprotected (see picture). A large electronic sign was installed at the location of the accident  by the police to ask potential witnesses to report information. Detectives were also looking for potential footage from security cameras. So far the police said that the truck that hit Ramirez was green with white with yellow lettering. It was most probably a private garbage truck. Private dump trucks are among the most dangerous vehicles for pedestrians and bicyclists. They have the highest NYC pedestrian-kill rate per mile driven. One may hope that the police may finally launch a safety initiative directed at private garbage trucks but that is not what happening. The police were seen on Sunday afternoon ticketing bicyclists on Franklin Ave.

Read more in Streetblog

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A construction worker died in a scaffolding accident in New York City last Sunday. The 58-year-old hard hat was working on a construction site located at 1382 Nostrand Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NYC. The man was found on the ground by a paramedic team. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He didn’t survive his injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival at the hospital. A preliminary investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) indicates that a part of the scaffolding went vertical causing the worker to fall.

The site was immediately issued a stop work order by the NYC Department of Buildings. The building and the ex building owner have a long history of violations, neglect and non compliance. This building as well as another one next door located at 241 Linden Blvd were sold to an LLC associated with investor Steven Vegh for $3.7 million in December 2016. They previously belonged to Lewis Alleyne and other associates. Lewis Alleyne is a Brooklyn slumlord who miraculously escaped jail in 2011 after failing to fix more than 500 building violations and ignoring fines. Together this building and the other building located at 241 Linden Blvd have lost all but 3 of their rent stabilized apartments between 2007 and 2014.

The building where the construction worker fell has several open violations some of them immediately hazardous such as defective stairs and windows and exposed lead paint. Also it wasn’t exactly clear what type of work the man was doing on Sunday. Despite all the violations the owners were able to get a permit for a sidewalk shed.

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Fernando Vanegaz died in a NYC construction accident18 year old Fernando Vanegaz died in a construction accident in Brooklyn, NYC, in September 2015. Two of his colleagues were also seriously injured in the accident. The construction workers were hired by  Michael Weiss an unlicensed contractor who was running an illegal construction site. Michael Weiss asked the workers to dig in an area where the NYC DOB had ordered not to excavate. The workers didn’t have much experience in excavating. When they asked for back up, the contractor ignored them. He also refused to provide any underpinning, shoring or bracing  after workers noticed a crack in a wall. Several times the workers expressed their concern about the crack in the wall, fearing for their lives. The contractor continued to ignore them. Then the tragedy happened, the wall collapsed, killing the young Fernando Vanegaz and seriously injuring two other of his co-workers. Both of them had to go through multiple surgeries for injuries to their spine, skull and facial bones.  The reckless contractor is now facing up to 15 year in prison.

Read more in the New York Times

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