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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central park bikingA bicyclist suffered serious head injury in an accident in Central Park, New York City. The bicyclist was riding his bike in Central Park when, according to the police, a pedestrian stepped into the crosswalk in front of him.  The bicyclist squeezed his brakes hard and swerved to avoid the pedestrian. He flew over the front of the bike and landed on his head, on the pavement, 25 to 30 feet away from the bike. He wasn’t wearing a helmet. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He suffered serious body and head trauma. The police didn’t tell the NY Daily News if the pedestrian had the green light but the investigation is ongoing.

Last year in a similar scenario, a bicyclist killed a pedestrian in Central Park. The pedestrian was also in the crosswalk when the accident happened. According to witnesses, the bicyclist who was riding well over the maximum speed of 25 mph swerved to avoid other pedestrians before fatally striking 59 year old Jill Tarlov, a CBS senior VP. After the accident the minimum biking speed in the park was lowered to 20 mph instead of 25 mph.

Yesterday another bicyclist died from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident in Central Park. According to Patch.com, the victim fell of her bike a month ago. 54 year old Gloria Garcia was visiting New York from Texas. She sustained a head injury and had been hospitalized since the accident which occurred on July 17th.

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La Reguera DominicanaA man died in a New York elevator accident on Saturday. Jose Fernandez, 43  from the Dominican Republic was a worker at the Discount Store La Reguera Dominicana on 182nd Street in Manhattan. The man was loading merchandise into the freight elevator in the basement when the accident happened. For some unknown reason, the freight elevator suddenly moved up and trapped his head. The Department of Buildings is investigating the cause of the accident.

The online property profile overview of the NYC Department of Buildings has no record for the elevator. The freight elevator which had no doors was installed illegally a year ago, without a permit when a previous auto repair shop was turned into a discount store.

The building has an open violation for illegal occupancy and last year 3 complaints were opened accusing the building owner of performing renovations without a valid work permit.

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methA reckless motorist who fatally struck a pedestrian and injured a few others in New York was convicted of murder. 35 year old Shaun Martin was high on Meth and PCP when in 2013 he sped down Second Avenue in Manhattan, NYC, jumped the curb and fatally hit a florist who was just coming home from his night shift. Two other pedestrians were also injured by the reckless driver. Shaun Martin is now facing life in prison. Read more in the NY Daily News

picture source: wikipedia

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Cy VanceLast year 22 year old Carlos Moncayo died in a  construction accident in New York. The young worker was crushed to death by a collapsing  wall on the site of the former Pastis restaurant in the Meatpacking district, in lower Manhattan, NYC. Prior to the accident, Harco, the contractor, had been warned by an  independent engineer  that the construction site was unsafe and that it should be closed.  The contractor refused and Carlos died. (See previous blogs here and here)

A coalition of 22  groups including District Attorney Vance and then Building Trade Employers’ Association (BTEA) are asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence on  Harco.  Harco was found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment by Judge A. Kirke Bartley.  The D.A.  Also requested that the contractor pay for an advertising campaign to promote  worker safety this fall in New York.

Read more in the Real Deal 

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Crane ReportFollowing the fatal collapse of a crane in  lower Manhattan last February, Mayor de Blasio and NYC building commissioner Rick Chandler created the Crane Safety Technical Working Group. The mission of this independent group of experts was to assess actual New York crane safety regulations and provide a set of  recommendations to improve existing regulations and limit further crane accidents in New York City. A few days ago the group released a report that includes  23 recommendations to improve crane safety in New York City.

The group noted that despite having some of the most comprehensive crane safety regulations in the world, the NYC  Department of Buildings hasn’t comprehensively revised and updated these regulations since 2008. In between technology and best practices have evolved tremendously. A new effort to update regulations was launched by the DOB  last year but nothing has been released yet. Therefore the Crane Safety Technical Working Group proposes that the Department of Buildings integrates the Crane Safety Technical Working Group recommendations with their ongoing efforts to update the existing crane regulations.

In its recommendations, the group suggests:

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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.

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6th ave between 53rd and 54th streetA man died in a car accident in New York and another one was injured in the same accident. The two men in their thirties  were riding in the same car this morning around 4:30 am in Midtown Manhattan when the accident happened.  They were heading north on Sixth Ave between 53rd and 54th street when the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a fire hydrant. The impact was so strong that the driver died. The passenger survived the accident. He suffered serious injury but was listed in stable condition. A witness told CBS New York that the car was speeding just before the accident.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Picture: courtesy of Google Map

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Last year in New York 14 bicyclists were killed and 4,400 were injured in bicycle accidents. The accidents are often caused by other vehicle drivers who are making the road unsafe for bikers. Cars or other vehicles parked in the bike lane or double parked put bicyclists at a higher risk of accidents.

As part of the Vision Zero Program, the NYPD  chose this week, which is also bike to work week  to launch the“Bicycle Safe Passage” initiative.

During the whole week NYPD officers of all precincts of the 5 boroughs of New York City are cracking down on motorists who are endangering bicyclists. Cars parked in designated bike lanes and forcing bike riders to ride in traffic to get around the parked cars as well as drivers crossing bike lanes illegally or driving on the bike lanes are the main target of NYPD officers.

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New York Wrongful Death Lawyer Howard HershenhornThe widow of David Wichs who was killed by a crane that collapsed on a New York Street (see previous post) is intending to sue the City for $600M. Rebecca Wichs who is represented by our partner, New York crane accident attorney Howard Hershenhorn, filed a notice of claim last week with the New York City Comptroller. Her husband David Wichs was walking on Worth Street, in downtown Manhattan, when a crane fell in the street and killed him. Rebecca Wichs is seeking $550 for wrongful death, $25 million for conscious pain and suffering and $25 million for loss of services.

Rebecca Wichs claims that The City was negligent in the manner in which they supervised the construction site.  It is also claimed The City failed to proprely consider the weather conditions in their decision making process. Knowing about the heavy snow and winds that were forecast for that day, The City should have ordered the lowering and securing of the crane the day before the collapse.

Read more in the New York Law Journal and on CBS News

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Construction_worker_harnessFalls are the leading cause of death in construction accidents in New York and in the U.S. Some of them are caused by inadequate safety measures while others occur even though all OSHA safety measures were followed by the construction workers.

Steelworkers for example are allowed to to work up to a height of 25 feet without the use of a safety harness. OSHA rules also permit construction workers climbing a scaffold to unhook their attachment and hook it again to a higher tie-off point as they ascend.

Some contractors in New York believe OSHA rules are not strict enough and require all their workers to use a harness when they work 6 feet and higher above the ground. Some NY construction companies also require that workers climbing scaffolds use two harnesses so they are constantly hooked onto something and protected. Gilbane Building is among the contractors in New York that require all workers to follow these two rules.