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 wrongful death NYC

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One construction worker died on the job in New York City in June bringing the total of deaths to 5 for the first half of 2019 compared to respectively 6, 2, 5 and 6 for the first semester of 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015. The June fatality occurred in Manhattan. 4 of the 5 fatalities on NYC construction sites occurred in Manhattan and the other one in Brooklyn during this first semester. No deaths were recorded in the Bronx, Queens or Staten Island construction sites during the first six months of the year.June 2019 fatalities on NYC construction sites

A total of 4 construction accident fatalities were recorded in Manhattan during the first semester of 2019 compared to respectively 2, 1, 3 and 3 during the first semesters of 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015. This last semester was the deadliest in Manhattan since 2015.

Manhattan Construction worker fatalities June 2019
One hard hat died in Brooklyn during the first semester of 2019 compared to respectively 1, 1, 1 and 2 during the first semesters of 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

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FDNY_Haz-TecCity drivers were determined to be at fault in 3,357 motor vehicle crashes in New York City during the last fiscal year that covers the July 2018 to June 2019 period. This number is up by 10 compared to the previous year and despite a diminution of the city vehicle fleet from 31,002 to 30,755.

827 people were injured and 4 died in these accidents compared to respectively 763 and 2 during the previous fiscal year.

The city vehicle involved in the highest amount of crashes were the FDNY vehicles with 10.1 accidents per 100,000 miles traveled followed by Sanitation (7.6), Parks (4.7) and the NYPD (4.4).

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Borden-Ave-and-11streetA 14 year old cyclist was fatally struck by a truck in New York City on Saturday afternoon. Mario Valenzuela was riding his bike on Borden Avenue around 2:00 pm Saturday afternoon when a truck belonging to limited Interior Group, a private sanitation company, made a right turn onto 11th street and fatally struck him.

The 33 year old truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged even though he violated the Right of Way Law.

Last week an off duty cop on a motorcycle was also killed by a private sanitation truck in the Bronx and at the beginning of the month another cyclist suffered critical head injury after he was struck by a dump truck in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Plans to reform the industry and reduce truck roads by having a limited number of companies taking care of specific areas have all been opposed so far.

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An off duty high-ranking NYPD cop died in the Bronx after a garbage truck making a left turn hit his motorcycle. Around 8:15 am on Monday morning, 56 year old Michael McGrath, was riding his bike south on East Tremont Ave when a dump truck making a left turn onto Waterbury Avenue hit him. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. The driver of the truck stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t immediately charged. Inspector McGrath was the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Strategic Services Division. He was in charge of the department’s cadet program providing internships and police training for college students interested in a law enforcement career.

The accident occurred less than 10 days after a 62 year old e-biker suffered critical head injury after colliding with a garbage truck in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The accident was pretty similar to the one that killed Inspector Mc Grath. The dump truck struck the e-biker while making a left turn from third Ave onto 12th Street. The driver was a 52 year old off-duty firefighter working an authorized second job.

Hell on Wheels

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51 pedestrians, 13 cyclists 11 passengers and 28 motorists died in auto accidents in New York City during the first semester of 2019. After two consecutive years of decline, traffic fatalities in the city went back above 100 at 101 during the first six months of the year compared to respectively 84, 96, 107, 107, 97 and 121 in the same period of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. Fatalities increased for all categories of road users except for motorist deaths which stayed stable at 26 during the first semester of this year and the previous one. Auto-accident-fatalities-NYC-first-semester-2019

NYC Traffic injuries reached a record high at 29,081 during the first semester of the year compared to respectively 28,544, 27,923, 27,540, 23,530, 24,508 and 26,119 during the first semester of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. All category of road users except pedestrians suffered more injuries during this semester than during the previous one.

Car Accident Injuries New York first semester 2019
While the total number of bicycle accidents reported to the NYPD during the first semester of 2019 was slightly lower than the number of accidents reported during the same period of 2018, cyclist fatalities more than doubled during the first six months of the year compared to the first semester of 2018 to reach a record high of 13.  Bicycle accident injuries jumped to 1,907, a record high as well. These numbers came as a bad surprise as 6 months earlier, the de Blasio administration which had been promoting using bicycles to commute around the city was proudly announcing that the number of cyclists killed in the city reached a record low of 9 for the entire year of 2018 and that Vision Zero Initiatives were working. A similar pattern occurring in 2015 and 2016 is an indication that despite all Vision Zero improvements, the city remains a dangerous and deadly place to ride a bicycle.

