I haven’t had much time for blogging and I am sure that my many thousands (yea right!) of dedicated readers are wondering why.
Wonder no longer. Instead of blogging, I have been working on my review of this year’s New York case law regarding New York municipal and governmental liability. Every year I review and summarize new cases in this area of law for my fellow New York personal injury lawyers. Then, in the fall, I travel around the State (to Manhattan, Queens, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo) lecturing my fellow New York personal injury lawyers on the new developments in this area.
Some of you might be asking, “what is municipal and governmental liability“? Glad you asked.
When you sue for personal injury against the State, or its political subdivisions, or other governmental entities, such as a town, village, city, county, school district, public authority, special rules apply. In fact, the “rules” are more like landmines waiting to explode under the foot of inexperienced New York accident lawyers. For example, statutes of limitations are shorter, and you often have to follow certain procedures, such as serving a “notice of claim”, before you can even sue. The governmental entity or municipality is able to get your case dismissed if you don’t cross your T’s and dot your I’s in following these procedures.
The State, governmental entity or political subdivision, can also raise “governmental immunity” as a defense in some cases. That sometimes means you can’t sue them at all, no matter how careless or negligent they were in causing an injury. But a shrewd, and well informed, New York personal injury lawyer can sometimes weave his or her way around governmental immunity defenses. I try to teach other New York accident lawyers how to do this by showing them how it was done in other New York injury cases against the State or other governmental entities. Judging from the emails I receive from other lawyers all over New York State thanking me for my lectures, I think I have succeeded somewhat!
Keep safe!
Mike Bersani
Email me at: bersani@mbk-law.com I’d love to hear from you!
Michael G. Bersani, Esq.
mbk-law.com
Central NY Personal Injury Lawyer Michaels Bersani Kalabanka
1-315-253-3293