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 Wrongful Death

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Corlears-Hook-park-where-the-deadly-car-accint-occured-e1720473719458On the evening of July 4th, a tragic incident unfolded at Corlears Hook Park on the Lower East Side when Daniel Hyden, 44, allegedly drove his gray Ford F-150 into a crowd of people. The crash resulted in the deaths of Lucille Pinkney, 59, her son Hernan Pinkney, 38, and 43-year-old Ana Morel. Eight others were injured in the incident. According to reports, Hyden was driving under the influence of alcohol. He admitted to having a few drinks but refused a breathalyzer test. Additionally, Hyden’s driving privileges had been suspended due to his failure to answer four prior summonses.

Legal Perspective: What the Victims’ Families Can Do

In the wake of such a devastating event, the families of the victims are understandably seeking justice and compensation for their immense loss. Here are some legal avenues they can explore:

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schoolbus1The recent tragedy in Mamaroneck, New York, where a young kindergarten student and his mother were fatally struck by a school bus while walking to school, has left our community in shock and mourning.

As school bus accident attorneys, we are deeply familiar with the complexities and dire consequences of such tragic events. The details of this particular incident are heart-wrenching: a 6-year-old boy and his 43-year-old mother, just half a block away from Mamaroneck Avenue Elementary School, were hit by a school bus as they rightfully crossed the street at a designated crosswalk. Despite the walk sign being on, the bus, carrying several students and an aide, turned left and tragically struck the pedestrians.

The young boy was pronounced dead at the scene, and his mother succumbed to her injuries after being rushed to the hospital. This loss is not just a statistic; it represents a significant and irreplaceable loss to their family and our community.

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location-of-the-Manhattan-fatal-hit-and-run-accident-A pedestrian lost their life in a hit-and-run accident on Canal Street recently. The details of this case underscore the urgent need for improved safety measures on one of New York City’s most dangerous thoroughfares.

Canal Street, notorious for its high rate of accidents and fatalities, has long been a focal point for street safety advocates. Despite repeated calls for action and promises of improvement, the reality remains grim. The statistics speak for themselves: 84 reported crashes on just half a mile of Canal Street last year, resulting in numerous injuries and, tragically, loss of life. In the past decade alone, thousands of crashes have occurred, leaving hundreds injured and several dead.

With narrow sidewalks, lengthy crossings, and an overwhelming dominance of car traffic, it’s no wonder this stretch of road has earned its reputation as a “car sewer.” Yet, despite community outcry and ongoing studies by the Department of Transportation, tangible improvements remain elusive.

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accident sceneIn the early hours of Sunday, a 59-year-old man’s life took a tragic turn when the ambulance he was riding in was T-boned at the intersection of 10th Avenue and West 42nd Street in Hell’s Kitchen. The man was already in critical condition due to a heart attack and was being rushed to the hospital. Sadly, the collision with a Dodge Durango added further complexity to his situation.

Another ambulance promptly arrived to transport the victim to Mount Sinai West Hospital. Despite all efforts, he did not survive. The Durango driver and EMS workers suffered minor injuries in the accident.

This accident is a stark reminder of the urgent need for safe and responsible driving on the streets of Manhattan, especially considering the critical nature of the medical emergency at hand. Investigations will undoubtedly determine the extent to which the collision contributed to this tragic outcome.

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ambulance at accident sceneIn the early hours of Tuesday morning, tragedy struck a bustling street near Chinatown when a fire erupted at an e-bike service store. Four lives were lost, while two others remain in critical condition. The cause of the fire? Lithium-ion batteries, which have become a growing concern in New York City due to their link to several fatal blazes.

At around midnight, a three-alarm fire broke out at the e-bike repair shop on Madison Street, engulfing the business and spreading through the building. Despite the valiant efforts of approximately 140 firefighters and emergency personnel, the blaze claimed the lives of four individuals and left two others fighting for their lives. The fire commissioner, Laura Kavanagh, confirmed that the fire was accidental and caused by a lithium-ion battery.

Lithium-ion batteries have become a common power source for various devices, including e-bikes, phones, laptops, and power tools. However, their flammability has become a growing concern as the usage of electric vehicles, especially e-bikes and scooters, has surged in New York City. Commissioner Kavanagh revealed that these batteries have been responsible for 108 fires and 13 deaths so far this year alone. In 2022, approximately 200 fires were linked to lithium-ion batteries.