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A man intentionally struck a cyclist and killed him in Brooklyn. The accident occurred Sunday morning around 6:00 am on Broadway near Ellery St. in Bushwick. The driver of the SUV whose car had been broken in earlier saw the cyclists fiddling with cars and got out of his Jeep Grand Cherokee to question him. The conversation got heated and the cyclist took off on his bike. The driver got back into his SUV and chased him. He sped after him in the oncoming lane of traffic and slammed into him, crushing him against the parked cars. The impact was so violent that the SUV flipped onto its side. The entire accident was caught by a surveillance video.

The 47 year old cyclist died at the scene of the accident and the 41 year old driver was taken into custody. Charges are pending. Two parked cars and a semi-truck were also damaged in the collision. The police found two car stereos, a screwdriver, a set of Allen wrenches, and a fake pistol laying amidst the wreckage.

Using a car as a weapon for a vigilante act is completely unacceptable

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Speed Camera flyer nycTo prevent young pedestrians from being injured in car accidents, the NYPD announced that as kids go back to school today, they will be cracking down on drivers speeding or driving recklessly in school zones.

Not only the NYPD will be reinforcing its presence in school zones but more than hundreds of new speed cameras installed all over the city during the summer will provide extra protection for children as they are going back to school.

A total of 750 speed cameras are being installed in New York City school zones

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A hard hat died and five others were injured after a building under construction partially collapsed in the Bronx. 48 year old Segundo Huerta, a father of five, was working on a construction site located at 92 East 208 Street in the Bronx, on Monday around noon, when the third floor of the building started to crumble and falling on workers below. Segundo and his colleagues were hit and buried in concrete and debris.  When  the firefighters arrived, Segundo was trapped and by the time they were able to recover him he had succumbed to fatal injuries.

The other construction workers injured  were Segundo’s family members or good friends. His 21 year old nephew Manuel Giovanni Huerta suffered a serious spine injury. His cousin Santiago Mayancela suffered a torn ear and a leg injury. Luis Romero, the brother of Segundo’s sister in law suffered a serious head injury. Two friends from the family Luis Antonmio Quizhpi and a man identified as Jose were also injured. The group of workers had been working together on construction  sites for more than 12 years. Segundo, originally from Ecuator, had been living in the US for 19 years. The family and relatives that gathered at the scene of the accident were heart broken.

OVERLOADED FLOOR CAVED IN

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More people than ever were injured in auto accidents in New York City and the number of cyclists deaths was back at its highest during the second trimester of 2019.  Despite a significant decline in the total number of accidents recorded by the NYPD during the period of April, May and June, more motorists, passengers and cyclists were injured in accidents during the second trimester of 2019 than during the same period of 2018. Pedestrians were the only NYC road users that recorded a decline in injuries compared to the same period of 2018.

auto accident nyc second trimester 2019
16,084 people were injured in NYC traffic accidents during the second trimester of 2019 compared to respectively 15,624, 15,315, 15,604, 13,461, 13,703 and 14,443 during the second trimester of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. This is the first time that the number of accident injuries in New York goes over 16,0000 during the second trimester. Motorists are the ones who are the most frequently injured in car accidents. They account for almost half of the cases. Passengers injuries account for almost a third of the injuries.

Car Accident Injuries New York Second trimester 2019
After a steady decline from 2015 to 2018, auto accident fatalities increased again during the second trimester of 2019.  24 pedestrians, 17 motorists, 7 cyclists and 6 passengers died in traffic accidents in New York City last April, May and June.

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a woman was killed in this location after her husband pinned her between the car and the guard railA woman was killed after her husband mowed her down at a NYC car wash. 50 year old Marco Salas and his wife, 51 year old Isabel Cohetero were washing their car at a BP service station on Eliot Ave in Queens when the accident occurred. The couple had finished rinsed off their jeep when it started to slowly roll backward. The husband realized it was in reverse and jumped in the car to stop it. In the rush he hit the gas instead of the breaks and pinned her between the car and the guardrail. The husband realizing what he did, frantically ran to the station to ask for help. Isabel was rushed to the hospital but she didn’t survive.

The couple has been living for the last 24 year at the same address in Ridgewood. They have two sons and a daughter. According the the NY Daily News, the husband was struggling to keep it together after the terrible accident.

Bringing a claim against a family member is always difficult