wrongful death NYC

Published on: November 16, 2014

Recent NYC crash statistics show pedestrian deaths haven’t decreased and cyclists deaths have doubled between April and September despite de Blasio’s Vision Zero Initatives and Bloomberg’s previous implementation of bike lanes and safer street designs

135 people died in traffic accident in New York between the beginning of April and the end of September this year compared to 134 for the same period of 2013. Despite all the Vision Zero efforts and the new street designs implemented by the Bloomberg administration, the streets of New York City remains dangerous for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicle passengers.

The graphs presented in this post compare data from NYPD crash statistics on a 3 months basis with the blue bars representing traffic deaths in 2013 and the red bars, traffic deaths 2014.

While comparing 2014 to 2013 data, the graph below shows that most of the decline in traffic deaths happened at the end of the winter. During the good season, a slight increase of fatalities in the spring was compensated by a slight decrease during the summer.

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Published on: November 10, 2014

Three pedestrians died in three separate car accidents in NYC last week-end

By GGCRBHS&M

Threee more pedestrians died this weekend in New York City after being struck by vehicles in three separate accidents which happened in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

76 year old Melvina Hibbert was hit by a car on Conduit Blvd, near Belmont Ave in East New York. The impact was so strong that her body flew against the windshield and destroyed it (see picture in the NY Daily News. She died from her injury at the hospital.

The second victim was 79 year old Edmund Chow who was struck by a van as he crossed Hillside Ave near 257th Street. He also died at the hospital.

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Published on: November 5, 2014

A 27 year old who was speeding on the Belt Parkway died in a violent crash

By GGCRBHS&M

A 27 year old driver was killed after he struck a Jersey Barrier on the Belt Parkway in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, NYC. Because he hit the Jersey Barrier at high speed, he then hit a guard rail and the car traveled across 3 lanes before striking another rail. The driver was then ejected from the car and fell on the highway, resulting in his death. The car continued to travel and fell off the elevated parkway onto the ground below. The fatal car crash happened last Monday around 2:00 am.

More information here

Published on: October 31, 2014

Another pedestrian dies after being struck by a MTA Bus in Queens, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

Edgar Torres, 40, had the light and was in the crosswalk when he was hit and killed by a MTA bus that didn’t yield. The accident happened at the dangerous intersection of Myrtle Avenue, Wyckoff Avenue and Palmetto Street, steps away from the location where 23 year old Ella Bandes was struck and killed by a bus in January 2013.

After the death of Ella Bandes, The NYC Department of Transportation added some safety improvements but didn’t change the bus routes. There are 6 bus routes crossing the intersection and 5 of them require drivers to turn around and restart their route in the other direction.

Edgar Torres is the sixth pedestrian to be killed by a MTA Bus this year in New York City.

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Published on: October 31, 2014

Two drunk drivers charged together for the death of a passenger in a car crash in Brooklyn, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

Richard Romano Santos and Gerrard Herbert were both drunk when they crashed into each other on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NYC, a few months ago. Michelle Mignot who was lying down on the back seat of Herbert’s car was killed during the accident. Both men were charged together for the death of Michelle Mignot and they are facing up to 15 years in jail.
Read more in CBS New York

Published on: October 14, 2014

New York ATV accident left one man dead and another one injured

By GGCRBHS&M

A man driving his ATV in the Bronx, NYC died in the hospital after he was inadvertently rear ended by his friend who was also driving an ATV. None of the two men were wearing a helmet when the accident happened. The friend who suffered a leg injury was charged with reckless endangerment and reckless driving and was issued violations for unregistered reckless driving, riding without an authorized helmet, and for having no insurance. Read more in the New York Post

Published on: September 2, 2014

High school Football player dies during practice in Staten Island, New York

By GGCRBHS&M

A 16 year football player from Curtis High School in Long Island, NYC, died after he collapsed on the field during practice. Miles Kirkland-Thomas was a 6.2 feet and 321 pounds defensive tackle. He showed up late at practice and was ordered to do wind springs. He was stopped by coaches after completing two springs. Miles collapsed as he was talking to one of his coaches. The temperature was around 80 degrees with high humidity.

His father told the media that because Monday was a Holiday, there was no bus service to go to practice and because Miles was running late he probably ran up a steep hill that leads to the school. The Department of Education is investigating the death of the young man. More will be known after the autopsy Today.

Read more in the New York Daily News.

Published on: April 21, 2014

In a new attack against Labor Law Section 240 (Scaffold Law), the NY construction industry lobby paid more than $80,000 to the Rockefeller Institute to fund a study that misuses sophisticated statistical techniques and produces inaccurate results

By GGCRBHS&M

New York Labor Law Section 240 or Scaffold Law was enacted more than 100 years ago to protect construction workers from elevated work related accidents. It holds general contractors, owners and others liable if unsafe conditions at the job site lead to a worker’s injury or death (to learn more about NY Labor Law 240 see recent presentation by NY Construction Accident Attorney Anthony Gair)

The construction industry has been trying to repeal and amend this law since it was created and the last attack came with a report entitled “The Costs of Labor Law 240 on New York’s economy and Public Infrastructure” and published by the The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The report uses questionable statistic methodologies to blame The Scaffold Law for creating more accidents and more injuries.

The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) discovered that the report was actually commissioned by the New York Civil Justice Institute, a front group that was specifically created for this purpose by the Lawsuits Reform Alliance of New York who paid $82,800 for it. The Lawsuits Reform Alliance of New York is well known for lobbying against laws protecting plaintiffs in favor of the construction industry and other corporate interests. The CPD and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) just published a paper entitled “Fatally Flawed: Why the Rockefeller Institute’s Scaffold Law Report Doesn’t add up”

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