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 New York Premises Liability

Published on:

By

legionaire-diseaseInsights from our New York Personal Injury Lawyers

A troubling outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Harlem has left one person dead and at least 22 others ill, according to recent announcements from the New York City Department of Health. As personal injury attorneys in New York, we have seen firsthand how preventable public health failures—particularly those involving building maintenance and water safety—can have devastating consequences.

The outbreak, which began around July 25, has affected residents in five Harlem ZIP codes—10027, 10030, 10035, 10037, and 10039—along with surrounding neighborhoods. Investigators believe the source may be cooling towers that were not properly maintained, allowing Legionella bacteria to grow and spread via contaminated water vapor.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

parking garage collapses in NYCOn Tuesday afternoon, a parking garage on Ann Street in Lower Manhattan collapsed, resulting in the death of one person and injuring five others. The collapse caused cars to pancake on top of one another, sending rubble from the top deck down to street level. Videos and pictures from the scene showed the extent of the damage, with dust rising from the wreckage.

As premises liability attorneys in New York City, it is alarming to see accidents like this happen. It is the responsibility of property owners to ensure that their premises are safe for those who use them, including visitors and employees. The collapse of the parking garage raises questions about the safety measures in place, maintenance of the structure, and whether there were any prior warnings of potential issues.

The building had open violations dating from 2003

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

construction NYCThankfully nobody was injured after a loose cable on a spinning crane hit a building under construction sending giant metal debris down the streets in Midtown Manhattan yesterday night around 7 PM and creating chaos.

The metal pieces fell from the 84th floor of  a high rise under construction at 111 West 57th Street. The spinning crane at the top of the building first  caused concerns that it could be loose or unstable but later on firefighters noticed that a cable hanging from the spinning boom was constantly hitting the building, destroying it and sending pieces of metal down the street near the intersection of 6th Avenue and 56th Street.

A crane crew was then sent up and the crane operator was able to get into the crane and secure the loose cable. The DOT issued a full stop work order for failure to safeguard public and property construction operations.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

A man was injured in a partial building collapse in Manhattan. Part of the facade of a building containing a parking garage on 203 East 38th Street near third Avenue in Murray Hill  crashed down the street falling on a parked Limousine with TLC plates. The driver who was sitting in the car at the time of the accident was injured as debris falling from the top of the building partially destroyed his car. The windows were broken and the trunk dented. Another man who was making a delivery nearby just had the time to escape and run away from the disaster. According to witnesses, first a few bricks fell on the ground and then immediately after a significant part of the wall followed.

Complaints of illegal construction work were previously filed with the  NYC Department of Buildings

The parking garage was closed during the coronavirus crisis. It opened and closed several times last year according to a local resident who was interviewed by CBS News. The resident said that on some days he witnessed trucks coming out of the garage carrying loads of debris. The DOB received previous complaints that construction work was being done at the location without valid permits. Inspectors were sent twice to the location but were not able to enter the building according to the DOB.  The building which is under a partial vacate order  received 3 previous violations in May and June related to damages to the roof and floor that were categorized as “immediate emergency”. These violations were still active at the time of the accident.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Following the tragic death of  architect Erica Tishman who was killed by falling debris in Times Square, New York two days ago, Inside Edition looked at previous cases of victims struck by falling debris.

They talked to our client Jayson Greene who lost his 2 year old daughter Greta after a brick fell on her. At the time of the accident, Greta was sitting on her grandmother’s lap on a bench in the Upper West Side of Manhattan (see more info in previous blog). Jason  told Inside Edition that no one in New York City should fear for their life when walking in the street. He felt very sad for the family of Erica Tishman who will have to endure the same tragedy his family went through when his daughter was killed.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

location of the fatal accidentA man and a woman walking on Howard Street in New York City suffered critical injury after being hit on their heads by a falling piece of fire escape on Friday afternoon.

The man, identified as 58 year old Richard Marchhart from Long Island, succumbed to his injuries a day after his hospitalization. He left behind a wife and three children: a daughter going to high school and two sons going to college.

The injured woman is a 24 year old artist who was on her way to a studio at the New York Academy of Art on Franklin Street.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Inadequately Maintained Building New YorkA woman fell 6 feet after the sidewalk of an inadequately maintained building collapsed under her. 47 year old Mariana Fuentes is a flower vendor in Washington Heights. Last Saturday around 7:40 am she parked her cart next to a building located on West 158th Street near Broadway. Suddenly the sidewalk collapsed and she fell 6 feet down into an abandoned underground vault. Her husband who was standing near her when the accident happened watched in horror. There wasn’t much he could do to help her as he was himself injured after having been run over by a city bus a while ago.

A good Samaritan who saw the accident, brought a ladder and went down to help Fuentes. He found her lying on the ground with a big concrete slab on her leg. He wasn’t able to remove it but he stayed next to Fuentes until EMS arrive. The firefighters were able to free her and bring her out on a backboard. She was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Inspectors from the Department of Building came and issued a partial vacate order for the underground vault and the sidewalk as well as for an adjacent building. A sign on the building  read “The Department of Buildings has determined that conditions on these premises are imminently perilous to life”. The hole was covered with police tape and plywood.

The Fuentes have been living on the block for more than 20 years. The flower business is the family’s only income.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

A few days after a NYC toddler died by falling from a window, another one injured himself badly in a similar manner. The 5 year old boy fell from the 5th floor of a 6-story building and miraculously survived. The New York Daily News reported that something may have broken the fall and saved the boy.

The apartment where the boy was living had no window guards. In New  York City,  family’s with young children must have their apartment protected with window guards. It’s the law. The building owner is responsible to make sure that any of the apartments where a family with young children lives has window guards installed.

Published on:

By

Harlem River HousingA 3-year old boy died after he fell from a window in a  public housing development in Harlem, New York City.  Latyre Sene fell  from the 13th floor of a building located in the Harlem River II Houses on Frederick Douglass Blvd. near W. 151st St (picture).  The window guard was found next to him. Police are investigating why the window guard fell and didn’t protect the toddler.

Building owners have the responsibility to install and maintain window guards in any apartment where a family is living with children. Because Latyre Sene’s family was illegally subletting the apartment,  it wasn’t clear if  NYCHA who owns the building was aware that a child lived in this apartment.

On Monday, a maintenance employee was seen leaving the apartment with a drill and 3 guards in his hands. Following the tragic accident, several other residents of the building also asked for a revision of their window guards.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Fire escapeA 23 year old man suffered critical injury after he stepped on a defective fire escape and fell 4 stories to the ground. 23 year old Chad Miller was about to move to a new apartment on Bedford Ave near Lefferts Boulevard in Brooklyn, NYC. He was hanging out with a friend on the fire escape outside his new place when the railing broke. Chad fell 4 stories and was critically injured. According to his dad, his son is still in a coma.

The owner of the building  received a violation for failure to maintain the fire escape. It could cost him up to a $5000 penalty. There is also a good chance that the family of the victim files a premises liability lawsuit against him. In 2011 we settled a case for $5,000,000.00 when a fire escape landing on which a man was standing on collapsed causing him to fall approximately 30 feet to the ground. Discussion of case here.

Read more in the NY Daily News and here 

Continue reading →
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
Badges
Super Lawyers Best Lawyers Martindale-Hubbell
SEE NEW JERSEY DISCLAIMER PAGE- AWARD METHODOLOGY