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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accident scene6 pedestrians were injured including 2 critically in a bizarre van accident in NYC on Saturday afternoon. A crazy van driver in a white religious robe  started to accelerate on Brookville Boulevard near 143rd Avenue in Rosedale, Queens, plowing into cars and pedestrians.  A teenage boy and a teenage girl were sent into the air.  The boy landed on the back of the van. The girl fell in front of it and the driver just ran over her.  The van then sideswiped another car and  ran over  another pedestrian before driving  into the pond of Brooksville Park.  The driver then came out of the van dressed in a religious robe and screamed “hallelujah,  praise Jesus”. On one of the van’s windows one could read “Psalm 24, Psalm 37, Psalm 27” written by hand in white letters.  The police apprehended him and took him to the hospital for  psychiatric evaluation.  Some witnesses said he looked like he was on drugs. The pedestrians injured in the accident where all rushed to the hospital as well.  The two teenagers suffered critical injuries. Three other pedestrians where in serious condition and another one suffered minor  injury. Read more the NY Daily News

Also in Queens, NYC, on Friday afternoon, an armed driver who injured two officers after trying to escape the police was arrested. He is facing attempted murder charges. The driver was pulled over after not respecting a stop sign on 110th Ave.  Police officers also noticed that the car had a broken taillight. As the as one of the police officer was asking for papers through the window, the driver accelerated dragging the officer into a parked car.  He then hit another officer before to crash his car. He was arrested and the police found a gun in his car. The driver was identified as 38-year-old Kyle Freistat. (Read more in the NY Daily News)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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accident sceneA box truck slammed into a store front injuring two people in New York City last week.  The truck accident occurred on Utica Ave near Church Ave on East Flatbush in Brooklyn, NYC. A video surveillance captured the frightening accident.  A  box truck driver who wanted to park waited for a previous car to leave a spot in front of a 99 cents store. After the car left, the truck driver started to maneuver to get in the parking spot.  All of sudden he just lost control of the vehicle,  knocked down a parking sign and crashed into the 99 Cents store.  A mother and her child walking on the sidewalk were almost killed. The child was ok but the mother was injured and transported to the hospital. The driver was found unresponsive in the cabin of the truck.  He may have suffered a seizure. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Read more in the NY Daily News

Later on at night in New York City another driver was also found unresponsive in his car after he lost control of his vehicle. Unfortunately he couldn’t be saved and died at the hospital. 54 year old Daniel Rainis was exiting the Grand Central Parkway at Winchester Boulevard in Bellerose, Queens, when he veered off the parkway into the woods.  No other vehicles were involved in the fatal accident. Read more Here

 

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accident sceneTwo people died and several others were injured in a NYC car accident caused by a drunk driver who was speeding. 34-year-old Andrew Shakespeare was driving back from a wedding on Sunday morning. He had 4 other passengers in his car. He was allegedly drunk and was speeding on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, NYC. As he approached the 188th street exit, Shakespeare changed lanes and side-wiped a Nissan Sentra driven by a 59-year-old woman. He then lost control of his BMW X5 SUV and careened into a Nissan Rogue driven by a 52-year-old man. Both cars crashed into the center guard rail. A 38-year-old woman driving a Mercedes was then struck by the BMW despite trying to swerve to avoid hitting the two cars. The impact sent her car into trees on the side of the road and back rolling over on the road.

The BMW front passenger, 34-year-old Layon Campbell was transported to the hospital with critical head and body injury. He was pronounced dead upon his arrival. 16-year-old Akeam Grant who was sitting on the rear right seat of the BMW died at the scene of the accident. The two other passengers, a 21-year-old and a 16-year-old survived. One of them fractured his pelvis and his right arm. The other lacerated his right arm. They were both transported to a hospital to be treated.

Among the people in the 3 other cars involved in the crash, both drivers of the Nissans were taken to the hospital for neck and back injuries but were listed in stable condition. The two passengers of the Nissan Rogue were also rushed to the hospital. The front passenger, a 50-year-old man injured his right leg. The rear passenger, a 63-year-old man fractured his rib and his neck. He also suffered from neck and back pain. Both passengers are in stable condition. The Mercedes-Benz driver was also transported to the hospital to be treated for pain in her right shoulder.

