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 personal injury nyc

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Broken glass on NYC bike lanesAnti bike lanes activists intentionally put NYC cyclists at risk of  dangerous accidents by spreading broken glass on the  12th and 13th streets bike lanes in the West Village in Manhattan.  This is the second time that a bike lane has been intentionally vandalized for political reasons. In November, thumbtacks were thrown all over the 43rd Avenue bike lanes in Sunnyside, Queens by bike lanes opponents.

Yesterday afternoon, “bring back our parking!” graffiti and other anti-bike lane signs appeared on the 12th and 13th street bike lanes. Broken glass was also spread over the two bike lanes putting cyclists at risk of dangerous accidents.

According to Street Blog, the graffiti reflect the opinion of the anti-bike lane 14th Street Coalition. This group is asking the city to remove the two bike lanes on 12th and 13th street as well as the bus lane on 14th street.  The two bike lanes and the dedicated bus lane were implemented by the city in anticipation of the L subway lane closure. Now that the city announced that the L will not shut down, some anti cyclists neighborhood groups want their their street back to the way it was before.

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location of the deadly car accidentA man died and a woman was injured in a car crash in New York City last Friday night. According to the NY Daily News the driver of a white 2001 Nissan Sentra was driving East on Rockaway Boulevard around 10:30 pm. He was planning to make a left turn onto Guy R Brewer Boulevard. When he arrived at the intersection the left turn light was red and a tow truck operated by Onpoint Collision and Towing Services was in front of him. The tow truck driver told the News that the reckless driver went around his truck on the right and then proceeded to turn left to get onto Guy R Brewer Boulevard. In order to do so he had to cross several lanes of traffic. He was T-boned by a white BMW that slammed in the car’s door. The tow truck driver confirmed that the woman who was driving the BMW had the green light. He saw the entire accident including when the EMS arrived and pulled the driver out of his car. The emergency team tried to resuscitate him but according to the tow truck driver, the man seemed dead. He was transported to the hospital where his death was confirmed. The BMW driver was also taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Read more in the NY Daily News

Picture: Courtesy of Google Map

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accident sceneA 30 year old pregnant woman died in a NYC crash and a teenage girl is in a coma with serious spine injury that may prevent her from walking again. On Saturday morning, 30 year old Jennifer Parisella, a farmer from Middeltown was on her way to a farmers market in the city when she rear ended a tractor-trailer on the Major Deegan Expressway near Brook Avenue around 7:00 am. The young woman who was five months into the pregnancy of her first child died at the scene of the accident.  Her two stepchildren, 14 year old Sky Mendoza and 12 year old Orlando Mendoza were also in the van. They were sitting on the back seat. A 28 year old man who was a relative of the family was in the front passenger seat. Sky Mendoza suffered critical brain and spine injury. She is still in a coma and she might never walk again. Orlando suffered a broken collarbone and the 28 year old man injured his leg.

The police are still investigating the reason of the crash. The 42 year old truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident. He wasn’t charged.

Read more in the New York Post 

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Dusk and Darness Accident PreventionThe NYPD announced last week that A NYC pedestrian died from his injuries the day after an accident that occurred in the Bronx on November 7th around 6:30 pm.  52 year old Alvaro Gutierrez was crossing Southern  Boulevard at Elsmere Place when he was struck by a minivan.  Gutierrez who was hit in the crosswalk, flew in the air and landed on the roadway. He was transported to the hospital where he died the following day. The minivan driver wasn’t charged.

Winter is the worst season for pedestrians

Statistics show that, in New York, after daylight saving time ends, pedestrian accidents increase dramatically, especially during evening hours. The months of November to March are the deadliest for New York pedestrians. To boost awareness about this situation and encourage drivers to drive safely the city has been deploying its ‘Dusk And Darkness’ Vision Zero Safety Initiative for the third consecutive year.

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Five people were injured in a manhole explosion in the Bronx, NYC, last Friday night. A manhole located on Saint Ann’s Avenue near East 156th Street exploded under a parked car. 3 civilians and 2 police officers were injured by flying debris during the explosion. The civilians were treated at the scene of the accident while the two police officers were transported to the hospital to be treated.

Con Edison crews were still making repairs yesterday working to fix underground wires in a narrow area of  Saint Ann’s Avenue.