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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

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location of the deadly e-bike accident in ManhattanA cyclist riding an e-bike was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Manhattan, early Sunday morning.  38 year old Carlos Garcia Ramos was riding his e-bike East on West 24th Street in Chelsea and had just crossed 7th Avenue when the driver of a black Infinity sedan rear-ended him.  The cyclist who suffered severe head and body trauma was rushed to the hospital but he could not be saved. After the accident occurred, the e-bike got stuck in the wheel of the car. Instead of assisting the cyclist, the driver left his car on the side of the road and fled on foot leaving the cyclist dying in the street. He was later on identified as 24 year old Edgar Maeda-Luca. He was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of the accident.  (Read more in the New York Post).

Crosstown streets are dangerous for cyclists as very few of them have protected bike lanes

In Manhattan while most avenues are now equipped with protected bike lanes, crosstown streets remain dangerous for cyclists.  Bike lanes are still rare on crosstown streets and most of them are unprotected. So far, according to a recent article in Streetopia, out of hundreds of them only 8 crosstown streets have a protected bike lane in Manhattan: 12th Street, 13th Street, 26th Street, 29th Street, 52nd Street, 55th Street, 61st Street, and 62nd Street.  According to NYC Crash Mapper, over the last 12 months and including Carlos Garcia Ramos, out of the 5 people who died in bicycle accidents in Manhattan, 3 of them died in bicycle accidents that occurred on crosstown streets, one of them on an avenue with an unprotected bike lane and another one lost control of his e-bike in a bike-lane:

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location of the deadly accidentA construction worker died after falling from a scaffold in Manhattan last Monday morning. The accident occurred at a residential building located at 263 West End Avenue, on the corner of West End Avenue and 72nd Avenue in the Upper West Side of Manhattan (see picture).

According to a preliminary investigation of the Department of Buildings, the 36 year old construction worker whose identity was not revealed, was installing netting on a scaffold at the 15th floor of the building when he fell to his death onto the sidewalk shed.  So far, the investigation of the DOB found that the worker did not receive site safety orientation before he started his work.

A full stop order was issued as DOB continues its investigation. The building owner, Riverside Towers Corporation, had an active work permit for façade repair and for the scaffold at the time of the accident. The  worker was employed by Rennon Construction and the General Contractor of the site is J&S Waterproofing. (read more in Construction Dive)

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Forsyth and Houston where the fatal hit and run crash occurred21 year old Andy Eduardo Gil was killed in a hit and run accident in Manhattan. The accident occurred on Houston Street at the intersection of Forsyth Street just one block away from where NYU student Raife Miligan was killed by a drunk driver  in May (see previous blog) and a few blocks away from where another hit and run driver killed 23 year old Borkot Ullah, a delivery cyclist in 2021. According to workers who were able to see a video surveillance of the accident, the car was speeding when the driver hit the pedestrian who was in the crosswalk.

According to a recent article in Transportation Alternatives, speeding is quite common on Houston Street. The speeding camera installed at the intersection of East Houston and Avenue C issued 18,870 tickets in the fiscal year of 2021 which is the equivalent of a ticket every 13 minutes of operations which is 6:00 am to 10:00 pm during weekdays only until August 1st. Starting August 1st speed cameras will be turned on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the city and hopefully will deter drivers speeding at night or during the week-end.

Houston Street is a very dangerous corridor of downtown Manhattan and Transportation Alternatives mentions that it was redesigned and the width of the travel lanes were enlarged which resulted in increased speeding.  The city promised in late 2020 to install “enhanced crossing” for pedestrians but so far nothing has been done.

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Raife fatally struck by drunk driverMichael de Guzman had a blood-alcohol content of .13 when he struck  and killed a pedestrian in Downtown Manhattan.

21 year old Raife Miligan was attempting to cross Houston Street near First Avenue last Monday around 2:45 am when the drunk driver fatally hit him.

According to an article published yesterday in the New York Post, just after he struck the student with his red Chevy Camaro, the driver told the police that he saw “a shadow running across the street” and while he tried to swerve to avoid it, he crashed into a Honda CRV and the divider. The officer who took the complaint wrote the following “I observed [de Guzman] ask the passenger of his vehicle if he hit the other car and the passenger stated to [de Guzman] in substance, no you just hit the guy, meaning the pedestrian,”.