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A young man is dead and his girlfriend critically injured after their car crashed into a tractor trailer truck in Queens early Saturday morning. 28 year old Steven Narvaez was driving with his 17 year old girlfriend when he blew a red light at the intersection of Skillman Ave and Queens Blvd a little bit before 6:00 am. His Toyota Corolla T-boned an 18-wheel municipal waste truck.
The young driver was found dead in his seat by the EMS. His girlfriend was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Both families were crushed by the drama.

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accident sceneA man was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in New York City.  The motorcyclist was riding his bike South on Lefferts Boulevard near 115th Ave in Queens, NYC, Saturday around 1:00 pm when a Dodge Ram pick up truck slammed into him. The driver of the pick up truck was driving North and swerved to avoid hitting a car. The police also suspect that the motorcyclist may have been driving over the speed limit. Investigation is still ongoing. The collision was so violent that a witness who was driving several cars behind them said he saw the motorcyclist flying high into the air. The 27-year-old rider suffered trauma all over his body as well as a broken leg. Read more in the NY Daily News

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NYC construction workersOver the last few years, the number of construction workers dying or suffering severe injuries on the job increased dramatically in New York  City. According to the most recent statistics from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health, 25 hard hats lost their life on NYC construction sites in 2015 compared to 17 in 2011. The majority of the fatal construction accidents in the city occurred on non unionized construction sites. Undocumented immigrant workers are often the most at risk of suffering catastrophic injuries or of dying in construction accidents.  One of the fundamental reasons why such a significant number of workers are dying on non unionized sites is the lack of training. Construction workers on non unionized sites are often not trained as well as unionized workers or not trained at all in some cases.

Mayor Bill de Blasio also believes that many construction accidents could be avoided if construction workers were better trained.  According to Politico, the mayor is working on a proposal to increase training for all construction workers in New York City. In the new proposal, all workers will be required to attend minimum training  of 54 to 71 hours. Supervisors will have to train an extra 30 hours on the top of the minimum requirements. Workers who are doing more dangerous tasks such as those working in confined space or workers doing work related to rigging safety, scaffolding, excavation, demolition and perimeter protection will have to attend additional training specific to their activity.

The new training rules are expected to be introduced to the City Council  in the next few weeks.

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A NYPD officer suffered critical injury after being dragged by a car in New York City. The officer and five of his colleagues were responding to several 911 calls of shots fired in East Flatbush. The shots turned out to be fireworks going off at a private party. Officer Dalsh Veve was questioning the occupants of a black Honda Civic when the driver hit the gas and dragged the NYPD officer over two blocks. As he was dragged down the street the officer shot twice at the driver. It appeared that the car had been stolen and that the driver was a 15 year old boy. The teenage boy who was shot in the face was arrested after checking in at a nearby hospital. Officer Veve is still fighting for his life.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

 

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accident sceneTwo pedestrians suffered personal injury in two separate car accidents Sunday night in New York City.

A college student from Columbia University who was crossing Riverside Drive at the intersection of 115th Street in Manhattan was struck by a hit and run driver. The accident occurred around 12:25 am. The student who is believed to be in his twenties suffered critical head injury. He was transported to the hospital where he is still fighting for his life. Approximately 90 minutes earlier a 53-year-old male pedestrian was hit by a dark-colored sedan at the corner of E. Tremont Ave and Purdy St. in the Bronx. The pedestrian suffered two broken legs and head trauma. He was transported to the hospital. As of Today he was in stable condition. So far nobody was arrested in relation to the two crashes.

Read more in the NY Daily News 

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A motorcyclist almost lost his foot in an accident in New York City. The motorcyclist was driving on Cropsey Ave in Gravesend, Brooklyn, when he was T-boned by a speeding van. The van driver was making a left turn from Cropsey Ave onto Canal Ave. According to a witness the driver thought he could make it but instead he slammed into the motorcyclist which was driving North. The accident occured on Sunday night around 8:45 pm. The van driver stayed at the scen of the accident and wasn’t charged despite his recklessness. The motorcyclist’s leg was completely mangled and he was rushed to the hopsital. He may lose his leg according to the NY Daily News. Motorcycles being struck by left turning vehicles is all to ccomon. Drivers must be eductated to be on the lookout for motorcycles. In N.Y.C. especially motorcyclists, if possible, should slow down when entering intersections and not depend on vehicles to yield the right of way.

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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