Manhole explosions can be very dangerous in a busy city like New York. In such explosion the cast iron cover that can weight between 85 and 300 pounds is sometimes propelled into the air from 1 foot to 50 feet depending on the intensity of the explosion. Manhole explosions often occur during the spring because all the salt used to make the roads safer is corroding the underground cables. However other factors such as aging, overload or rat biting can also damage the cables insulation. When the cable insulation is damaged, wires start to touch each others creating heat to the point that the insulation catches on fire and releases gas. The pressure from the gas then builds up inside the manhole. The defective electrical wires can then ignite the gas and cause a potential explosion.

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While the number of traffic fatalities is on the rise nationally, in New York, most probably because of the many Vision Zero Initiatives launched over the last five years, traffic fatalities were at their lowest during the third trimester of 2018 compared to the third trimester of the five previous years. The decline in traffic fatalities during the summer of 2018 is due to the decrease in pedestrians and cyclists fatalities while the number of motorist fatalities was at its highest since the beginning of Vision Zero.

From July 1st to September 30 2018, 59 people lost their life in NYC auto accidents compare to respectively 65, 61, 60, 76 and 82 during the same period of 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. It is interesting to notice that there are now as many motorists deaths as pedestrian deaths. Pedestrians used to be the category of road users the most at risk of dying in trafic accidents. However according to the most recent statistics drivers now have as much risk as pedestrians of getting killed in a traffic accident in New York City. Total traffic fatalities in New York City third trimester 2018

A record number of 16,300 people were injured in car accidents in New York City during the third trimester of 2018 compared to respectively 15,860, 16,048, 13,998, 13,472 and 14,900 during the third trimester of 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.  Not only in New York but all over the US, distracted driving has led to a significant increase in motorist injuries. Over the last 3 years and despite Vision Zero intense efforts to make New York City Streets safer, the number of motorists injured in car accidents in New York has been increasing tremendously.

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NYC ambulance accidents3 people suffered personal injury in an ambulance accident in New York City. The accident occurred Tuesday morning around 7:30 a.m. on East Fordham Road at Elm Place. The FDNY ambulance careened into an optical store after it collided with a car. The ambulance was on its way to a call. Two FDNY workers who were in the ambulance as well as one of the car occupants were injured and rushed to the hospital. Thankfully there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk or in the store which was closed.

Ambulance accidents are unfortunately occurring too often in New York City. Despite having special exemption from stopping at red-lights and stop signs as well as from speed limits ambulance drivers still have to be mindful of pedestrians, cyclists and other motor vehicles. Pedestrians and cyclists are especially vulnerable to being run down by speeding ambulances. When such accidents occur, it is not always easy for the victims or their family to get proper compensation for their injuries or the loss of a loved one because of what is known as the “emergency doctrine” pursuant to which emergency responders involved in accidents  on emergency calls can’t be held responsible unless they drove with reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Almost 100 ambulance accidents every month in NYC

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An 18 year old driver died and his 22 year old female passenger is in critical condition following a terrible crash in the Bronx, NYC. The teenager was driving his car on the Hutchinson Parkway in the Bronx around 2:30 am on Monday. As he was near the New England Thruway he sideswiped a BMW with his Subaru and then crashed into a tree. His car was completely mangled. He and his passenger were both transported to the hospital. He was declared dead when he arrived. The passenger was listed in critical condition.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of deaths for teenagers in America in front of suicide, homicide and cancer. Every year around 3000 teenagers are killed in car accidents and thousands more are injured . According to statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 16 to 19 year old drivers are 3 times more likely to die in a car accident than drivers 20-year-old and above. 2/3 of the teens who are killed in car accidents are boys. Distracted driving and underage drinking are often a factor.

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16 people died and 5,484 suffered personal injury in auto accidents in New York City during the month of July 2018. While the number of people dying in car accidents has been on a slightly declining trend over the last few years  in New York City, the number of people injured in such accidents has been on a rising trend. The total number of crashes is also on a rising trend:

  • In July  2013, 22 people died and 5,077 were injured in 19,384 crashes
  • In July 2014, 28 and 4,591 in 19,287 crashes
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A MTA bus crashed into a building in Brooklyn, NYC, injuring 6 residents. The accident occurred at the intersection of St Marks and Ralph Avenue in Crown Heights. The driver of the B45 bus was driving East on St Marks Avenue and took a too wide right turn to head South on Ralph Avenue. He struck a mailbox and a dump truck before crashing into a residential building located at the intersection of the two avenues . The bus was empty at the time of the accident but the bus driver as well as 5 other residents of the building sustained minor injuries. Thankfully no one was standing at the bus stop located in front of the building and the apartment that was destroyed by the bus was empty at the time of the accident. The neighbors were at home and the bus only missed them by inches. The Department of Building issued vacate orders for the two apartments next to the crash site.

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